Probably the greatest gardening obstacle that I face here in South Florida is the soil itself. My yard is composed mostly of sand with few nutrients for the plants.
The goal is to change that organically and thus give the plants a healthy place to prosper. The best answer that I can find is to make compost and add it to the areas that are to be planted. Hopefully over time this will enrich the soil and thus empower the plants.
My plan is to feed the soil and not the plants. A long term strategy to be sure but an obtainable goal. Chemical fertilizer is out and compost is in.
Living in a city it is not that easy to find material to compost. I rely heavily on what few fallen leaves and hedge clipping that I can get from my yard to fill the compost bin. When the wet season starts up again I will have lots of grass clippings to add.
In the meantime I have to scrounge up whatever is available to fuel the compost bin.
The biomass that I have now is the Avocados that have fallen in my yard.
It is a fight over them because they are a favorite here.
The Squirrels and fruit Rats want them to eat as well as do the birds and dogs. I want them for my compost.
We all seem to manage to take our share. I was chopping the Avocados up to add to the bin today. 
Removing them from the lawn caused some hurt feelings with the dogs who regard them as their property.
They made sure that they got a few pieces for themselves before the bucket of chopped Avocados was dumped.
But sacrifices have to be made for the good of the order. The old coffee grounds and Avocado pieces were dumped in the bin .
I have been looking around for some free sources of compost and mulch around here. Some city's give it out free. Apparently Miramar is not one of those citys as far as I can find out.
I know that they grind the Metaleuca Trees into mulch here. It is supposed to be termite and nematode resistant. I think the city here uses it in the parks but do not share with the taxpaying residents.
In other news around the garden the plants seem to be perking up to the warmer temperatures.
Although a few are still confused as is this Christmas Cactus which is now blooming like crazy.
One of the free volunteers from the garden this Cuban Buttercup was blooming also this morning. They like the sunshine and will have blooms all summer long. I potted up a couple of them to take up to North Florida later this month.
They will become trading capital along with some Mandevilla cuttings for some other plants that I have had on my would like to aquire list.
The Cardinal Air Plant is still evolving its bloom also. It is a Florida native that is endangered here.
It is most happy just to sit in the tree and collect rainwater.
The bloom is slowly changing color and it looks really neat right now.
As for the 2010 Challenge more of the started seeds have been planted out to the garden.
Some of the smaller sprouts are still in the yogurt cups. They are getting some sun and wind exposure to toughen them up by being set temporarily into the 5 gallon containers.
The larger plants in the containers are the Cucumbers started last month from seed.
The gray bucket contains rainwater left to warm up in the sun for when the plants get thirsty.
---Sanddune---
Feeding the soil is a great way to look at it. I keep a couple of compost piles but this season I'm starting trench composting. That is where you dig a trench right in the bed or veggie garden and put whatever would go in the compost bin in there and cover with soil and wait for decomposition. As long as the animals leave it alone I think it could work for me. It seems easy to do and I'm lazy.
ReplyDeleteI have similar climate and soil and everything goes into the compost. One thing I did start was a couple of comfrey plants - they supposedly help to heat up the compost. I throw a few leaves into the compost every now and again. since they have very deep roots, they mine the nutrients other plants cant reach. One gardener in England on KGI uses the liquid from decayed comfery leaves on his allotment, and he grows the most wonderful vegetables.
ReplyDeleteNanaK,
ReplyDeleteFrom stories told to me by my Mom her father during the depression used to compost the same way. He would dig a hole in his garden, fill it with kitchen scraps and leaves then cover it over. Dig a new hole next to the first and start again. His garden was always producing food for the family so it must have worked well.
Gillian,
I put comfery on the research list. Thanks for the tip !
Sanddune,
ReplyDeleteYou are doing the right thing to work with the soil first and foremost. It is key to correcting our nutrient deficiencies here in Florida. If you find anyone who has some Oak trees and is willing to give you their bagged leaves that will speed up the process, too. Composting is just a so great for so many reasons. I can't believe I only started doing it a few years ago.
Love that air plant... so pretty.
Meems
Great post, Sanddune! I find that the best soil in my yard is the area that I tend the least which is full of fallen leaves. It creates it's own nutrient rich soil!
ReplyDeleteMy mother has mulched her flowerbeds with oak leaves for the past 20 years and her once sandy soil is a beautiful healthy loam. The transformation is amazing. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteMeems,
ReplyDeleteComposting seems to be one important key. It goes in all my containers now and the plants seem to stay healthier looking... I will look for a source of Oak leaves around here. Thanks for the Tip..
And yes, the airplant is one of my favorite South Florida natives here.
Kimberly,
The only tree that I have left after the 2006 hurricanes is one large Avocado tree. It's leaves do go in the compost bin as biomass. But it makes perfect sense that nature would replentish itself from the fallen leaves breaking down.
Susan,
Wow, Oak leaves seem to be a proven favorite. I have to start looking for a source around here.
Thanks!
Great blog. I found you by searching for zone 10 garden blogs...I'm trying to figure out what other gardeners down here are growing this summer. My summer gardens always burn up. I have a garden blog about my zone 9b Stuart garden. I wasn't going to post a comment...but then I saw your Yorkie...so cute. I have a Yorkie. Take care and nice to see you keep things orgnic.
ReplyDeleteHi Idybug,
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment. What is the name of your Stuart blog? I agree Yorkies are the best.