I made pizza with spinach from the garden.

It's true! I made whole wheat thin crust pizza with tomatoes, basil and spinach.
After i rolled out the dough, I spread a thin layer of basil. Last week when I made this sans spinach, I put the basil on top of the tomatoes and the basil got quite crunchy and wasn't terribly flavorful. So I put basil on bottom this time.
Next I layer washed trimmed spinach leaves, then a can of drained tomatoes. Fresh slices would be better, but this is good too.
Then shredded low fat mozzarella cheese and parmesan.

Then I baked it at 425 for around 10 minutes, untill the crust looked done and the cheese was melted and just golden brown.

Avery was so excited when I pulled it out of the oven, he waved to it, and brought Pop over to look at it.

Avery ate his pizza with great gusto.

Sun flowers

ones in pots.

skinny

yellow

eating local

Have you ever had veggies right out of the garden? No long trip in a truck, no refrigeration, no sitting in a grocery store, no languishing in the veggie crisper, no being overcooked. Just a quick rinse and then crunch.
Picking my veggies is so rewarding. It reminds me of my grandfather who had an amazing garden on his ranch in the Texas hill country. He had rows of pole beans that towered over my eight year old head. When it was time, we'd go down to the garden pick tomatoes, beans, okra, inspect the pecan trees, feed the cows. He had a ranch hand, but he still liked to do these chores himself. He was like that.
The smell of tomatoe vines, bean leaves makes me eight again, marveling at the plants Granddaddy had grown, taking three steps to match his long stride.

In season

Today for lunch I made butternut squash soup using half a squash left over from my Dinner for Henry Pizza. I modified this  healthy recipie, adding milk at the end to add some bulk and thicken it up a little bit- though if you wanted to stay vegan, you certainly could.
After finally figuring out what is what in the garden, I harvested a decent amount of collard greens. I wanted to keep this lunch as healthy as possible and also wanted Mom to eat it (she despises collards with bacon fat) and didn't want to go to the store. So, in big pot, I combined the greens, some prepared salsa, garlic, some onion, about 1 1/2 cups of water and 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for a while. Next time, I'll add less vinegar. Once the green were limp and tender, I spread some soft herbed cheese on whole wheat toast points and topped with a spoonful of the greens. OMG! so good! The cheese was a good counterpoint to the greens. And the soup balanced the whole thing out.
Norm ate the whole meal! Mom liked the greens, and so did Dad, a born and bred Southerner.

Surprise!

One of the things I love the most about learning how to garden is all the surprises along the way. I've found that often it's the means as well as the end that is meant to be enjoyed. Sometimes these surprises are frustrating- Why did my peas that did so well last spring totally fail to thrive this fall? What the hell is going on with my sweet potatoes? Do I have some sort of potoato whale hybrid that needs two years to gestate? But often the surprises are plesant. Volunteer tomatoes! A canteloupe plant from the compost! Oh boy!
I'm finding that even (especially?) when I do my best to tame and culitvate her, Mother Earth always finds ways to keep me on my toes.
P.S. green beans for dinner on thursday!!! Can't wait!

baby melon.

heliotrope

When I was in high school, my email address contained the word heliotrope, along with an inordinate amount of x's. I thought it was clever; somehow brainy and mysterious but also religous at the same time. A conversation starter-- any plant who follows the sun (or Son). My friend Paul Higgins once riduciled me. He used words like assanine and ridiculous, and more that ten years later, I agree with him. Funny, Paul was an atheist at the time, and if I had to guess which one of my friends would later attend a relgious university and structure our life around the church calendar, Paul would have been last on list. I would have been wrong. Paul is now one of the most faithful people I know, where as I am currently....unaffilated. Ten years is a long time.
All that aside, plants really do follow the sun and my sun flowers have curved stems from trying to stay close to the light.

For your viewing pleasure, pictures of my sunflowers.

