Manure Depot » In The Garden

In The Garden: Revisiting Sweet Potatoes

Adina — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 01:39:07 +0000

The sweet potato plant has multiple uses in the garden as a root crop, a leaf crop, and a cover crop. All parts can be used to feed livestock as well as people and it is at its best growing in hot dry sandy soil. This is a great permaculture crop for South Florida.

In The Garden: October 2011, Plant Now!

Adina — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 02:22:37 +0000

Fall is the beginning of our cold crop planting season in South and Central Florida. Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplant, Basil and Beans that were started in August may be getting ready to fruit, and may ripen fruit before our first frost. If you are starting those plants now you will have to protect them from the Continue reading →

Environment: It’s Raining

Adina — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 18:11:14 +0000

I become a believer around rain. We Floridians have been in a long and exceptional drought since winter (ours is not the only state in an exceptional drought). All anyone here talks about is rain. No conversation ends that someone doesn’t speak of needing rain, with agreement all around. It’s raining and I am grateful. Continue reading →

In The Garden: Summer Crops For South Florida

Adina — Wed, 11 May 2011 01:57:08 +0000

For many years I let my gardens fallow over the summer all the while feeling quite sure that there were crops that we could grow here in South Florida in the summer time, but I couldn’t figure out what they were, and I didn’t know who to ask. In order to save you the same Continue reading →

In The Garden: When It Is Cold, Sheets & Straw To The Rescue

Adina — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 20:20:22 +0000

Even with expecting cold weather, choosing our warmest spots for our most tender vegetables, and growing lots of brassicas, onions, and carrots every where else, we need lots of great strategy for protecting our tender and often favorite vegetables. Local farmers are losing millions of dollars in tomatoes in these low temperatures. There isn’t much they can do for a field of tomato plants in 20 degree weather, but we gardeners having far fewer plants to protect, can afford to put lots of effort into just a few plants.

In The Garden: When It Got Cold

Adina — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 03:56:47 +0000

The fall of 2009 was very hot and humid. We didn’t have night time temperatures below 70 degrees f. until it was officially winter time. By the time New Years Eve rolled around we had begun to have extremely cold weather and it continued well into February giving us very few warm days in between Continue reading →

In The Garden: Growing Legumes

Adina — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 01:21:55 +0000

Many growers have forgotten about legumes as nitrogen fixers, or have forgotten how to use them to help build garden soil. This would be unforgettable information except that it is easier to buy a bag of fertilizer. The bag of fertilizer method is easier for sure, but it is more expensive, hard on soil, and is a potential pollution threat to our water ways. Legumes lock up nitrogen for future use. Plants know how to tease nutrients out of soil, and how to attract and make deals with bacteria, fungi, and protozoa for the nutrients they hold in their bodies. Growing legumes enriches the soil and the microbes in the soil with nitrogen that plants are able to use.

In The Garden: What To Plant In April In South Florida

Adina — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 03:32:00 +0000

It is April in the South Florida garden, and the winter vegetables are loosing their shine. It is time to pull out the last of the carrots, and as the broccoli spears get longer and begin flowering it is time to harvest the leaves for the cook pot. The dill is flowering, the cilantro too, and the onions are putting on some serious size. My last crop of lettuce is nearly picking size, and the older crops are all bolting. The peas and tomatoes are ripening fast now, and the eggplant and the peppers are flowering.

In The Garden: Creating Support For Your Vegetable Plants

Adina — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 02:31:18 +0000

In the garden it is important to create support for your climbing vegetable plants. Pole beans, cucumbers, squash, and tomatoes benefit from good support systems. In the case of tomatoes, and for our region specifically, a tomato support system should be designed to also support coverings like tarps or sheets, in case of a frost Continue reading →

In The Garden: Growing Bitter Melon

Adina — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 03:50:17 +0000

In previous posts I have mentioned growing bitter melon in the garden. For many years I have enjoyed eating this unusual asian bitter gourd. While working in Chinese restaurants I had the good fortune to eat food that Chinese chefs do not make for their American clientele. Each day the chef made something traditional for Continue reading →

Late September In The Garden

Adina — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 01:38:33 +0000

It is late September in the garden. The new moon has just passed. The last day of summer is past, and it is snowing in Colorado. It is still wicked hot here in South Florida, but fall weather is right around the corner. This is a good time to put seeds and transplants in the Continue reading →

In The Garden: Companion Planting

Adina — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:19:33 +0000

I have been studying companion planting in the garden. With a single google search you or I can come up with myriad charts for companion planting, so I see no reason to repeat that arrangement of information. Rather I am going to write about how I am grouping the vegetables I am planting this year Continue reading →