The Amateur's Dilemma: Edibles and Idioms

My friend Jenn (pictured left on a joyride) recently wagged her virtual finger at me for failing to update more often. I can't help but agree. I've neglected this sweet little blog for far to long. Unfortunately, in my world this is par for the course. I have a nasty habit of starting projects with the best intentions and then not prioritizing them properly. For now, I will blame graduate school and a failed garden for my lack of updating. While I always wanted to document the successes and failures of apartment gardening, when the failures outpaced the successes it became to depressing to document.


However, that was last season and this is this season. Slowly but surely, I am getting my fall planting underway. Little bits at a time I've started some pole beans and peas, tomato plants, and squash. Just a note, gardening in Florida follows a different pattern than the rest of the country so my planting schedule may be unlike your own. Every thing (knock on wood) seems to be growing really well! I suppose the proof of the pudding is in the eating or the proof of the pole bean is in the eating (proof of the pole bean pictured left)? The point is, I will know how well I've done in just a month or two.

Squash and tomato seedlings

Blueberry Bush

I am really excited about my blueberries this season. Some varieties are Florida natives and they do well in our sandy soil. So, interested in the apartment applications of the blueberry, I've have started an experiment: I've planted one blueberry plant in the ground, and one in a container. One is in potting soil and the other is in the clay-like soil of my apartment complex. I treated both soils similarly with an organic sulphur mixture because blueberries like acidic soil. Both will be mulched shortly and fertilized similarly. I'll be keeping track of how both plants progress. For Florida gardeners, this really is a good resource (taken from the Gardening in Central Florida blog). There is also a nice guide to acidifying soil by the Oregon State University Extension Service. It explains what soil acidity and pH actually is. That concludes the first of regular updates to come!