First set of plantings

It's getting to be planting season in sunny Florida! Spring is just around the corner in my neck of the woods, so on Thursday 2/10/11, I looked through my little book of notes about gardening, and picked out the plants that needed to be started inside. My hubby got me a black container with little pits in it (like an egg carton) so I decided to use that. I picked the following to plant: calabash tomatoes, tigerella tomatoes, pink tomatoes, California wonder sweet peppers, oregano, and sage. It has been almost two weeks now. I keep the lid on, and leave it outside during the day. It produces almost a greenhouse effect. Here is what they look like now:

The top two 9x9 squares are oregano, obviously not sprouting. The two 9x9 squares are all my tomatoes. They are sprouting already! The third square down on the left is oregano. They are some of the smallest seeds I have ever seen! They are sprouting up well! And that last 9x9 square is sage.

I can't wait to see how they come out!

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!