I would love to start my own organic garden, but don't even know where to start.
As of now I have 2 pear trees, 2 plum trees, 2 apple trees, one hybridized citrus tree (grapefruit, oranges, lemons, and tangerines all fruiting on the same tree) one pink lemon tree, a blueberry bush and a pepper bush (im not sure what type of pepper it is, but it's a spicy one like habanero.)The trees are only 2-3 years old and none have fruited yet except the hybridized citrus tree, and it only bares 1-2 lemons every winter. The pear trees are in need of some extra help, the Florida sun seems to be sucking them dry. I'd love to fertilize them, but there is't a source of fertilizer at my house, and we cannot afford to buy any. I have a huge yard of about 3 acres so there is plenty of room to establish a garden. I live in St. Augustine Florida, and the soil here is fairly dry on top, plus we dont really have grass, we have what is called St. Augustine grass, which is like a grass weed. We experience flooding everytime it rains, yet theEven though the top soil is like dirt sand, I am surrounded by a large forrest and there are lots of little critters who would love to dine on my veggies, if I hapened to grow them. My questions are :

What would be a good source of fertilizer for my trees, and how often should I fertilize?

If the top soil is dry and most all of my yard experiences full sun, would growing a garden still be possible?

What can I use to keep animals out, and what natural/ organic pesticides I can use?

Can watermelons be grown in north Florida?

How should I start out all my veggies and herbs? In pots?

What do you all have in your gardens?

Any advice from anyone would be helpful! Thankyou

fuzzy you can make your own fertilizer from your fruit an veggie scraps ... compost is great for plants ! you can add some worms to it to make a worm compost which can be really rich .. some call it black gold !

What would be a good source of fertilizer for my trees, and how often should I fertilize?

***Compost or find a source of clean manures (from organic animals not fed garbage/meds etc.)

If the top soil is dry and most all of my yard experiences full sun, would growing a garden still be possible?

***you can build up/change poor soil by adding compost and you can do/grow things to create shade on say your lettuces that dont like full sun .. plant things into the shade of bigger plants .. like squashes with huge leaves .. or plant a few rows of sunflowers so they make a wall .. you can also buy cheap hardware cloth to make a shade tent ..

What can I use to keep animals out, and what natural/ organic pesticides I can use?

***a small tight fence would be best .. but some people have good luck with their own urine keeping rabbits adn dear away

Can watermelons be grown in north Florida?
*** absolutely ! just check out the requirements for you area ..most seed companies sell seed that works in certain zones

How should I start out all my veggies and herbs? In pots?
*** it varies .. some start out better in pots and some better strait in the ground


What do you all have in your gardens?
*** if you have the acreage i would strongly suggest a dozen asparagus plants ..not only are they delicious .. but you can save the seeds , start plants for others and sell the started plants for a good price .. up here in canada a single asparagus plant costs around 5$ last year i got around 1000 seeds off my 6 plants .. it takes a year or 2 for an asparagus to really establish a strong little plant but hey you do the math

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/22/2007 07:59PM by Jgunn.

im in bc thought not florida (talk to david z mason hes a florida gardener! )but in my garden this year i had:

lettuces (about 8 different kinds lol)
cauliflower .. (it didnt do well this go around i think it was too wet)
carrots
CORN ! hehe
Peppers
asparagus !
radishes
beans
brocolli (again it didnt do well i think was the weather)
purpel cabbages mmmmmmmm
celery
melons (water, honeydew, an cantallupe
potatoes for the hubby hehe
had a bumper crop of SPINNNNACH !
cherry tomatoes and roma tomatoes
and beets

and i have tons of herbs growing all over the place indoors/outdoors in pots etc

and sprouts indoors

i glean from farms in the area an gotta a poopload of cucumbers this year .. sometimes i get blueberries soemtimes i get tomatoes .. depends on what i can find heheh

i have some grape vines going and just got a few this year but i have green grapes and these big black ones

i have wild blackberries and wild nettle , wild rosehips, growing all over the place which i pick

i covertly stealth pick apples, pears and plumbs from my neighborhood that arent getting picked , here is a good thread on our Guerrilla Wellfare project [www.rawfoodsupport.com]

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/22/2007 08:11PM by Jgunn.

I'm in north florida too, but I do not have a green thumb, everything i try growing, dies. Great questions, I wanted to know too.

that's great jodi, i recently read a book on the family that moved to a farm and ate their own or local food. she really waxed poetic on asparagus, how it's only good when real fresh picked, just like corn. maybe you were the one who recommended the book. animal vegetable miracle by b kingsolver.

good luck fuzzy. i need to get a garden going too.

Jodi's response is spot on. There are many great things that can be grown in Florida. The key is to find the right balance of sunlight. Regular deep watering is FAR more important then fertilizer.....which should be used very sparingly (in my opinion) if at all. A good compost...with a little new stuff added periodically....should do the mix fine.

-Fruit trees and melons, of course, need plenty of sunshine to do their trick. I've grown quite a few different items. You should have quite a bit of luck with many of the things you wish to try. I will certainly answer any questions with my own experiences...if it is helpful!

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

fuzzy heres a seed source of seeds for your area [www.floridaseed.org] untillyou get a green thumb or a knack for what you can grow best they are probably a good source of cheap seeds .. once you get in the groove of gardening you can look into some wonderful (yet soemtimes fussy) heirloom type varieties of seeds and check that the seeds are uncoated with anything funky like herbicides an stuff ..

thankyou so much everyone!! your posts have been very informative! I feel confident now about doing this.
thankyou :],
olivia