Author Archives: Cherie de Vidal

Us Floridians have seen a huge influx of people moving here from not only other states but other countries as well, and while we are a welcoming community it’s apparent that they don’t understand our climate. They hear what the media tells them about Florida and that’s how they determine their mental image of Florida.Continue reading “No More Summer Garden”

Building a Community Plant Stand The post is fairly typical, “I have too many of “x” plant, how do I get rid of these?”. And of course, the typical replies are to smother the plant with any number of plastic or paper materials which then has a few layers of rock or wood mulch spreadContinue reading “Build It & They Will Come”

Unfortunately, one of the things that many individuals don’t take into account during grid-down scenarios is where they plan on disposing of their gray water. Gray water can be soapy dish water, the water from your washing machine or even the water from your shower. You absolutely have to decide what you are going toContinue reading “Gray Water Disposal System”

The suburban gardener tends to view their property with a mindset of wanting to shove a pretty flower or green foliage into an unused area. Unfortunately, much of suburbia isn’t currently aware of just how financially wasteful this is, nor do they fully understand the degree of layering that goes into some of the mostContinue reading “Layers of Abundance”

What are NFT’s? NFT stands for Nitrogen Fixing Trees, which are not specifically limited to only trees, but rather includes annuals, shrubs, food trees and wilderness trees. These plants will pull nitrogen from their environment and transfer it down into their root system where it is then distributed into the soil. Nitrogen is a requirementContinue reading “Comprehensive NFT Listing”

So, you can’t leave the city because of your work, but you recognize there’s a cause for concern in our current climate? Before you run out and get yourself in terrible debt, let’s make sure you think this through thoroughly. It’s obvious that you have a source of income, yet what you don’t have isContinue reading “Have a Backup Plan”

Mycelium Information Super Highway Through a process called photosynthesis, trees can end up producing more sugar than they need. Under the earth, fungi thrive but must have sugar to survive and reproduce. There is a symbiotic relationship between the trees and fungi that involve something called Mycelium. Mycelium are the tiny thread like masses thatContinue reading “The Forest Floor”

Benefits of Trench Bed Construction In Florida, you either end up with the grey dirt and yellow clay combo or the black soil that has a stagnant odor after heavy rains. Both of these types of dirt tend to cause frustration in the suburban gardener due to their issue with holding water. While both theContinue reading “Reduce, Reuse & Repair”

Many years back, I found myself going through a nightmarish scenario where each time I would play a tragic game of “what if”. I would normally make a different choice that would change the outcome in my mind but the harsh reality is that that was the only place where the ending was different. InContinue reading “Benefits of Horticulture Therapy”

Currently, we are experiencing a fertilizer shortage across the glove. It’s such a dire situation that countries are refusing to export the little supplies that they have. Honestly, I can’t say that I blame them because food shortages and inflation are in our future. We already see stores setting purchase limits but now there’s discussionContinue reading “Animal Manure for Fertilizer”