my little spot of dirt - 01/15/2011

Flat of carrot seeds planted 1/16/11

Let’s get this garden started

The gardening books arrived and I dove right in. I couldn’t stop reading. Partially because I had to move past Chapter 1, which offered such encouraging phrases like - organic gardens typically produce low yields for the first two to three years. Big frown face, but I’m not easily deterred. Pressing on, I learned about soil amendments, compost, seed varieties, good bugs versus bad bugs - my head almost exploded. I told myself it is okay to feel totally overwhelmed as long as I keep taking small steps in the forward direction. It will all come together at some point. The next small step was to pick out my plot at Orchard Pond. I met Mary out at the site for a short tour and settled on a plot next to another one that had a small winter garden growing. Mary told me that my new garden neighbor had been gardening organically with them for many years. So much for being the greenest garden on the block….all I can hope for now are style points. The uptick to all this is that I’ve positioned myself perfectly to acquire gardening tips should we ever cross paths.

The gardening books recommend an equal part mixture of compost, garden soil and builder’s sand to germinate seeds. I got all this stuff at Home Depot and some seeds from Native Nurseries. I’m not sure if the timing is going to work out, but carrots and types of lettuce can be planted in late February / early March. So lettuce begin. I started two flats of seeds today - endive, escarole, Asian carrots & regular carrots. I hope they grow. My dad said seeds are like children – not all are winners. You try your best, but some just don’t grow up right. He was kidding of course, or maybe he was talking about my brother. J

The 5 W’s and 1 H

I’ll start this blog with the five W’s and one H: who, what, when, where, why and how.
My name is Katey Breland. For the past 6 years, I’ve called Tallahassee, Florida my home. My 2011 New Year’s Resolution is to discover a challenging hobby outside my realm of expertise and see what happens. I chose organic food gardening - although I’m not sure why. I can re-pot a daisy and mulch a flower bed with the best of them, but actually growing my own food…this is different. I’ve answered the five W’s and this blog will be about The How. How exactly does someone who has conveniently purchased produce at the local Publix for 30 years, start growing food?

The First Step: Oh god, what is the first step? Seriously, I have no idea. Do I read a manual? Go to a nursery? Take a class? I feel stuck already. I decided to take it to the internet – and here I found a decent start. I read some articles and ordered a few books. I’m anxious to get going.

Information on-line states that you need 6-hours of direct sunlight to grow fruits/vegetables. My yard receives about two, on a bright day. So where do I plant this food garden?  I found a listing on a great Tallahassee website (http://maninoveralls.blogspot.com/ ) for local community gardens. Community gardens are basically farms or open plots of land where individuals can pay a fee (typically around $20/month) and lease their own row or plot. Plot sizes vary at each garden, but usually hover around 1,500 square feet and include water for irrigation and one tillage per year. I visited Orchard Pond Organics and fell in love. It’s a beautiful piece of property located north of Tallahassee off Meridian Road.
I’m on my way.