In Between

This morning while Avery was out on a walk with my parents and then later napping, I did some gardeny type chores--weeding, compost turning, trimming the greens for my lunch later in the day. I gave every body a late morning drink before the heat of the day sets in-- It may be fall elsewhere but down here in the Land of Eternal Summer the heat index still occasionally hits 100.
Everything is growing so well! The beans and peas have the very beginnings of blossoms; the cabbage typ plants-- collards, broccoli, actual cabbage-- have nice green leaves. The sunflowers have nice strong stems and track the sun through the sky. The ones in the ground are doing better than the ones in the pots, so now I know that. The sweet potatoes, though,  are still an enigma. They've been in the ground for months and keep putting out a vine with healthy leaves, but the actual potatoes aren't anywhere to be found. Next summer, it's a sweet potato tower for sure.
Everything seems to be in between times. Not seedlings, nor fruit producing. Soon, though.

baby

here are some really cute pictures of avery in the garden!

Healthy (ish) oatmeal cookies

in my never ending quest to make yummy food that's also good for me and my baby, i've modified the oatmeal cookie recepie on the back of the canister.

3 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 cup almonds (i threw mine in the food processor b/c avery's not so good with nuts, but you can leave them whole if you'd like them chunky)

2 pealed medium mashed peaches
some yogurt (fat free, french vanilla- you could use milk or water if you wanted this to be vegan)
1 egg
1 cup brown sugar.

mix dry ingredients together. then mix wet. mix both together.
i have a baby so I don't have time to do normal cookies, so i pour the batter into a greased baking dish and bake on 350 for like 25 minutes until brown and seem done.

I have also put them in mini-muffin and normal sized muffin pans. Once, I greased the inside of a (clean!) turtle shaped sand toy and baked it on a cookie sheet.

Sometimes I leave them plain on top; sometimes I crumble brown sugar before baking, or spread with cream cheese, or glaze with a melted cream cheese/milk/brown sugar situation.

if you don't have fresh peaches, i'm sure canned would be fine- though i wouldn't use them. Pears would do well. Bananas, apple sauce (canned or just mashed cooked apples) would too. I'd probably also do sweet potatoes or canned pumpkins. You could reduce the sugar too, or try honey, agave, stevia etc. If you go the vegan route, and eliminate the egg, I'd use an egg substitute or increase the baking soda by like a half teaspoon.


these passed the baby test, the dad test, AND the boyfriend who hates veggies test.
happy baking!

recap

So I totally crapped out with the blogging this summer. Here's what happened: no squash, zucchini, or melons; LOTS of lovely peas!; good yummy tomatoes; a lot of okra spread out over a long period of time.
So for the fall: salad greens in pots; sunflowers in pots and in ground; onions, peas, bush beans, collards, cabbage, broccoli, spinach in the bed. I have also planted two black berry bushes. A volunteer tomato plant appeared out of nowhere (well, most likely from either a seed that was in the compost or from the spring plant). My sweet potatoes salvaged out of the compost is flourishing despite being munch on by a bunny and raked by norm. I'm still not sure how to know when they are ready for me to eat them. Next spring I think I might plant some sweet potato towers to make the process easier.

early summer update

No major updates here (all of our plants that have exciting news are the ones that were transplanted to the in-the-ground-garden at Amy's), however there are a few small and exciting things.

I got to eat homegrown salad a week or so ago. It was great, and really quick and easy. There are two more little pots of it for lunch sometime this week.

Also, my watermelon plants are loving life in their 5 gallon pot. Tendrils shooting out every which way and little yellow blossoms showing up... wheeee!!!

The cilantro has made a good start and the spearmint, I think, was switched at birth with a blade of common grass.

I have some strong papaya seedlings, but I don't know if my attention span will be long enough to see them through their adolescence.

Did you know?

That okra plants produce the loveliest, most delicate flowers?
Neither did I!
Part of this experiment is learning more about the earth, about the food we eat. Everything- even the hated squash vine borer worm- has it's place in the natural world. I'm trying to find mine.
Happy earth day!

the world's cutest tomato

flowers

sugar snap peas













cantaloupe


















watermelon

Look what I found!

