Oh, the places you'll grow!: Beans on bean on beans

Okay, first official order of business: General garden update

Let me start by saying this-- It's official, guys. I am the master of beans, a beanius if you will. Everything else bot so much, but my beans are beautiful and I cannot wait to eat them (assuming they don't die, which is always a possibility that my mom likes to remind me of whenever she gets the chance). Garden plot upkeep was rough this week. In other words: Tons. Of. Weeding. I have definitely been avoiding clearing the walkway area for some time now, so that was not a fun or flattering experience (not flattering in the sense that, once I got into my car after a long day of gardening, I promptly covered any and all mirrors in my immediate surrounding). I re-planted my failed zucchini and planted kohlrabi (I still have no idea what this is) and peas. Even though I visited my garden last Thursday to make up for missing Monday's class, the weeds were waiting for me. That being said, I'm pretty proud of the little blisters beginning to form on my palms; this was my first garden hoe experience, so it was bound to happen. I applied fertilizer some of the more sizable plants and sprayed them with Thuricide. Overall it was a very productive day. The only downside was that I couldn't find my carrots for the life of me. I spotted maybe 10 of the 30-40 (I cant quite recall the exact number) that I planted during the first gardening session. Where could they have gone?

Second order of business: Changes since last week

Ever the optimist, my expectations were low this week as I made my way from the classroom to the gardens. Since I was last in the garden, my squashes and cucumbers have sprouted, my beans have flourished, my carrots have been acting rather shy, my transplants have not given up on me, and my garden in general looks a lot more alive than I imagined it would. The weeds more or less took over the pathways, and I’m sure my garden neighbors we a little less than pleased with the surrounding aesthetics of my plot. But never fear! The weeds have been tamed and I even engaged in a little bit of extracurricular gardening on Wednesday to make sure that they were being kept at bay. Yes, I’m one of those gardeners now. The kind of gardener who is over-protective, over-excited, and very under-qualified kind, and who tells everyone willing to listen (and even some of those who aren’t) about my garden’s progress, shortcomings, and (hopefully) successful future.

Third order of business: Overview of Monday's lecture

Monday’s class focused on the plant growth environment, specifically climate and all that it entails. Climate includes the temperature, precipitation, humidity, light, and wind of a specific region. The question, “How does Florida's climate affect crops AND how is this different from other parts of the US?” was posed at the beginning of class. Florida has a very different climate from most places in the United States, which gives us a very unique growing season. Normally crops would be harvested in the spring, but we’re going to be harvesting late Fall/early Winter (which seems to be unheard of in most places. For example, Libby has mentioned a few times that this would not be the case in Wisconsin). Our rainy season here in Florida is from May to November, which contributes to this being the prime growing time for crops in Florida. The harvesting window in Florida is relatively precarious because we are at risk of frosts in the winter, so hopefully we won’t get hit with a big one this year (or else my previous beans might nor make it). We are lucky that this is called the Sunshine State though, as our plants will likely never be deprived of some good ol’ fashioned sunlight. Before class ended we also discussed methods of irrigation, which include seepage, surface, sprinkler, and drip (the most efficient of the 4).