At this point I have the bulk of the garden established, but still can't resist adding more stuff. Especially since I just harvested the last of the Kale (definitely planting this again next winter) and still have carrots in the ground.
So far, the tomatoes are doing great. Have had some minor insect issues with leaf miner, whitefly and aphids, but nothing that an application of spinosad can't cure.
The summer squash have already yielded 2 squash with several more ready to harvest by this weekend. However, I am already seeing signs of powdery mildew, my main garden nemesis.
Vermont Cranberry beans are going great, plants are already loaded with tons of pods and I am considering planting more when I pull the last of my carrots.
'Cossack Pineapple' Tomatillas are doing great and are loaded with fruit, so I am just waiting for the first one to ripen.
The Pepino's are ....growing.....sooo.....slowly. But I can't complain because the plants look healthy so I will just have to be patient.
The Yard Long Beans are not doing as well as expected, but I think the reason is that they are not getting enough water. My micro-irrigation system does not seem to reach the center of the beds very effectively. I will rectify this over the weekend. We also had a couple of late frosts which definitely impacted these as seedlings, not enough to kill them but enough to set them back.
The 'Seminole' Pumpkins are doing surprisingly well. No sign of powdery mildew, but we'll see how far into summer they will last.
The 'Pike' Muskmelon did not make it, they were hit with powdery mildew fairly quickly, which is a shame because their growth rate was phenomenal. I garden organically and will treat occasionally with organic pesticides and will occasionally use Neem oil for fungus. However, powdery mildew is not cured only controlled, and I refuse to spend all my time in the garden treating my crops. Especially there are so many other crops to grow that will thrive in our environment. Needless to say I ripped out the Muskmelon and replaced it with the Malabar spinach seeds that I forgot I purchased.
'Roma' Green Beans doing great, small pods already forming. I am hoping to have something to eat in another week.
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Garden Fruit Production
It's late April and I am very pleased with the progress of my fruit plants and trees. For Christmas of 2012 I received 1 almond and 3 cherry trees. I know this sounds like the beginning of a Christmas carol, or a fairy tale considering I live in central Florida. However, I found two varieties of cherry trees that were purported to fruit in extreme low chill environments. I followed this up with some research that yielded mixed reports of success, but since I am Super Gardener, I made a Christmas present request for these trees. Therefore I became the happy owner of 1 'Minnie Royal' and 2 'Royal Lee' Cherry Trees, as well as a 'Garden Prince' dwarf Almond Tree. They came bare root and were planted into 15 gallon pots. Then in July I put them in the ground. Anxiously I waited all winter through their dormancy to see if I would have any blossoms this spring. And they did! But only 5, and all on one tree. So I doubt they will result in actual cherries. I am gratified that they received enough chill hours to bloom their first spring in the ground, and will wait patiently for next spring.
The thornless blackberries are doing great and I anticipate having a great harvest. I bought the first one 5 years ago from a nursery that actually specialized in trees. I bought it and never even asked what variety is was, and have been uable to find out ever since. Whichever variety it is, is very prolific. It rooted through the bottom of the pot and has produced 5 additional plants. I have all 6 plants trellised and based on the number of blossoms I'm seeing, I am anticipating a good crop.
Under the blackberries, I planted 'Tri Star' Strawberries, which I rarely get any fruit from between the birds and the dogs (yes, my dogs eat strawberries). But they are doing very well, and I often see small birds, maybe wrens, eating bugs off the veggies in my garden. So if they are the same birds eating the strawberries then we are square.
The 'Florida Belle' Peach I purchased last year in August has already almost doubled in size. This spring it produced numerous blooms which were all successfully pollinated. Realizing that the tree was still too small to support all that fruit, I removed all the young fruit except for 2.
The 'Gulf Beauty' Plum that was also purchased in August 2013 is doing great as well. It has tripled in height and bloomed successfully this spring, but I did not allow this tree to keep any of the blooms though.