While turning my compost after neglecting it for a tiny bit I found some lovely plants!
A garlic bulb that sprouted; two plants that I'm nearly certain are carrots; a mystery plant.


I love this-- plants sprouting out of my compost planted in soil from said compost in recycled containers. One change-- recycling-- led to another-- compost-- which ultimately will lead to an even bigger change-- expanding the types of food I'm able to produce myself.

Baby steps

I've been doing a lot of yearning for my own piece of land- to grow a substantial garden, to raise goats for milk and meat (and maybe wool?), to have chickens for eggs and Sunday dinner. To produce many if not most of the things I need. To have a homestead.

Right now, I am where I am and I have to do what I can with what I have. So I'm taking baby steps; soon I will be able to take a big leap- knock on wood.

One baby step is to make my own shampoo and conditioner. I use recycled bottles so I save packaging. The soap base is Dr. Bronner's so it's bio degradable. With the exception of the lavender and the nettle, the herbs came from my garden. (I tried various ways, but lavender just won't grow here for me from seeds. Too wet and warm I think.)

Amy's Homegrown Herbal Shampoo
4 oz. Dr. Bronner magic soap (I used lavender because I'm addicted and it's what I had on hand)
one cup herbs ( I used Rosemary, peppermint, lavender and nettle: If you have light hair nix the Rosemary and use chamomile- it brings out highlights.)
about a cup and half of water
glass jar with tight fitting lid ( I used a rinsed out pasta sauce jar)
plastic squeeze jar ( a recylced shampoo bottle would work; so would a plastic salad dressing bottle)

Boil water and pour it over herbs in glass jar. Screw on lid and let steep for about 10 minuets. Strain out herbs- I use a kitchen strainer though cheese cloth would work too. Really squeeze out the herbs to get every last bit of liquid. Add the herbal water to the soap. After it's cool I check to see if it foams up enough for me. If not I add more soap. This isn't an exact science.

Some other nice herb/soap combination:
Mint soap and Rosemary, nettle, peppermint
Lemon soap and basil, nettle, lemongrass
Tea tree oil soap and lavender, nettle

The nettle helps your hair soak up the herbs.

squah vine borer

I figured it out! I've got squash vine borers! Which basically means I'm screwed! No pesticides organic or otherwise works on it! I *might* be able to salvage what's left of my plants, but I'm not sure!
However, I did eat three very yummy pea pods. The okra also are growing as are the tomatoes and the canteloupe.

Help!

Something that isn't me (or a bunny for that matter!) is munching on my squash! like a worm or something! at this rate, there will be none for me to much on!
Anyone know something organic i can do to make it stop??

Mesclun greens

I planted two small pots of Mesclun salad greens today! I put the seeds in the little blue mushroom containers I use as seedling pots now. And in there with the seeds is compost from our wonderful heap.

I have several other packets of seeds to plant as well; spearmint, cilantro, and other types of salad greens.

This is something I should have started a month ago (then I could be eating them today!), but I hope this works... It's yet another first for me in the realm of growing my own food.

coming soon

Pictures of the well flourishing garden are coming soon-- tomorrow if it's not rainy like today! Everything is green and lush and beginning to produce! Squash are also coming soon as are snow peas!
Gladis's post on breast feeding and homegrown food prompted me to post this somewhat troubling editorial published in yesterday's St. Pete Times. How upsetting to me that this woman basically forced herself to nurse her babies based on the medical evidence. My mom-- who pointed the article out to me-- said she sounded like a spoiled brat, and I agree. I also think this article is dangerous and undermines the value of nursing.

Really Homegrown Food

Am I far off in assuming that most of our readers are gardening mamas? Mamas who breastfed their babies, or who still are?

That to me is the ultimate experience in creating something useful, necessary, NEEDED.

Well, anyway, I thought this would be interesting to you. :)

I nearly killed my baby-plants!

