Gardens

Because of the lovely state of the economy..... heh heh, I have planted a "beginners" vegetable garden this year... mostly to figure out how to do it!
I live in hot old Florida and our "soil" is spelled s-a-n-d. So this is going to be a great learning experience. I've planted tomatoes of course-- 2 different types, onions, carrots and summer squash. They are coming up beautifully. I have a friend from Peru that gave me some seeds for Peruvian veggies: kiwichi and peruvian pumpkins and corn. So my garden is going to be expanded soon. I'd also like to get some berry bushes, maybe plant some strawberries. My lime tree was killed in the past two frosty winters, but it wasn't really a lime but a bitter orange. So I'm going to be planting some more citrus, maybe orange, grapefruit and lemon.

Anyhoo, anybody here garden, or know anything about it? I'd love to learn anything you've got: preparing soil, fertilizer, composting, sun exposure, when to plant, where to plant etc etc etc. I know it will be a little different in this location, but I can adjust for that. I'd just like to talk about it.

I used to have a very extensive organic garden. I recommend Rodale Press, the publishers of Organic Gardening Magazine as a fountain of information. They probably have alot online as well.

Good soil, rich in compost and organic matter is a must for a thriving garden. In addition, mulch on top can solve alot of problems from weeds getting out of hand to moisture fluxuations to the soil getting too hot. If you find you have an insect infestation, something is out of balance in your ecosystem in your garden. One in balance will have lots of predatory insects to keep the others under control. There are remedies that can help; beneficial nemotodes eat many kinds of insect larvae; crushed eggshells are good controllers of slugs and snails, and Bt is great for tomatoe and corn greenworm.

I need to learn more about gardening here in the desert. Most definitely different from the Midwest, where I grew up. A good friend here does a lot of container gardening for the summer months. Then he has an in-ground garden for the winter. The soil here is not exactly the best for gardening either. It most definitely needs to be supplemented. More time and effort than what I have to put into this right now, I'm afraid.

thanks for that info Melodi, I will look up the Organic ppl.
Container gardening was what I was thinking of for the fruits actually.
I am lucky that I have a friend who does botany for NASA. I emailed him. I'll pass on anything I learn too.

Hmmm, there must be an HSP-virus type bug making it's way around ...

I asked 2 neighbors just today if they would like to donate to a neighborhood compost pile. All I know about it is what I can find online and so far my research indicates I just don't generate enough of the requirements for a healthy compost pile by myself.

It really doesn't take much RBM; grass clippings plus autumn leaves from a tree or two....mix green matter with things like any nonanimal food scraps, tea leaves, coffee grounds and oh...egg shells are ok too.

Make sure stuff you put in your compost pile is free of pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals.

A small pile just takes longer to compost...you can spread it out under plants as mulch and it will do just that too over time.

LOL, I'm considering this project precisely cause it doesn't take much ;-)

well having a blank canvas at my new home yard, i am contemplating an edible garden all round. As i begin the planning and process i will definitely share and learn on this thread. In the past i have created a no dig vegie garden which was fun and less work in the long run. I am also keen to do companion planting and find a seed sharing setup, not sure how but google should help!

I've a question (that I suppose I could just google, but what they hey). How do you guys dry or prepare seeds for next years garden? A friend said that you just let seeds from the fruit/veggies dry out, but I don't seem to have success doing that.
Anyone do "bottle sprouting"?

It depends on the seed and the plant. When I've saved seeds from open pollinators, I rinsed them off and let them thoroughly air dry before putting them away. But there is a much easier way. Let a few plants naturally go to seed and reseed themselves. This works for onions, garlic, leeks, chard, beets, leafy vegetables.

Tomato seeds, fennel and the like, I did rinse and let dry.

The Gardens are as sweet as the Angels, all colorful full of rainbows. The scents are strong but very beautiful, like nothing before

This just came out, had to write it down.