Saturday in Pictures

Top row, left to right:  strawberry plant runners, cantaloupe, chili pepper

Middle row, left to right:  sweet potato vine, crepe myrtle, knock out rose bud

Bottom row, left to right:  salvia, avocado, pumpkin squash

Don't Quit Your Day Job

Not much got done in the garden today; I actually had to work.  I'm pretty fortunate to own my own business and work from home.  I get to set my own hours and can work from my kitchen table in front of the windows that overlook the garden.   The problem with that is I, sometimes, get distracted by the view beyond those windows and I end up putting the work aside to play outside.  That was the case this week.  A combination of nice weather and a vacation mindset (even though we've been back for over a week), kept me from completing the stuff that actually brings in a paycheck.  

I got a late start after school drop off because I stopped to help a turtle cross the road and then help a little white dog find his owners.  Poor thing was so scared, but very sweet, and his owners drove by calling for him about ten minutes later.  It must be wayward animal day in my neighborhood. 

So, today was a day to hunker down and get everything finished.  I used the dining room table (not much of a view out that window) to keep me on task.

Luckily, I had help (she says sarcastically).

This is my daughter's kitty, Princess.  When my daughter is at school, Princess follows me around.  She tries to pretend like I am her favorite, but she drops me like third period French as soon as my daughter walks in the door.   When I'm working, she tends to sit on my work and get in the way.  Today was no different.  These construction company logos took twice as long as usual because she kept attacking my hands as I worked.  I did have a good laugh or two at her expense when she backed up while playing with a balled up wad of discarded vinyl and fell off the table.  I am pretty sure laughing at the kitty used up all the good karma I built up this morning, but I couldn't help myself!

I did take a few minutes to snap a couple pics of the garden:

I found lots of little butternuts.  This is Early Butternut grown from seed planted directly in the garden on Aug 19.  There are at least a dozen of these little guys. 

Cucumbers.  My favorite variety Alibi-an almost sweet, small cucumber great for fresh eating or pickling.  They always are the first to bloom and they produce well.  These were planted the same day as the butternuts.  There are not many things cuter than baby cukes!  Mixed in with them are some watermelon that self seeded.

Here is my two sisters bed consisting of squash and beans.  On the back trellis are the Christmas Lima beans that have grown over my head (and I'm 5'9) in the three weeks since planting the seeds!   Everywhere there are squash plants, there are beans in the same bed.  The pumpkins are Lil Pumpkemon; a small, early decorative variety that are white with green and orange stripes.  The description said "strong, vigorous, early maturing vines" so I planned to train them up and over the trellis, but they look distinctly bushy.  The spaghetti squash description said "plan for 5-6 foot vines" so  I planted in two spots and planned to let them fill in the bed.  They look VERY vigorous and I have a feeling they are gonna travel.  Good thing the beds to the right are empty until garlic goes in this winter.  I'll let the vines travel in that direction.  The squash should be harvested just in time to plant garlic.

Tomorrow is a busy family day so I probably won't get out to the garden until Sunday.  I plan to add some worm castings and Azomite to all the fall beds and, weather permitting, harvest one of the three remaining beds of sweet potatoes.  I also hope to bake banana bread and make some broccoli cheddar soup.  I may get one of those things done, lol!  Look for the banana bread recipe tomorrow.  It's my favorite and oh so good.  

Thanks for reading,

Jen

Sometimes, I Just Can't Help Myself

Sugarcane!

Two days ago, I had no idea I would be adding yet another type of plant to my garden.  So, how did I end up with two pots of sugarcane?  Well it goes a little something like this:  empty k-cup coffee grounds into the compost bin; wonder if I can put coffee grounds directly into the soil in my potted blueberries; go on Google; read article about garden supplements; remember that I have a bag of Azomite in the garage that I wanted to try; wonder what plants can use the Azomite; go back on Google-list includes most all my vegetables, ornamentals and sugarcane.  Wait...I can grow my own SUGARCANE?  I quickly remind myself that South Florida is filled with fields of sugarcane and kick myself for not thinking of it sooner.  Of course, I had to find the sugarcane to plant (and find a place to plant it).  That led me back to Google and online stores that sell sugarcane for anywhere from $25 for a potted plant to $60 for a box of cuttings.  Wow, pricey.  