Note to self:

Summer is in full swing here in central Florida. One cannot become depressed, hide in one's room, and skip watering for 24 hours, not if you want to have something left for your efforts. When I got home today I dutifully watered, and hopefully they will bounce back.

garden-y things I want to do in the next few days

-Try growing salad, as Amy suggested. I envision growing the greens on my kitchen table! Hopefully I'll head out and pick up some seeds this weekend.

-Start some little pots of herbs, too. Cilantro and Mint!


-Transplant the juvenile carrots, they've gotten nice and ready.


-The second batch of watermelon seedlings have sprouted and should be ready for transplanting in a couple of weeks.

dinner

I totally had a salad tonight with greens from my garden! it was fantastic!

photo-update, good enough to eat

A pot of baby carrot seedlings.






Papaya seeds, indescribably beautiful in the afternoon light.






Three little seed pots, containing watermelons, carrots, and papayas.

In like a lion

The veggies have survived the crazy weekend weather (wet,cold). Survived and dare I say, are starting to thrive. Everything has true leaves and even the peppers are beginning to get in on the excitement- no longer yellow!

Over the weekend, Daddy and I used some recycled lattice work type stuff to give the sugar snaps some support- I learned how to use the staple gun.

Oh! In Saturday's St. Petersburg Times, there was a fantastic article about a community garden in St. Pete. The residents there have cleaned up an old parking lot and are now growing organic vegetable and actually talking to each other. Is there anything gardening can't do? The people responsible go by the name of Green Florida and seem like amazing folks.

Their Royal Cutenesses have arrived

The carrot seeds officially sprouted!

They are, possibly, the most adorable (teeny tiny) seedlings I've dealt with yet this season. It's like they are trying to be subtle, trying to not overwhelm with their tiny charm.


They are planted in homemade soil, in a little container that once held strawberries. I'd show you pictures, but my text-from-camera-phone to email-inbox method is all whacked out with digital errors right now. Solar flares, maybe?

tendrils and other things

My peas are growing so fast, I MUST build the trellis this weekend. I can see tiny little pea tendrils just starting to reach skyward.

There was a distinct hole dug in my garden today! I don't think it's bunnies. I think it's squirrels. Oh! Freaking squirrels! How I hate you all! Yesterday I spread next door neighbor dog Tippy's fur around the garden. This should supposedly keep the vermin away. It is not a smart idea to try and spread dog fur while holding a baby. Not a smart idea at all.

Here's a link to a good idea on how to grow lettuce in a small space and for my friends who are unfortunate to live where it's still cold!

And, Gladis, the peppers are doing well!

Gross

Lately, I've found myself doing a lot of gross things. Avery is on antibiotics for an ear infection and a staph infection (!), and his digestive track is all out of whack. I've given him yogurt to eat but the last couple of days his diapers have been... gross. Yesterday I made the executive decision to use dispoables until he's back to normal. Swishing out diarahhea into the toliet is not on my list of fun ways to spend an afternoon. Gross.

Today I decided to figure out what's Going On in the compost bin. I usually use a shovel to stir things around but I could tell that there was a good four inches of compost that wasn't getting air. So, I dumped it on the bare ground. And I wasn't wearing gloves. Smart. I had to use my hands to get it back into the trash bin. My hands smell, odly enough, like horse shit. I've washed them three times and they still smell. Gross.

But, I discovered that most of the food particles have decomposed. The execption being a stalk of broccoli that has some shoots growing out the top of it. I might take a page out of Gladis's book and try to plant it. I like broccoli. There were some major clots of slimy grass roots. I am going to either take it out of the bin and put it on the ground, or poke holes in the can.

It was absolutely glorious out: lot's of sun, warm, and breezy. I did a close inspection of the garden and found out good things are happening. The salad greens have put out true leaves that look like something you'd find actually in a salad. The zucchinie are getting HUGE; the squash are finally up as are the cantaloupe. The watermelon- both seeds and transplants-- are doing well. The pumpkins are well established, but the peepers look a little frazzled. The okra are thriving and the peas are at least THREE inches tall. My poor bedraggled marigolds are still blooming in spite of being trampled and munched on regularily.

