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RizzieFarms Gardening

Flowers The garden at RizzieFarms is where our roots run deepest. It begins each spring with promise, stretches into summer with abundance, and settles into quiet reflection come fall and winter. Tomatoes ripen in the heat, herbs scent the breeze, and flowers stand tall like sentinels of color. We’ve learned to listen to the land — to till when it’s ready, to water with care, to battle weeds and critters with patience and grit. Here, every seed holds a story, every harvest a memory. This is not just where we grow our food — it’s where we grow our joy.

Zone 8B IconRizzieFarms is in USDA Zone 8B

Summer Vegetables

RizzieFarms in Madison, Georgia is located in USDA Zone 8B for Gardening and Farming

USDA Zone 8B is characterized by mild winters, where the average annual minimum temperature ranges from 15°F to 20°F (-9.4°C to -6.7°C). For gardeners and farmers in areas like Madison, Georgia, this zone offers a long and productive growing season that supports a wide range of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers.

The typical growing season in Zone 8B begins after the last frost, which generally falls between March 15 and 30, and ends around the first frost in mid to late November. This gives growers approximately 230 to 250 frost-free days — plenty of time to grow both warm- and cool-season crops.

Summer Vegetables — Tomatoes, peppers, squash, okra, cucumbers, corn, beans.

Fall–Winter–Spring — Kale, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, carrots (early spring or fall).

Fruits — Figs, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries; with low-chill varieties: apples, pears, plums.

Herbs — Basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, chives, mint thrive most of the year.

Ornamentals: zinnias, sunflowers, marigolds; cooler months: pansies, snapdragons, violas. Perennials/shrubs: hydrangeas, azaleas, camellias, gardenias, roses, lavender, lantana, salvia.

Vegetables IconSummer Vegetables we grow

Cabbage IconFall–Winter–Spring Vegetables we grow

Fruit IconFruit we grow

Herbs IconHerbs we grow

RizzieFarms Garden Process

Over the past two decades, we’ve cultivated more than just crops — we’ve cultivated knowledge. Gardening at RizzieFarms has been a journey of trial, error, and triumph as we’ve learned what works best for our soil, our climate, and our lifestyle.

From early spring tilling to thoughtful soil amendment, we’ve refined our techniques year after year. We use fabric coverings for temperature regulation and spacing strategies to give every plant its best chance to thrive. Weed control, proper watering, and protecting against insects and vermin are all part of the evolving rhythm of our growing season.

Harvest time is our reward — not just in fruits and vegetables, but in the joy of the process itself. We’ve learned to embrace our environment and adapt to its limitations — and most of all, we’ve learned to have fun while doing it.

Old Chicken House Location

When we bought the farm, it came with an old commercial egg-laying chicken house — nearly 300 feet long. Inside were rows of cages suspended above deep pits where waste collected, and narrow walkways ran between them for gathering eggs and tending chickens.

We saw potential in its bones. The first 100 feet were transformed into a barn: the pits were filled with concrete, creating a solid and usable interior. The next 50 feet became an open concrete pad, perfect for workspace and storage. But it was the remaining 150 feet — where the building was torn down and only the foundation and pits remained — that truly sparked something new.

There, among the exposed walkways and three massive pits over six feet wide, we carved out our first big garden. It had everything we needed: full sun, open air, and just enough structure to guide our layout. We surrounded the space with fencing to keep out the neighboring Black Angus cattle — and our journey as growers began.
Summer Garden Location

When we built our home, we knew we wanted a garden close by — something convenient for grabbing herbs, tomatoes, or peppers while cooking. It began as a small kitchen garden, just steps from the house. But like most things we grow, it didn’t stay small for long.

Over time, it expanded into a full summer garden — bathed in sunlight for most of the day, with just a touch of welcome shade in the late afternoon to ease the intensity of the Georgia heat. Its proximity to the house and easy access to water make it not only practical, but a joy to tend to daily. It’s become a space of abundance, reflection, and seasonal flavor, right outside our door.
Winter Garden Location

In the early days, our fall-winter-spring gardens were planted out in the open — exposed to cold winds, unpredictable weather, and curious animals. While we managed a few harvests, it was always a challenge.

