Welcome to my vegetable beds!

From 2009-2016, I grew fruits and vegetable from my urban backyard in metropolitan West Palm Beach, Florida. In 2016, I relocated to the Upper Midwest and in 2017, purchased a home in north-central Illinois (Crystal Lake) and promptly began to replace all turf grass with food garden. Since 2009, I have been collecting data on the environmental, economic and social benefits of these urban food gardens.

Besides the food gardens (see below), there were also spaces for growing wild plants that supported the many beneficial organisms that visited or lived in my backyard. The beds are the main vegetable producers, especially during the most prime growing months. I have more than 900 square feet of vegetable beds. These are regularly fed with compost from my compost bin and mulch obtained from the county landfill. They pick up tree and shrub clippings in front of houses in the community, chip it, make it into a fine quality mulch, then offer it free to residents. The native soil type at my south Florida garden was pure sand- nutrient poor and dry. Perhaps one of the most difficult soils to grow in, constantly needing amendments to enrich it enough to grow well. But the soil in my northern Illinois garden is rich and needs few amendments!

THE BEDS
For my past food garden in Florida (USDA climate zone 10b), the growing season was not easily defined. Technically, it is all year. From the viewpoint of most “northern vegetables” (lettuce, cabbage, carrots, etc.) the growing season is from October to March, more or less. If conditions were mild (not too hot and dry), then you might squeeze another month or two in. The other months are best for tropical vegetables- things like yams, sweet potatoes, jicama, yuca and peanuts. But my present northern Illinois food garden is somewhat between USDA climate zones 5a & 5b, lending itself to a wide variety of temperate zone fruits and vegetables, as well as some tropical vegetables that can be grown in warmer months.

To see pictures of what I grew throughout the year at my Florida garden, click on links in the “Archives” section at the lower-left of this page.

I grow a wide variety of vegetables. Over the years, I have planted more than 100 types of vegetables and have been successful with most of them. During season, the selection of fresh vegetables from my garden usually exceeds that of the best grocery stores in the area!

My backyard garden in Illinois has no “beds”, it is simple one large garden with pathways that come and go. Below is a map of my backyard gardens (which no longer exist); to see a larger version, click on the map.