I was recently thinking that we have been posting mostly about our little one on the way, and thought that it wasn't a representative cross-section of our lives right now. Although sometimes it seems that we are consumed with getting ready for the baby, we are still keeping up other hobbies and other things we enjoy.
It seems that a lot of our hobbies relate to nature and tending to things that grow. To the right is a picture of the second flower of the season off of our bird of paradise. We had this plant in the natural soil in the ground for almost two years without a single flower. About four months ago I grew impatient and finally dug up the plant and potted it in some real soil. For those non-Floridians, Florida soil is about 1" of top soil (at best) and the rest is sand or sandy loam. Not very good conditions for anything except palm trees. Good soil yields good flowers. :-)
For those that haven't been to the house, above is the top portion of our pond system. Since Koi are basically pigs with fins, you can't keep any plants out in the open with them or they will eat them. But it's important for the water quality, oxygen levels and the over all micro-ecosystem that you heavily involve plants. Our solution was to have two separate sections, one with plants (the upper section) and one with the Koi (the lower section). So our water is pumped into a small waterfall at the back of the upper section and cascades into the the lower Koi section.
Shown above is our little aquatic swine. Their feeding rates are determined by the temperature, so in the summer in Florida they can eat 5 times a day! This section was a bear to building because I built it with straight walls. Long story short I built a heavy duty wood frame and had to lug it into the hole before lining it. Pain to do, glad I did it, ecstatic I don't have to do it again.
Gardens of all sorts
About a month ago we decided to start an herb and vegetable garden. I was planning on a building a window box type garden and fasten it to the fence post for the herbs. We have had great luck growing tomato plants upside down in the past, and Laura had the great idea to grow herbs on top and tomatoes on the bottom. I altered the design and it has been working terrifically.The cilantro has been slow to start but the basil is out of control (top left). We have been trimming it regularly but it just keeps pushing through.
The tomatoes are growing out of the bottom, both already have flowers and one even already has a tiny green tomato on it!
We started a traditional vegetable garden in the corner of our yard. Right now we have two types of squash and peas growing. The cucumber seeds never made it out of the germination stage. Oh well, we'll have plenty of squash.
The last is just a recent pet peeve. I recently just restarted my love affair with avocados. In the last month or so, I have been eating at least one a day. I feel so wasteful when I throw out that big, wonderful seed. So as you can see, I am going to grow them into trees. Not sure what I am going to do with them all, but at least they don't end up in the trash or compost. Seems so silly to just toss them! If you have done this before and have tips please post in the comments section.
That being said, if it works and you are reading this, you should probably start looking for a spot where you can plant your 10 avocado trees I am going to give you.
Thats all I have for now. We did finally finish the nursery to 100%, so look for a post about that in a couple days.
As always thanks for reading and all your support!
Go well and be well,
Nathan (and Laura)
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