I put the idea aside for possible planting next spring.  About ten minutes later, my phone buzzed an alarm reminding me of the weekly farmers' market.  I tend to forget things, therefore, I have something like thirty alarms set up on my phone reminding me to put out the garbage, bring kids to school, pick up kids from school (I only forgot a few times and they were little so I'm hoping they don't remember).  

So off I went yesterday morning to the farmers' market that is held every Wednesday at the fairgrounds.  I had one thing in mind to buy-sugarcane.  There are a few exotic/tropical plant vendors there and they did not disappoint.  I found one vender with four plants for $5 a pot.  What a bargain!  I would have taken all four but another woman was discussing buying a couple so I only bought two.  He gave me two for $8.  The VERY elderly man running the stand said one was black and very juicy and one was a softer, chewing kind.  The "black" one looks distinctly more red to me, but a quick search said the red ones are good for juice, too.

I'm still trying to decide where to plant these two.  I have a southwest corner of my yard that is a mess of fallen trees, weeds and self seeded papaya plants.  I've been planning to clean/clear it so I can put my avocados in and I think the space along the fence might work.  This won't be an easy project as it involves cutting down a few trees that were snapped off, halfway, in a storm this spring.  

Here is what it looks like now.

As you can see, it's kind of the dump spot of the back yard.  It is an area roughly 20 feet square and is up against a green belt area that we own, but are not allowed to clear.  Before the storm, there was a big oak tree on the far side of the fence and it kept this area in all shade.  When it came down, it took part of the fence, and the tops of all the trees to the left, with it.  You can see a tree hanging from the vines near the jeep.  The guy the neighbors hired to fix the fence just cut the tree off the fence and left it laying in our yard.  Its under the weeds invisible.  In his defense, we told him we wanted the wood for the fireplace.  I'm pretty sure he left the broken fence boards there, too.  This summer, the kudzu and wild grape vines took over everything.  The lawn guy stopped mowing it and I, haphazardly, planted an avocado in a bare patch of grass that's no longer bare.  I have so much work to do, and I'm not really sure I am capable of doing it all.  I hate to admit that this might be a job for a hired crew.  At least the tree removal part.  Somewhere under all the mess, is my winter wood pile (and a suspected carpenter ant home) that I'll need to get access to before it gets cold (stop laughing all you northerners, it happens here).  I was hoping to wait till winter to get back there to work, but it really can't wait much longer.  It's calling to me.

A farmer's work is never done.  Not even for a backyard farmer!

In case you are interested, here are a few links with info and articles about growing sugarcane in your yard:

http://ufdc.ufl.edu/IR00003415/00001

http://lee.ifas.ufl.edu/AgNatRes/Pubs/planting_sugarcane.pdf

http://floridahillbilly.com/grow-your-own-sugarcane/

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/home_blog/2012/01/growing-sugar-cane.html

As always, thanks for reading,
Jen

Harvest Monday, September 16, 2013

Harvested this morning: a mix of hot peppers, sweet peppers and sweet potatoes.

The sweet potatoes are small but were started from clippings about a month after I planted the main crop.  Had to dig up this part of the bed to make room for some early plantings of kohlrabi, brussels sprouts and broccoli.  I did dig up quite a few baby roots that went into the compost so, it's possible, I'll have a second harvest from the compost bin in the spring!

 

Every Monday, Daphne's Dandelions hosts Harvest Monday, a way for you to see what others in the blogosphere are harvesting.  It's amazing to see how the different areas of the country harvest completely different crops.

It's another hot morning in Florida.  The temps are already into the 80's and it's very humid with thunderstorms forecast for the afternoon.  

