Vegetable Garden::Full Spring Ahead

During this season of warmth and rapid growth gardening takes on the all consuming pose calling for even more time and energy of passionate gardeners everywhere. Not only in the landscape but especially in the vegetable garden where those annuals increase in size seemingly from each morning to each night.

Chive blooms glistening with heavy droplets of dew are just one among the many delightful discoveries on an early morning walk about.

The first dawning hours being the best time for thorough inspection and the picking off any tiny worms boldly chewing away at the greenery for their breakfast.

The watering regimen follows. It's best done by hand with the garden hose. Irrigation was installed this winter with its own separate timer and assuredly comes in handy on occasion. But it is not preferred over individualized watering for just what is thirsty at the moment.

This February when it was necessary for me to rebuild the 4 outer beds I reconstructed them in a (rectangular) box shape leaving a trench of-sorts in the middle. It occurred to me to create a place to fill with water which allows it to slowly seep into the roots of the four hilled up sides.

My amateur (veggie) gardening status gives me all kinds of lenience for trying different methods. This one is proving to make sense toward preserving the run-off from the hills as well.

When they are dry I don't mind compressing the interior soil by walking in it to inspect the plants or harvest from the inside.

Spring is the time when all living things awaken to the newness and splendor of the season. Signs of vim and vigor are everywhere we turn.

Succession harvesting of the earliest crops are well underway.

While many others are staked, bushing, or twining their way into exuberant growth with each glorious hour.

Snap peas of the blue-podded sort were planted this year for a try at a new variety.

But mostly for the interest of that adorable tiny violet flower that precedes the sweet blue pod with its little peas all huddled inside in a perfect row.

Handfuls of the most tender and tasty green beans are best gathered first thing in the day. But if it can't be helped a late evening culling works just fine for hungry tummies, too.

Already the flowers placed throughout the veggie garden are over-taking their bounds.

Naturally, that is the plan when situating them among the vegetables to draw in nectaring beneficial insects. The aesthetics they add call out to me to linger a bit longer and inspire me to pull another weed or plant another seed.

New crops of romaine lettuce have come in so fast even I'm surprised.

And small wonders! The onions planted from seed are actually looking as if they might grow ... yes, onions. It was decided in February to give one more go at planting them after two previously failed attempts. Never hurts to try again. Fingers still crossed for onions forming.

Flat leaf parsley from the fall garden is sited in between tomato plants towering to a height almost as tall as me. It's being allowed to flower for the small beneficial bugs such as the parasitic wasps who need tiny flowers for nectar. They will use other garden pests and aphids as a nursery for their young. We wouldn't want them to fly away after that for lack of nectar sources that fit their small mouthparts.

There are at least 6 miniscule flying insects on the parsley flowers. So tiny they were not even noticed until the photo was uploaded.

This is my third spring of growing warm season vegetables. Many lessons have been learned and many lessons elude me still.

Maybe just maybe enough room was provided for the enormously sprawling zucchini and summer squashes this time. It's been my repeated mistake to underestimate and forget how very much room each plant requires.

They were placed in the newest planting bed created this season. Tucked underneath the edge of the overhang from the front oak trees it is afternoon-shaded more than the rest of the garden. Which also explains the debris (from the oaks) still falling onto the wide, umbrella-style leaves.

This site gains them a much better air-flow than previous beds in the back of the garden. It seems they are happier and no signs of that pesky powdery mildew so far!

It's nice that peppers grow easily with no fuss involved. These are the successes that keep us trying! Some come easy and others... not so much.

Only five tomato bushes were planted this season and they, too, seem to be the happiest and healthiest of any other season. I wish I could pinpoint the exact reason(s). It must be the complete switch to organics using Tomato Tone and Fish Emulsion. Previous years the plants got so big, so fast and waited for the fruit to catch up. Too much nitrogen likely. I'm taking diligent notes to figure this one out and praying we don't get too much rain, too fast... or too much humidity all at once ... or the night temps don't get unbearable ... or an infestation of aphids and worms I can't keep up with...

Well, you know the drill. Tomato plants can have lots of issues in the blink of an eye without warning.

No matter. We'll not think about that until we have to. We've plenty to smile about and to keep us busy this beautiful month of April.

Happy gardening and happy spring days to each dear reader! Meems

Celebrating Earth Day in Positive Park

Being the one year anniversary of Positive Park, Earth Day made it a perfect time to be commemorated. I was invited along with many others to participate in the fun festivities today.

