Self-Watering Container Gardening

Above is a photo of the container garden I'm trying out here to see if it will produce more than 5 tomatoes, which is what I had last season when I tried the upside-down tomato growing device.  I've planted one patio cherry tomato plant and one Big Boy tomato plant.  If you've found that you've been able to conquer the bugs, critters and soil, will you let me know what you did to make your garden a successful one?

This is an approximately 18-gallon storage container by Sterilite.  The bottom is filled with water up to the hole you may notice in the front bottom.  The soil is my favorite Miracle Gro Container Soil.  In the right front corner, if you look hard, you will see a PVC pipe where I water this mini garden.  I followed the directions and photos laid out very clearly on this web site.  I want to say that the directions were easy to follow and there are plenty of pictures to help you along.  Or you can just search for home made container garden on Google.   

I used the directions for the one using a "pond basket" in the bottom since I don't have a drill to put all those holes in the other version using a screen between the water and soil.  This was simple and didn't take more than half an hour to set up.  Have you tried building your own container?  Let me know how well it did (or didn't do).

I also purchased a small, 16" diameter self-watering container pot.  All you do with this one is add soil and plant either seeds or a plant.  Water is poured into the spout you see near the bottom of the pot.  I'm growing Zucchini in it.  I'll have to transfer the zucchini plants when they get to be about 4 inches high - I'll put each one in its own pot.  Last year my zucchini died after a month of growing - that was so disappointing!  I'm keeping my fingers crossed, hoping for a real crop I can use in cooking this year.

Finding My Paradise

Have you ever dreamed of moving to Florida after you retired?  I did just that even though it was the hardest move I'd ever made. I was fed up with shoveling snow to get to my car, clearing it out of the driveway, shoveling a path to get to the mailbox, and what's worse, having to do it over and over again all winter. On the other hand, I'd be leaving my family and neighbors and all the familiar places and scenery and the familiar way of life.  But the call of the sunshine was impossible to resist, so I did it!

One day I was looking around on eBay and saw several mobile homes listed for bidding. To make a long story short, I ended up bidding on one from eBay, and Voila! I bought myself a home, site unseen except for online photos, and now here I am in 78 degree weather while my friends and family up north are digging themselves out of a second snow storm in 1 week (I truly do feel bad about that).

This all happened in under 2 months' time and I'm as surprised as anyone that now I'm a resident of sunny Florida, 20 minutes from the Atlantic Ocean on what's called The Treasure Coast.  I've lived here for over a year now and I've found out a lot of things I didn't know or didn't expect - some good, some not so good. Some of this blog is simply to tell you how my acclimation to this new world has gone and for those of you who are thinking about moving south for retirement, perhaps give you a heads-up about some issues I had no clue about before moving here and to ask you for your tips about adjusting to such a new way of life.  If you've already made a similar move, did you feel overwhelmed with questions about what to do first and where to go to get answers?

I drove down here in 17 hours with my car filled with all my necessities and things I just couldn't live without, like my bed pillow and family photos.  The previous owner had left some furniture and accessories like a sleeper sofa, scatter rugs, curtains and lamps. It was all livable for now.  If you move here and need furniture right away, many people use Rooms To Go. 

Hurricanes and Insurance

A hefty chunk of your money will go toward purchasing home insurance. As far as I know, there is only one company down here that sells it, so you can't shop around. For my home in this community, I pay approximately $1,100 annually and that does not cover fire or flood. This house did have some damage done to it by a hurricane 6 years ago, so I know it is possible it could happen again.

Other Living Expenses

Another expense I wasn't aware I'd have is having my home pressure washed twice a year. Mold or algae grows on the outside, generally on the north side, as well as on brickwork and driveway. This is done by someone who will do it for about $60 per wash. I'm thinking of buying my own pressure washer and doing it myself. It will pay for itself in a short time.

Also in this community, we have something called an osmosis water fee (not sure what this is). But it costs an extra $231/year, plus your usual $18/month water service cost.  Have you ever heard of an osmosis water treatment?  Clue me in if you know what it is!

We get a special deal with Comcast Cable for a pretty good price. It's $400/year and I get about 80 or more channels (at least 6 are in Spanish, about a dozen are repeat channels in HD). This does not include any major movie channels like HBO, Showtime, etc. They do have different price levels for you to choose for more or fewer channels.

Becoming a Legal Resident of Florida

First, I had to change my car insurance over to Florida. I stayed with the same company I had in PA because they were good to deal with and have comparable prices and good discounts. It was a surprise to me though that I had to pay a fee of $267 just to change over. I kept the same coverages, same car of course, and I was lucky that my payment is $6/month lower than before. I figure it will be 45 months before I make up that $267 charge!

Then, a Florida driver's liense. It took about 20 minutes, so not bad. I produced my PA driver's license, another form of ID and took a short eye exam. They took a new photo and I had my new license in hand for a fee of only $27. You can also register to vote at this time.

