"Where in FM can i get manure ?? And where can i find Seagrape ?? Dose it stink a lot when using manure ? Shoutd it be covered with soil or something ? How about some old fruits ? they should be perfect food for plants. Just like milk for humans. Also, i know guys who cut grass and trim palms , got to pay to dump that somewhere. I wonder where they dump it. Maybe i should make deal with some of them and start shreading they garbage for myself too. That rurbo in your screen name anyhow related to cars ?" Hi Lehigh. Sorry for losing track of this thread. My girl has two horses that she keeps at a stable in S. Ft. Myers. I know there are several stables around our area and most of them are near I-75 or a little East. Most don't seem to mind if you take the used stable bedding home. One thing about the stuff though; It has a lot of wood shavings in it so it takes some time to get it composted enough to use in your planters. I run it all through my shredder and then water it and turn and re-wet the piles every few days to let it heat. After three or four heating cycles it is good to use as a top mulch. The "potting soil" that I make with it takes a year to finish off while stored in trash cans. No strong odor to it even when it's fresh but once you turn and heat it a few times there is only an earthy smell to it. Seagrape trees are common around here. I have one on my lot that I gaether leaves from. Every year or two I put the pole saw to it bringing it down to size and I get lots of wonderful wood mulch after running the limbs through the chipper. I use everything at hand including fruits for composting. Sometimes a neighbor might have a few hundred citrus fruits that they didn't use and I just toss them in the shredder hopper and it all comes out a spray of good nutrients which soak into my leaf and stable bedding compost piles. One idea for trellis building that I haven't seen mentioned is the use of bamboo. I have a friend with a large clump bamboo plant and he begs me to take the dead stuff out of it each year, This stuff is huge and it is very strong. I built a large trellis from the stuff for my climbing crops. I also run countless lengths of it through the chipper for the organic compost material. The "Turbo" in my name does indeed have to do with a car. I have a 1987 factory slant nose 930 turbo cabriolet in tripple black. Only 78 were built so it is a special little beast. The "Capt" part of the name is from what I do for a living as a charter boat Capt. Best of luck with your gardening efforts. I look forward to seeing further posts from you to see how things are going for you as the Winter gardening season continues. CaptTurbo.

Thanks for the warm welcome. We've been here for a little over a year now from NJ and love it! I've enjoyed reading this site and am looking forward to some fall planting. We live in one of the new developments off Winkler Rd. I do have some room for a ground garden and was thinking of starting with a vegetable garden and container strawberries. My husband has already built a container wall on the corners of our lanai -just putting dirt over the concrete and his sunflowers died but the annuals are doing good (thought he might need some drainage holes - he he! I was thinking of volunteering at ECHO to gain some knowledge. I guess my first question is how to prepare the ground outside for planting lettuce, spinach, cukes, tomatoes. Shall I have hubby build a box? Second where should I buy containers and strawberries? I think my kids will love picking them. Thanks! Patty

Victor, you will love the Northwest! I left the hot, humid, summers and icy, dreary winters of the Midwest a year ago, and although I miss some of the people there, I sure don't miss the weather! Of course winters here can be pretty dreary, too, but I'm used to that part -- and I find a 40-degree day with rain feels a *lot* more like spring than winter! My Midwest friends hate me for saying things like, "I'm looking forward to fall, and then when it's over, spring!" :) Of course natives here will argue that the winters are long and wet and they are, but like I said, it's not cold, and things are blooming and growing, so it doesn't feel like winter to me! And in summer, when it's 80 and sunny -- that's all it is -- 30% humidity just does NOT feel the same as those awful wring-out-the-air days of other parts of the country. In fact, sometimes the "feels like" temperature in summer is LOWER than the actual temp. Others complain about the heat but to me, not a heat-lover, 80 can feel delightful. Gardening is great, too -- you're going to love seeing so many plants that you think of as tropical, or houseplants, growing as huge specimens in this part of the country -- and even the things you're used to will look different here, larger, and blooming longer... the only problems, as mentioned, are that some of the heat-loving things don't do as well here, but that just creates some fun challenges. So come on out, and enjoy!!

I'd also say to ditch the basjoo. There are tons of edible bananas that you could grow instead of the basjoo. Musa Cardaba, Lady finger, California Gold, Cavendish...those are just some suggestions. I think you should grow the small understory stuff, and shop for the large palms when you get there. Palms are fairly cheap here in California so i'm assuming they are just as cheap in Florida. Here, you can get 10 foot + queen palms for $35, Dypsis Decipiens for $20, Manila palm trios for $12...just to give you an idea. You could start growing bromeliads, or aloes. Not the generic Aloe Vera, but the exotic looking stuff like Aloe Barerae, Aloe Ferox, aloe Marlothii, Aloe Ciliaris, Aloe Striata or any of the other tree aloes... Or you could also start some Agaves such as Agave Atenuatta, Agave Desmettiana or other user-friendly agaves to add the "Wow" effect.