An empty plot of land between the beautiful old buildings of historic Hillsborough High School in Tampa has been turned into a lovely and restful stroll through several garden areas. It is now called Positive Park.

The Environmental Club President, Hannah Hong, is to be credited with spearheading the project and was instrumental in getting faculty on board to sponsor and help make the vision come to fruition.

The other person most responsible for creating the gardens and nurturing them as her own is Janice Vogt, the school nurse and a graduate of HHS. She coordinated getting many of the plants donated and organized the ROTC to help get them planted. Mulch was delivered for free by a local garden center.

Janice's signature roses make up a large bed center stage and they are breathtaking.

The tropical gardens were added last fall and Janice lovingly extended the gardens to include the plants donated by the alumni.
Ferns, perfectly situated, have found their own way into the cracks of the mortar in the red brick walls that make up the background for the entire area.

A Forest Pansy Redbud tree donated and planted in memory of a recently deceased 1931 graduate.

Butterflies and lady bugs were released as part of the ceremonies. There were even plenty of Jadera bug nymphs adding brightness to several plants. They are helpful in eating the seeds of goldenrain tree and chinaberry. If they didn't eat them we just might be overrun by them.
The culinary class baked up the refreshments which included lady bug and froggie cookies.

Janice Vogt, school nurse and gardener with Virginia Overstreet, Master Gardener.

Activities were planned to help in the celebration. They included a demonstration on how to plant vegetables.

Then Hannah (President of the Environmental Club) and Katie (Vice-President) show us how to create a worm bin.

Nana K was there with her adorable grandson who helped transfer the worms to their new home.

It was evident that everyone involved has worked very hard to make the gardens a place of beauty. What a wonderful way for students and faculty to contribute and add value to their school. Planting plants and creating a little piece of paradise in the middle of a public school that will live-on long after the organizers have graduated.

It was a good way to celebrate Earth Day.

Spider What?

Spiderwort is assuredly not the most endearing name for a plant.

In contrast to its name it is actually quite a cheery and charming flowering perennial. Right now oodles of them, in massed bunches, can be seen along the roadsides growing wildly in our area.

They are also catching my attention each morning as new blooms unfold brightly in my back garden. My how they've grown since first planted last spring.

If anyone had told me a few years ago I'd get the least bit excited about this rugged little plant with the dainty purplish-blue flowers I might have laughed at the thought. After all many do consider it a weed.

But in my quest for native plants the Common Spiderwort, Tradescontia ohiensis seemed to be a good fit for the then newly cultivated wildflower garden. They are pretty wild alright. And cold hardy, too! They prefer a well drained soil in sun or partial shade.
The bees are visiting them first thing in the mornings and enjoying them right now as much as I am. Don't look for the blooms in the afternoon, though. Once the sun comes out full on, they close up until the succession bloom opens the next morning.

Easy, non-care, nearly indestructible plants are topping my list of must-haves these days. Spiderwort is being celebrated for those characteristics. Even though, I admit, I DO wish it had a finer name.

Practicing Organics in a Florida Vegetable Garden

Learning to grow a successful vegetable garden takes practice and a good dose of diligence.

Believe me, this gardener is still in the very early stages of trial and error. When I started my first vegetable garden in the spring of 2008 I didn't even know you had to fertilize the plants. I just thought if they looked good they must be doing fine. Then a former-farmer friend reminded me how they deplete the soil's nutrients quickly and need to be nourished along for the duration of their growth. That's when he handed me some Miracle-gro and proclaimed its worthiness for supplying essential trace elements.

It's been stated by many gardeners in this Florida environment that growing organically is nearly impossible.

That kind of thinking has made me even a bit more determined to discover age-old methods that enable me to exclude the use of pesticides and synthetics (including Miracle-gro) especially where the edibles are concerned.

Thinking of the garden as a whole system of living organisms working together to produce the end harvest encourages a philosophy of harmony with nature and the practice of protecting the good earth God has given us.

The proven techniques of growing organically starts as simply as attention to the soil. Each season my own composted soil is mixed with existing soil. Organic gardeners will find it very helpful to produce organic matter by saving grass clippings, allowing leaves to decay, and burying our kitchen scraps.

There have been seasons when I purchased new soil to mix with existing soil also.

