Brea, Brea, Full of Ideas, How Does Your Garden Grow?

With good dirt and a messy shirt.

And pretty greens all in a row.

This season I planted some things I've never done before. I live in USDA Hardiness Zone 9, so I have the opportunity to start plants fairly early. This year, for the first time, I will have green onions, acorn squash, beets, and Brussels sprouts. Our staple crops that we have every year are oranges, lemons, limes, strawberries, blueberries, and cherry tomatoes.

Citrus 

We love our citrus trees and they are our most productive part of our yard apart from our future quail. We typically get about 100lbs of oranges throughout the year. We get fewer lemons and limes, but together, they produce about 100lbs as well. This is more than our family can eat or sell, so we typically give some to the neighbors. We also set some out in a box in the evening for the homeless to take.

Tomatoes 

Because of our Hardiness Zone, we are in tomatoes throughout most of the year. I keep the plant near the compost pile where it benefits from the extremely good surrounding dirt. Compost is a whole other beast, so I'll save that for a separate post, but it really is essential for a productive garden.

Tomatoes are a great, easy crop to start with. They can be done in a pot for small patios or balconies, but you have to make sure the plant gets plenty of sun. They thrive in a sunny spot with the soil kept damp. Don't drown your tomatoes! That's a great way to invite disease and, the bane of my existence, slugs.