Here are some pictures of how we planted the seedlings.
In this bed we used the square foot gardening method. The green fencing is for the cucumbers that we planted.
Close up of the cucumber seedlings.
In this bed we planted the corn and beans. Corn and beans grow very well together. In fact, Native American Indians would plant corn, beans, and squash together. They called this method "The Three Sisters". The beans produce nitrogen which helps the corn, the corn provides a place for the beans to grow on, and the squash help protect against pests.
These are my herbs! They seem to be doing pretty well so far. We used the trash bag method on them. It helps protect from weed over growth and it helps to retain moisture.
Above is some of the tomatoes and the okra.
Every year that we have planted lettuce, we have planted it in a pot. It seems to be the best method for us because it can stay on the porch and have more shade. Here in Florida sometimes it's easier just to put plants in pots and move them in and out of the shade, because the sun can be so intense. A lot of time plants that say they are full sun, we will actually plant in a spot that gets sun for only half the day. If we do place them in the full sun they have to be watered morning, afternoon, and evening.
Any body got anything growing out there? One thing that has always bothered me about myself is that some times I plant things that we don't really eat very often. I think maybe that might be why watering is forgotten or procrastinated and maybe not as much attention to detail has been done. If we relied more on what we planted instead of what is in the grocery store, we might do better a little better at gardening. This year I have also tried to plant only vegetables that we eat consistently.
How is my garden growing??
Well...it's going well. So far the cat has eaten every new asparagus plant we have gotten, the Little Boy has helped her by breaking the asparagus ferns that have grown. I started seeds for okra with red okra seeds and a green variety. The red seeds never sprouted, the green are doing great though. Corn seeds have also been planted and are growing nicely. Although the boy did kick them over a couple of times, but the corn seedlings survived.
In some exciting growing news, the area around the newly planted lemon tree has a few plants growing extremely well around it. It's so fascinating how that happens. The area where we planted the lemon tree use to be where we kept the compost box. There are now about six tomato plants, two squash plants and another plant that I have no idea what it is growing around the lemon tree. They are growing better and faster than any of the seedlings I have planted. See the photo below.
This brings me to how much soil matters!
Soil matters! Luck has a lot to do with it too! Your plants are only as good as your soil. Having a good soil base will also make your plants healthier and more resistant to pests. Composting is so important; note the beautiful healthy plants growing around the lemon tree. Compost usually consists of dirt, straw, old fruits and vegetables, sticks, dead leaves, paper, coffee grounds, and most organic matter. Here is a good post about how to compost in more detail http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/how-build-compost-pile. Another really good method is using a worm farm. You can make your own worm farm or you can buy one. They are listed on amazon for about $100 http://amzn.com/B002LH47PY. You may choose to make your own like we are doing by following the video to the below. It will save you about $80.
The worms will make you a lovely liquid that you will collect, then dilute, and feed to your plants. Gardeners call it liquid gold. I am anxious to get our worm farm going. When we visited the Worm's Way store they suggested using a specific kind of worm, a Red Worm. You could just get earthworms from Walmart, but I have read they are not as good as getting the Red Worms. Luckily for us there is a guy who sales them locally. I will post some pictures soon of how we planted the seedlings.
