Growing Green

 We spent our weekend in the yard... planting and playing.

For many the temperature is in the teens and the snow has engulfed the grass. I'm not complaining but it has been cold here in Florida for over a month. I'm not much of a cold weather person and mostly I'm looking for a reason to get outside and grow something.

It was beautiful today!
We were so happy to be outside, enjoying the warm and sunny day.

K-Bear and Boo hard at play.

Oranges from our backyard

 

I love living in Florida for many reasons. Among them, you can grow yummy fruits and vegetables year round.  There's nothing better than picking your own vegetables from the backyard.







Some of last year's crop



We started our raised bed garden three years ago. We wanted to show our little ones where certain foods come from. They enjoy being a part of the process and we love watching them grow with each season.



Boo, 2 years old, eating a radish fresh from the garden.

K-Bear, 2 years old, hard at work planting.

We started with building a small compost bin and a lot reading.

Last year we had 16 corn plants growing in a 4x4 raised bed.



Backyard gardening is popular these days, which means there are a variety of interesting gardening books on the store shelf.  Want to learn more about making your own raised bed garden? Or how to start composting? There are great resources out there and they're not boring encyclopedias.

Cubed Foot Gardening by Christopher O. Bird would be a great place to start. The author guides you through building your raised beds, filling them with the best soil and growing the most popular vegetables. He offers innovative tricks and techniques for the most efficient and fun gardening.

Christopher O. Bird has the best tip for growing corn and has the most wonderful family recipe for bread and butter pickles. 





You can have the best tomatoes growing in any old planter you have around the house. I have used newspaper lined milk crates as planters in the past. The newspaper (only the black print pages) blocked the holes in the crates and was great compost after.

 

Grab your boots and get creative outside!