Too much of a good thing

Now that my plants are potted and fertilized, I'm keeping a close eye on them. Yesterday I had emptied the standing water in the trays under the pots to prevent root rot. Having done that I expected to need to water today. I filled my watering can and went out onto the deck, but when I pressed my fingers about an inch into the soil, it was still nice and damp. I left the water out there for tomorrow. Luckily it's cooling down in my area. I like it because it makes my dog more cuddly, and my kale likes it because it hates the heat.

What I believe to be sun damage on a kale plant.

My only concern is that some of my kale plants have a white/yellow spot on a leaf, and part of the leaf on one of my cauliflowers is dry and white and crunchy. My book tells me that this is a sign of too much sun exposure, so I spend a little while moving my plants back to the shadier front steps. I'm not very strong, so as I was lugging big pots of dirt around I was glad I'd chosen plastic pots. The lighter weight is good for me while I'm still trying to get my microclimate just right. Hopefully the shadier front steps will treat them better.

Soon I'll figure out a more aesthetically pleasing arrangement for them.

Preparing for my garden

For my first foray into growing things I can eat, I decided I wanted kale. I live in Florida, so winter is a good time for me to grow it, and I love to eat it. For some reason, I just had my heart set on kale. Now I had no idea what I was doing, so the first thing I did was buy a book. I got "Container Gardening for Dummies," because that sounded like it was written for people like me. There's a lot of information available for free online, but I wanted to get an overview that would make me feel somewhat competent, and I didn't want to have to open a Google tab every time I needed to do something with my plants. Next, I went to the plant section of the hardware store and asked a lot of questions. I filled my cart with a watering can, a shovel and a little scissor-like thing. I got a potting soil recommended by an employee and a fertilizer that can be added to water, and for the containers I just went with cheap plastic ones. I figured there was no need to upgrade to the pretty glazed clay ones on my first real attempt at growing things. I ended up with a mix of different styles of pots to break up the monotony. 

My cart about halfway through my shopping trip.

After I had all the accouterments I got to do the fun part: picking out plants. I had expected to have to start them from seeds, but when I talked to an employee he told me that it was a little late to start kale seeds in my area and pointed me towards a display with already-growing vegetables, including kale. Facing rows and rows of little nursery trays, I did what the book recommended and picked out small plants with good radial symmetry. After I had my tray of kale, I was struck by a sudden inspiration to try two vegetables and grabbed a cauliflower tray on a whim. I potted them later that day, but that's going to have to be it's own post.