Some of the wild flowers have begun to show signs of life. My herbs and my trays of peppers and tomatoes are still showing nary a green shoot.

I'm going to go wash my hands one more time, and hope for the best.

inspiration for garden projects at Lizard Loop

My gardening background is brief enough. I was raised (semi-nomadically) in both New York City and various spots in central Florida. I have always loved the idea of gardens, self sufficiency, and all things pastoral, but believed that I had an inherent lack of skill in handling the plant friends I love so much.

During my early adulthood, I lived in a house with a big yard, dozens of climbing rosebushes older than my husband and I combined, and ample space for new projects. But none of them seemed to take hold. For example, I tried planting a bougainvillea in a sunny spot, and even now, 6 years later, it still hasn't grown a bit.

Years passed and I left. My new home, an apartment/townhouse, came with a little slip of yard in both the front and back, but there was hardly any soil at all! Oak tree roots, sand, and gravel seemed to be the predominant ingredients in the mixture. I decided to try my hand at composting in the fall so we could have some soil on hand for potting little herbs or houseplants. My roommate suggested it, and since I do cook a lot it seemed like a good way to not waste our food scraps.

It turned out exponentially better than I thought it would be. The compost took off with a fervor and started to host new life, seedlings from our favorite foods. And, after years of playing thrifty-housewife, I saw amazing potential in my new project. Was there EVER anything more practical than a magic spot that absorbs what you can't use and gives back something you can use?

fantastic day

Gladis and her charming children came over today and brought some seedlings that have been growing in her compost pile. we planted some watermelons, some pumpkins, and some mystery plant Gladis thinks to be peppers. Her kids were very cute, wanting to be helpful- they helped do some planting, picked rocks out of the garden, and dug up some dirt to put on the top of the compost to try and keep the flies and stinkyness to a minimum. Cora, who is 6, has her own theory about the glass in the garden. She thinks it's growing there just like all the other plants.
I really like that this garden-- and this blog-- is turning out to be a collaborative effort. Those plants came from seeds from a compost pile which came from plants from Gladis and Helen's kitchen. My parents also pitch in by providing the land (and a house for me!) and Daddy does some of the more heavy lifting. The neighbors have even helped out by giving me some dog hair to try and repel the bunnies. And Avery, well he helps by being the sweetest baby boy there ever was.
Speaking of collaboration, Gladis is going to be posting about her seedlings and her low tech but quite successful compost.
The other plants continue to do their thing despite some chilly nights.

Momentous occasion!

Tonight for dinner, I made Moo Shoo Beef lettuce cups topped with bean sprouts THAT I GREW! The first meal made with food grown (or sprouted) here in the Bohler homestead. I can't wait until I am planing meals around what's ready to be picked.
Also! All of the vegetables in the patch have sprouted! All of them! We may be swimming in squash and vucchini very soon. I have visions of giving it away as favors at the upcoming Bohler-Park wedding.
In other news, you may have noticed that someone else has posted. Welcome to Kathleen, who I went to Lesley College with and who also has a lovely little boy. She is growing things is pots on her porch but she knows much more about this than I do. There may be some other voices joining the conversation.

Getting started in Maryland

AE invited me to share my experiences gardening here in Maryland. But, before I get ahead of myself, here's a little snippet of who I am and what I'm doing here.

For the past 2 1/2 years I half years I've lived in Baltimore County, Maryland, and have taught gardening to elementary and middle school kids in Baltimore City at the Living Classrooms Foundation. I LOVED MY JOB! My greatest joy was watching kids sneak vegetables to nibble instead of candy, help kids overcome their fears of creepy crawlers and understand how worms are gardener's best friend, and teaching my little ladies create perfumes by rubbing combinations of herbs in their wrists. My favorite was thyme and lavender! January of 2008 I learned I would be growing something outside the garden, and welcomed my son, Keirnan in September. After much soul searching and a whole lot of tears, I resigned so to stay home with my son, Keirnan, and work part time from home for my father's company.

