The Perfect Day except for the blood suckers

11-10-2019

A perfect day in South Florida except for the mosquitoes. They are never going away.

Aside from making a hanger for my Epiphyllum, I did quite a bit of repotting.

The Bromeliad was blooming in the tree.

The Patchouli is now in a large pot and I am hoping for loads of leaves to dry. Perhaps I am a 60's kind of girl but I love the smell.

The questionable light yellow elongated pepper is sweet with a tiny bit. I almost ate the whole thing before I remembered I needed it for the egg salad. That is the problem with the initial stages of a garden, you eat everything before you get it in the house.

I discovered that dill and thyme to not like each other. The dill started wilting and I got it away from the thyme fast. I sure hope the lemon thyme doesn't have that effect on lettuce but I am going to be careful where I put all thymes. They were in separate pots!

I am looking for a Silas Woods Sapodilla. It is an everbearing dwarf sapodilla. I am beginning to note my spell checker doesn't have many tropical fruits in it.

George cut a lot of the tropical cherry tree to open up more sunlight for the fruit trees. They will happy tomorrow when the sun shines on them. Now I have to rearrange all the pots.

It was a productive afternoon.

I strung the yarn for the homemade tomato cages. The little spider was upset because her web had to go but I promised her an even better frame for a web. I think I delivered.

I have to admit, this is one of the best lettuces I have ever grow even if it did lose all its siblings. One day it will make a lovely salad with the peanut flowers.

For those of you with Loquat Trees, I am pretty sure this one is blooming.

I got a Burro's Tail at the Mount's sale. Normally I would have killed most of it by now....I know, it's only been a week but I am fast.... but I think it likes where is it. They have plenty more in the nursery for sale. 

And here we have two  victims of the Lowes garden department I am nursing back to health

It is amazing the offerings I  make to  the local bees to get them into my garden. I have three wild hives at the shop and barely a single bee two blocks away at home. Do I need to give them a van ride over here? A map? Come on Ladies, I have flowers!

Have a great night folks.

Lose your tags....

If Florida were like today year round, we would have build a wall at the border. It is a glorious day.

If you are like me, the squirrels take your plant tags. For some reason I can never remember epiphyllum. What's that huge plant...errr. giant cactus that I can never get to bloom. You have no idea how well I can grow those things but so far,  I have never managed to bloom one because the temperatures don't get low enough, BUT THE NAME.

The squirrel, as usual, is the culprit. He bit through the nylon hanging basket cord so I had to replace it with metal ones today. The metal ones are UGLY and they have 4 wires instead of the three I use on the pot. So, I use pony beads to cover the wires but I still have one wire left and I am too superstitious to cut it off so I usually hang something from it.

Last night I was at Michaels, which is not the place to get pony beads, and they had 2 packages of alphabet beads on clearance. For 2 bucks, I can't go wrong. I will use them and today, I had a use. I had to go to JoAnn's to get nice jeweled plastic pony beads cheap.

I looked at the extra wire hanging out and package of alphabet beads and it all came together. I will not be forgetting Epiphyllum again.

And if I do, I can just read the wire.

Cool Front

I got up early and watered the outside front as a cool front was coming through with rain. Since the soil in South Florida is 100% sand, rain will take a swift trip through  to the aquifer if the sand isn't wet when the rain comes. So, here I stand, hand watering the swale as a thunderstorm looms on the horizon. Now the neighbors are certain I am crazy.
By mid afternoon the rain arrived and the plants celebrated. Tomorrow will be dry and gardening will happen in cooler weather. I actually went shopping tonight and didn't come home dripping  sweat.  It seemed like  a miracle.
The Loquat tree I bought is definitely blooming. There will be fruit! We shall see how good the cultivar Xmas is.
I got some of those landscaping peanut plants discounted at Lowes. Now I wish I had bought them all. They do not produce peanuts but do multiply via underground runners slowly. However, the flowers are edible. I am hooked on those little yellow flowers. They taste a bit like smoked almonds.
Another couple of little tomatoes ripened yesterday. WOW, are they good and of course, they are the one plant without a tag from the nursery! I did so much transplanting yesterday that I now need more soil.
My African Violet leaves have produced babies! I had to buy tiny pots at JoAnn's Craft Store to repot them. Yikes, they are expensive. Now  for  a tip. When you buy a violet, take a couple of leaves for propagation just in case the mother plant decides to die on you. I wish I had done that with my last two minis. I lost my favorite one. Of the two, it was the happiest, healthiest. Then one morning, it was dead and the other one is still hanging in there. You never know  with them.

