Watch My Food Grow ~ A South Florida Raised Vegetable Garden

Florida Backyard Raised Vegetable Garden

Spring in St. Louis

April 1st, 2012 by Lila Steinhoff
Respond

I am going to veer off the growing food subject for a day and go with growing beauty instead. I was away last week. Every couple of months, I make a trip to Missouri… Cape Girardeau to spent time with family and St. Louis to visit friends. My timing couldn’t have been better. I was there at the perfect time to see  Redbuds and Dogwoods in bloom. Actually, everything was in bloom…. from dandelions to huge trees covered with white flowers. It was everything spring is supposed to be. It was spectacular.

Pink Dogwoods

One morning while I was in St. Louis, I took a walk and came upon a street lined with small Dogwoods and Redbuds. I grew up in Missouri, and I remember how beautiful the white flowering Dogwoods were. These pink ones were equally amazing. Even these very young Dogwoods had large, beautiful blooms.

Young Redbuds

I was surprised when I looked closely at the Redbuds. I had no idea that the flowers grew right out of the trunk. They were as perfectly formed as the waterfall of flowers on any branch.

Iron-fenced Garden

Across the street, there was a well-kept garden behind an iron fence. It was a pleasant surprise. I did not expect to see it in the neighborhood.  Besides all the green, flowers were in bloom there as well.

Not So Lowly Dandelions

On this same street, along the sidewalks, there were dandelions everywhere.  They were as pretty as any flower in any garden you’d find. Of all the flowers I saw that day, dandelions were the only ones that the bees were working.

Huge Flower-covered Tree

I was told that these trees were white-flowering crab apple trees. I don’t know for certain that they were, but the flowers were spectacular. Each tree was draped with white blossoms. No matter what kind of trees… it was an awesome sight.

Fall Was Beautiful, Too

There was one remnant of last fall left on this street.  A beautiful old wood fence was the backdrop for some dry grasses that made it through the winter with their beauty intact. It seems fitting to add a bit of the past season. It won’t be long before spring flowers will have fallen, and nature will be moving on to summer colors. It’s the circle of life, and all of it is beautiful in its own way.

 

 

 

Tags:   · · · 2 Comments

And the garden begins again….

March 17th, 2012 by Lila Steinhoff
Respond

I went from one 4-ft by 8-ft box for an above-ground, or raised, garden to multiple boxes this year. One box was very successful… so much so, that I oped for a second one in February. My son had a box that he no longer used, so we disassembled it and moved it to my yard.

Moving it required a trip to the nursery for more soil. The move began by mounting the sides of the box to a flatbed trailer to contain the cubic yard of soil it would take to fill the box. Getting the dirt home was not an issue, but moving it from the trailer to a tarp was more shovel work than I wanted to do. Unfortunately, it comes with the territory. Two hours, and a few sore muscles later, the dirt was moved and the box was removed from the trailer to be reassembled in my yard.

Assembling the Box for a Raised Garden

While my 2nd box came already cut and included hardware, complete instructions for assembling the box from scratch can be found in an earlier post.

Both my sons had a part in getting the box assembled and filled. The pre-cut, exterior grade, 3/4-inch plywood was the hand-me-down from my son and was reassembled in my yard.

My my brother constructed a frame of PVC  pipe to tie cord to which, in turn, will support the green beans as they grow. Choosing what to plant and getting it in the ground was my job.

Weed Barrier is essential

A weed barrier material is essential for above ground gardens in Florida. Weeds and unwanted grass are tenacious and will make their way through 12 inches of soil. The weed barrier keeps out weeds and grass that grow up from the bottom, but lets air and water through. I prefer Weed Block 10-year Fabric made by Easy Gardner. It can be purchased at big box home improvement stores.

What Is Growing

Once the soil was shoveled into the box, it was leveled and given a good soaking prior to planting. Next on the list was choosing what to grow and where to put it. I select only what I eat and in a quantity that will keep me in fresh veggies throughout the growing season. In Florida, the season begins in October and is finished by June or early July except for something like okra that will take the heat.

This year I chose four kinds of tomatoes, three varieties of bell peppers, poblanos, jalapenos, banana peppers, okra, acorn squash, spinach, green beans and herbs… cilantro, basil and chives. Two boxes will grow enough fresh produce to last until the end of the growing season. Of course, seed for something like cilantro must be spread every two weeks or so. Cilantro bolts rather quickly.

 

Tags:   · 5 Comments

The Vegetable Hatt in Haines City, Florida

February 25th, 2010 by Matthew Steinhoff
Respond

Florida Vegetable Garden Construction

Florida Vegetable Garden Construction - Fun for Kids and Adults! (Mostly for the Kids. Those cement blocks look heavy.)

Laura and David Hatt of Haines City were kind enough to send me some pictures and information about their Florida vegetable garden.

Haines City (Florida) Raised Vegetable Garden

The Vegetable Hatt is a small garden located in Haines City, Florida. We grow many different types of vegetables and fruit year round. Our gardening area is a half acre in size with, at the moment, just over 100 square feet being dedicated to the raised bed vegetable patch. We are a firm believer in compost, recycle and reuse, so we try not to add to the landfill. We teach our children how to grow foods they like, recycle things, and above all else share in the bounty. Our plans for the future are to add more plants (Florida friendly and veggies alike) to our land and to find more ways to help the earth grow. We have been growing vegetables for over 20 years, with three of those years in Central Florida. With our blog we hope to keep an online journal of our garden, learn new things, meet new gardeners, and help other people understand that gardening in Florida can be done. We invite you to take a look at our blog and offer up any ideas and thoughts.

Below are some photos of The Vegetable Hatt.

Kentucky Wonder Beans

This photo is of our Kentucky Wonder Beans which love to run and get about 6-8in long. We love planting these beans, since we can eat them fresh or freeze them until another time.

Strawberry in Cinder Block Garden

We planted one strawberry root in each cinder block. They grew well, but small. So this year we are growing them in a large tiered slotted pot. They seem to be doing good so far!

Sweet Corn and Early Corn

Here we have our sweet corn and early corn. Both types did well but we did have a few problems with squirrels. We hope to plant some more this year.

Midnight Hot Pepper

This is our Midnight Hot Pepper, after the rain, which we got at a yard sale. We got it for one dollar and was able to make three large pepper and vinegar bottles with it.

A Cornucopia of Florida Vegetable Garden Treats

Tomatos, Cucumbers, Peppers, Beans - It All Looks Great!

Beautiful Vegetable Garden!

I really like that the Hatt raised vegetable garden was made out of cinder blocks instead of wood. No chance of rot there. It also gives them secondary containers in the brick holes. That could be a really nice decorative touch. Put your marigolds there!

Join me in giving that Hatt family a big thanks for sharing their garden with us. They have so many wonderful garden photos.

I Show You Mine – You Show Me Yours

I’m interested in seeing what your Florida raised vegetable garden looks like. Comment below and let me know about your garden. If you have pictures, I’d love to feature you on Watch My Food Grow.

— Farmer Matt

Tags: 17 Comments