Got the new beds assembled.  I was lazy and bought the kits rather than build them myself.  They look nice but won't last as long since they are built with wimpy boards, not the 2" rough cedar that I love.  Here is the before and afters.  These beds are for potatoes and garlic that won't be delivered for another month or two so I'll line them with cardboard to kill the sod then flip the sod upside down and fill the beds with soil.

I moved the recently potted blueberries to their temporary home along the western boundary of the garden.  The pool enclosure will start a few feet to the right and, once built, I will move the blueberries over as a privacy hedge along the screen.  That will give me a decent pathway to the right of the new beds.

Here are the other new beds put in yesterday.

The top shows the potted blueberries where I dug them up and now the new beds have taken their place.  The far beds were built around the existing blackberry bushes that I'll move in the winter when they are semi dormant.  The garlic planned for those beds will go in after being chilled in the fridge for a month or so.  It's a mini experiment to see if the pre chilled ones grow bigger bulbs than the ones planted without chilling.

After looking at these pictures I realize how badly I need to mulch the walkways.  Here is a shot I took in the spring after the mulch was put down.  It really pulls the whole garden together and makes it so much cleaner looking.

Well, that's it for today.  I need to get out and start pruning trees before we hit the 90's, again.

Thanks for reading!

Jen

Garden Workday

I was writing today's blog post Nd realized yesterday's never published.  Ugh.  Oh well, here it is, only a day late.  I did get in the garden today and built the new beds.  I'll share those pics tomorrow.

As promised, I spent a good part of the day doing manual labor in the garden.  I didn't get started as early as I'd hoped, my daughter decided I HAD to take her to breakfast.  Our usual diner was closed so we got bagels and croissants then drove thru for some frappuchinos, yum!  Because she forced me to take her out (ok, I love eating breakfast out so it wasn't too hard), I made her stop in at the local big box home improvement store to see what fall veggie plants had come in.  Since I didn't have a chance to start the seeds for my first planting of fall veggies in August, I figured it couldn't hurt to grab a few transplants to get started.  Not much of a selection, but I did manage to buy a few:). I ended up with purple and white kohlrabi, buttercrunch lettuce, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, stevia and purple basil.  I am trying very hard to get away from purchasing plants and start all my own from seed, but, for under $10, I can redeem myself for forgetting to start the seeds on time. 

Once I got out to the garden, it was so very hot-close to 90.  I will be so happy when the temps go down about 15-20 degrees, but I know it'll be at least a month, maybe two, before that happens, and all the hard work will be done by then.  I guess that's the price I pay for having a four season garden!  And, because it's Florida, it rained for a few minutes, then got hot and steamy, then it rained, then the mosquitos came out.  Once again, the price I pay...

I started with some long overdue Tower Garden maintenance.  I pulled out the year old tomato plant (took cuttings to see if they will root),  pruned the cantaloupe to two vines that were just starting to fruit, harvested sweet basil, planted a few of the new buttercrunch lettuce, purple basil and stevia seedlings and then filled the reservoir and cleaned the pump filter (which was filthy and would explain the low flow).  Tomorrow, I will start some seeds in rockwool so they can go into the TG by month's end, hopefully.  Again, I am starting late, but the tower allows me a little leeway with the dates since things seem to grow a little faster when planted in it compared to the ground.  It also regulates the temperature better so I can keep cucumbers and tomatoes going longer into the cooler weather.

Then it was onto the hard work-pulling weeds, pruning, and mulching.  I started at the back patio and made it as far as the first veggie bed.  It was about four hours' worth of work, but the results are worth it.  It looks a lot less cluttered now.

Actually, in this picture it still looks pretty cluttered, but in real life, it looks better, I swear!

I still have to mulch the walkway, but I need to finish the clean up and then build the new beds first.  Hauling yards of mulch from the driveway to the back yard is last on my list of tasks, anyways.

Tomorrow, bright and early, I need to get back out there.  First up is cleaning out the very overgrown and weed filled landscape beds on the sides of the house.  Not really a veggie garden task, but a necessary one that I've avoided doing all summer.  If I have any energy left, I will prune the lemon and nectarine trees that each grew about five feet over the summer.

Thanks for reading!