When we built our home, we decided to experiment with a new location: the south side of the garage. It offered everything we needed — consistent sunlight, warmth from the house, shelter from the wind, and access to water. We started small, planting hardy herbs like rosemary. Encouraged by their success, we added thyme, oregano, and sage.

Before long, the herb bed became a cool-season garden. We expanded to leafy greens and cold-loving vegetables: cabbage, broccoli, leeks, kale, Swiss chard, and parsley. With two full planting cycles between fall and spring, this tucked-away space has become a reliable and productive garden — thriving even in Georgia’s cooler months.

Amendments

After repurposing the old chicken house foundation into garden space, we faced a new challenge — the concrete pits were deep and empty, needing several inches of quality soil before anything could grow. Georgia soil, as many know, is mostly clay — dense, heavy, and rock-hard when dry. It holds nutrients but needs proper conditioning to support healthy plant life.

We were lucky to find a local farmer who sells what he calls “rooster dirt” — a rich, organic blend of mulch and composted chicken litter. It’s well-aged, nutrient-dense, and perfect for building garden beds from scratch. A few truckloads later, we had transformed our barren pits into fertile ground. With the right foundation in place, our plants finally had the conditions they needed to thrive.
Testing

One of the first steps in building a productive garden was understanding our soil. We worked with our local county extension agent to conduct professional soil testing — a simple but powerful tool. The tests provided us with detailed information about the soil’s pH and nutrient levels, as well as tailored recommendations for amendments based on what we planned to grow.

With this guidance, we adjusted the soil using lime, compost, and other natural additives to create the ideal environment for our vegetables, herbs, and fruit trees. Regular testing has helped us stay in tune with our soil’s changing needs and ensured healthier, more productive plants year after year.
Fertilizer

To keep our garden healthy and productive, we rely primarily on a balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer, applying it a few times throughout the growing season. It provides a steady supply of essential nutrients — nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium — to support root development, leafy growth, and fruit production.

In addition to the standard fertilizer, we occasionally use slow-release formulas to extend nutrient availability over time, especially in longer growing cycles. We also incorporate Milorganite, not only for its organic matter and nutrient content, but also for its added benefit as a mild deer repellent — a helpful bonus in our rural setting.

This combination has helped us maintain rich soil and vigorous plants year after year.

Moisture Control

The One of our favorite tools in the garden is fabric ground cover — and it serves multiple purposes. First and foremost, it helps with moisture control. Water flows easily through the fabric during rain or watering, but the layer beneath stays moist longer, reducing the need for constant irrigation.

This retained moisture is especially valuable during Georgia’s hot, dry spells. It helps stabilize the soil environment, giving plants a more consistent supply of water and reducing stress between rains or watering sessions.
Weed Control

The second major benefit of using garden fabric is weed control. By covering the soil, the fabric blocks sunlight from reaching weed seeds, preventing most of them from sprouting in the first place. We only need to weed around the planting holes — a fraction of the effort compared to open soil.

This simple method saves us time and energy, and most importantly, it keeps weeds from getting ahead of us. With fewer weeds competing for nutrients and water, our garden stays healthier and more manageable all season long.
Soil Temperature

Another valuable benefit of garden fabric is its ability to help warm the soil — especially early in the growing season. The dark material absorbs sunlight during the day, gently raising the temperature of the soil underneath.

This warmth gives young plants a head start, encouraging quicker root development and better early growth, even when air temperatures are still cool. It’s a simple way to extend the season and help our garden thrive from the very beginning.
Plant Spacing

Through years of trial and error, we’ve discovered that garden fabric isn’t just useful for weed control and moisture retention — it also serves as a great tool for planning and maintaining ideal plant spacing. We’ve developed a simple and effective layout: each planting hole is spaced four feet apart, with rows staggered two feet apart in an alternating pattern.

This consistent spacing gives every plant — tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, squash, cucumbers, and more — plenty of room to thrive. Even for crops traditionally grown in rows, like pinto beans and okra, we’ve had great success planting several seeds into each fabric opening.

An added bonus: the fabric helps keep our vegetables cleaner by reducing contact with dirt and ground insects, making harvests easier and produce healthier right off the vine.

