Homemade Topsy Turvy

I mentioned in my previous post that you don't need a special "sold on TV" pot to grow tomato plants upside down.

Here's what you need to make your own:
Coconut Fiber Hanging Basket (I used 14"x6")
Tomato Plant
Garden Soil

Choose a strong wire basket.
I lucked out that this one had an open circle on the bottom creating the perfect place for the tomato plant to rest.

Cut a cross in the bottom center of the basket.

A small tomato plant will be easiest to fit through the hole.
Gather the branches, gently push them through the hole while turning the plant upside down.

Super easy and none of the branches broke!

Aww, how cute ;)


If your plant comes with a peat pot and you leave it on, I suggest breaking apart the bottom to help the roots spread.
Fill with Garden Soil and Your done.
OR
You can take it a step further and add to it's function.
Add Flowers or Herbs on top to make an extra attractive Homemade Topsy Turvy!

~Patricia

Garden = Savings

Like all network news/talk shows that are jumping on the "home garden" bandwagon,
GMA had a short segment this morning.

They touched on the basics of planting seeds, hanging tomato plants upside down (and you don't need a special "sold on TV" pot for that) and composting.

The show also stated that a $70.00 investment in a veggie garden
can save you $600 p/yr on groceries.

How much could you save if you garden year round?

Any way you look at it, it's a Savings and it's Healthy!

My first tomato and pepper harvest for 2009 :)
Yummy!
~Patricia

Spring Garden Hazard

To much shock and amazement from my family I am still gardening!
I actually grew lettuce and spinach over the winter and they are still doing well in the spring garden.
Here's what I have growing in our Spring 2009 Square Foot Garden


We had a very mild winter here in Florida but this Spring has been a different story.
Mid 80's one day and 60's the next (Northerners will have a good laugh at that but it's a big drop for Florida). The cold fronts have been accompanied by strong winds and rain. The rain is Great...we really need it and my grass looks fabulous.
My tomato plants are not holding "Up" well to the wind.
Here's what they should look like
Tall, Beautiful, Green, Lots of tomatoes growing, with a couple strawberry plants taking up the extra space


But for the past 2 weeks they have looked more like THIS

Yes, they still have lots of tomatoes, even a few turning red.
I am pretty sure they shouldn't be laying down and the low branches are taking a beating.
They are turning yellow and brown.

After they fall over I head out and carefully pick them back up.
The top section of one of the plants broke off. It had a bunch of tomatoes on it so I stuck it in the ground with the hopes that it will root.

If you followed my gardening adventures last summer you know I didn't have much luck with tomatoes. My plants were attacked by a Tomato Horn Worm. The plants eventually died.

To add to the tomato bad luck a few months ago I started seeds in a tray.
I was so excited, heading out to water them everyday, waiting to see a sprout pop up.
Before they could even sprout the dogs played tug of war with the trays.
The Dogs Won!

I am determined to have a successful garden and tomatoes are my favorite, so I am not going to give up. Today I will go out and assess the damage from yesterdays storm. I might even start some seeds in the event that these plants don't make it.

~Patricia

Garden Update Week 10

Sorry for the double post today.
I need to get this garden update out of the way so I can mentally move on from what I feel has been a failure.
I am ready to move on and figure out what I can plant during the height of the Florida Summer Heat.
I also should be planning fall crops at this point...to give David ample time to build additional boxes.
(*Note: Dave still has not built the 2nd box I asked very nicely for at the same time that he built the first!)

Here we go with the Horror...

The whole garden at 10 weeks (70 days)

At a quick glance the Basil, Oregano, and Strawberries look fine.
Last week I picked the Romaine Lettuce and it is growing back (I didn't think that was going to happen).
I forgot to take closeups of the Broccoli. They are on the left side of the picture in the 2nd squares. They grew and nothing ever happened...no actual broccoli.
I obviously didn't pay attention to the packet it says plant between July-December.
I think I'll take those out and try again.

Next up, Burpee Little Finger Carrots
They are supposed to grow 3 1/2 inches long by 5/8 inch thick (65 days to harvest).
I thought I was pretty close with the first one I pulled and maybe they just need another week or so



But than we pulled this one


The kids ate a couple that looked ok and that made them happy


They love eating things right out of the garden!


