What my winter/spring plans are...

Hey guys. I know I kinda dropped off the face of the forum, but when it was suggested I should take time to look after myself, I took it to heart in a serious way. Can't promise I'll be around here much, but my family is planning to start the ol' seeds soon so I thought I'd drop by to say hullo to my gardening pals. I've missed y'all, but computers & I haven't gotten along much for months now. It's getting a little better, so count on seeing me around at least a little.

Some stuff can be grown year-round in our region with no special protection (yeah!) and that's what I'm gonna concentrate on first. I'll be starting outdoors with rabbit food (carrots & greens), then moving on to the broccoli & cauliflower. Then I'll be getting my tomatoes & peppers started indoors to get a head-start on the first growing season for those. I learned a lot from my 1st year garden; the biggest lesson I learned is to plan on spring & fall growing instead of summer growing.

Drop me a line here so I can see who all is still around and who's been added to our regional family.

Hey Michelle, nice to see you!

Hi! I'm near you, down in ole Alachua. I'm new to all this. Enjoyed reading and seeing the pics of your garden last year. Looking forward to seeing what you do this year, and any tips you have for this southern neighbor!

Good to hear from you! I was scarce around here for a while as well, taking care of myself - I know how that goes! Look forward to hearing more about this season's garden.

GG

Hi Michelle
Great to see you back, I also took a hiatus for awhile (I got so darned busy with the fall harvest )
So back at another years gardening and planning.
What tomatoes are you growing? Inquiring minds want to know
Janet

Hey guys, glad to see some old friends and new neighbors! I won't be around daily most of the time, like I was for a while last year...Maybe I can shoot for weekly during the growing season? Anyway, there's been a delay in my seed-starting efforts thanks to dragging feet on my other half's part. I really want to get started!

I'll make up a list of what I'm growing this year, let you all know when I start things, put up a map of my plots, post photos, etc, in my (hopefully) weekly posts, and be sure to answer questions as I can. I hope you all will share similar info, so we can all compare notes on varieties that do well in our regional situations...especially the heat.

I'm curious, is anyone else having an unbelievably difficult time with fleas? Our yard is so infested that nothing we do seems to get rid of them, and since we haven't had a good cold snap in nearly two years, the problem only gets worse. We notice it more having a furbaby to care for, but I know they weren't this bad before this year because my friends in town here are all having problems. I've been looking for all the organic alternative methods I can find to treat the yard, the house AND the dog. For the dog the only method that's come close to working is frequent bathing in a mixture of Dawn dish soap and vinegar...but his skin is now so dry we've had to resort in a non-organic solution; Frontline.

@ rainbowweaver: Alachua may be in a different growing zone...I'm 8b; I think you're in a slightly warmer climate? It won't make much difference in summer, but you might be able to grow more things than I in winter. I strongly suggest you look at the U of FL extension service information if you have questions. I believe that's still linked in the regional information at the top of our region page.

@ GWN: I'm trying Amish Paste tomatoes this year. I wanted an all-purpose tomato, and this is what the organic gardening store in Gainesville suggested. Fortunately I have a better idea of what growth habit indeterminate tomatoes have this year!

It appears that my info to the left says I am still host, but don't let that fool you. When my health took a nosedive last year Rooster & I agreed it was best if I not continue in that position.

As to flea infestation:

My last two vets have recommended a product called Revolution (TM) that they believe is far safer for pets than the competition. It also takes care of critters other than fleas, such as ticks.

I've had a great experience with Terminix over the last few years, a pest control company that uses fairly safe chemicals. In fact, when they sprayed the house, the cats and I never had to stay outside for more than 45 minutes, and I didn't have to move everything out of the cabinets. The technician seldom wore a mask. They will spray indoors and/or outdoors, depending upon the need.

For fleas the best I have found is Advantage. I have never used Revolution (have heard of lots of good results with it) but Advantage works far better than Frontline. I find that after I get the population knocked down I only need to use it once or twice a year. The 1st year I think we did 3 mos in a row. I have really big dogs - both well over 100 lbs - it is expensive(& not organic) but so worth it.