Next I had to register my car, a compact. What a shocker this one was. I had read online that the cost would be $100, but they said the fee just changed recently and it cost me $400! If you have a larger car, you'll have a larger fee. I received my license plate right then and there. Now I was officially a Florida resident. It's so strange to see a Florida license plate on my car after having a PA one for about 30 years!

And speaking about registration fees, there's another one: just like a car, you have to register 2 halves of your your mobile home, costing $114 annually.

Remember, all these fees only increase as time goes on. Like my lot rent, which increases every year.  Naturally there are always expenses with home ownership and these are some that you'll need to factor in to your budget.  The usual expenditures such as repairs and replacements exist here as well as anywhere else, but to me, giving up the snow storms and dangerous driving conditions makes it well worth it.

My 55+ Retirement Community

I'm living in a 55+ community and the neighborhood is very well taken care of. The lawns are mowed and trimmed by a landscaping company the community hires, which is included in your lot rent. You purchase the home, but not the land. This community has a free golf course which only the residents can use. No guests. They have 2 heated pools; one for residents only and one for guests. There is a really nice clubhouse and other amenities, clubs, classes and get-togethers. They have health screenings and driving classes so you can possibly get a discount on your car insurance.

(Clubhouse above.)  There are a wide variety of clubs to join, dances, entertainment, tennis, shuffleboard, bingo, cards, exercise; classes of all kinds things we can enjoy year round. There are celebrations for every holiday. Many people walk every day for exercise, some ride bicycles, some have golf carts to get around in. There are even trips you can take; you can get on a bus at the community building that will take you right to the dock, for instance in Miami to go on a cruise.

Some of the mobile homes (like mine) are on the edge of the golf course; others are beside one of the many lakes (I call them ponds) that are throughout the community. I don't golf, but I enjoy watching the Golf Channel on TV every chance I get. This location is ideal for me. Once in a while a golfer hits an errant golf ball into my yard while I'm pulling weeds. That always makes me smile - maybe because I know if I were back in PA, this just couldn't happen.

This is a busy, busy place during the months when most of the residents are here; October through April. Every morning at 7:00 a.m. they are mowing the golf course. You always see the landscapers driving through the neighborhood in their golf carts or landscaping equipment. There is always the security patrol driving around the streets to make sure you are safe. People are always outside, so you see your neighbors often and get to know them and find out what's going on around the area.

The Wildlife

 

The first thing I noticed after moving in was the unusual (to me) wildlife. In my yard I have seen foxes, egrets or herons, sand hill cranes (3 or 4 feet tall), hundreds of geckos, squirrels, fire ants, and everyone tells me there are armadillos, which I haven't seen yet. I had something dig 2 holes under my home so I had to block them with bricks and dirt. My neighbor told me he caught 2 armadillos in a trap that week, so I'm thinking they may have been the culprits since I haven't had that problem again - yet. A neighbor across the street who's property is at the edge of a pond, has an alligator that comes into his yard occassionally. I hope it doesn't decide to cross the road!  (Geckos above, Sand Hill Cranes below.)

Worse of all are the oh no! cockroaches. The cockroaches are 2 or 3 inches long and you have to keep up with spraying to keep them at bay. At first, I called Orkin to come and exterminate them. They came every 2 months and sprayed inside and out for $72. They did an excellent job. They were polite and friendly. The price was just too high for me. I asked my neighbor how they controlled the cockroaches and she told me they use Ortho Home Defense Max. She said to spray every 2 or 3 months. I've been following her advice and now it costs me just $10 for almost a year of spraying and I rarely see a cockroach at all. Two or three times I've seen dead ones. The only good cockroach is a dead cockroach! Ugh!

The Flora and The Weather

Since the weather is so different here in Coastal Florida than it was in PA, I'm still using the trial and error method to find out what will grow in my yard, both in vegetables and in landscaping flowers and shrubs. I'll talk more about gardening in my upcoming blogs because it's an ongoing learning experience for me. I've started using Earthboxes and made one myself, as well. More about that later, also.

As I understand it, there are 2 growing seasons here: Fall/Winter and Spring. They are both longer seasons compared to those up north. I learned the hard way not to try to grow anything in the Summer months June through August. The rainy season starts then, as well as the oppressive heat and humidity. It thunderstorms every day. When the sun does come out, it fries your garden plants. Nothing I planted produced anything. The only thing that grew during this time was weeds, and boy do they! The jasmine bush grows beautifully (it was here long before I moved in), and so do the hibiscus shrubs. You really have to keep them under control by pruning often. I planted a honeysuckle which seems to thrive here. One of my favorite plants in the yard is called Crown of Thorns. It has blooms on it 365 days a year, and is filled with thorns up and down the stems. Dangerous but beautiful.

