There is so much gardening information available. Websites, forums, books, friends, farmers....it seems everywhere I turn there is someone who thinks they know better than everyone else. Some things I've heard:
Your plants will burn in the hot Florida sun, so make sure they aren't in direct sunlight all day.
Your plants need direct sunlight all day. They won't grow in shade.
Grow your veggies under trees so they get filtered sunlight.
We have pests so you can't garden organically.
Grow your soil organically and you won't have pests.
Intercrop.
Plant in rows.
Square foot gardening.
Use manure.
Don't use manure.
Use fertilizer.
Don't use fertilizer.
Keep laying layers of wood chips.
Only use goat, rabbit or llama manure.
Add all the organic matter you can get your hands on.
Use Miracle Grow.
Grow in the ground.
Only grow in containers.
Plant by the lunar cycles.
Watch for volunteer plants.
...And the list goes on and on. Not only is it overwhelming, it is also discouraging. It seems like no matter what I try to do there is someone always telling me I'm doing it wrong (of course they are offering "helpful suggestions" but they may as well be saying nanny-nanny-boo-boo). If things were growing out of control and over productive I might laugh them off and tell them, "well it's working for me so I'm not changing it." The reality is I see pictures of lush, beautiful gardens and I get so jealous of those folks because my garden isn't producing anywhere near enough to provide one meal for my family, let alone sustaining us through an entire year. I really, truly, desperately want to grow enough food for my family so I've thought long and hard about how to remedy the issues I'm having.
Invest in good quality seeds. This means going through all of my 150+ varieties of seeds, doing germination testing, tossing old seeds and getting serious about planting the remainders. In the past year the most success I've had with any brand or supplier or seeds was a single pack of Organic Heirloom Italian Genovese Basil from Botanical Interests. The plants were huge and super productive. I don't have the income to order more seeds from Botanical Interests yet, but when I do you can be sure I'll be switching over to their seeds 100%.
Grow only the foods my family loves. I'm a sucker for a seed catalog. I can spend countless hours reading every.single.description from cover to cover, sharpie marker in hand, circling away frantically at all of the things I "must have" for the upcoming season. I don't actually place orders for them and always feel boring with my green beans, squash, tomato and pepper plants when I could have had things like Calypso beans, Purple and Green Artichoke or Tonda di Parigi Carrots to grow. *sigh* My family eats green beans, tomatoes, squash and peppers. I do try to add at least one new variety each year, which is how we found Mibuna Mustard Greens. Delish! I have also tried growing several varieties of radishes, and no one in my family eats them!
Succession plant. I can't stress this one enough. I get all gung-ho about gardening, don't see results as quickly as I'd like, then I get discouraged and give up. I need to stay on top of succession planting this season.
Plan the garden layout. It seems I never have enough space in the garden. I'm probably trying to grow too many things to have a decent harvest of any single crop. What started out as one main garden bed has grown into planting edibles in all of my border beds and in the front yard. If I start with a better planned layout maybe everything will benefit.
After losing my job 3 years ago I finally have the time to garden, but I don't have the income for it. I know there are lots of ways to garden on the cheap, but here in Central Florida we need LOTS of amendments, more than a person can seemingly add successfully. By the time I amend and get the seeds in the ground all of my organic matter is gone.
My toddler is almost 3 now and it's nearly impossible to find the time to get out there alone to garden. I love that she wants to do it with me, but she generally just goes behind me digging up the seeds I planted or washing them away (she calls it "watering the seeds"). I know she will grow up too fast and she won't be doing this forever, but when you're trying to be self-sufficient it is really hard to sit back and watch it happen. I have built her a bed of her own, but she likes to dig in the main bed more.
What struggles do you face in the garden? Do you ever get discouraged?
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