Garden Update

Last year, Country Boy and I spent a lot of time and effort prepping the vegetable garden area.  We made some beds and added organic soil, lime and compost to all the beds.  Even after all that work to help our sandy soil, we did not get a very good yield from our crops.

We even tried a small crop in the Fall yet that didn't turn out so well either.  After that, we just kinda let the garden go.

Somehow, the cabbage (towards upper left corner) survived the Winter and is still growing albeit very slowly though.  I'm not sure how good it's going to be.

Since our yield was so poor last year, we thought maybe the seeds we were buying from the superstore were either old or were not quality seeds.  This year, we purchased our seeds from a farm supply store where they sell the seeds in bulk.  It was a lot of fun choosing the seeds and extremely reasonable for the amount of seeds we purchased.

After a bit of weeding and raking, the garden was ready for some seeds and transplants.

Here's the garden today...

From a different angle...

Clockwise from left to right, okra, potatoes, tomatoes, green peppers, jalapenos, and banana peppers, cabbage, blackeyed peas and lima beans.

As you can see, there are times during the day where the garden gets some shade.  I don't think the plants mind the shade at all.  In fact, it probably helps retain a little moisture in the soil and protects them from the Florida heat and sun!

In the midst of the okra bed is a melon that was planted last year but is coming up this year.  I don't know whether it is a watermelon or canteloupe.  Time will tell!

The potatoes are coming up nicely.  Probably from being continually splashed with good 'ol duck pool water!

The first flower on a potato plant!

I started over 50 tomato seeds in the greenhouse during the middle of March.  Most of them came up but then something started eating the tiny leaves leaving only the stalk.  I removed the trays from the greenhouse and left them on the back porch.  Thankfully, whatever was eating them did not find them.  Half of them still had all their leaves so I still had plenty of tomato plants.

I had a few extra that wouldn't fit in the bed, so I put them in the container.  The trellis in the back will be used to tie the tomato plants in the back to and to help keep the leaves from venturing through the chicken wire where the chickens will promptly dine on them! I also added some crushed eggshells around the base of each plant to help keep slugs away and I have a couple of Marigolds in the bed, as well, to keep other pests away.  The large tomato plants in the bed were rescued from the compost bin and are already producing some future tomatoes.  

I recently transplanted some jalapeno and banana pepper plants that I started from seeds that I saved from both types of peppers.  They are still small but after the good rain we had on Wednesday I'm hoping that they will start to show some progress.

This green pepper plant was another rescue from the compost bin...

Look at all those future green peppers!

The lima beans have grown quite fast.  I put a small piece of fence in the center so that the vines could wrap themselves around it.  I also planted some in hanging pots.  The more lima beans, the better!

Future limas...

The blackeyed peas are slowly coming along as well.  They're taking their sweet time like the okra!

All in all, I think the garden shows some promise this year.  We're hoping for a good yield so that I can put my apron on and do some canning!

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Till next time,