West Central Florida – Finally…! Year 9 brings a half-way decent crop of veggies in the North Garden. With the weather becoming more and more extreme, it has been a challenge to grow anything! Summer starts in January now instead of April and runs through October. Winter takes over in November and gives way to heat and humidity at the end of December. Seeds won’t germinate above 70F, and plants won’t grow with temps in the 90s. If the parsnips don’t die from the heat, they will surely freeze to death!

This year we were sneaky…waiting til it got cooler to plant, we covered the seedlings with nice warm manure hay to protect from frost. Gotta love that rabbit manure! Best fertilizer going! We have broccoli, kale, onions, cabbage, collards, tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, ground apples, green Malibar spinach, parsley, chives, Seminole pumpkins…well, see for yourself!

A chicken tractor for weeding…the Bresse Rooster does a great job. The Sheep are in the North Orchard. Sheep are grazers, unlike goats who are foragers. So the sheep eat the weeds and leave the fruit trees alone, theoretically.

We had a decent crop of loquats this year, froze them for wine-making. And the peaches are excellent. We are currently sharing them with a squirrel. So far we’ve picked more than he’s been able to carry away. Year 9, everybody’s happy!

Happy Homesteading,

T.