I cut a water bottle in half, punch a hole in the lid with a wire cutter and poke a wick through it. The top half is filled with seed starter mix and dampened, The bottom half is filled with water to  wick water the top half. Into the top I insert  2 leaves from  the mother plant. It can take months but this is what you get, two tiny plants. I will not remove the  mother leaf but transplant the whole thing into a tiny pot with a wick and a reservoir. AV like to be wick watered because they hate to get too dry or have wet leaves.

Calabaza

Calabaza will be coming as soon as I sprout the plentiful seeds. It isn't as flavorful as American winter squash to us humans but in the cat world it is a epicurean delight.
Fud is homemade cat food. Yelling Fud will bring cats from the far reaches of the Cathood. Fresh chicken is quite the lure but lately we have learned that calabaza, which is a West Indian pumpkin bearing little resemblance to an American pumpkin, is a real favorite edging out cooked carrots. It is Cucurbita moschata. Is is not a favorite of the Mamma, as it is tough and hard to dice and peel. But they can tell it from American winter squash which are a so-so veggie in the Cathood.
Calabazas are vines though one bush type has been seen.

Welcome to the equator, I'm sure it has moved.

11-06-2019

I don't know which is wilting faster, me or the plants. It is 81F, feels like 87F with 71% humidity. I didn't go out earlier because it was 87F feels like 95F and I figured I would pass out. That was 11 AM. It is almost 6 and almost dark. Welcome to SoFl.

The lettuce, collards and mustard are falling over. They cannot take the heat. I know how they feel. After an entire day of rain yesterday, many plants are drying out. The weather has never been this hot. I think we will have to move planting the cool season crops to December or my living room under lights. The cabbage and Brussels sprouts are holding there own.

We were at the farm stand on Saturday and they had some Georgia Brussels Sprouts. They were tiny because of the heat. Please tell us again how there is no Global Warming. I have no idea how anyone who gardens or farms could say that with a straight face. If it would just cool down a tad, I could get the repotting done and a new garden bed in. I have no hope for that. I have a splitting headache from the heat. I was outside less than a half an hour doing really light work.

I did harvest the first tiny tomato, several of the Loco Peppers, a couple of Key Limes, and a couple of jalapenos or sweet peppers. I will know later tonight. I have flowers on all the tomatoes and most of the peppers. The Mums cannot take the heat and are dying off. The mint is struggling. As long as I douse the oregano with plenty of water, it is great. Even the Sun impatiens are having a hard time of it. A couple of cacti have asked to return to the desert where it is cooler. The true tropical trees like a Mammy Sapote, Loquat, Sapadillo, avocado etc are happy. The weather is equatorial. The citrus are not happy.

The squirrels found the avocados and all we got were 5 of them and a bunch of seeds on the ground. Oh well, plenty to share and I have not been getting out with the desired peanuts early enough. This weekend, more tree trimming is on the agenda. We have to get more light to the little citrus trees. I am sure you will get a picture of the trash pile on Monday.

You can expect higher prices for fresh veggies around Thanksgiving to kick in because Florida is too hot for bumper crops and CA is burning.

Good Growing.

Remember, true resistance is growing your own food.

