Summer Seedlings

I carved out some time to sow herbs and summer vegetables! I didn't go crazy since I'm  the only person in the household who has any time to tend to the garden right now. I am sure in June when I'm 9 months pregnant, I will have little desire to anything outside! Here's what's growing:

I buy loads of cilantro, and since many recipes don't call for a whole bunch I end up throwing so much of it in the compost bin. The plant bolts and goes to seed really fast which changes the flavor, so I'm going to plant it every 2-3 weeks to keep a constant supply.

These are sugar babies. They are so easy to grow! Last year when I gave up on my garden, these still produced 3 melons with basically minimal water and attention. They are perfect for the Square Foot Garden because they are small and you can train them up a trellis.

One of my favorite memories is eating pickled okra that my Aunt Angie canned. I am going to plant 8 more plants so I can have her show me how! The only way I would eat it as a kid was pickled, but now I love it cooked any way, so I want to make sure we have plenty!

This is another herb I buy often and end up throwing out at least a 1/4 of the bunch. Happens with almost every herb I buy. Cilantro & Parsley are the only two I ever see for less than a dollar a bunch at the grocery store, so this will save SO MUCH MONEY! I'm waiting on the Italian Parsley to germinate. I might soak some seed overnight and then plant it to see if that helps speed things up - it's been over 2 weeks!

These are bush beans.  They grow in the form of a bush, so I don't have to worry about trellis. 

There is also a cucumber peeking in the bottom left of the picture. Only one plant germinated and that's fine for now, I'll plant more in July for the late summer garden.

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I am most excited about these! They are jack-o-lantern  & pie making type! I only planted two because that will be plenty for our family. I am not going to trellis these, but just let them run over the side of the bed into the yard since we have plenty of space right now.

By the way, these last two pictures show a little soil block action. My soil mix is not ideal. I just used what I had on hand and they didn't stay into a "block" very well. The watermelon blocks completely fell apart which is why they are in little gelato cups. This summer I am going to work on buying the ingredients for the soil block recipe I have that people all over the web use with great success. Oh, and some trays. I am currently using the tops to storage tubs!

Stella and I are off to the garden to get these transplanted! The herbs are staying on the back deck for easy access. I don't plan on doing much more planting besides more okra and cilantro until July to get ready for the late season/fall garden. 

I'm also going to start a YouTube channel and do video updates on the garden inspired by the Donna's Square Foot Vegetable Garden videos I love so much. I've already taken the first one, I just hate uploading and editing pictures and videos on this computer! I'm so ready for an iMac. I'll update as soon as I get the video loaded!

Garden Update: The Sad Reality

I'm not going to bother with excuses. There's nothing growing, and that is that. Excluding the weeds, of course. Since taking these pictures I've cleaned all of them out and in the process we found a few surprises.

(I'm so bummed about it that I didn't bother trying to get any "good shots." I didn't even have the urge to try to salvage them by editing, so I apologize for the lackluster pictures.)
The first one I cleaned out.

Weeds everywhere!

I rooted this lemon grass( and stuck it in the existing sandy soil  last year. It instantly flourished and grew into a beautiful mess. Over the winter I thought it died, but it has already sprung back to life. It's hard to make it amidst all of the weeds, so in case you don't know what lemon grass looks like, it's the two tall clusters of leaves.

Here is a mint plant I bought from Lowe's last year. I planted it in the beds despite warnings of it taking over the whole garden. Once it started to spread, I transplanted it into this pot where it was neglected. I thought it died in the summer heat. It was completely shriveled up. The little gnome worked some magic and brought life back to it for me.

 

Here is kale I planted last fall for my Winter Garden that never happened. I planted kale, lettuce, tomatoes, and carrots late last summer and was planning on succession plantings  and starting other vegetables and herbs to get us through the winter, but my pregnancy nausea set it, and I didn't accomplish a darn thing! Somehow, this kale pushed through the winter without any tending to at all.

When I was digging up the bed that I planted the tomatoes and carrots in, I found these 4 beauties. I assumed the seedlings never made it (I wouldn't water for days) I wonder how they would have turned out with consistent waterning and fertilizing

Stella and I  planted a few herbs last week: basil, thai basil, cilantro, parsley, and a thai pepper plant. I'm contemplating doing pumpkins, watermelon and okra. I still have time to get them started. Come August I plan on will go all out. In Florida we are so blessed with a year round growing season. You just have to stay on top of planting at the right times. Late summer is like spring all over again for us and I am going to take full advantage of it. If I want to be a homesteader, I can't let a few silly mishaps  hinder my desire and passion to grow my family food. (120 strong seedlings that I started from seed were all ruined throughout February and March  by various circumstances if you missed my Facebook posts.)

I was amazed that despite months of neglect, nature still brought us a few treats in our garden. I'm constantly in awe of this beautiful system God designed. Gardening is full of miracles. It was just the inspiration I needed to start "gardening as if my life depended on it."

What's growing in your garden/patio?

