Garden month 2

Ok, so I know I have been bad about updating you about the garden because it has been quite a bit of work. It was part of my bday present to have a raised garden bed built and then filled with a compost and manure mixture that I wanted. My plants were getting so big that I knew if I didn't get them in the soil soon that there might be no hope left for them because they were getting a little pitiful looking. But now I planned them all in this nutritious soil and they are just taking off now. I can't wait to see them produce some veggies now. I have also started to plant some eggplant seeds in little pots so hopefully they will take off soon and be ready for the summer.

Here are the pepper plants. I hope these grow some more before the summer heat really hits here because I am not sure they will really survive that heat. They are a mix of the yellow and red peppers. I picked this particular kind to plant because those pretty colorful peppers seem to be so expensive in the store that I thought why bother if I can grow it myself.

So the girls are so excited to start picking those tomatoes and I hope they ripen soon so the girls don't pick them too soon.

Here is one of my tomato plants. I actually bought this when it was small and it has probably doubled in size so far, but I am sad to admit this is not one of my seedling babies. I have 3 other ones in the garden that I have grown from seed and doing quite well they just don't have any tomatoes on them yet to show off.

This is one of my cucumber plants that is doing wonderful and has so many flowers blooming on it that will hopefully bloom into cucumbers soon.

This is actually two of the basil plants that I put in the garden so hopefully they will really grow into a huge plant because we have eating so much of the caprese salad that we need big

Garden week 2

So the seedlings are coming along really nice and we finally cleared an area in the yard for the raised bed. I had to do quite a bit of research about where the best place to put the garden and I read that it is where the sun hits it for about 8 hrs. So we found a nice rectangle on the side of the house and that is where we are going to put it. Now I just have to go buy the materials for the bed and start building. I did put some of the herbs in pots yesterday and a few of the tomato plants too because I didn't want them to feel cramped. When we transplanted them they still had the egg shell so we broke the shell into pieces and placed it in the soil. I figured it would give them some good vitamins in the soil. Then we carefully placed the small plants in pot. The roots looked so good and strong so hopefully this Florida sun won't be too much for them. I have to water them all the time and the sunflowers are really getting big and their soil drys up quickly. I think they are almost ready for the big garden. But for now they are stuck on the porch.

Garden

This year I really want to plant and grow my own vegetables. In our new house our backyard isn't huge but it is big enough to have a garden that will be a pretty good size. So I have been doing lots of research about what to plant and what season to plant them in because in Florida the heat can be so intense for small plants that some will not survive like they would in a northern area. I am also going to build a 16ft. X 8ft. garden box so I can make sure it gets the right amount of water and the proper soil for our veggies. I just can't wait for the kids to be able to pick the veggies for dinner right here in our backyard. I am so excited just thinking about this. My mom used to do that for me. When I was little I lived in PA and my mom had this huge garden on the hill on the side yard and let me tell you we were outside everyday weeding, watering, picking and planting and I remember those days so fondly. Some of the things she grew I loved and some I didn't but that's okay because you know it came from our own yard. It is so funny how trends come back in full circle because I remember in my early 20's telling my mom- why do you have a garden just go to the store and it is so cheap, but now I understand so much more and I don't want all those unknown chemicals going on my food for my family. I figured if I have my own garden I have so much more control over what we are putting into our body.

Here is how I am getting started on planting our garden. First,  I saved some eggshells and washed them out and that is what we are going to grow our seedlings in. 

Here are some pictures of the plants right after I planted the seeds. I also saved the popsicle sticks and broke them in half and wrote down what was planted in each container. Now I used 2 different containers to put them in. I used one that is biodegradable and the other one is plastic so I will have to pull the shell out and just plant it right in the ground when the big garden is ready. My plan is to grow the seedlings and then by the time they are ready to go in the garden the garden box will be ready. (I hope my plan works). 

I will keep you posted on the garden update as soon as more happens. Right now it's like watching an egg hatch- not much happens! 

HAPPY GARDENING!

Landscaping done

So we just bought a new house and I think I mentioned that the yard was nothing to look at well actually it was all dead and the backyard is bare! But with that being said we had a huge project on the list about getting the front yard to look presentable, so we hired someone and he did a wonderful job. I am so happy with it and the kids love to run outside and roll in the grass now. Before we used to have these sand spurs and ants in the yard so I wouldn't let the kids outside. That was very hard for them because at our other house that is all we did most days was just play outside. Well here are some before and after pics of the yard. We have a long ways to go for the backyard to get done but hopefully this summer we will be able to start on the digging for the pool. I have been making some sketches for the backyard which has been quite fun because I am such a visual person that I have to see everything and then move them around a few times.

Spring Gardening

I don't know about you, but I am so ready for Spring! I am very lucky to be living in the sunny state of Florida, so I don't have to slush around in the snow and bundle up in multiple layers, but lately it has been cold here. So to get ready for Spring time we start to garden around here. Since we moved into our new house last Fall we have been doing so many projects and the yard of course is one of them. We sodded the front yard and it is looking so wonderful. (I will post pics of the before and after this week). But the backyard we decided to wait on because we want to add a pool, deck, pergola, and a firepit area. I have been making some sketches of what I want the yard to look like and make sure I include an area for my gardens. I really want one day to be able to go out back and just pick all our veggies from the garden. One day that dream may come true! But in the mean time I must be happy and satisfied with a smaller garden that I can manage anyways right now. So we started out with a few already grown plants and I bought a few seeds too. The seeds I am going to put in egg shells to grow and then when they are bigger I will transplant into a bigger pot or the ground. I thought the egg shells in a cute container would be adorable to put out for an Easter decoration too. See I'm accomplishing two things with one project! Love that! Next week we are going on a ski vacation so I have to wait to plant the seeds and the potato bucket when we come back because I don't want them to dry out while we are away.