Jen

While I Was Out

I just got back from my trip to England and Wales and a lot happened in the garden while I was gone!  Mostly, everything grew...a lot.  Including the weeds.  They are everywhere.  I also found caterpillars in my cantaloupe and snail and slug damage on the sweet potato leaves.  

And speaking of sweet potatoes...

They've been on the prowl and are taking over!  I trimmed these vines back to the bed boundaries before I left and this is how I found them today.  Some of the vines grew over five feet-that's over six inches a day!  Since I'm planting fall/winter crops in these beds soon, I will need to dig them up and get them into storage.

I'm planning on working in the garden this weekend and I'm starting to feel a little overwhelmed with all the things that need to be done.  I've got beds to build for potatoes and garlic, tomato plants that need to be pruned and cuttings rooted, seeds to be started, seedlings to be transplanted, trees to be pruned, everything needs spraying with bt and neem oil then given a good feeding of organic fertilizer, and the whole garden needs the paths mulched.  I also need to weed all the landscape beds, stake the blackberry canes, espalier the apple trees and plant two avocado trees that I impulsively took home today (it's a sickness).  Of course, before I can plant those trees, I have to clear the fallen oak trees, overgrown brush, firewood logs and a child's electric jeep ride on toy.  

Work starts tomorrow morning at sun up.  The forecasted high is 91.  One task at a time...

Thanks for reading!

Jen

Garden Guests

I've gotten very little (nothing actually) done in the garden this weekend, so far.  I've been sidelined by a nasty cold and an impending overseas trip.  I did, however take a walk through the garden yesterday with my daughter.  It's usually my son who loves to be the garden helper, my daughter could most times care less what I was doing out there, so I was pleasantly surprised when she wanted to join me.

I walked her through the whole garden and showed her the new seedlings.  She was thrilled that I had planted little pumpkins this year and loved the idea of using them as fall decorations.  She LOVES decorating the house, whether it's for a party or holiday, the girl should really go into party planning.

Her biggest concern was that there were no carrots.  "Where are the carrots?  We grow really good carrots!"  I had to explain that, in Florida, it was too hot for carrots now, but that they were getting planted as soon as we returned from our trip.  Looks like I might need to dedicate some more space to carrots since they are one of only three veggies both my kids will eat (the others being corn and edamame).

I showed her the gerbera daisy plant I bought for her birthday in the spring.  It was loaded with hot pink flowers when I got it, but as many potted flowers do, wilted in the summer heat.  Maybe wilted is too kind of an explanation.  I'm thinking dried up into fire kindling would be a more accurate description.  Not sure whether to toss it or plant it, two weeks ago, I opted for planting and put it into a corner of one of my raised beds.  I figured the pop of color would be nice, if it survived.  To my surprise, it actually came back from the dead very quickly and is already producing new flowers!  My daughter has claimed it as her plant, although I'm not really sure what that means since I know it doesn't involve taking care of it in any way, lol.

When I went out to snap a picture of the daisy, I ran across a cute brown bunny in my backyard.  I quickly called the kids out to come see it and we stood there, watching the bunny watch us and eat grass, for a good five minutes.  Evidently this bunny isn't too scared of humans.  Even when departing, it was more of a slow hop into the woods and not the normal bunny zig zag frenzy hop.  I've never had trouble with the bunnies eating my garden, but I might want to put up the bed fences soon, just in case.  Maybe all the talk of planting carrots yesterday got them excited!

Even though this is my sanctuary, I love when my kids come out and enjoy it with me.  During spring planting, my son was out there every day.  Sometimes he planted seeds, sometimes he dug holes for transplants but, mostly, he just made dirt tracks in the pathways for his hot wheels.  Every so often he'd say "I love hanging out with you, Mommy".  It melted my heart!  I hope, someday, my kids have their own gardens and bring my grandchildren out with them just to "hang out".  Regardless, they will always have a place to play and a flower to plant in the Sanctuary Garden.

Well, that's about it for me this morning.  Time to pack for my trip and nurse this cold.  

Thanks for reading!

Jen