Beginner Gardening: What to Plant Where and Which Varieties? Squirrels, etc., 0 by SoFlaCommercial

SoFlaCommercial wrote:
Cando1 - LOL! great humor. I've never had rabbit stew, but that was a good comeback.

Everyone else:

First time veggie gardener. Mentioned to hubby that I wanted a small garden and he created a raised bed - U-Shaped 16' on the 'legs', 4 feet wide, 12 inches deep, with an inset of 12' x 8' (160 cubic feet I figured out)

We have southern exposure (zone 9-10 in South Florida - already upper 80s, will be 90s/100s before summer's out), 6-8+ hours daylight, full sun (except some of the plants in the back - they're not getting full sun until noon-1 pm. EST)

From left side to right side:

North Side of Leg:
Two Zucchini Squash*
Iceberg "Head" Lettuce (that grow above or below ground?)*
Sweet Onions*
Garden Beans-1**
Carrots*
Iceberg "Head" Lettuce (grew it in two different spots - thought they were different and didn't want cross pollination)
Buttercup Squash**

Eastern "Back" of Planter:
Sugar Snap Peas**
Strawberries x 3*
Cucumbers**
Summer Squash**
Two Watermelon Plants**
Bell Peppers** (in the southeast corner of the 'leg/back' - this gets most of the shade in the morning)

Southern "Leg" of Planter:
More Sweet Onions* (Just filled in some spots)
Blue Lake Bush Beans**
Beets**
Arugula*
Four Big Beef (I think they're non-hybridized or even heirloom) Tomato plants*


Off to the southern fence near the corner of the property, we also planted some cantaloupe from seed.

* = we bought plants from Home Depot
** = we planted by seed in Jiffy Seedling Starter Kit and transplanted

Notes: The beans on either leg of the planter were placed directly into the ground only six days ago and are already two to three inches tall.
We also planted carrots directly from seed in addition to the Jiffy Pots we planted. Neither Jiffy Pots, nor direct seed plantings have sprouted.
The Jiffy Pot bell peppers have not sprouted, either. We do have some plants we started from some seeds we got out of store-bought peppers that we can transplant, but will they actually produce fruit?

We plan on putting some more watermelon along the southern most fence, and my kids want corn, which figured would also put along part of the southern fence.

We started some sunflower plants which we hope to plant near planter box and also along the fence to sort of screen from the neighbors (and code enforcement in my village), which would also attract butterflies and birds. Those are in Jiffy Pots and are sprouting well. Species Mammouth and Lemon Queen.

The marigolds that I'm starting from seed (so I can plant them and protect my garden from slugs) aren't working out so well. The corn my daughter started in the Jiffy Pots looks a little like spider-web-type mold - that normal?

I'm going to see if I can post a pic of the garden size, and will post another photo tomorrow of what it looks like with some veggies growing in it.

I don't really know if I have any particular questions, but would like to get some beneficial insects like lady bugs, nematodes, praying mantis, etc., and wanted to know everyone's experiences. I'm even doing the compost thing, so I'm open to suggestions there, too.

I just REALLY don't want to start getting into the cycle of using a bunch of chemicals on everything, though I'm not in a strict organic school of thought on the subject.

thanks in advance.