A New Garden Lindsay and I moved to a "planned community" a little over a year ago, after our planned move to VA fell through. It is sort of a suburban resort type place with cookie cutter homes and lots of fun things to do. "Conservation" lots are a big deal in our wilderness-themed neighborhood, and our house backs up to some "wetland". In reality it is an old drainage/overflow canal that used to encompass the orange grove that used to be where our house is (the orange tree that we bought at HD and planted is slightly ironic). When we moved in, the last 30-40 feet of our backyard was overgrown with native plants that filled in the area from our bahia grass to the water. As a bonus there was also a ton of wild blackberry bushes that had great fruit.

Our neighbors all ripped out the vegetation (including their blackberry bushes) behind their houses and extended their lawns to the water. So our yard has been left looking like a sore thumb, a patch of wilderness in the middle of everyone's suburban back yards (we're kind of weird like that any way). We had gardens for a few years back at our old house in which we grew mostly beans and lettuce. At the new house we planted our first garden this past spring in a raised bed. We had some carrots and a little lettuce that quickly bolted.

We have been on an organic kick lately and so we decided it was time to start an organic garden in earnest. And so our new garden has started. We are going to try an organic garden in the "wilderness" area in our backyard, between the row of windbreak pine trees and the stormwater canal.

We started by pulling up a whole lot of a grassy weed (don't know the name). I tried to leave as many of the blackberry bushed unharmed as I could while raking up all the grass. I heaped up a great pile of grassy straw, which makes a great mulch cover.

After I cleared the area, I dug a trench along one side of the garden and transplanted about 15 blackberry plants. I have no idea if they will live, much less produce again next season. Next, we are going to have to till up the area to try and get rid of all the grassy weed. I need to get the soil tested this week, and hopefully we are not too late to get our seeds for a fall garden.

Homeschooling has begun, and we are planning on having the garden being an important part of our Charlotte Mason styled school year. The boys have already been helping me a lot preparing, the garden, and Lindsay and the kids will be responsible for the bulk of tending the garden once it is planted.

Labels: florida, garden, organic

 

¶ 8/17/2008 09:31:00 PM