Denise's Organic Garden Introduction: First of all, let me tell you that the source of the composting came from a book entitled: Solar Living Source Book: The Complete Guide To Renewable Energy Technologies and Sustainable Living purchased through REAL GOODS . If you'd like more information about this book or the company, please e-mail me. What's Currently Planted How I Made My Compost Pile Why Grow Organic? What's Currently Planted It is the beginning of spring, so now is the time to get the garden ready for summer squash (yellow squash and zucchini, in particular), tomatoes and bell peppers. Since the average date of the last freeze in Tallahassee is March 20, it is best to start plants in pots so you can bring them indoors in case a cold front comes through, or wait until the end of March to plant. If you decided to plant outdoors, keep an eye on the weather forcast, because you don't want to plant seeds and then have the ground freeze. I have planted some yellow squash, and transplanted some plants that grew out of my compost pile. I think they are some sort of squash, but exactly what will turn out is a mystery! Next on my list to plant are bell peppers, zucchini and tomatoes. I've been reading about how to arrange tomato plants around a steel cage of sorts in order to maximize yield and harvest ease. (As a mathematician, the optimization comes naturally.) The planting was completed this weekend. I have three gardens completed, and I'm ready to maintain the plots and harvest the crops. I have harvested some of the spinach leaves (for the best flavor, pick the leaves before the plants flower, and especially when the leaves are around 5 inches long). My tomato plants are around 3 feet tall, and have a few flowers, but no fruit yet. The yellow squash have flowered several times, but so far, no squashlings have arrived. Perhaps bee season is just beginning. My zuccini are growing nicely, but no flowers yet. My cucumbers have just sprouted, as have the watermelon. This weekend I planted corn, beans and squash (the three sisters, as they are sometimes called, since the squash takes the ground level, the corn grows tall and the beans climb on the corn) and I started a pumpkin patch. | |
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