One of my main goals as an at home mom is to save as much money as possible now that our family income has been reduced. And as an overachiever, I try and limit our weekly grocery bill to no more than $40 for a family of 3 with two pets (so really the way the cats eat, it's more like a family of 5!). I like the challenge, and especially like coming up with creative ways of making it happen.

In the past two years I've been able to start my garden in the Living Classrooms greenhouse in late January with the snow still falling outside, the sun going down around 5, and the gas heater providing the temperature needed to germinate. Instead of gardening in a big beautiful plot with a greenhouse and ample sunshine, I am now planning a container garden on my second floor apartment deck, which measures approximately 4 feet by 6 feet with a table and recycling bins already occupying a bit of space.

Here's my To Do list:

1. Come up with a list of what to grow
2. Locate and purchase organic or locally grown seeds.
   
3. Find a location for starting seeds that is both baby and cat proof.
   
4. Outfit and supply my container garden for no more than $50.
   
5. Design the container garden layout so it is both aesthetically pleasing and makes an efficient use of space, allowing enough space for my husband and I to enjoy our summer dinners and thunderstorm watching.
   

Here we go!

my sprouts have arrived!

My sprouts came in the mail yesterday! one package of alfalfa and one of mung bean. This morning I began the sprouting process following directions I found here. I used a recycled spaghetti sauce jar and, a rubber band, and a pair of ill fitting pantie hose. I was hoping to document the process but my parent's camera is on the fritz.

In other news, something has been nibbling (devouring really) my marigold flowers. Rather them than my baby greens but I'm not sure that this isn't a bad omen for things to come. Mom looked up ways to keep pests out of your garden and apparently urine is a really good deterrent. If Dad isn't game, I may have to pee in a cup and sprinkle it around the garden. Urine is also really good for compost. Who knew pee had some many agricultural uses.

salad greens

seed tray

marigolds

signs of life

Yesterday afternoon, Daddy, Mom and I (plus Avery on my back for part of it) all worked out in the yard. Daddy built our hopefully rabbit proof fence out of chicken wire and plywood. There was an electric saw and and a staple gun involved. Around this fence I planted some marigold seedlings. I also have some marigold seeds to fill in the gaps. I also planted the herbs: cilantro and garlic chives and basil and more (!) lavender and something else I can't remember right now. Oh and sunflower seeds! Excited about those both for their beauty and their seeds, though I'm not sure how to harvest their seeds or if you have to have a specific kind to get the kind of seeds you can eat raw and sprout. The seeds in the packet, however, looked just like the kind you can eat so this may be promising. I also started the pepper and both types of tomatoes in a peat tray. The tomato seeds had some sort of white coating on them that I hope isn't pesticide.
While Daddy and I got dirty, Mom started the process of painting some dining room chairs. It was nice for us all to be out in the sunshine being busy.
While Daddy was putting the fence around the plot, he noticed that MY GREENS HAVE SPROUTED! They are just the tinniest little green sprout in the whole world but there they are. I planted them and now they are growing! I'm amazed! This was great encouragement and also incentive for the fencing seeing as it's like Watership Down in our backyard. This morning when I took the compost out to the bin, I checked on them and they have grown a little bit more! Huzzah!

horray pt 2

this morning I plant one row of okra and two rows of sugar snaps. I also tossed some bell pepper seeds from the kitchen scrap bucket onto the soil between the okra and peas. we'll see how that goes. I'm also going to seed some peppers and tomatoes whenever i get to the store to pick up some more potting soil. tomorrow perhaps.
i also need to learn how to build a trelis for my peas.
this weekend dad and i are going to build a fence of sorts around the plot with marigolds and chicken wire.
seeds in the ground grow grow grow, seeds in the ground grow grow grow. help me build my garden.

Horray!

This morning I planted one row of salad greens, three hills of squash, three hills of zucchini, one hill of cantaloupe and one hill of watermelons. Please grow little plants!

Sprouts!

