Garden Change

Our early spring garden.

This photo was taken on April 19 of our backyard vegetable garden. Things have changed in just a little over 6 weeks. Take a look!

Look how the letuce has grown!! And it is delicious. Big red leaf is Red Derby, Caretaker (head lettuce), green bibb, speckled bibb, and green romaine are the different kinds of lettuces in the plantings.

Strawberries blooming on May 14.

Amazing how just eleven days after taking the picture above, I had berries for breakfast! On May 25, my birthday, my hubby surprised me with strawberries from the garden for my morning cereal. A very special treat since the JUNE-bearing are about two weeks early.  So far my DH has picked nine pounds of the sweet berries...soooooooooo good!

Irrigating Your Garden

Greetings from Florida. We found our garden in good shape when we arrived this fall. My DH couldn't wait to get the plants he started in Michigan into the ground. They were packed in the back of the truck at least four days...no water either. They seem to be okay, no worse for the travel. Of course the sun and warm weather perks up everyone...even plants!

The first thing after planting the lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, he rigged up his irrigation system through out the garden.You can see from the pictures he uses pvc pipe and spaghetti style tubes. Each plant has a tube to water it. With one flick of the faucet, the garden gets watered. No more hanging onto a hose. It's fast and easy.

As you can see, this is a raised garden. I like the look of it with the deep green metal sides. We have two 6' x 10' planters with ten inch sides and a walkway between them.

Garden Tip: Our neighbor across the street decided to irrigate his garden like this too. He found window spline from the aluminum retail store makes a great tube to use.

To read more about this garden, click on the raised garden label in the list at the right.

Cold Resistant Crops in the Florida Garden

Sorry I haven't posted much on the Florida garden lately. That's because the cold, freezing nights are taking a toll on the garden. We have definitely learned to grow ONLY cold resistant crops. All the beans were bit, but we did manage to get twelve Jade green beans before they were completely done in. No beans next year.

We are amazed at how well the lettuce holds up. Of course my DH covers the garden on those cold nights. Usually Florida doesn't have the hard freezes lasting five hours or more. But not true this year! The lettuces have taken the freeze and actually are growing very well and producing tasty greens. We have romaine, Mighty Joe, Devil's Tongue, and a red bibb that are providing delicious salads for us.

Onions and radishes are producing. The beets are not growing very fast as you can imagine, but big enough to pull and eat. We have also enjoyed cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli...all cole crops and hardy in cold temps.

Our winter garden is not a bust this year, but we have learned only cold resistant crops are suitable for Florida winter gardens in our area.

A Grudge Against Slugs

Yeewwwwww----there is nothing more disconcerting than cleaning a beautiful head of Might Joe lettuce and discovering slugs....Slugs, imagine a snail without its shell, are a problem for us this year. These slimy creatures which could star in a B Hollywood horror movie are voracious eaters and leave a trail of slime on the plants as they eat through your garden at night.

They love moist habitat, so if overwatering or rains occur, be prepared to battle the nasty invaders.

There are many home gardeners methods of ridding the garden of slugs. The simplest is to hunt them down and squish them or take a salt shaker to the garden in the night. Shaking salt on them will cause the slug to dry out, but don't over do it since salt is deadly for growing plants.

We also have the drinkers solution to killing plants. Placing a saucer of beer near the infested area will draw the slugs for party time, but when they decide to crawl in for a sip, they will drown in the beer. Be sure the saucer is deep enough that the slimy creature can't crawl out after imbibing. Spreading coffee grounds is a much touted method of killing slugs, however, we have not used them. From research on the Internet it appears that it is more of a wive's tale that coffee grounds actually kill, but may be a deterrent. Most of the information does not give credence to the use of coffee grounds.

My DH mixed up a combination of one part ammonia to nine parts water and sprayed only in the areas where he found slugs in our lettuces. He said the varmints aren't so evident now, but it could be that the areas are drier now.

Do you have any ideas on killing these disgusting creatures? We would all be much obliged to hear your method. Thanks.

Spring Gardening is Here!

Lettuce ready to go in the garden.

Tomato plants transplanted into 4 inch pots. Whenever these freezing nights moderate, the tomato plants will find a home in the garden. We use gallon milk jugs to protect tender plants from cold weather. 

Garden is ready. We added lots of horse manure last fall. The ground worked up beautifully. The straw is pushed away from the strawberry plants and rhubarb.

Rhubarb plants are near the strawberry plants. Both are looking healthy.

Freezing Florida Temps and Gardens

Yep, that's right. Freezing Florida temperatures. And not for a night or two. No-o-o-o, it has been over a week of below freezing temps in Florida. The orange, strawberry, and blueberry farmers are getting no rest because they are up all night monitoring the temps. They turn water on to spray the plants and cover them to make a thin layer of ice which somehow, is more safe than letting them freeze. I need to do more research on this because I know the farmers do this up North also to save the apple crop, etc.

