Romaine

It’s been another quite week in the garden however I have started to eat the romaine more regularly.  I always have a childish fear the first few times I cut the leaves that they won’t grow back but they always do. 

The broccoli florets are really starting to become visible but they seem to be growing at a very slow yet steady pace.

A lot of my friend have been thinking about planting gardens this spring and have asked me where I buy my seeds and plants.  Last spring I bought most of my plants at Greenfest at the University of Tampa.  I also bought a few at Lowe's/Home Depot as sort of a test.  There was no difference in how the plants did as far as my novice self could tell however the Greenfest plants were larger. In my over crowded box the small Lowe's cucumber plants were shaded out and never had a chance.  I think that was more about how I planted the plants then the plants themselves.

This winter I bought all my plants at Home Depot. I plan to buy most of my spring plants at Greenfest again this year because I like supporting local nurseries and because the plants there are larger which means less waiting time for the veggies. 

As for the seeds, I’ve purchased them every where from Target, Lowe's and Home Depot to Tractor Supply.   Maybe this year I’ll try some from online just to see if there is any difference.  

Patience

One of the biggest lessons I am learning with winter gardening is patience.  My spring garden yielded something I could pick and eat fairly quickly.  Within a month there were grape tomatoes and shortly after the cucumbers appeared.  It has been 10 weeks and so far the only thing I was able to eat was baby romaine which I took to a friend's Christmas lunch.

This week, over two and a half months after planting, the first tiny broccoli florets were visible inside the plant.

There are a lot of books on vegetable gardening and I recently read “Carrots Love Tomatoes” by Louise Riottee an introduction to companion gardening. 

I like the idea of planting vegetables next to each that assist each other.  The philosophy is that companion plants help to combat pests, add needed nutrients to the soil and that some plants can inhibit the growth of others. 

This morning I decided to plant a second round of winter vegetables carrots, leeks and lettuce. 

In anticipation of and preparation for planting tomatoes this spring I planted carrots in the box that tomatoes will go in.  And because onions and broccoli are companions I planted leaks along side the broccoli. 

The vegetables I planted today won’t be ready to be picked until March and the broccoli picking is probably still a few weeks away.  Patience.  

Growing Food for Fun

Last spring I planted my first vegetable garden.  I'd thought about it and talked about it for years but I lived in an apartment.  Then I bought a house.  A house with a big back yard, citrus & avocado trees and tons of space for a garden.  

I researched vegetable gardens and settled on a raised box.  Living near the coast in Florida the soil is sandy and without an irrigation system in my backyard a raised box made the most sense.  

I had wood cut at Home Depot and my boyfriend and I assembled the box.  He brought water from the backyard hose bib through PVC pipes to my garden.   

Then came the fun, anticipation, learning curve and acceptance of what is and isn't possible in Florida's hot humid summer climate.  I'd read about square foot gardening and planted my plants close together.  And I wanted an organic garden so I ignored advice and bought only organic pesticides. My garden grew well in the beginning.  Fresh romaine.  Lots of grape tomatoes. 

Cucumbers

Bright yellow squash blossoms 

Then the squirrels ate the baby green peppers.  The yellow grape tomato plant took over the red tomato plant and the cucumber vine grew into the tomatoes too because it didn't have enough room.  The Florida heat and humidity set in.  The yellow squash leaves got mildew and the bugs appeared.  But I wanted an organic garden so I continued to follow the directions on the organic products to try and control the bugs and disease.  The mildew spread to my cucumber plants and an unidentifiable orange bug infestation began.  Lots of bright orange ant like bugs hatched and grew bigger each day.  I went out of town for work for a week and when I returned the orange bugs had become huge black bugs.  I conceded to mother nature and that weekend my garden went from organic to locally grown.  By that time the plants were too week to produce much more and other then the hot peppers I'd planted to try and keep the squirrels away my first garden was pretty much done. But I had learned. I had learned a lot.  

So now its winter and I'm trying again.  Boyfriend doubled the size of my garden box and I planted greens and broccoli.    

I planted other vegetables but we had a very unusual early freeze and they didn't make it. I also listened to boyfriend's advice to give the plants enough space and I tried for more traditional rows.

I love to see the plants and vegetables growing and the sense of accomplishment I get when I pick and eat what I've grown. I'm growing food for fun and I'm learning a lot along the way.