Things are coming along...

As usual, I began my evening of gardening by weeding.  This time I wore jeans, which was a good idea :)  My tomato, pepper, eggplant, and bean plants looked a little taller and bulkier.  Some of my zinnia plants had come above ground...just leaves right now, though.  Also a few of my zucchini and squash plants were growing. 

 Our sugar snap pea seeds were in, so I planted 2 long rows of 36 seeds (across 3 feet of soil).  Next I planted more seeds in the places where seeds had not germinated yet...hoping these will germinate!  Some of my squash, zuchinni, okra, and marigold plants had failed to germinate, so I'm hoping next week the new seeds I planted will be growing!

I dug trenches around the visible plants and placed fertilizer in them (then recovered with soil).
I also sprayed Thuricide on all my plants, to prevent caterpillars from munching away the leaves.

In class we discussed climate and how it relates to plant growth.
Climate refers to precipitation, temperature, humidity, light, and wind.
In Florida our rainy season is from May-November.
 While some rain can be beneficial, rain in excess can cause problems (favors disease, reduces quality and yield, wastes fertilizer, etc...).
In Northern states sleet and snow can pose threats to a garden...something we don't have to worry about here in Florida! Though, snow can be a good insulator.  
 In Florida it is too hot to have a good garden in the summer.  Whereas in Wisconsin, a summer garden is great.   Doing a fall garden in Florida works well since our first frost isn't until November 5th.
As we all know, humidity is pretty characteristic to Florida's environment. Humidity reduces water loss in plants.   In an area like New Mexico or Colorado, the air is really dry and therefore the plant loses water which can cause wilting. 

          There are measures we can take in order to protect our crops from extreme weather:
            -Cover the crops (frost protection)
                 -soil and cloth
           -Huge fans (frost protection)
           -Irrigation (frost protection)
                -sprinkler, surface, seepage, and drip
          -Shade cloth (heat protection)
          -Don't grow in a hot season! (heat protection)

 

 It was fun getting to see my garden for the first time since planting the seeds/transplants!
Thankfully the transplants were still alive...and some of the seeds had germinated and started growing! The squash, beans, and sunflowers were now little plants with leaves. 

All of the transplants seemed pretty healthy and a little bit bigger.  I weeded for most of the time, then planted more sunflower seeds, and finished by spraying the plants with Bt insecticide (organic).  Bt insecticide will work in killing caterpillars that attempt to eat my plants. 

One of the TA's noticed that there was leaf miner larvae on my eggplant leaves.  You can tell (see pic below) where they "mined" the nutrients in the leaf.

 

During class we learned about crop improvement and genetics.  It was interesting to learn that 97% of farms are currently owned by families.  Also, the modern farm is 470 acres, on average.  

We also discussed natural selection (environmental pressure) versus artificial selection (plant breeding).  When breeding plants, the following are traits of interest:  yield, resistance to pests, forage quality, tolerance to mineral and environmental stress, adaptability, flavor, and photo-period response. 

We finished by talking about GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms).  Since, 1980s, GMOs have been used quite extensively.  98% of corn and over 80% of soy beans are GMOs.   They haven't found GMOs to have ever caused a negative health effect, but I wonder if it is to premature in the use to be able to detect?!   

Can't wait to see what my garden looks like next week! 

Monday (9/10/12) was planting day!  

Thankful that my seeds are in the ground and the transplants are planted!  It was quite a busy evening trying to get everything planted.  

 

I used transplants for:

-Juliette tomatoes and New Girl tomatoes

-Orange Gourmet bell pepper and Red Knight bell pepper

-Orient Express eggplant

 

  It was kind of nice seeing some green amidst all of the dirt...and thankfully the "green" was not weeds, since we weeded before planting.  

 

I used seeds for:

-Provider Bush bean

- Deep Purple carrot and Nelson carrot

- Caribe cilantro

-General Lee cucumber

-Gem Series marigold and State Fair Mix Zinnia

-Sunburst Yellow squash and Plato zucchini

 

 * We will be planting the Gonzales cabbage, Sugar Snap pea, and Red Ace beets another day.  

 

With both transplants and seeds there are pros and cons:

  Some pros to transplanting is that you can get a jump on the season (and harvest earlier) and you can utilize grafted plants.  Unfortunately, they are much more expensive than seeds, though.  Seeds can store for awhile, while transplants need to be tended to.  While seeds are certified disease free, transplants also have an advantage in that there is a reduced chance of seedling decay. 

 

I fertilized all of the transplants and seeds by making a little trough for the fertilizer than covering it up.  It will be neat to come in the weeks ahead and see what has started growing! 

Garden Plot Plan

      Above is my garden plot plan...4 rows of 15 1ftx1ft sections.