We have covered our little garden, and yet, the lettuce (Romaine) froze. Icy leaves under the cover. However, they thawed and returned to edible lettuce. Yes, we ate them and they tasted fine and fresh. Our neighbor pulled his radishes, frozen, put them in water, and they were fine too. Incredible isn't it?

Dec. 21 my DH planted carrot seed in the ground. During this cold snap, we were amazed to see the little green sprouts in the row. Evidently the ground is warm enough for them to germinate. However these last few days will be the test to see if the above ground small leafy plant will continue to grow or to freeze and die. If the plants make it, we also are curious to see if the carrots will be stunted by the cold temps.

This is our first attempt at raising carrots in Florida. We're probably nuts to try it, but that's what gardening is all about--experimenting, improving, always trying something new. I'll give you a report in about 60 days.

Last night was the coldest night yet--we had 10 degrees on our thermometer low and we are about 40 miles north of Tampa. However it is going to warm up to 52 today and by the weekend it will be 72. Hurry up weekend!

Update on the Florida Garden

This has been an unusually wet year in Florida. With the nice rains and the horse manure that my DH worked into the garden, the plants are loving it. We have had delicious Romaine lettuce, green onions, and radishes to make colorful, tasty salads. I have added raisins to the salad bowl giving it a sweet sparkle in every bite.

Today my DH started Mighty Joe lettuce, Raptor MI romaine lettuce, Red Derby MI bibb lettuce, Hybrid spinach, and corn salad seeds in a flat. He will transplant the seedlings to the garden in about 14 days. Are you familiar with corn salad? He has never grown this variety of, we think, some kind of lettuce. It is supposed to spice up a salad. Give us 44 days and we can tell you how it is....

The broccoli heads are forming and the cabbage heads look very good. Last summer, after having so many great heads of cabbage, I thought I would never eat another serving of cole slaw again. However, at this point, I can hardly wait to cut the first crisp head and chop it up in the blender to make slaw!

One week from Christmas. Christmas in Florida is very different from the Christmases I have experienced in the northern winters. Palm trees lighted, warm sunny days, and walking around the neighborhood in shorts to view the lights are just a few of the examples of a Florida Christmas. But no matter where you celebrate Christmas, I wish you the joy, love, and peace that comes with the birth of Baby Jesus.

Merry Christmas!!

Recipe--Seven Layer Salad

Seven Layer Salad made with lettuce grown in our Florida garden

Seven Layer Salad is always a hit at potlucks and family gatherings. This Thanksgiving feast was no exception. We enjoyed a great picnic at Lake Tarpon Park near Tarpon Springs, FL, yes the city known for its Greek culture and sponge diving. The lake was beautiful and a bit windy, and the Florida sunshine was present in all its glory. We spent the day with our neighbor's family which numbered into 30 or so. Too many people for one house so they always have a picnic in the park for Thanksgiving. Lots of food and lots of fun including ladder golf and cornhole and a beautiful walk on the nature trail by the lake.

I am sharing this recipe for Seven Layer Salad, one of our family favorites. You may want to add or delete any of the layers. I like to add boiled eggs and radishes, so that may make it a nine layer salad. Use what you have from your garden to make this a tasty addition to your turkey or ham dinner or to your cookout with burgers and dogs.

Seven Layer Salad

Shred lettuce to fill a 9 x 13 pan.

1/2 c. chopped green pepper

1/2 c. celery

1 sweet onion, sliced thin

1 package frozen peas, not thawed

1 c. mayonnaise mixed with 2 T. sugar

Place veggies in pan in order listed above.

Sprinkle 4 ounces cheddar cheese on top of dressing.

Cook 6 strips of bacon. Break them up when cool and place on top of cheese.

Cover. Place in refrigerator for 24 hours.

Thanks Eichs for this great recipe!

Verdict is In on the Lettuce

My husband started seeds in Michigan to plant in our Florida garden. He planted them in the garden after the poor little things made the long trip stashed in the backend of the pickup truck, Big Blue, for 5 days. Needless to say they were not in the best of shape. After planting, the weather was in the 90's, hot and humid. Not exactly optimal weather for lettuce. But, the plants are big enough now so that he pulled off some leaves for a salad.

I washed them up, Romaine lettuce called Victoria, and tasted them. I was afraid with all the heat the flavor would be bitter. Unfortunately I was right. They taste bitter. They are crisp and crunchy so I am going to mix them in with some Romaine lettuce I purchased from the store and throw in a bunch of veggies and dressing. I am hoping the flavor will not be so strong as to make the whole salad bitter.

Lettuce likes a cooler growing season. Now I know why....

Heat and Lettuce

It is hot here in Florida...high 80' and nighttime temps in the 70's. Very unusual for this time of year. What is it going to do to our lovely lettuce plants? Will the heat make them bitter? Aaarghhh.

