OUR BLIZZARD DAY - NOT!

by Robin

I am so sorry that so many of you are snowed under a few feet of snow.  I'm really not  bragging but Florida couldn't be having a nicer winter - E-V-E-R!!!!!  in my 10 yrs of being in Central FL. 
Jack worked on the car & the boat today while I had a full day of work in the gardens.  I got a tan working outside today.

First thing I had to do was pick what was ripe or done growing!



Then, it was already lunch time.  Yeah...that's how I roll on weekends.  I don't rise at the crack of dawn, either.  LOL. 



Next, it was time to clear out all the cauliflower plants.  I left just a couple that were to the side but everything else went.  I'm going to freeze back my excess.  Then, I heavily pruned my 'suckers' on the cherry tomato WALL (that's what I'm going to start calling it).  After that, I sprayed it down with Neem Oil to kill off the spider mites that were taking over the first few tomatoes on the right side of the garden.  You have to stay on top of them or they will take over & kill your entire crop. 




Then, I was able to pull back my irrigation lines & till the mid-section. My eldest, Simon Peter, helped me throw in a couple rows of chicken wire to make for a trellis.  Then, he quickly disappeared leaving me to transplant all my campari & ugly ripe babies.  (Isn't that just like kids??) 


In the 2nd garden, it was time to transplant what I wanted to keep.  I moved some cabbage into that front row so that I could make for a full empty row.  I had sweet bell pepper seedlings that are growing right now for that area.  I put my epsom salt mixture on the jalapenos to help fertilize them for the upcoming growing season.  You can see they are a little yellow. I had 6 survivors that I hope will make it as the spring heats up. 




I did not pull out the broccoli, although I seriously contemplated it.  I will order my seed for that area before I pull them.  I am going to try to make the best of utilizing the stalks & leaves for meals until all that gets switched over to spring crops.  Tiki is on stand-by for any lizard or snake killing duty.

Sometimes I get a little too ambitious and my hobby turns into full-time work.  There are so many things to plant and so little space.  Jack and I had considered adding another couple hundered square feet again but it overwhelmed both of us just thinking about what needed to be done.  Instead, we are going to do our best to focus on enclosing the tomato garden with shade netting & possibly some butterfly/moth and squirrel defense. 

Now, I need to spend some serious time in prayer.  We desperately need rain.  Drip irrigation is a wonderful thing, but nothing can replace what the good Lord gives us.  As I worked the soil, I could see that it was in serious need of any moisture. 

Take care & Happy Gardening.
Robin

WE'RE GROWING!!

by Robin

No, I'm not pregnant!!  LOL. 

We're expanding.  We bought the lot next door on January 18th!!  Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Happy Anniversary to us!!!  We have official double our land size and are so excited about it.  Our goals are to leave it very "Florida Natural" but Jack has definitely claimed a small section to put in a boat barn under all those beautiful oaks & fruit trees.  How can I complain?  He works so hard and it's a big blessing to have the extra space to expand out with water toys. 

So, that's one thing we've been busy doing.  Secondly, we've been extremely busy with cars breaking down.  Poor Jack has been fixing one after another.  In the midst of all this, we were fortunate to change out tires on our suburban, which hauls the boat.  I will be much happier as I pull the boat out of the water at the ramps.  The new ones have a much better grip.



Third, we've spent a lot of the cold & windy days in the backyard.  My garden is growing very well.  I was able to make fresh spaghetti sauce with those romas this week.  I have many seedlings ready to go for spring.  We're still trying to finish eating all the broccoli and cauliflower. 



When Jack is done repairing vehicles, he comes out here and we build a fire.  He also gets the smoker going and will smoke several different meats to keep us fed for the next few days.  It makes my life much easier when Mondays & Tuesdays are spent running the kids back-n-forth.  We are spending a lot of time with my eldest dual-enrolling in college.  He is doing very well there.



And last, but certainly not least, my youngest was able to soften our hearts into getting him a bunny on Feb 3rd.  Lulu is the most adorable bunny ever!  I do think it was a God-thing because we saw her Saturday and I didn't think it was possible.  Saturday night, we looked on Craig's list and there was the entire bunny set-up for sale for $20.  We couldn't get in the car fast enough!  Sunday, she was still at the pet store and so she came home with us.

And this guy, is the happiest boy ever!


Now, my job is to make sure everyone begs seeing each other as one pack and not prey.  So far, it is all going very well. My dogs have killed numerous snakes & possum, but they seem to be accepting Lulu as family.  My larger chihuahua, Captain, even was cleaning her ears two nights ago. 




I will do my best to make sure I get on here more often.  I miss getting to share our life with family & friends.