My poor tomatoes :(
Remember back at Week 7 I found a Tomato Horn Worm
Prior to the worm the tomato plants were thriving and loaded with growing tomatoes.
Really I couldn't have been more pleased but after the worm they were just never the same.
Both plants were purchased the Home Depot. The one on the left is a Bonnie Park's Whopper and on the right a Bonnie Beefmaster.


Closeup of the Park's Whopper


Below is a Bonnie Sweet Green Bell
This plant is weak and has never looked good.
Could is actually be a Marconi Pepper?

This is a Bonnie Red Bell.
I have 2 growing on the plant and they look fine...I'm just waiting for them to turn Red??

Now for the corn...
Ferry Morse Seeds Kandy Corn Hybrid
Overall health of the plants look ok to me but they are not even close to 8ft tall.
Harvest should be at 89 days and they are progressing because I can now see the silk.
We'll see what happens with these in a few weeks.


Bonnie Hot Banana Pepper
Another small weak plant but I do have 2 peppers!
I would be shocked if it grows any more


aahh, now for my Vertical Garden that isn't so Vertical
I couldn't get Nylon Garden Netting locally and kept forgetting to order it.
I have Cantaloupe on the right and Watermelon on the left


and I already have one growing!


I have a spot left in this long bed for Pumpkins. I need to plant those in the next couple weeks for them to be ready for Halloween.
I would like to order the Nylon Netting so I can see if I can actually grow them vertically ;)

I know this was a long post, but if you garden and can offer any advice or encouragement it would be appreciated

~Patricia

Green Mowing

I'm sad to say I haven't jumped on the whole "Going Green" lifestyle as much as I should.
But this attempt might just kick my butt in shape literally!
We have purchased a Scotts 20" Classic Mower

No Gas, No Oil, No Electricity
Just good ol' Human Push Power
Yes, it's great for the environment but it is also a great workout!
Ok, now we have 3 acres so I'm not using it on the whole yard just yet.
We bought it for me to keep up with about 8000 sq. ft. of grass in the front and back of our house.
You know the part of the yard the family is always playing in and I am always nagging Dave to mow

I just have to say I LOVE IT!
It's quiet, the kids can play safely nearby and I don't have to worry about flying debris and I am getting an awesome workout!
I think it's a win win for everyone including the environment ;)

~Patricia

Ripe for the Picking ~Garden Update wk9

Here is our first Tomato harvest for the summer!
And just in time since the Tomato Salmonella outbreak has hit Florida.


Other than the tomatoes...I think the Banana Peppers are ready.
I had a failed attempt at lettuce. When I first planted the garden I planted seeds for Romaine & Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce. I think I was a little too late and it got too hot here in Florida.
I do have a packet of Seed Savers Lettuce Mixture that I may plant since my 2 lettuce squares are empty now. I'm not sure if they will be a success this time of year but I'll give it a try.

I also pulled up a Carrot to see how they are coming along...still very small although the packet says 65 Days to Harvest. Sorry no pic's but they are Burpee Little Finger Carrots
The length was ok when I picked them but they were very thin.

I am such a newbie at this! With the exception of Herbs and Tomatoes I haven't grown much else.

I'll take pictures on the whole Garden again for the 10 week update to see if any readers have advice.

~Patricia

Wild Kingdom (7wk Garden Update)

Here we are 7 weeks into our Square Foot Garden and from this picture all appears to be fine

Tomato's are in abundance...I can't wait until they are ready to pick!


Trenton is so proud of his Banana Pepper Plant


Red Peppers getting bigger every day

I didn't title this post "Wild Kingdom" for no reason

Expertly camouflaged within the branches and leaves of the Tomato plant was a
Tomato Horn Worm
Can you find him in this picture?

Well this not so little guy had to go before he destroyed my Tomato plants!


I will be checking daily to see if he has any friends living in my little garden

This past weekend we have also encountered other unwelcome backyard visitors...
While eating breakfast I looked out our back door to see this




He is only our second snake siting of the season and I'm sure he won't be the last.
Sorry I am awful at snake identification but my very uneducated guess is???
Well, you can look it up Here

Ok, now this was a first for me and I would almost like to forget that this is lurking around my yard
A Black Widow Spider was under a log next to the kids trampoline!
Onyx-Pup was barking as something so we all went out to see.
As usual Onyx was harassing the turtle heading back to it's hole
(sorry no pic's of the turtle...I got preoccupied with the Poisonous Spider)

While watching the ruckus Onyx was causing David kicked over a log and
This is what he found!


