We just got back from San Diego, where we got inspired by Ricky & Lyndsey’s awesome garden. Stefan and I have never been gardeners so to speak, so our garden consisted of some seed thrown around to see if they would magically grow. We succeeded at some things (tomatoes, soy beans, lettuce, basil) and failed at other things (composting, cucumbers, corn, lemon grass, weeding regularly, etc.).
Our tomatoes and basil have run their course, so we are planning our Garden 2.0. Stefan and Jerry made a new, mas grande, raised planter in the front yard and we have plans for two more, to start.
We tried to locate a composter while in San Diego, but unfortunately the guy at the hydroponics store ending up selling the one he reserved for us (stoner). So, we are still trying to find one…
Composting requires some tolerance for messiness and time. When Jeff weed whacks I rake (still trying to remove vines) loose stuff into piles. You need a high pile, it needs to have some air (so things don’t rot) and moisture. Originally I had loads of branches and sticks which went down first, then grass/vines/weeds. The piles were 4 feet tall or so. I just left them and now have beautiful compost that I spread around nearby. So start a pile today! The more sophisticated but impractical way is to buy a rotating drum. Doesn’t make enough to do anything with. You may want to pitchfork your tall pile (tall so heat generates) nextdoor once during the process but it isn’t necessary if you don’t mind waiting! Nature just lets leaves rot in place. Building a tall pile speeds things up. katrina
I love visiting your site! It makes me really ready to move down there. You should put more before and after pictures up. I noticed the picture of your house in the About Summer and Stefan page with you both standing in front of the house (with the dirt yard :-)and now with the hammocks, stairs, garden, palms and everything, it looks awesome! -Cassie
Any tips for the soy beans? I’ve started a mini-garden at our home in St. Pete (west coast Florida) and have had no luck… I’m wondering if I need to pot them first and then transplant. We are getting our standard 3PM thunderstorms now so perhaps too much water? I keep checking back to see your progress and you guys are killing it! Totally jealous!
What’s your average rainfall per day? We are around 3-5 inches…the pods just seem wilted… And, of course, I have to fight the fruit tree rats that pepper our area (we live on the salt water canal out to Tampa Bay). Also, fighting the puppy, who seems to appreciate getting into all of it - even with the wire fencing around it…grr. Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks!
Seeing that you guys are seemingly mac fans, shouldn’t it be Jaguar Garden instead of Garden 2.0
[...] you can see by Garden 2.0, Summer and I are working on our computers by night and planning/building a healthier [...]
Rob
We are Mac fans…BUT…we have had so many problems with leopard that we can’t give them any undeserved props…for now.
You guys are living the dream. How cool. Whenever I visit the Caribbean I wonder what it would be like to do what you are doing. Our blogs could not be more different in some ways, and yet in some ways we are doing the same thing. Keep up the good work—I’m fascinated by the things you guys have run into.
Katrina - Yes, I think we failed with the composting because it was time consuming and fighting back weeds and pica pica ended up taking most of our time. I think once we have the property properly tamed, we’ll be able to devote more time to composting. I still would like to get a composter, or perhaps I just need to read up on composting and develop a plan…
Cassie - I totally agree, we do need more before and after pictures. We HAVE them, we just need to sort them out and Stefan is working on adding an official gallery to the blog. I also think that since no part of the house is 100% done yet, we arn’t satisfied with the “after” pictures yet :D.
Soe - I really have had no problems with getting healthy soy bean plants here. There is one green bug that likes to eat them, but other than that. It was one of the easier plants that I’ve attempted in the garden. I just stuck the seeds in the ground and they grew perfectly.
Rob - Don’t get me started on Leopard. I think it’s the first crappy OS that mac has ever had!
[...] been working on Garden 2.0, and it has now become Garden [...]