Some other plants that thrive down here are Plumbago, Mandevilla, Bougainvillea, Lantana, Croton and Euonymus. A lot of the homes around me have these plants in their landscaping. As I drive past homes, I always check out their landscaping to give me ideas about what will survive here. I went to my favorite store, Home Depot, to get a plant I saw at McDonald's drive-thru. It's a Mexican Petunia and is growing very well in my yard now.

I had a definite idea that if I was going to move to Florida, I had to have a palm tree in my yard. Well, I have one, but little did I know that you have to pay to have it trimmed twice a year! An extra expense that I hadn't known about. The tree produces large seed pods that look like huge orange grapes that need to be removed. The leaves also turn brown and sag down low because they're dead. Those need to be cut off also. The local tree trimming companies charge $15 to $20 to trim your tree and haul away the debris.

Shopping

Grocery shopping here is much better in some ways than what I had up north. There are more fresh fruits and vegetables available year round at reasonable prices at the Fort Pierce Farmers Market and supermarket produce sections, as well as at community farm markets, such as the Vero Beach outdoor market (below). These two towns I live near have a weekly farm market on one of their community squares all through the year. They offer fresh baked goods, fresh brewed coffee, cold fruit drinks, crepes, vegetables, cooked foods, donuts, jams, canned goods and on and on. It's wonderful to attend and mingle and talk to the vendors of the foods you take home. 

Naturally, there is always a lot of citrus fruit available here. I believe a person eats healthier just being here than we do up north. The colors of the produce are lively and bright and urge you to take some home. The foods we prepare for lunches and dinners are full of fresh vegetables 12 months a year, not just during the 3 summer months. And the warmth of each season encourages you to eat light, healthy foods. It's all so succulent, plentiful and colorful in the produce aisles you can't resist. The seafood is also plentiful and fresh in all the stores and shops. Scallops and shrimp to stir-fry with those fresh veggies.

The service in our local supermarkets and stores is excellent. If you are looking for something, a store employee will ask you if you need help and they will walk you to the aisle you need. Everyone is so helpful and friendly.  A real shocker to me is that they will give you a smaller amount of a vegetable, say celery, 2 stalks from a whole package, if you need it - or a couple of carrots or a small piece of ginger root.  This is unheard of in PA.

Shopping for clothing and household items is comparable price-wise to up north. Some stores they have in Florida that I didn't have in PA are Winn-Dixie, Publix (my favorite) and Bealls (clothing). Otherwise, the stores are the same ones we have in the malls I shopped in practically all my life.

Gasoline prices are about the same. At home I used to have two gasoline stations I could go to that had someone come out and pump gas for you. I haven't found any here. That is so convenient in bad weather.

The Beach!

Oh my gosh, I can't believe that I get to go to the beach and look at the ocean any time I want! This is the most exciting thing to me. It's a 15 to 20 minute drive to my favorite beach (depending on road construction). The sand is a pale beige and the beach is rather narrow, so I look up the tide chart to find out when low tide will be. At that time, the beach is wide and has more room, although not very many people go there anyway. It's just so relaxing to sit and watch the waves or to walk along the beach or read or watch other people as they swim, boogie board or run around. Some people do metal detecting, which I enjoy, too. I haven't found anything yet though. It's also fun to walk along the sidewalks and window shop or stop in a sidewalk cafe for a lemonade. Everyone is smiling and happy. And tan. This is the most enjoyable thing to do in my retirement.

These beaches are not popular surfing areas; the waves are not high enough. So they don't draw the big crowds. There is another beach I enjoy that has darker sand and is very wide. It has some shells on it that are fun to look through and pick your favorites to take home, but they are no bigger than 2 or 3 inches.

I'll talk more about the history of the Treasure Coast later on. It's very interesting because pirates used to land here in their Spanish ships. Some ships have sunk along the coastline here and a lot of treasure has been found and put into local treasure museums.

Visiting Other Cities in Florida

(Key West above)  A good thing about this state is that you can drive to anyplace in the state from the Treasure Coast in about 3 hours or less. If you get up early in the morning and get started, you can have lunch in Key West and tour around The Keys and be back that evening.  Orlando is 2 hours away and has a great shopping area called Downtown Disney that has unique shops and restaurants. South Beach is fantastic with it's Art Deco hotels and restaurants, as well as designer shops. On the way back north from there, you can stop in Hollywood Florida's Seminole Hard Rock Casino to play the slots or gamble a bit. So much fun! And I can't forget to mention the Gulf Coast, especially Siesta Key which has the best shelling and the purest white, powdery sand in the world!


I'm just so happy to be living in Florida. My neighbors are friendly and couldn't be nicer. That helps to make living away from my family just a tiny bit easier. I keep in touch with everyone back home through email and phone calls, so they won't forget me. And of course, I go back once in a while to visit and they come down here for a little vacation also. I've got so much more to do with them and show them. I can't wait till they visit again!