I have a very small Queen Palm or Cocos Plumosa in some of the whitest soil on my property. That poor palm has been yellow for as long as I can remember. Over the course of many years I have done very little for it. I am sure that at least once I have put…
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Over the course of this year we have had the good fortune to harvest and eat swamp cabbage, or the heart of the Sabal Palm three different times. The first tree fell casualty to our new shed. We had to do some clearing to get the shed in. That was the only tree other than…
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From my article Why Soil PH Matters I got a slammin’ comment from Christine. I was inspired by her comment to write this blog which is an open response to her comment. I think this also answers most questions experienced gardeners might have about whether or not the Master Gardeners program would benefit them. Christine,…
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In my previous post The Master Gardeners Program I wrote about all of the new information I was assimilating. Being a long time gardener in South Florida I possess a bit of knowledge about all sorts of gardening, but there were some persistent mysteries for me. One particularly irritating gap in my knowledge was concerning…
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Photos courtesy of Nichole Rouse I am in the Master Gardeners Program in St. Lucie County Florida. I signed up for it knowing that I might be exposed to information that would not please me, like how to use pesticides, herbicides, and synthetic fertilizers, but I believed that even so there was so much resource…
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Here’s a very cool link to bin composters.
In my last post Traditional And Conventional Growing I wrote a little about growing in sustainable ways and The Great Dust Bowl of the 1930’s. I want to write about what happened to the farms and ranches on the great plains states of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and New Mexico in the 1930’s and how that…
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The state of our current economy is unsustainable. Our energy sources and rate of energy consumption are unsustainable. Our food supply system as well as our conventional agricultural practices are also unsustainable. To be sustainable means that we can generate the stuff of our needs without depletion. We are either on course for destroying ourselves, or we are on a course for sustainability. My choice is for sustainability. I can not take giant steps in reducing my personal consumption, but every day I take small steps toward sustainable living practices, and I see my neighbors doing the same.
It is December, just before the shortest day of the year. Here are some pics from the gardens including the new box gardens. This so far has been a good season for South Florida growers. There is lots to eat in the garden. Here are some pics from the last 30 days or so.
This growing season has been fabulous so far. Great food has been coming into my kitchen from the garden everyday, and there has been lots of surplus to sell off or share. We are deeply grateful.
I have discovered a couple more weeds in the garden that are good for Rabbit snacks since my original post Weeds: Food For Rabbits and I have also discovered that several of these that Rabbits can eat are also edible for humans. One plant from the original post Weeds: Food For Rabbits, Greenbrier is absolutely…
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My property is full of resources for my gardening. Yours may be too. It has always been important to me to find the things that the earth provides for us. Palmpost is one of those excellent provisions. Palmpost is the insides of a palm log or palm tree once it breaks down or composts. Over…
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I was at an EcoGrowers of East Central Florida pot luck dinner the other nite. Our host Christine was showing her new worm bin projects. She has two of the cutest worm bins. I got very excited. I knew I had found the right group. I keep worms and haven’t met many others people who…
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I killed the Seminole Pumpkin vine. It had taken over three 50 sq. ft. sections of my garden and ran around the fence blocking five sections and two out of three gates. It was cathartic to get that thing out of my garden. I am working quickly now to prepare those sections for replanting. I…
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Two ponds line my front walkway going up to my front door. Late in the nineties I built my first and second pond. The first was a 55 gallon drum. It was supposed to be a rain barrel and it was positioned under a gutter downspout, but I got two small koi, and a little…
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In an effort to quickly bring forth new gardens for this planting season I have completed and planted my second No Dig Garden Box. It is a little different than my first box mentioned in The No Dig Garden Box I built this latest box with heavier lumber and it is wider and longer. I…
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I chose the no dig style of gardens for my new gardens so that I could get my extra planting started right away. The no dig garden box is a quick and easy way to get an excellent outdoor garden started right away. You don’t dig this garden you simply build it up. This No Dig Garden is often called a Lasagna Garden. It is built up in layers.
I saw the Vice Presidential Debate tonight. It looked to me like a clear win for Joe Biden, but sometimes I feel like my country’s gone mad and I worry that some voter majority has missed what I clearly saw. Cheers to Obama/Biden in the White House January 2009. We so need a change. Back…
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In July I put a few seeds in a 50 sq. ft. section of my garden. No one bothered to warn me about how large this plant gets! It has taken over three 50 sq.ft. sections. It wants two more, but I am pushing it back. It has taken over the fence around 4 sections, and I have to keep cutting it away from the last two of three gates. It keeps growing them shut. I have put in 4 bamboo teepees. The pumpkin monster has swallowed them up.
I was checking into Joel Salatin, well respected practitioner of sustainable farming when I found this video. I have been agonizing over whether I have space enough on my property for more than gardening. Now I feel certain I do. Check this out, no matter how you feel about your garden this is bound to…
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