


Last week we were able to get our citrus trees planted. I can’t wait to see the area in a couple of years when the trees have filled out. We planted a Myer lemon, a Satsuma orange and a CaraCara orange (at least that’s what the man on the side of the road said it was). We still want to graft a grapefruit tree this year. The lemon tree that came with the house if full of blooms – you can stand at the back door and if the wind is blowing right smell the blooms. The bees have been all over it.

The blueberries are blooming. Blueberries are so funny because they loose their leaves in the winter and then bloom in the early spring and then regrow their leaves.


The cabbage, kale, lettuce and broccoli I planted in January is doing great. They are really responding to this warm winter. I hope it doesn’t get hot too soon so we can enjoy these greens for a while.


We planted about 100 red onions and about 300 yellow onions a few weeks ago. They are also doing great. We also plant about 80 garlic cloves the other evening. Some neighborhood children were over and decided to help us.

We planted 5 pounds each of red , yukon gold and russett potatoes. We have so much tilling to do that I decided not to till the potato bed. Potatoes don’t need particularly good soil to grow. So, we laid a thick layer of leaves down and then put some mushroom compost on it. Then we cut the potatoes and laid them on the leaves and covered them with straw. Once they start growing we’ll keep adding more straw and leaves and grow them up instead of down. I’ve heard of people growing them in trash cans and in straw – we’ll see if it works for us.

The seedlings are doing pretty good. None of the peppers have come up but most of the tomatoes and squash have come up. I’ll probably buy a few transplants also. Now we just need to get some more areas tilled up.
Do you garden? If so, tell us how your garden plans are going?
This post is linked to The Barn Hop and Tuesday Garden Party.
Your garden looks great. I so need to begin ours, or at least get some seeds started indoors.
Wow! It seems so hard to believe it’s planting time already. It all looks great. Let me know how the potatoes work. I look forward to a garden next year and potatoes are one thing I would like for sure. I would love to hear about your grafting. It sounds interesting.
Patty: Thanks, it’s been so warm here that I feel behind already. It’s crazy.
Rachel: We’ve never grafted anything before but I have a friend who has and I have another friend with the most flavorful grapefruit I have ever tasted. So we’re gonna try.
You’ve planted a lot already! I was just thinking I had better get going on some onions. Lucky you to be able to grow citrus!
Wow! You’ve done so much already! We are planning to plant some potatoes and onions this year, but need another bed for them.
Your garden looks beautiful! You must live in a warm climate if you can grow citrus outdoors–what a treat! I have wintered-over salad beds growing under plastic outdoors right now, and need to get out in the near future and get some early salad greens planted outdoors, but still under plastic to protect from cold nights.
This is one of the reasons I love the TGP- getting to see what you all in the south have been up to! Your onions look wonderful! I always have such a hard time with tender seedlings, I’ve resorted to sets for the past few years.
And I’ve always had fair luck using straw for potatoes – though I use it now to hill them up after losing a lot one year to slugs. Hope it goes well for you!
I swear I could almost smell the blossoms as I looked at your photos… 🙂
Wow! You grow a lot! Very impressive. My kids live in South Carolina, but they don’t garden!
What a large a productive looking garden – you must be pretty darned self-sufficient (veggies and such). Great to let kids help too – turns them into future gardeners.
Your citrus trees and vegetables are looking great! I can’t wait to join everyone once the weather here in the Northeast gets a little better. We have a few things peeking out of the soil, but not much. Thank you for sharing.
I really enjoyed this post I’m in zone 8b (nw FL) and most garden blogs are still in a freeze zone,nice to see what others are planting.
Thanks! BTW, I love the picture on your blog header…is that your home? I grew up on the beach and at times miss it so very, very much.