It took the kids seeing this to keep their shoes on while outside
At least for One day

~Patricia

4 Week Garden Update

4 Weeks into our Square Foot Garden
Everything is Growing & Blooming



I can't believe how many flowers are on the Tomato Plants!
Here are the first signs of our future harvest



Bella has been waiting patiently for her first Strawberry to ripen.
Hopefully she'll get to it before a bird spots it.



Last weekend we built a 1x8 Foot Garden Box.
For Cantaloupe, Watermelon and Pumpkins.
These will grow vertically (We Hope)
The Cantaloupe and Watermelon have already sprouted.
(I don't think we will be planting the pumpkin seeds for another couple months)
I'll show pictures of those in a few weeks after the vertical structure is built.

We also have plans & seeds to add another 4x4 Foot Garden Bed.

This may be a little ambitious but it has been so easy & fun :)

~Patricia

1 Week Garden Update

It's only been a week and little sprouts are beginning to pop through the soil!
Bella checks on the garden every morning!
Within days of planting the seeds, she was happy to report on Wednesday the first signs of lettuce (bottom left).
Everything has sprouted except for the Carrots...her favorite :(
I think by next weekend they will make an appearance.


First Signs of Broccoli


Even the Corn has sprouted!

Since we are not planting in rows we dropped a few seeds in each hole.
After they grow a little more we'll cut back all but one plant per hole.

This type of gardening is a new process for us but so far so good!

Bella has also been busy planting Sunflower seeds all over the yard and in any cup or planter she can find space in, lol
Here are a few of her prized plants

To ensure that a few grow to a majestic 12 feet we planted about 40 seeds along the fence.
Bella still has another packet so she'll be back at it tomorrow.





She can't wait for them to grow!

~Patricia

Could Gardening be any Easier!

This past weekend we setup our first vegetable garden at our new home.

In the past we have gardened the traditional single row way.
Spending a day tilling a large plot of land and the next couple days adding compost to Florida's sandy soil.
It was back breaking work!
But who doesn't love to watch a garden grow and relish the joy of picking your first vegetable.

That's all well and good until the garden becomes over grown and filled with weeds!
By summers end no one wants to walk in the garden and it sits in the yard as an unsightly mess!

Even though we have more than enough land here, I wanted to find an easier, more enjoyable way to garden with the kids.

With a little research I came across a book about Square Foot Gardening

I have gardened in a raised bed before but the concept of this book was to start with the Perfect Soil (the exact recipe for that is in the book) and to break up your raised bed into square feet to better utilize the small space. The book goes over exactly how many plants of each vegetable can be planted in one square foot.

The basic box is 4x4ft using 2x6inch boards.
Because I am a rule breaker by nature I chose to use 2x8's ;)
You can get the wood cut to size at the lumber yard - Gotta Love That!

Here's David, Bella & Trenton putting the box together - Which took only minutes!


The book suggests adding a bottom to the box to keep weeds & grass form growing. You can use weed tarp or a flattened card board box. If you use wood make sure to drill holes for the water to properly drain.
We used weed tarp and added chicken wire to keep moles out. We stapled the weed tarp and chicken wire to the box but that isn't necessary.

Once the box is finished move it to where you want your garden...it would be smart to build it where you want it...we built ours on the porch to avoid the hot sun.

Now your ready to add your Perfect Soil...if you don't have the book you can get basic direction's on the SFG website

The book has some crazy math to figure out exactly how much of each ingredient to use.
Math is not my strong suit
We used 1 44lb bag of Peat Moss, 2 different types of 40+lb bags of Compost and 1/2 a 4 cu ft bag of Vermiculite.
I was able to find all those items at Home Depot.
The mix was just enough to fill our 4x4ft 8inch high box.

We mixed all the ingredients on a tarp that Onyx-pup helped spread out for us ;)


Have two people hold opposite sides of the tarp and roll the ingredients to mix.
After it was mixed we shoveled a little into the box until we were able to lift the tarp and dump the rest.

Once filled we added a grid to plot out our 1 foot spaces and added our plants and seeds.

What we planted:
8 corn plants, 2 tomato, 1 green pepper, 1 red pepper, 1 hot pepper, 1 strawberry plant, 2 broccoli, oregano, basil, 8 heads of lettuce and 24 carrots

The project was fun and took a short time to put together...we are already planning another box!


Later we sent Onyx-pup to sniff out some pesky moles!
She did a great job digging up an abandoned hole to find a little glass snake
Awww, Good Puppy!

~Patricia