The 'Clayton' Mulberry took a bit of a beating this winter as my dogs insist on brushing past it while running through the yard. But it has numerous blooms on it and is thriving.
The limequat is doing great. I wanted a lime type of citrus to utilize in my Corona beers, and found that the limequat which a hybrid of a lime and a kumquat is extremely cold tolerant. And it was fortuitous that I soon came across one at Lowe's a few weeks later. I have it in a pot so that I can move it into the greenhouse in the event of a hard frost and have already harvested several limes from it.
The Kiwi vines 'Vincent' and 'Tomuri' are just coming out of dormancy, but are not very photogenic yet as the leaves are just emerging. I am hoping that the vines will bloom this spring. I also have some 'Sunshine Blue' and 'Missy' Blueberry plants I recently purchased that already had blooms and fruit on them at time of purchase. From my research, these two varieties are the most tolerant of pH fluctuation so I am curious to see how they produce next year.
The thornless blackberries are doing great and I anticipate having a great harvest. I bought the first one 5 years ago from a nursery that actually specialized in trees. I bought it and never even asked what variety is was, and have been uable to find out ever since. Whichever variety it is, is very prolific. It rooted through the bottom of the pot and has produced 5 additional plants. I have all 6 plants trellised and based on the number of blossoms I'm seeing, I am anticipating a good crop.
Under the blackberries, I planted 'Tri Star' Strawberries, which I rarely get any fruit from between the birds and the dogs (yes, my dogs eat strawberries). But they are doing very well, and I often see small birds, maybe wrens, eating bugs off the veggies in my garden. So if they are the same birds eating the strawberries then we are square.
'Tri Star' Strawberries
The 'Florida Belle' Peach I purchased last year in August has already almost doubled in size. This spring it produced numerous blooms which were all successfully pollinated. Realizing that the tree was still too small to support all that fruit, I removed all the young fruit except for 2.
'Florida Belle' Peach
Peach tree in front of the garden, the multi-colored blob
is Callie the Garden Cat
The 'Gulf Beauty' Plum that was also purchased in August 2013 is doing great as well. It has tripled in height and bloomed successfully this spring, but I did not allow this tree to keep any of the blooms though.
The 'Clayton' Mulberry took a bit of a beating this winter as my dogs insist on brushing past it while running through the yard. But it has numerous blooms on it and is thriving.
The limequat is doing great. I wanted a lime type of citrus to utilize in my Corona beers, and found that the limequat which a hybrid of a lime and a kumquat is extremely cold tolerant. And it was fortuitous that I soon came across one at Lowe's a few weeks later. I have it in a pot so that I can move it into the greenhouse in the event of a hard frost and have already harvested several limes from it.
The Kiwi vines 'Vincent' and 'Tomuri' are just coming out of dormancy, but are not very photogenic yet as the leaves are just emerging. I am hoping that the vines will bloom this spring. I also have some 'Sunshine Blue' and 'Missy' Blueberry plants I recently purchased that already had blooms and fruit on them at time of purchase. From my research, these two varieties are the most tolerant of pH fluctuation so I am curious to see how they produce next year.
'Sunshine Blue' Blueberry
Friday, April 4, 2014
Baby Veggies
It's only the beginning of April but I already have baby veggies forming! It won't be long now.
Red Bell Pepper
'Cossack Pineapple' Tomatilla
'Fancy Crookneck' Summer Squash
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Tomato Update
I am happy to report that the tomatoes are doing great! I have found that the minimum threshold that tomatoes can take is around 38 degrees F. Although I did have minor leaf damage to some very small tomato plants at this temperature, more mature specimens came through just fine. Even the blossoms were not affected.
'Chianti Rose' Tomato at 2' tall
'Beefmaster' Tomato between 20" and 21" tall
My husband and I have a bet going. I say that due to planting early and the frost protection I have given these plants that I will have an edible tomato ready by the middle of May. He says that no matter what measures I take, there will not be edible tomatoes until the first week in June. I think I'm going to win.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)