The Day After Plant-a-Palooza

I know there are plants screaming for attention outside but I am still beat from walking 20 or more miles yesterday. That is probably an exaggeration but you can tell my hips and legs that. I am not arguing with them. Senior citizen gardening is a slow process, about as slow as plants grow.
My sole achievement for the morning is another waterer and look what Dollar Tree  got in: huge clear glass drops!

Thank you blogger for automatically saving everything in draft mode because this tired Druid shut the whole browser down trying to close the photo program.
Perhaps someone should tell those plants it is for their own good they are temporarily on their own.

Allspice, Bay leaves and the Mangoes

George picked up an Allspice tree. I admit to knowing nothing about it so read this article:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/herbs/allspice-pimenta/allspice-for-cooking.htm

I had no real idea what it was and you pirate fans are going to find it interesting.
George thought he was going to use the leaves but apparently, you use the fruit.
www.plantinstructions.com/plants/how-to-grow-allspice-pimenta/

Well, well.... we have a lot of surprises with this one.

I also got a Bay Laurel tree which you can keep small and even grow it in a pot. It is very slow growing. It is one of the oldest trees in cultivation. This website has all the information you could want:
https://gardenerspath.com/plants/herbs/bay-laurel/

I also got to see a dwarf and semi-dwarf mango tree. The dwarf was the cutest little thing but it had an attitude. The semi-dwarf was more laid back. I am convinced I want a couple. Unfortunately they are expensive so they will have to wait.

I couldn't help but think that if my houseplant group had been set down there they would have gone crazy. Most of them are dragging plants into the house because of frost and snow. They have never seen their houseplants in their natural form.
I stayed away from the begonia booth but the African Violets caught me. I came home with 4, 2 mini trailers and 2 standards. Now I just have to clear the plant shelf off and take the seedlings outside.
It is amazing how work multiplies.

The Everglades Tomato - the wild one.

Now that I have my Everglades Tomato, I am learning more and more about them.
For instance, they are not the normal tomato we grow but a wild variety from Ecuador and Peru.
They are used in hybridizing because of their disease tolerance.
And I had better make them one big bed because they grow to 12 feet or more.
http://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/charlotteco/2019/06/25/tiny-but-tough-the-everglades-tomato/

Everglades Tomato for Backyard Vegetable Gardens | Birds & Blooms

Everglades Tomato for Backyard Vegetable Gardens | Birds & Blooms: This grape-sized tomato is so easy to grow, it's a perfect fit for beginner backyard vegetable gardens. It even tolerates heat, humidity, and heavy rain!

Too Close for Comfort, I almost bought an ornamental tree.

It's called Colville's Glory.

It was one of the first things I spied as we turned the corner. It was impossible to miss.

It took my breath away and then I got closer and closer.

That bloom is almost a foot long. The bees were going crazy over them. My dreams of a Jacaranda have been trounced by this beauty. If only I had a place for an ornamental tree, this would be the baby. Perhaps .... nah....I am stuck where I am.

This was a tempting second but it had no name on it.

It is an American Hophornbean.

Home!

I survived the Mount's sale, barely. Geesh, that place is big. I got most of the plants I was looking for except the Bell Carambola. I was successful in getting an Everglades tomato, 3 of them in the pot, 2 patchouli plants, several other herbs, a loquat but not exactly my preferred variety. I had a close encounter of almost buying an ornamental tree. If I ever get the picture function on the computer to work again or am able share anything to Facebook, I will get you a picture. It was beautiful.
Now I need some rest before taking care of the plants.

Once again..........

Half way through the day, I can no longer post to Facebook, so please  subscribe to this blog. It is the only way to hear from me. Carts are packed. Space in van is secured. Sandwiches are bought and ready. Cold Coffee is ready. Clothes are set out. Gas tank is full. Boxes are waiting in van. I think I have everything including money. On my list is Everglades tomatoes, tropical coleus that is edible, Logan tree and any herbs we can find.....Now to sleep.