damethod's Profile

Although I will try, I probably won't update this section as often as my blog, posts, or photos...so, I'll keep it pretty general. 

I'm 28 yrs old(2008) and live with my girlfriend of 2 yrs in sunny Miami, FL.  I've been exposed to gardening since I was a child..but only got my hands dirty while planting the Carrie Mango tree in 2000.  5 yrs ago I planted some tomatoes and peppers and was having great success...but, I planted them in a very bad location and the summer rain killed everything before I could pick any fruit or vegetables. I began gardening again last year and have been having great success for the most part. I am learning more and more everyday thanks to sites like this, nurseries, and written material.

Here's how I made my garden section for tomatoes, vegetables, herbs, and berries

My job was made easy by the previous owners. You see, for some reason, some type of plastic orange net was left on the ground on my property along the fence line in the pic. Over the years the grass just grew over and through it. I had measured out a space of 30ft..but, the net was so long that I passed my 30ft mark in trying to find the end of it. In ripping it out..it cleared out all grass and roots. The net was about 3 ft wide and I don't know how long..I cut it using a cutting tool that I use for cutting steel mesh. There is actually still more netting from that point to the rear of my property! You can see it in the first pic in my "border" album(bottom left...if you look closely, you'll see orange in the grass) I do plan on extending it in the near future by ripping out the rest of it.

So, once I ripped out the netting with all that grass..I put it  all in contracter strength garbage bags and disposed of it. I then went in with a pick and shovel to remove any roots and rocks that were left. There were ALOT of rocks. I then purchased the wooden border at Home Depot. I had to buy 6 of them if I remember right. I cut one of them in half to make the side borders.

 I then poured in about 8 large bags of miracle-gro gardening soil and mixed in about 6 bags of native soil with some compost. Next step was planting the plants..and then mulching it all.

Now, it's all about maintenance..

 

Garden up-keep
I finally finished installing the soaker hose in my garden bed. I had to trim several canes from my raspberry and blackberry plants.. hopefully it will  be worth it in the long run. Also.. dug out all mulch, applied potassium supplement, tilled d...

Starting another garden bed
I was watching yesterday's soccer match here at my home with some friends. When I went to greet one of them at the door..I spotted a pigeon and a baby pigeon sitting on a rock, in a shaded area by the entrance of my house. I took some pictures of the...

Garlic
I planted some garlic cloves today. I've been told that you should wait until fall, but decided to try it anyways. I worked some composted cow manure into the soil before planting them. Pics are on the forum under the vegetables section. I also fe...

Posted more pics
I posted some more pics today. An updated Musa photo, my jalapeno plant, and pics of my tomato, vegetable, herb, and berry section of my garden..

Finally! Hass Avocado!
I finally received my Hass Avocado tree yesterday. It does look very healthy and arrived with no bumps or bruises. However, I am a bit dissappointed with the size of the tree. Although it is grafted, it is very small for the price I paid. Besides, th...