Backyard Garden Week 6

Our square foot garden after about 6 weeks of growth.

Here's a close-up of the squash.

The banana pepper plants are starting to bear peppers.

Backyard Garden - Week 5

Here's an updated picture of our backyard garden. I'm not sure the scare crow is having a practical effect, but Linda seems to like it.



The squash and peppers are prospering and the broccoli, collards, and cauliflower have grown significantly. The coconut coir mulch, perilite, compost, and worm castings has proven to be a very viable growing mixture.

We've survived our first pest attack. We added some fly strips and used a minimal amount of OMRI listed Organicide on some of the individual plant leaves, but all appears to be well now.

Sources of Gardening Information

There are many blogs about Florida gardening. Some blogs even provide step-by-step examples for constructing 4 feet x 4 feet above ground beds like those made popular by Mel Bartholomew on his popular PBS television program. Mr. Bartholomew recommends using a mixture of vermiculite, peat moss, and compost. You mix the three main ingredients for the growing medium in equal parts. This entire process is documented on Central Florida Green Guide and looks pretty easy to duplicate.

Vermiculite is sold by nursery suppliers in larger sizes for reasonable prices. Everything else is available at local home stores. The home stores also sell vermiculite in smaller quantities, but purchasing enough for an entire 4 x 4 bed could quickly get very expensive.