PVC = Drip Irrigation

Our barn garden is watered by an old bored well near the former chicken house. Over time, we’ve learned its limits — it can provide water reliably for up to 90 minutes before needing time to recover. That made efficient watering a top priority.

We focused on delivering water exactly where plants need it — at the roots — instead of soaking the surrounding fabric, walkways, or areas prone to evaporation. To do this, we divided the entire garden into six manageable sections: three in the front and three in the back. Each section has its own frost-proof water hydrant.

From each hydrant, we ran garden hoses to rows of PVC pipes laid along the plant lines. Each PVC pipe has small holes drilled precisely where each planting hole is in the fabric. Since we standardized our garden layout, the same irrigation system works seamlessly in any section.

We added three-way valves at each hydrant so we can control which section gets watered. The result? We can water the entire garden in under an hour — even during Georgia’s driest summer days — using a method that’s both efficient and easy to manage.
Drip Irrigation from Amazon

We use a drip irrigation kit purchased from Amazon—an inexpensive, easy-to-install solution that we could quickly adapt to meet our specific garden layout and plant needs. It connects to a standard outdoor faucet and includes emitters, tubing, and connectors that allow water to be delivered directly to the base of each plant. We use a hose splitter to connect two separate garden areas at once, making it fast and efficient to water both. This system is ideal for our summer gardens, and since it’s hooked up at the house, we don’t have to worry about well capacity like we do at the barn.

72” Tractor Tiller

We use a 72-inch John Deere three-point tiller, perfectly sized for our barn garden pits which are just over 72 inches wide. It works great for turning over the soil and thoroughly grinding in amendments at the start of each growing season. In spring, we begin by picking up the PVC irrigation piping and rolling back the fabric from the previous season. Once the amendments are added, we till the soil, then replace the fabric and PVC piping. With everything back in place, the garden is ready for planting.
Roto-Tiller

We use a walk-behind rototiller in garden areas where it doesn’t make sense to bring in the tractor. It was especially useful between row crops in non-fabric gardens. However, we found it to be a lot of work for minimal results—too labor-intensive and not nearly as effective as other methods we’ve adopted.

Fencing

Animal control has been one of our biggest gardening obstacles. We’ve dealt with deer, raccoons, squirrels, rabbits, and even rats. The larger the animal, the more damage they cause—deer being the worst offenders. When we had Black Angus cattle, our electric fencing and daily presence helped deter wildlife. Back then, the deer were less bold. Now, they jump fences, trample tomato cages, and no longer limit themselves to just a few crops—they eat nearly everything.

Smaller animals show up once crops begin to ripen: squirrels bite into every tomato, rabbits mow down new seedlings, and raccoons go straight for the cantaloupe and melons, often hollowing them out overnight.

After trying many methods, our current solution is a lightweight mesh netting strung between 6-foot tee posts and anchored to the ground. There’s no gate—we simply pull down the fencing to step over and pull it back up when we’re done in the garden. So far, it’s working well.
Sonar - Noise- Lights

We experimented with solar-powered garden pest deterrents—devices that charge during the day and activate with motion at night. They feature flashing light options and adjustable high-pitched noise settings intended to scare off animals. While the concept is promising, we have no real proof that they’re effective. The pests didn’t seem noticeably deterred, so we consider these more of a “maybe it helps” solution rather than a reliable one.

Bugs

Insect control is important in our garden, and we rely heavily on visual inspection—looking for holes in leaves, signs of chewing, or pests like tomato hornworms. While we aim to avoid insecticides as much as possible, we’re not fully organic. When there’s a clear infestation, we’ll use Sevin dust or Sevin spray selectively and carefully.

We value beneficial insects like ladybugs and do our best to protect pollinators, so any treatments are targeted and used only when necessary. Our approach is to balance intervention with maintaining a healthy garden ecosystem.

Harvesting, Eating, Canning, Freezing, Sharing

Our goal is to have a great harvest of good-tasting, garden-fresh food. We preserve the bounty by freezing and canning so we can enjoy it throughout the year. We love sharing what we grow with family, neighbors, and friends—it’s one of the most rewarding parts of gardening. More than just growing food, we enjoy being part of the process, witnessing the miracles of nature, and simply having fun along the way.