A pick-me-up for this dreary weather

Time for a garden related post! It just started getting cold here I'm already tired of winter. I always seem to get in a huge rut. I had all sorts of big plans for my winter garden and they flopped. I can't tell you the last time I walked over there (it's at my future house across the street) I had 9 tomato plants, basil, lettuce, and kale doing pretty well, but it's been weeks since I've watered and I'm sure the freeze knocked them out. Sad and uninspiring, I know, but the truth.

On a brighter note  - my Baker's Creek Heirloom Seed Catalog arrived yesterday!!!!I didn't order from this company last year because I didn't find out about them until after I bought all of my seeds from Lowe's.  I've spent many nights browsing their website, but the actual catalog is breathtaking. One of the many reasons I'm crazy about them is they work to uphold our agricultural heritage and do not carry GMO. There are so many new varieties I want to try. I'm super excited about the great selection of Thai vegetables I can impress my grandmother with. If you go to their site you can request your  free catalog, but while you wait, I took a few pictures to share with you.

I couldn't resist....

Visitors in the Garden

Good and bad. The bad are stink bugs ruining my tomatoes. Among others....leafhoppers, aphids, and cabbage worms. The damage isn't extensive, but I'm trying my hardest to not spray anything.

On the other hand,this morning I saw 4 wasps eating a bad bug breakfast :-) A few days ago I saw a lacewing, but I accidentally sprayed him with my homemade insecticidal soap. I'm not sure whether or not he survived. I'm just happy that I"m attracting beneficials.

Other helpful visitors include my brother and momma.This was two weeks ago, so the plants are 3 times bigger than this!  I'll have a better update hopefully tomorrow.

A First Glance Review of "Four Season Harvest"

I really wanted to wait until I was done reading this book cover to cover to share a review, but I've finished the first two chapters and I can't wait any longer to tell you about this great book by Eliot Coleman! 

Did you know that most of the US has more winter sunshine than southern France where it's a traditional and common to have a winter garden? I didn't! Here in Florida we're very blessed and it's much easier to have a year round harvest, so I know it may seem pretty pointless that I ordered this book, but I'm a book junkie and I figured there might be really great information and ideas. I was right!

 Eliot and his wife live in Maine and enjoy fresh, organic vegetables year round. They don't use any fancy, expensive heating systems, but rather, the core of their winter gardening technique is utilizing sunlight and protecting plants from wind. a few of their practices include using cold frames (raised beds with glass lids), succession planting (planting crops multiple times), planting seasonally-hardy vegetables, and hoop houses. There are many informational diagrams, tables, and illustrations. Every page has so much to take in! I'll share more as I continue to read. Here are two great quotes.

"The best short statement to describe our approach to the four-season garden is a quote from Buckminster Fuller in his book Shelter (1932): 'Don't fight forces; use them.' "

"In our grandfathers' day, people celebrated the seasonality and variety of the home garden. They knew that one cabbage tasted best fresh in June and that another made the best sauerkraut. This was the pea for eating fresh and that the one for drying. They were familiar with fifty different apples and twenty kinds of pears. They knew when these were ripe and which blended best for cider or complemented the flavor of this or that cheese. We can recover such civilized living again."

**If you've been having problems commenting, I have no idea what's going on, but try commenting under 'anonymous' and just leave your name in the comment :-)

Baby Spinach Harvest!

I made calzones for dinner tonight. The recipe called for 10 ounces of spinach, but the bag I bought was only 6 and I had just about 4 ounces ready for picking in my garden. I finally got to harvest something besides herbs! I did a raw taste test and the garden spinach had 5 times more flavor than the store bought. Plus, it was organic! The recipe came from this months Everyday Food Magazine which is a Martha publication. My favorite thing about the magazine is the "Grocery Bag" section. It's a menu plan for weeknight dinners. There are 5 simple, wholesome, adaptable recipes that come with a shopping list. I had over half of the ingredients, so I ended up only spending $40 on groceries for this week. The recipes usually serve four, but we still had leftovers most nights, so lunches were also covered (with the help of a piece of fruit.) A subscription to EDF would be a great investment or gift. I do a jig  in front of the mailbox every month when the new issue arrives.

Seed Starting Adventures

I went to Lowe's today to grab some peat moss for my seed starting mix, but before I settled for the case of it I decided to go over to the seed starting section and see what else they had. I found a concentrated seed starting mix by Burpee for $2.47! It makes 8 quarts in seconds! The package says minutes, but it expands instantly. My Jiffy Greenhouse was $6 and the refill pellets are $3, so this method is much more economical.

I save all kind of containers for future seedlings and plants, especially egg cartons because they aren't biodegradable. They are perfect for seed starting. Here's how I do it:

You'll need seed starting mix, egg cartons, a marker for labeling, and a corn skewer for poking holes.

Poke holes in each area, fill with mix, and use sharpie to make a hole for the seeds! Follow seed packet for planting instructions.

