I love when little bug eating creatures take up residence in my garden. I was a bit concerned since we had experienced such a brutal winter and I usually see more of them running around the plants by this time of year. This morning when I went out to water I noticed a toad had made itself a bed in my potted aloe. At first I thought it was a mushroom, but then on closer inspection I saw its tiny eyes. It looked nice and cozy half buried in the dirt. I’m always happy to see the toads. The ones in my yard often seem “Zen-like.” They kind of sit in one spot starring off as if they are in another state of consciousness.
I’m a novice gardener; the world of fertilizer numbers and gardening techniques is still pretty new to me. My fiancé is the one with the green thumb, but he had to take off for Alaska again, so I’ve been left to fend for myself. Last year we put in some tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, eggplant and Hawaiian hot peppers. The peppers did the best. One plant kept putting out peppers right up until the frost.
Hawaiian Hot Pepper Plant
The cucumbers were doing great, until they got some kind of blight that affects cukes and melons. Then the war was on against the dreaded vine borer worm and tomato stink bug. They were drilling tunnels in the fruits like crazy right at the peak of harvest! I was able to snag a few of the tomatoes and cukes before the bugs got to them and they were delicious. I planted earlier this year, hoping I will have gotten a jump on the bug season, but the weather here in Central Florida has gone from winter right to summer. Any spring-like temps were pretty fleeting. This year I’m trying cucumbers again, two varieties of tomatoes, straight neck yellow squash and zucchini, along with bell peppers, basil and the Hawaiian hot peppers again.
Eggplant
There is nothing like the satisfaction of growing and eating your own vegetables. I hesitate to refer to gardening as a hobby, because when I was growing up, gardens contributed a large share of the family food supply. Today the explosion of the green movement has seen the return of gardening due in large part to the economy and because people want to control what goes into their food. It’s a fantastic activity to get children involved in. There is nothing kids like better than digging in the dirt! The skill lessons they learn in the garden will serve them well. The garden will provide many happy memories as well as tomatoes, squash and green beans later in life.
If any of you have any gardening tips or stories to share with me I would love to hear your comments.
Yellow Squash plant
May 8th, 2010 at 9:06 am
Great post Michele and timely. I begin my journey in container gardening this weekend with herbs, peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes (should be interesting;-). Besides being somewhat of a “freak” about what I put into my body these days after the DrinkLocalWine.com conference, it’s a great opportunity to teach our little ones about the importance of green and eating local. I will be documenting the journey, so hopefully we’ll have a few best practices we can share. Keep up the great work. Cheers!
May 8th, 2010 at 9:22 am
Good for you Brian. Keep me posted on your progress.
I guess I should have mentioned this in my post but I really like Miracle Grow products and for giving plants a boost: liquid Super Thrive. You can’t find it in the stores around our area, most of the sales people we spoke to never heard of it. Here is the link where we buy it on line. I highly recommend it.
http://www.nehydro.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_2&products_id=2&zenid=708e39e61f43f12b3ba1fea823e112bb
May 9th, 2010 at 9:40 pm
It’s Sunday night, and not one seed has been planted, much less purchased;-) I’m too busy reading online articles on organic and container gardening (the analyst in me)! That said I had a question for you. What is your opinion on products like Miracle Grow (I’m assuming Super Thrive is organic)? I’m worried about pests and any other problems that present themselves in sunny Florida. I’d like to go at this initiative organically with no chemicals and/or hormones. Any insight would be much appreciated. Cheers!
May 11th, 2010 at 6:49 am
Super Thrive is a liguid blend of hormones and vitamins. You only need a little bit added to your regular fertilizer. Plants really respond to it almost overnight. As for Miracle Grow, I’ve always used it (the granulated fertilizer that you mix in water), but then the other day I read a post on “Dave’s Garden” and he said it’s synthetic and very acidic, bad for the soil…so I don’t know. I see they are coming out with an organic line now. I used their organic soil and the plants are doing fine. BTW Dave’s Garden has a lot of good info on insects etc. I guess living in Central FL we have to expect more than our share of bugs.
May 26th, 2010 at 11:43 am
I came to this site by Yahoo and just wanted to take some time to say thanks for writing about these excellent growing tips. I will be sure email this site to my friends. Thank you again!
May 26th, 2010 at 7:53 pm
Thanks for stopping in to my blog Vanessa! I’m always happy to get comments from new readers.
January 27th, 2011 at 8:39 pm
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