My Garden Update for April

ByTammy

Its been a couple of months since I first started my spring planting in our small garden we made out of a bare area close to the house, so I thought I would give you an update on how its going so far.

Since I live in an HOA governed community, we aren’t allowed to have the “conventional” garden in the back yard.  We are only allowed to come a few feet from the side of the house and not visible from the street.

Since there is only 2 of us in our home, a small garden would be perfect and oh what a gardener can do with small spaces.

My Garden Update for April

The top 2 pictures shows my garden area from each end.  And with everything I have planted, I still have more space to use.  I also have a small variety of watermelon and squash planted.  I noticed some white swirly areas on my squash (bottom right picture) but it doesn’t seem to be a bug or pest or bothering the plant. I will keep an eye on it.  The watermelon will run down the side of the home and I hope to get a couple of watermelon off the vine.

My Garden Update for April

I have 2 bush variety of tomatoes in smaller cages.  Here is Florida, it can be difficult to grow tomatoes and the heat will crack them easily.  Right now, Beef Master tomatoes are coming up from south Florida and I get them at our local Farmers Market for about $1.50 for 4.  The bush variety I am growing will have smaller fruit compared to Beef Master and I am waiting to see how big the bush gets compared to the vine variety.  The bush variety of green beans are starting to flower.  I have another crop of lettuce growing in my container garden on the North side of the house in the shade and my spinach will harvest a couple more times before it bolts to collect seed.

My Garden Update for April

I have 3 green pepper plants which the snails had a feast off the leaves and I had to use some snail bait to keep them off.  Took me awhile, but the peppers are starting to show fruit and the newer leaves aren’t all chewed up.  My neighbor gave me 6 more plants, so I still have to plant them in the next few days.  My blueberries are looking great.  I have the later variety and 3 different bushes now.  I love these plants.  After they produce, cut off about 1/2 the plant (I know.  I thought I was going to kill it the first time I did that).  Drastic cutting on blueberry plants will make them bloom and produce much more.   I do have my blueberries where you can see them from the street, but they look like bushes and not an eye sore.  I put one cucumber plant on a heavy duty tomato cage and I hope to be able to train it to go up and over it to save on space.   Blooms are starting to show and I can’t wait for these to harvest.

My Garden Update for April

My strawberries are blooming and are planted in a pot. Strawberries are kind of high maintenance in Florida because after the fruit is harvested the main plant starts to die off.  You save the baby plants that come from the main plant and replant those for the next year.  I thought I would try and see what happens.  The heritage blackberry plant I received from a friend last year is growing well in its pot with blooms and berries galore.  I will be planting it in the ground next year where my container garden is and I can just walk out the back door and grab a few when ever I want to.  Yummy!!!

My Garden Update for April

I also have a few egg carton seed starters planted sitting on my back porch with zinnias, blanket flowers, lavender, dwarf cosmos and marigolds for my butterfly garden when they are large enough to plant.  Not having really good luck with my seeds this year as I have in the past.  Its been rather cool here for winter in Central Florida and I wasn’t able to put them outside as soon as I have in the past.

So far I am really impressed with how well my garden is doing and as the summer heat and pest start coming in soon, that will be the biggest test.

How is your garden going and what do you have planted?

Get your hands dirty,

Tammy

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17 Comments

    1. Be sure to click on the link in this post about container gardening. I have a few on my porch because I just don’t have the room. I’ve grown blueberries in a pot, lettuce, spinach, tomatoes. There are so many varieties out there for containers. My next venture is corn. The seeds just came out and I can’t wait to try it in a container.

  3. Your garden is coming along really well. I only planted 4 tomato plants, but I am heading over to Home Depot to get egg plant, cuke, zucchini and bell pepper and that will be it for me. After all my roses and flowers doesn’t leave much time. Stop by and see my rose gardens.
    Have a great day and enjoy your garden.
    Mary

  4. The weather is finally breaking here. So, I got an opportunity to start planting in my garden bed yesterday. I planted potatoes in a bag a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully, they will do alright. I also did watermelon last year….

  5. WOW, you’re garden looks amazing! I can’t wait to get ours started in the next few weeks. Don’t you just love HOA rules :-/
    Pinning. Thanks for linking up Bloggers Brags Weekly Pinterest Party

  6. What a beautiful garden. We just started a raised garden and I’m not sure if we’ll have anything substantial this year, but hopefully by next year we’ll have a garden as nice as yours. BTW- if you’d like to co-host (perm/temp) for The Yuck Stops Here! you can head over to the host’s page to apply.

  7. I am so envious! Your garden looks fantastic!
    I am up in NH so we are just starting to get things going. Peas have been planted as well as lettuce and Swiss Chard. In my herb garden we do have chives ready to go though!

  8. My husband and I are moving to Florida later this summer, so I am excited to see gardens do well there! I really want to grown herbs for cooking.

    Thanks for sharing on Hump Day Happenings : )

  9. I have been getting an itch to garden lately. Hopefully my next house will have space to plant at least a little bit. I would love to grow strawberries. I had thought they only worked if you had a ton of plants. Do you just have one? Did it produce much fruit? Thanks for sharing this with Hump Day Happenings!

    1. I have mine in a pot and there are six of them. They aren’t very big. Because I live in Florida the main plant will, after producing, will die off and you replant the baby shoots for next years crop. Farther north climates you don’t have to do that. People grow strawberries in pots all the time. I don’t suggest the strawberry pots you buy because they are hard to water the whole thing equally.

  10. OH! HOW EXCITING!!! Your garden looks amazing and you must feel very proud! Someday I will do a garden when i settle down more and don’t have some much things to do! Its really my goal in life to have one.. I have a small herb garden inside in a pot! I love to cook and use the herbs alot! Take care Maria
    Thanks for stopping by!

    1. Thank you. Your herbs are a start. You can grow so much in pots today. There are variety’s out there just for pots. Good luck with your future garden and thanks for stopping by.

    1. Thanks. I am really excited to see how my watermelon is going to do growing down the side of the house. I have a friend down the street that grows hers down the side of her sidewalk that leads to her front door. She has the best garden.

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