Spring 2011 garden, and a little about companion planting

After many moons after toiling over what will be planted this spring, I finally have my master plan! I have spent hours shuffling seed packets around, paying attention to which plants get along and which ones can't be near each other (for example corn can't be by tomatoes because it attracts a bug that feeds on tomatoes). All this while taking into consideration those that need trellises, full sun, partial shade and those that need extra space. Whew! A lot of thought went into it, that's for sure! Here is my 8x6 bed:

Green bean Green bean Green bean Green bean Green bean Green bean
Oregano Oregano Oregano Rosemary Rosemary Rosemary
Carrot Carrot Carrot Carrot Carrot Carrot
Sweet pepper Sw papper Sw pepper Sw Pepper Sw pepper Sw pepper
Basil Basil Basil Lavender Lavender Lavender
Tomato Tomato Tomato Tomato Tomato Tomato
Sage Sage Sage Lemon balm Lemon balm Lemon balm
Onion Onion Onion Onion Onion Onion

The rows with similar plants (IE the green bean row) run north to south for maximum sun exposure. The green beans need trellises so they are on the end. Here is my 6x6 bed, right next to this bed:

Corn Corn Corn Cucumber Cucumber Cucumber
Corn Corn Corn Cucumber Cucumber Cucumber
Lemon balm Rosemary Basil Lavender Dill Stevia
Lemon balm Rosemary Basil Lavender Dill Stevia
Lemon balm Rosemary Basil Lavender Dill Stevia
Lemon balm Rosemary Basil Lavender Dill Stevia

I just realized that I wrote these rows down backwards- the first north to south row should be corn, corn, then 4 lemon balms. No biggie, just turn your head sideways! Anyway, I was going to do the veggies in one bed and the herbs all in another, but space constraints combined with some plants not getting along made me reconsider. I had no idea some plants competed for the same nutrients! I had to seperate the tomatoes from the corn and dill, the cucumber from the sage (it stunts it's growth), and the carrots from the dill. However, I also found out that some plants work as a team together. The lemon balm will welcome the shade provided by the corn, dill attracts benefical insects to the cucumber, and rosemary and basil make everything around it happy. I read about a tale of Native Americans and the Three Sisters crop: they would plant corn, string beans and squash together. The corn would provide shade for the squash and support for the beans; the squash would control weeds and the beans would fix the nitrogen in the dirt. The ultimate companion plants!

I plan on doing another bed sometime in late March. I will amend the dirt and plant my summer crop: zucchini, squash, watermelon, and eventually pumpkin. I want to have that for Halloween, so I will probably plant that one in June.

That's all for now! Until next time, keep your hands dirty :)

Water garden

About a year ago, Chris and I were given a pond from a friend's parents, who were getting rid of it due to a new baby in the family. This pond has sat behind my shed the entire time until a friend (hello again Brittany!) suggested I set it up. This got me thinking, has anyone ever designed a water garden before? I have some general ideas for plants, and maybe some fish. The place I want to put it faces west, right next to a fence. It has partial shade from an oleander tree, and I would plant another tree next to it for more shade. So, any tips, hints, suggestions?

Empty space

As I walk through my backyard, I see nothing but potential. Walking along the edges of a broken fence, I swear I can still picture the pile of garbage and dead wood that once sat there. Now in it's place is empty space, cleared of grass and sticks and debris. One gigantic plot of land, just waiting to be filled. Kind of nerve wracking actually. To know that I will be altering the landscape of my yard, permanently changing the delicate ecosystems of the tiny microcosms that exist in every bit of dirt we walk on. Part of me wants to say sorry in advance to the veggies I will inevitably kill through ignorance and inexperience. It's a tall task for sure. But if this is something I can pull off, then wow the payoff will be big! If I can save even the smallest amount of money at the grocery store on food, that helps tremendously. If instead of running to the store to get tomatoes or corn for dinner, I could walk outside, that would be awesome! I guess the big key word is IF....

Florida growing season, and such...

First, I want to start off by saying that i had NO idea Florida's growing season for most things is September-May. Kind of bummed that I am starting half way through January :(

Chris and I spent an entire day building a garden bed this past weekend. Through trial and error we both determined that we are a. not very handy and b. not very patient. Oh well, it got done, and now I have an 8x6 bed and a 6x6 bed to work with. Sometime this next week I will buy the soil to put in it, and finally sit down and plan what I will plant, where, how much, etc...to me that is the fun part!

I went to a local nursery and picked up 3 little lavender plants and a rosemary plant. A while back Chris and I painted ceramic pots for Ostara and never got to use them. Well they now house our new plants :) they are sitting on our front porch along with our aloe, greeting anyone who comes over with beautiful smells!