Cauliflower Salad Recipe Re-discovered

Alright, I admit that I really need to go through my recipe box and re-organize. I happily discovered this Cauliflower Salad recipe when rummaging for a different salad recipe in one of the index card file boxes which house my recipes. Yes, filed in S for salad, not C for cauliflower. (My daughters laugh at my filing method....)

This is a special recipe because it is written out in my mother's distinct Zaner-Bloser handwriting which she taught as a second grade teacher. Beautiful writing on a yellowed blue lined sheet of paper. She passed away in 1993, so finding this brought back great memories of sharing recipes.

I made up the salad, and, after the first bite, my husband said, "This is good." I haven't made it for awhile as you can tell from this story. It was a refreshing way to use up the cauliflower and lettuce we are in the final stages of harvesting. The dressing would be good for any veggie salad I think, easily prepared and kept in the refrigerator if you can't use all of it at one time. Enjoy...

Cauliflower Salad

1 head lettuce

1 lb. bacon, fried and crumbled

1 medium onion, chopped

1 head of cauliflower, broken up

1/2 c. parmesan cheese (I used colby shredded cause that's what I had)

Layer above ingredients in order.

Mix:

1 c. sour cream (light would be okay to use if you like the flavor)

1 c. mayo (I used light Miracle Whip dressing)

1/2 c. sugar

Pour over salad. Toss before serving. It would be fun to experiment adding other veggies and ingredients such as raisins, nuts, sunflower seeds.....

Thanks, Mom.

THINK FALL CROPS NOW

My hubby was planting tiny little lettuce seeds into the sectioned flats this morning at coffee time. Yes, instead of talking to me, he was planting, and I was talking...LOL. He had to concentrate on picking up the seed with a tweezer and carefully placing it in the soil. In a couple of weeks, the plants will be ready to put in the garden for mid-September lettuce salads. He plans to put the broccoli plants in soon.

I usually just take for granted that the crops are ready to eat at the proper time during the season. Writing this blog makes me more aware of the timing that is necessary to hit the optimum growing times for the plants to get the best production. It is like preparing a meal. The meat, gravy, potatoes, biscuits, vegetables, and salad all have to be ready at the same time so they will be tasty. (It's also easier to put it all on the table at one time rather than hopping up to get an item when it is cooked, then the next, then the next, etc. I learned this in high school in Home Ec 101 !!!)

Gardening in the Southern states requires the same optimal timing so you don't bake your plants in the summer or frost them in the winter.

Perhaps I should have titled this post, Timing is Everything.....

Garden Check Up

Checking in on the progress of our veggie and fruit production. Yes, I have to include fruit because the strawberries are absolutely going bananas! In our patch that we planted Spring 2008, this year we are taking out 12-15 quarts of berries every other day. AND they are nice sized berries, and may I add, delicious. The neighbors and our kids love them too. Yes, we are sharing rather than making jam or freezing. Check out my strawberry pie recipe in an earlier blog if you are in the midst of berry season.

The following is my husband's garden report in a nutshell:
Have bibb and romaine lettuce galore, but with the heat it is starting to bolt.

The first sweet corn I had planned on having by 4th of July tassled out at 2 feet, so it will not have ears worth a darn. It has been too cold this spring and early summer.

I planted tomato seed the end of April and those plants are just as big as the plants I bought in May. Go figure.

I have 36 pepper plants. They are doing real well in the heat-- yellow, red, purple, brown, green.

We have eaten all the broccoli up. Now waiting on side shoots to grow out. Cabbage is just heading up. Cauliflower is still a ways off.

Beans aren't growing worth a darn, but the onions are growing great.

Watermelon and cantaloupe are just limping along.

We have little zucchini forming on the plants.

Pumpkins are going great. We have a new one this year called Knucklehead. It has warts all over it. We haven't told the grandkids yet, so that will be a surprise. Maybe they can win the Ugliest Pumpkin award at the Harvest Festival this year.

That's the run down on the garden at this point. Summer is half over. Hope your gardens are growing well. Leave a comment and let me know how you are doing. Thanks.

The Taste of Spring

Woo Hoo! It's beginning to look like a garden now. In Michigan most folks wait till after Memorial Day to the first week of June to plant due to crazy frosts. Tonight, June 2, a frost is predicted in our area. Yep, DH just planted the tomatoes and peppers.......Wouldn't ya' know?

We have had delish salads from our lettuce decorated with home grown radishes. I am anxious to try a new leaf lettuce that is red and spotted, Freckles. There are so many colorful lettuces available. I know, I know. The deeper the green, the better for you. But, um, how about red??

The broccoli has little tiny heads on it now. Onions are lookin' great. And oh, those strawberries are full of blooms. DH started the corn in the greenhouse and it is standing tall right now.

Just a reminder that broccoli and lettuce are crops that can be planted later this summer and harvested in the fall. However, in our area the seed cannot be found when it is time to plant again, so be sure to buy enough seed for fall plantings now. These cold crops grow better in cool weather and the flavor is milder. It seems as the weather heats up, the flavor turns bitter. Enjoy that fresh spring taste while you can!