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.