Jan 2011 on going SW Fla garden

[trkarl]

Wanted to share a few pics of this years on going SW Fla garden:


Romaine, Red Leaf, Spinach, Swiss Chard in the back. The tomato bed right behind had some cherry toms on the left that were over 6' tall but the cold got them. The only tomato that survived in this bed was the middle one, a yellow pear tomato. The two smaller ones I just planted last week.


Spinach and Carrots. Been harvesting spinach from this bed about every 7-10 days since the middle of December.


Cabbage. I've harvested a couple. They were supposed to be a compact variety but they are almost as big as a bowling ball.In the background is the third crop of broccoli and second crop of cabbage.


I started the cabbage from seed and this came up. It looks like a Russian Kale or Purple Kale. Does anyone know for sure?



Celebrity Tomatoes I started from seed. I must put small fencing and bird net around them or the birds peck every single tomato that starts to ripen.:(


Beets. Harvested several over the weekend. Bell peppers in the background.


Second crop of Broccoli. First crop has already been eaten.


Bed I just finished yesterday. Concrete blocks stacked 2 high.
Got the idea from:

http://gardeningrevolution.com/index.html

Made the planting mix similar to Mel's Mix from:

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=squarefoot+gardening+book&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=12469441937368814737&ei=G203TcD7BsSp8Aadr5zNAw&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDMQ8wIwAg#

Planted three different beefsteaks today and the other half with Beets.

Now to finish the rest of the back yard in raised beds before spring. Then we can really get growing. It kinda sucks to be the only state with no snow on the ground. Can't you tell? JK

[LizardKing]

Good looking garden. I guess you didn't get as cold as we did here in Central FL, it killed everything I had growing and I'm just starting over again.

[monkeybird]

trkarl I'm impressed and jealous!! Your produce looks so good. Keep the pictures coming as your summer garden continues to grow. Also, how about some good advise to us novices.

[1Admin]

Great thread! 5 stars!

[trkarl]

trkarl I'm impressed and jealous!! Your produce looks so good. Keep the pictures coming as your summer garden continues to grow. Also, how about some good advise to us novices.

You can grow a pretty decent garden using just commercial fertilizer but my approach is about 98% organic.
Start with healthy soil and you will have healthy plants. This usually means massive soil amending. This will usually cost money and work so just look at it as an investment like anything else with money. Your return will be nutrient dense food of much better quality than store bought.

I purchase lots of different composts from Lowe's, Home Depot, etc and peat moss and planting mixes.
Also I use a lot of bone meal and Azomite rock dust for micro nutrients. It's slow release so it benefits the soil over a real long time and doesn't get washed out after a couple heavy rains.

My main fertilizer is fish emulsion and Maxicrop seaweed extract. I will on occasion use Osmocote or Miracle grow for a quick fix if something is suffering but very sparingly. It's like taking a vitamin supplement. You don't want to try to live off them but use them.

The best fish emulsion deal right now (1-20-2011) is:

http://www.homedepot.com/buy/outdoors/garden-center/alaska/gal-fish-fertilizer-8635.html

Buy enough at 11.67 a gallon and shipped free to your door. I bought 6 cases and now have enough for several years worth of growing.

Plants look small when first planted but quickly get very large so don't plant too close together.

For bugs I use Thuricide for caterpillars and liquid rotenone / pyrethrins for most others. Sevin dust as a last resort but rarely.
One example is some times when transplanting broccoli fire ants will overnight build a nest around the base of each one and then eat through it within 2 days. Nothing I have tried will get rid of them so end up having to sprinkle a little Sevin around the base of each. It's either that or lose the crop.

Birds suck. Just when my tomatoes start to ripen they will peck the ripe areas on each one so I must tent the tomatoes with bird netting.

Once the raised beds are done they are really easy to maintain and if you keep adding compost and amendments after each crop you will be amazed at how much you can produce in a small area.

Finally get started. You don't want to be the novice trying to figure out what works in your AO if the SHTF. :)

[Klayton]

@trkarl: what is the pvc pipe for in some of the pics? i was thinking irrigation, but not sure...

[trkarl]

I hand water everything. The pvc makes for good framing and I used it to hold up furniture moving blankets when it got real cold. I used 2' pieces of rebar in the ground to hold it up.

[Klayton]

ah ok thanks

[arcangel911]

Do you mix the fish emulsion with water right? (but it is still the best natural fertilizer on the market.) Personally, looking at running a aquaponics setup once I am done with school.

I have heard the some types of fish emulsion will burn your crops.

[trkarl]

Do you mix the fish emulsion with water right? (but it is still the best natural fertilizer on the market.) Personally, looking at running a aquaponics setup once I am done with school.

I have heard the some types of fish emulsion will burn your crops.

I mix about 2 tbs per gallon. I foliar and drench feed the plants. It's Alaska Fish Fertilizer and MaxiCrop Seaweed Extract.

[trkarl]

update

This past week I have been adding 3 more beds to my back yard PAW garden.

Here is how I am constructing them:


New beds:


Close up of a bed. I outlined with the blocks then dug down about an extra 4 inches. Then I fork the bottom about another 2 or 3 inches deep and begin layering compost, Azomite and bone meal. Mix it up real well. Then another layer of compost, then peat moss, Azomite and bone meal. Mix it all up.

Then another layer of compost, Azomite, bone meal, green sand, organic fertilizer and a nice layer of planting mix and mix it all up well.



finished bed.


Trailer load of compost, planting mix and peat moss in compressed bricks.


The organic fertilizers and soil amendments I use.
Azomite, Peace of Mind tomato and vegetable fertilizer ( just started using it this year), bone meal, Vegetables Alive from Gardens Alive, Jersey Greensand, MaxiCrop seaweed concentrate, and Alaska Fish Emulsion.

[Patriot Prepper]

Great job!!!

Beautiful crops. I like the fact that you are 98% organic and not relying on commercial fertilizer. Smart move!

[monkeybird]

WOW! Keep the updates coming. You're motivating me to get started!

[arcangel911]

great idea with the concrete blocks. Never thought of using them like that, but is a great idea.

[trkarl]

great idea with the concrete blocks. Never thought of using them like that, but is a great idea.

I got the idea from here: http://gardeningrevolution.com/index.html

Check out the picture galleries there for some good ideas. All of theirs are stacked 2 high but they don't dig down into the ground like I do. I figure if I want to add a second layer later on it won't be a problem. The blocks are cheaper than building it with wood right now and they don't rot so they don't have to be replaced.