Thank you for stopping by. 

This blog is recording the real time progress of my garden using organic methods exclusively.  You'll find practical, no-nonsense (well...maybe a little nonsense) explanations and descriptions on growing vegetables, flowers and plants using earth-friendly, non-toxic means.

Some orientation is required.  We are located in North Central Florida which has a climate similar to Tennessee's.  Our Zone is 8 and our soil is sandy (very).  Although we don't have snow or "wintry mix" type weather, we do get frosts and hard freezes.  Along with the frequent high winds, alternating dry spells and wet spells, we have our challenges.

To improve our sandy soil, I've added horse manure I composted with earthworms to my garden beds. These beds have been lying under straw mulch over the winter.  The organic fertilizers I'm using are Pure Black Castings (99.9% earthworm castings) and VermaPlex (liquid soil inoculant made from these castings).



The PVC pipe frames you see here are for wind/freeze/sun protection.

We have two growing seasons (lucky us):  the Fall season is from late September to December; the Spring season is from March to whenever-it-gets-too-hot.  I'm just beginning my Spring garden.

The old-timers around here warn not to plant until after Easter, which seems a little late, but I heeded the warning.  Guess what, we just had a frost two days ago.  S-o-o glad I waited.

I'm feeling optomistic....  I'm feeling lucky....  I'm ready to go.

Tomorrow we're planting some tomato and pepper seeds, so I'll post the seed planting procedure I've learned to use with great success.  The plants I started in February are ready to be set out into the garden, so look for that transplanting procedure as well.

Please check back soon for new entries.  Your comments are always welcomed.

"If you don't have some dirt under your finger nails, you're not really living."