But always I mix in blood meal and bone meal with the soil allowing it to ripen or set for a few weeks prior to planting. Comments about this in the past have included the smell drawing unwanted critters. Once mixed with soil I find there isn't an odor. The micro-organisms necessary to healthy soil are however brewing and during this waiting period are growing and multiplying.

Teaching the little ones to appreciate every part of our own little eco-system builds good values and character. We are learning together how to be consistent and diligent and that gently caring for a plant brings desired results. A four year old doesn't always want to walk ON the pathways but knows it is necessary to keep from compacting the good soil and its inhabitants we've taken the time to build and nourish.

If we take the time to study the beneficial insects and learn to identify the harmful ones we can most often avoid using pesticides all together. Healthy plants are not usually plagued with insects as much as a stressed plant is. Planting the right plants for our specific environment and giving them what they desire is an integral part of organic gardening.

Using flowering plants such as sweet alyssum to draw beneficial predator bugs in each vegetable bed produces a balance of nature allowing the bugs to feed off of each other rather than wiping out all beneficials with the careless spraying of pesticides.

The principles of companion planting and interplanting has become commonplace. Often this will trick the insects intent on harm as well as the fact that it maximizes space and creates an aesthetically pleasing environment.

There is nothing more therapeutic and invigorating than a few hours spent in a garden. Being privy to the delightful sights and sounds of buzzing and fluttering from critters of all sorts while we cultivate and tend to daily tasks is inspirational.

My best helper is learning how to identify 'harmful' and 'helpful' bugs with a flip chart book that lists them. We take photos and then compare their characteristics to make determinations and then discuss either their benefit or harmful deeds.

By no means am I an expert at any of this but because I get lots of questions and e-mails requesting the products I use I thought it might be helpful to some if I shared them.

A regimen of Tomato-tone every other week on the tomatoes and on the off-week Fish Emulsion hand mixed in gallon jugs is fed to everything in the garden. When the Tomato-tone is applied everything else in the garden gets a good side dressing of Sea Bird Guano or Fish Meal.

For now this is what is working for me. I am open to all advice and further helpful information. As a matter of fact, I would LOVE to hear from you. What works best for you? Have you been successful at 100% organic growing?

Life is good but growing your own vegetables and having peace of mind about where they come from makes life even better!

Happy gardening! Meems

A side note:
*** None of the manufacturers or products listed have any idea I blog or that I use their products.

Sunny Florida is Sunny Again

Not that the sunshine ever really left us. It's just that it was so much colder and rainier this winter that everything in the garden is noticeably behind schedule.

March was February and April is March.

In other words everything in the garden is about a month late or behind its typical spring schedule. Which is very unusual for this Florida girl to experience.

But April days have warmed us up rapidly and the non-stop sunshine Florida is infamous for has urged plantlife into the growth usually seen in late February and March.

All of a sudden one leaf after the other has emerged from many of the tropicals. Those large red leaves on the Ensete Ventricosum 'Maurelii' banana trees surely help to make the tropical pathway feel alive again.

Adding to the effect are the flower stalks on the Hardy star, heracleifolia begonia towering high above the foliage.

While we continue to wait for the late arrival of caladiums and Lousiana Irises it's nice to have the tropical garden beginning to look tropical again.

The poor Crinum augustum 'Queen Emma' lilies were so sad with all their deep magenta foliage gone only a few weeks ago. As each broad leaf unfurls they are beginning to take on some semblance of their former beauty. It won't be long and all their stately majesty will have returned. Ahhh... spring!

The Sisyrinchium angustifolium blue-eyed grass that usually blooms in March has only recently burst out into their tiny, dainty but consistent flush. These have been divided and spread to many places in the garden this spring. So easily adapted they certainly make themselves at home quickly without much effort on the gardener's part.

The Tropic Snow peach tree has the cutest little fuzzy orbs in place of the pretty blooms of February. Sited on the new berm I wouldn't know if they are late or on time since it is new to the garden.

Having a peach tree that even acts like it might produce peaches is a thrill beyond description.

Even the vegetable garden is changing quickly. Now that the soil is warming up it's remarkable how things there progress from one morning to the same evening. Almost in time-lapse vision.

Life in the garden seems 'back to normal' with the return of our usual higher temps. I've heard so many Florida gardeners say they 'hope spring doesn't pass us by and go straight to summer'.

I'm really hoping the same thing. I'm all for cool mornings and evenings for as long as they will last.

I can tell you the garden is happy to have the daytime heat back and it is responding with gentle applause!

Happy April! Meems