Update on the orange tree- turns out the original rootstock is returning. Damn cross pollination! Now my dilemma- I would hate to cut off that lemon tree, but can't can't have two trees sharing a trunk. Not to mention it has humongous thorns, and I have a rambunctious 2 year old with tiny eyes at that level. Might just have to stop it. Who knows, maybe my oranges will be sweeter?

Florida cold

I have some late fall/early winter pictures of my garden I would like to share:


My crepe myrtle turned a violent shade of red at the fist sign of cool weather:





















The first real cold snap came late in December. Here is day one:































The next day:

Tree time

So, Chris and I have been thinking about planting a tree on the north side of our house. That area lacks much of anything really. We were hoping it could shade our air handler and possibly our house, and save us some money on our air. Also, if I could I would plant an entire forest of beautiful trees! They make me happy :)

Now, the big question is- what kind of tree? We were thinking a small one, not over 20 feet. One with roots that don't come out of the ground all gnarly (it will be close to the foundation of our house). I can plant some vines or shrubs around it to keep the ground cool and give it some "neighbors" per say.

Any suggestions? We are open to any tree, especially if it loves Florida's zone 8-9 weather!

Garden 2011

This year, I approach gardening with much wisdom learned from last year. Last year, I merely dabbled in planting things, with fingers crossed that something would come of it. This year, I begin with a plan. I have a notebook with drawings of garden beds and descriptions of plants and harvesting dates. This year, dare I say, I may feel a little success!!

First off, I have an area about 20x7 on the side of my yard. On the north and west of it is a fence, and the rest is open. My husband bought me a beautiful arbor for Yule:




















I plan on making it the entrance way to the garden. I was thinking about either planting zinnias around the actual arbor, or string morning glories and jasmine up it. Not sure yet. It will open to an area with a bench to sit on and a box with all my supplies in it. To the immediate left will be an herb garden: lemon balm, oregano, rosemary, stevia, lavender, sage, and dill. Beyond that a bed with a foot long path going down the middle. One either side will be: corn, lettuce, broccoli, watermelon, green beans, carrots and pumpkin. I am still trying to figure out rotating crops, like when one thing is done plant something else. But I still need to figure out soil quality and things like harvesting dates.

Along the east facing side of that yard, along my house, is where my dying jasmine and gardenia plants are. If I can salvage them, awesome! If not, I will buy more. I loved having their beautiful leaves and strong full of life vines greeting me as I walked out my back door. On the other side of my door (same wall) is a semi raised bricked off bed, about 5x2. It help silver fog and sunflowers last year. I am thinking of doing some beautiful flowers there, maybe butterfly flowers. I have some jewel colored zinnia that would brighten that corner up!

I hope to coax my yellow and red rose bushes into flowering! Those, along with my pink crepe myrtle, white magnolia blooms and pink and white oleander, should add some color to my west facing fence.

My north facing fence is still up in the air. It has a fence, and the other side of that fence is a house that has been vacant since 2008. The fence isn't well taken care of. My idea was to put a bunch of trellises about 4 inches away from it, and plant some hardy vines in front of it. I would love to have a wall of beautiful white jasmine with bright green leaves when I look that way. This fence faces north, so doesn't get full sun usually. This is good, since most vines need moderate sunlight. I think that might be very expensive, but a friend of mine (Hi Brittany!) suggested making my own trellises. I will look into it for sure!

As for my front yard, the lemon lime bushes are holding up to the lady at Lowes' promise: they seem pretty cold hardy. Some leaves have died (I have 6 of them bordering my front wall) but 85% of the plant is still great. They are a lovely green and yellow color, and have grown into various funny shapes (I prefer to let them grow out a little instead of trimming them into nice neat little shapes). My hibiscus- I am a tad worried. I grew up with a 6 foot tall pink hibiscus that just flowered without much fuss. Mine (planted in June) is still about 8 inches tall and 12 inches around. The leaves look sad and dead, and no more flowers remain (they were a gorgeous yellow with a bright red center). I have my fingers crossed that it comes back, I think it will look great on the corner of my house. As for that orange tree from my previous blog well once I figure out what the weird thorny growth is I will deal with it. In the mean time, I will prune it and maybe fertilize it this year ( I need to look up citrus tree care. Everything I read about citrus trees in the library is how to get rid of them! I just want mine happy lol).

I would like to eventually try my hand at strawberries, blueberries, garlic, pumpkin, avocado, pineapple, and maybe even pineapple. Who knows?