Persistence Is Paying Off

My dad built these two garden beds out of reclaimed wood from a friends old gazebo! One of them has a bench for things like pots with seedlings and Stella. I picked my first Sweet Basil harvest today. My dad is making Bruschetta with it! Can't wait to eat some.

This is the bed that all of my seedlings are in. I can't believe they've made it this far! It only took three times...

The other bed has plants that I bought at the nursery. My tomato plant is already flowering!! Experiencing all this growth is almost overwhelming. I'm amazed daily by God's design.

Cameron built this compost tumbler for me for Valentine's Day.  I filled it up already, note the pile next to it waiting for it's turn to be tumbled. These are all reclaimed materials, again, so the garden beds and tumbler cost us $0! I'm so thankful for my crafty husband and father :-)

Azaleas are in full bloom! These are my neighbor's. The mini lighter pink blooms are my favorite. They are really small and the perfect shade of pink for me. I might have to go to the nursery and buy a few bushes for myself.

I'm still in awe that my plants are thriving. Every day that something doesn't die is a huge accomplishment. Gardening is so rewarding. If I'm feeling stressed or overwhelmed I go to my garden. It's been a dream of mine for YEARS to have a garden, but unfortunately my high school social life got in the way. Then work, moving to Charlotte, pregnancy....but alas! we are finally somewhat settled and I can take solace in my urban farm. I call myself an urban farmer, by the way. I was going to keep it to myself until I actually harvest something, but I have hope that one day I can go to a farmers market and sell my surplus like the Dervaes family. Call/e-mail me if you ever want to visit. I have big plans for our backyard this year!

Unpacking the bags and setting up and planting lilacs and buttercups

We finally have our first garden bed put in! We're not yet moved into the actual house, but we have a garden! Tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, Thai basil, sweet basil, cucumbers, and rosemary! These, mind you, are not from seed. I got fed up and bought a few plants. I do have my third batch of seeds and a couple of survivors from the second round that are well on there way to being transplanted into our second raised bed. My thumb is slowly turning green :-) OH! I almost forgot to mention my amazing watering can from the amazing Liberty of London line at Target. God bless Target for bringing affordable design to mommas on a budget.

Now, all we need are some yard gnomes.

Progress - Definitely Not Perfection

Tomatoes

Okra (Swiss Chard & Onion trying to get in the shot)

My first round of seedlings encountered some loss thanks to me being a newbie in seed starting. I over watered them and they weren't receiving enough light in the north facing window sill I had them in (you should put them in a south facing window) So, about half of them are goners. Most of them were lettuce varieties, beets, kale, swiss chard, and a few onions. So hopefully I wasn't too late for the remaining tomatoes, basil, parsley and peppers. I'll keep you updated.

I've since planted the second round which includes spinach and succession plants from the previous batch (more tomatoes, lettuce and onions) and I replanted what I lost. It probably seems like I'm overdoing it, but I'd like to try to enjoy garden fresh produce year round and I'd like to share with friends and family.  I spent hours planning and and researching, so hopefully it will pay off.

Here's a few great resources for gardening in NW Florida that have been very helpful to me:

• Florida Gardening Calendar Tips for what to plant and regular maintenance every month.
• Vegetable Guide (Table 3 was VERY helpful during my planning)
• You Grow Girl I have the book, but the website has even more great info and pretty pictures. The author, Gayla Trail, has a new book called "Grow Great Grub: Organic Food From Small Spaces."

Planting & Purpose

I planted seeds last week (January 21st). I planned out four 4X4 raised beds. So far I have planted Romaine, Tomatoes, Sweet & Hot Peppers, Leaf Lettuce, Beets, Onions, Basil, Parsley, Bok Choi and Cherry Tomatoes. Everything has germinated so far. I hope I can keep at least half of the seedlings alive. My compost is started and I'm hoping to make a couple of rain bins.

Cameron and I are very interested in what they're calling "Urban Homesteading." I just call it back to basics.

We're starting with the vegetable garden this year and in the next few will hopefully venture into raising poultry, planting fruit trees, home brewing, canning/preserving, needlework etc.

There are so many blogs and books with tutorials and great information. I'll have to pick through my faves and share them here. I'm sharing this information because I think that this blog is going in the direction of tracking our experience and growth as "Urban Homesteaders" I will probably change the name of my blog to correspond with it's purpose and hopefully will get a new look and some kind of logo. Maybe...if I'm successful enough I'll even do tutorials and giveaways!

Here's the family that gave me the final push of inspiration I needed to start really making efforts in transforming our lifestyle. Meet the Dervaes family.

Kitchen Garden Planner

Spring is around the corner! Time to start planning my garden. I came across a really awesome tool from Gardner's Supply Company. It's a Kitchen Garden Planner. They have pre-planned gardens, or you can design your own. It's super easy to use. It tells you how many plants to plant per square foot and how to take care of each type. There is also have a Vegetable Encyclopedia and you can print and e-mail your plan. I love free online resources!