Planting in wood chips

Last week I had the city of St Petersburg deliver 6 cubic yards of their "regular mulch" to my house.  The mulch is free, but there is a delivery fee of $25.  Not a bad deal in my opinion.  I've been mulching all over the yard, but am really focused on re-mulching the back beds.  The 6" of mulch that we put down last November is pretty much completely decomposed so it needs to be done.  The first bed I re-mulched was the flower bed next to the patio.  In just a few days I'm seeing great results.  The Nasturtim (Alaska Mix) planted already is getting bigger, darker green leaves already, which indicates the mulch is a much needed organic matter improvement.

With this in mind I decided to go ahead and spread some seeds on the mulch, water them in and watch what happens.  I got to work mixing up all sorts of flowers and edibles and spread them around.

Flower and edible seed mix:

Nasturtium (Alaska Mix)
Columbine (Mckana's Mixed Colors)
Zinia (Dwarf Pumila Sprite Mixed Colors)
Coreopsis
Organic carrots (Deep Orange)
Lettuce (Iceburg)
Carrot (Petite Sweet)
Lettuce (Grand Rapids (Leaf))
Purple Coneflower

I also planted Colorful Beet Mix in the Earthbox and Detroit Dark Red Beets in the main garden bed.

If I can keep the moisture level in the wood chip bed I have a feeling the plants will take off!  Can't wait to see what happens!

Grow Your Own Food - November Garden Tour

November is a busy time here at The Florida Homestead.  There are so many things to plant, chickens to tend to, weeds to pull, mulch to lay, manure to shovel, raised beds to assemble and fill...I could spend 24 hours a day working on the homestead and never be finished.  I'm not complaining because I truly love this time of year.  The weather has been crisp and cool, making chores much more enjoyable.  And with the summer heat gone there are new signs of life sprouting up every day.

Two of the girls posing awkwardly for a picture.

Jalapeno plant (left) recovering from an unfound hornworm attack.  Thai pepper plants getting bigger (right).

The Ghost Pepper Plant has had a rough year.  Still alive, but so far only one pepper this year.

Another attempt at growing nasturtium.  Kinda dwarfed plant, but that says to me it needs some food.  It's not in a main bed so I keep forgetting to tend to it.

Green beans and yellow beans.  Yellow beans have beautiful purple flowers, but are NOT a good producer.

Watermellon plant is looking great (though I can't say the same for the variegated ginger plant next to it).

Random volunteer tomato with cilantro plants around the base.

The center pineapple looks great, but the two flanking it haven't grown at all yet.

Not sure if my blueberries will survive.  Both look like this.  I've added compost, epsom salts, coffee grounds and llama manure.  I haven't given up all hope yet though.

Italian Flat Leaf Parsley

Dill and Cilantro seedlings.

Tiny swiss chard plant next to a cabbage.

The raised beds I installed for my girls.  Still working on filling them with soil, but the youngest mostly just digs and plays there anyway. 

Potted Plant Row where you'll find Calamondins, lemon grass, carrots, tomatoes, strawberries, radishes, papayas, peas, kohlrabi, broccoli and cabbage.

Tiny bell peppers.

Kohlrabi seedlings.

Two heads of cabbage.

Brussel Sprout seedlings.

Main bed.

Lots of lettuces planted.  The lighter yellow-green plants have my favorite name..."Drunken Woman Lettuce."

Carrots

Spaghetti Squash volunteer in the compost bin.

Several varieties of radishes planted in the bed.

Beets

Peas!  Fingers crossed they do well.  I've never had success with peas before and am excited to see they seem to be thriving so far.

Lots of green papays 

It's almost time to thin the turnips.  I typically do not transplant thinning, but wonder how they'd do if I tried a few.

Papaya plant is 6' tall now.

Spinach coming up.

Swiss Chard seedlings are finally getting their true leaves.

That's it for today!  Maybe next time I'll get the motivation to take pictures of the front yard too.