I also want to grow sprouts! I ordered alfalfa sprouts and bean sprouts in bulk online.
Shipping was more than I wanted to pay, but can't beat having someone bringing two pounds of various seeds for sprouting to my door. I plan on using recycled jars to grow them in. Total cost: $24

To Do

*Draw up garden plan
* Plant veggies according to plan
* Start tomatoes and peppers plants in tray
*Find a plot for herbs and dig it up
*Plant herbs
* Plant wild flowers

Back from California and a weekend trip to Grandma's, I worked in the garden for the first time in weeks. I was concerned I don't have enough space so I dug a bit more around around the perimeter of my patch. Then I dug in some potting soil and raked it over. Mom came out and thought I should extend it a little further so she dug up more grass while I cut the roots, put the dead grass in the leaf pile, etc.
It's a bit like an archaeological dig- I've found a bunch of broken beer bottles, evidence of the ancient frat boys who used to live in my back yard?
Last week I went to Lowe's and bought seeds --two types of tomatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe, squash, greens, snow peas, okra, red peppers, lavender, wild flowers, chamomile, garlic chives, basil, cilantro, ) and basic gardening gear -- gloves, a trowel set, water can, peat seeding trays, organic plant food and potting soil. The grand total $61.
Need to buy more potting soil, some rubber boots. I also might buy some English peas given that Avery loves them so much.

What's next?

So here in California visiting Tracie, I'm starting to think about what I need to do when I head home and I've realized I don't really know what to do at all.
How do I even begin? Well, I guess I've begun- there is a patch of dirt that no longer has grass growing on it and a garbage can that's been converted to a compost bin, but what's next?
I suppose: really nail down what it is I want to plant and then take a trip to the nursery to buy seeds, fertilizer ( until my compost is ready) and read up on the best way for my plants to grow in Florida. And then: Just Plant.
I'm taking a lot of my life in steps right now. Now that I have packed up all my things, shipped my boxes, finished the semester, taken the actual flight down to Florida, and survived my first holiday season as single mom, what next? Find a job I suppose, though I'm really rather loving not working and being able to take care of Avery all day long.

Compost Happens

My compost bin has been a learn as I go sort of project. I knew I needed a good balance of nitrogen (food scraps and other green things) and carbon (dead leaves, shredded cardboard and other brown things) but I didn't know to chop up food pieces ( I found half on onion in there) or keep it watered or turn it on a regular basis.
Despite the stupid lawn man using it as a trash can, it seems to be composting well, though I doubt it will be ready in time for me to use it when I plant.

Let's start at the beginning

So I've begun a garden for a number of reasons: I have a sudden glut of time on my hands and I need to stay busy so I don't sink into depression, despair, self-pity or bad day time t.v. watching; I'm broke and growing organic veggies is (hopefully?) cheaper than buying them or, God forbid, buying jarred baby food; the weather here is amazing and I feel ungrateful if I'm not outside all the time; I have about 15 pounds of baby weight left; I need to stop dreaming about when I can have enough land to be sustainable and start doing what I can with what I can; gardening is apparently good therapy.
So far I have trimmed back the plumbago (not neccessarily garden related but helpful to my parents and immensily stress releaving) picked and dug up a plot, and begun a compost bin. Daddy wanted to use a gas powered tiller and so called Home Depot for a price quote. The man on the phone suggested we pour Round Up on the grass to kill it before tilling so the roots didn't get tangled. He claimed this wouldn't affect the soil or our future plants- I was skeptical and called the Organic nursery in Tampa who confirmed my suspions that Roundup would leach into the soil. He suggested vinegar to burn the roots or I could just go ahead and till. The gas powered tiller would cost $50/day. I neither wanted to spend the cash nor wanted to use up more fosil fuels and release more carbon into the atmosphere, so against Daddy's advice, I decided to prepare my plot just using some elbow grease and a shovel.
It took me a few days ( I only worked in short bursts while Avery was napping) but it wasn't as hard going as I thought. Depsite a few minor set backs- some pretty thick roots and a PVC pipe part of the sprinkler system - I now have a lovely little patch of dirt ready to be sown.