Friday, March 27, 2009

Creating Your South Florida Garden

I just finished teaching this 4 week course. It was so much fun!


The first week we learned all about seeds starting them, and saving them. We went into the nursery and planted flower and vegetable seeds. They were misted every eight minutes, and most sprouted in about 1 week.

The second week we learned how to select plants for the garden, and how to propogate plants from cuttings. We made 4-6 inch cuttings, removed all but a few leaves, dipped them in rooting hormone, then put them into oasis that looks like this. They also went under the mist.




The third week we learned about soils, fertilizers, and one of my favorite topics, composting. We tested our soil to determine the pH, and nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium requirements.





The last week we learned about maintaining the garden, watching out for nutrient difficiencies, pests, and diseases, and the basics of pruning. We pruned a large Panama Rose.



Everyone got to transplant their seedlings and cuttings that had rooted, and take them home to their garden. I can't wait to teach another class!

3 comments:

Sarah said...

Can you teach a class on creating your southern New Hampshire garden? With a special emphasis on people who have to grow their garden in pots?

JudyBop said...

great job getting back into teaching - I bet everyone loved your class!

Katie said...

Congrats Susie! Your class looks like it was fun.