Aside from the fact that the raccoons are helping themselves to all my tomatoes… red and green… I am still attempting to grow a garden. The raised bed is filling slowly with dirt and compost, and right now I have cucumbers, tomatoes, summer squash, bell peppers, and eggplant growing.
So far I am eating tomatoes and cukes. Still waiting for the peppers, squash and eggplant.
None of my vegetable plants were doing very well. They had plenty of sun and water. The problem was the soil. I have been buying bags of organic dirt, but I don’t think it had any type of compost in it. So I bought a few bags of compost, and that has helped. I had started my own compost in a pail on my porch and I added that to the raised bed. What I really need is a composter.
Now my older eggplant is flowering again. I have some green peppers and can see little cucumbers beginning to grow. But I need more dirt and compost.
The Rose bush is blooming, with small, but beautiful roses.
I must go outside and check them every day, because the flowers don’t last. Just the other day I got a pure white rose on this bush! But I waited too long and lost the opportunity to get a photo. Roses are difficult to grow and with the humidity here, I’m afraid of black spot – or whatever they get.
Down toward the back of my house the watermelon vine is getting longer, and baby watermelons are popping out along the stem.
Since I’ve amended the soil with compost, the peppers are doing better. The bells are not very large yet, but I’m afraid the raccoons will pick them before I get to.
It’s been so dry here in Florida for months. This tropical location is in need of rain. We’ve had very few rainy days, and there have been fires all over the place.
Because of this, I decided to add a cheap bird bath to the corner of my garden. Using a big plastic pot saucer, I added some broken bricks left over from the building of our patio, and filled it with water. It sits on the corner of the raised bed. Each day I spray it out and refill while I’m watering the garden.
I do get birds who drink and bathe in the thing. A female cardinal especially seems to like it, and a Cowbird (I think) had a nice long bath the other day. Of course my cats drink from it as well!
I know that if I was still living in New Hampshire, gardening would hopefully begin this Memorial Day weekend. Their garden veggies won’t be coming in for a couple more months.
Thank you for sharing!
Hydrangeas Blue 
You have a wonderful vegetable garden. Your baby watermelon looks terrific as do your bell peppers! When I created my veggie patch, I had 2 yards of mushroom compost hauled in and even now, 2 years later, I can tell the difference between this amended soil and the soil that was not amended. Of course your rose is gorgeous too. Is it fragrant as well?
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Yes, the rose smells nice. It’s a small bush so I must bend way over to smell it though… hahaha! Good soil makes a ton of difference. I wish I had the dirt from my northern yard to work with here. I jump for joy whenever I see a worm in this dirt.
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