Cooler Weather Wonders!

I am so happy that the weather has cooled off some. Since my last blog post it's like the garden has gone into overdrive. I adore this time of year, where it's mid-80s during the day with lower humidity and drops into the mid-60s overnight. I need to find the place in the world where it's like this all the time!

The rains let up some, which has been wonderful. We had a few 40+ windy days and a series of wicked downpours that were making me chew my nails. I had just transplanted a bunch of tomato and pepper plants into the plot, go figure. But luckily I raised some good hardy seedlings and they made it through. They've since started to increase in size so, I think they will make it. I have a "second string" set still in a bin on the lanai that I continue to baby just in case something crazy happens in the plot while we go on vacation for two weeks coming up. I'm really nervous about the time away. I walk the plot, train the vines and pick what needs to be picked at least two times a day and now we're going away for two weeks.. OYE!!!

Now onto the latest news...

We are harvesting southern peas on a regular basis and the pole beans and lima beans have set pods and should be harvest-able soon.

The radishes really needed the cooler weather and are starting to bulb. Will probably pull the first batch of those up this week. The companion planting with the peppers and tomatoes seems to be working with those. I like maximizing the space out there since I have a small area to work with.

I've had to rethink a few things. The southern peas are vining like crazy and reaching out for everything. I think I am going to just give them more area across the plot than I had originally planned. We really like the peas and want to plant more. I had some unidentified pepper seedlings that I think I am going to find a home for in bins so that the peas can have the space they were initially going to go into.

I also had another square foot open up from where I had originally thought to plant an eggplant. Unfortunately the seeds seem to have stalled under the lights and they won't be ready before the temps drop too low for them to set fruit. I searched for some transplants at the big box store this weekend, but they were all out :(

I also had to put some serious thought into attracting more pollinators to the plot. I had one bee that would occasionally visit the plot, but sightings were few and far between. There were dragonflies, ants, wasps and the occasional butterfly though, so I thought I might be ok. Well I tried to leave the pollinating of the watermelons to Mother Nature and I was not seeing any results. I began to worry it would get too cold to grow the melons before any fruit set, so I went out each morning and helped nature along by hand pollinating with success. And then even my beneficial insects just up and disappeared! Except for the damn ants. I am totally blaming the mosquito control folks for this since their spraying coincides with my insect population loss EVERY time!

So I found myself in desperation trying to attract them. My Mom and I headed to some local nurseries and one of the big box stores this past weekend to get some attractors into the garden. It was amazing to see the progress in action. Even as I was sitting out there potting up the newly purchased flowers, while my Mom was digging the holes for our new bushes, in came the bees and butterflies! I really did do a little dance for joy. Upon some excellent recommendations, I have also started a little water garden. I’m skeptical of the “guaranteed to grow” kit we purchased, but my Mom has hope for it, so I’ll give it some loving attention as needed.

Now onto the pics...

I’ve been taking photos weekly in order to track everyone’s progress and I am so glad I have. It’s nice to look back and see how far things are coming. Since I am walking around the garden at least two times a day, it’s difficult to see the changes. But doing the blog and posting the progression pics has helped a lot. I’m sure I’ll want this info for determining spacing next season too.

Watermelons

I’ll start with the melons since they are in a tie with the corn for my favorite thing to watch growing. They are in full gear grow mode and are fascinating. Recall those vines just barely trailing on the ground? Well they’ve shifted into high gear! I’m actually picking some of the vining heads off in order to keep them trained and hemmed in.

Here they are on 10/6, 52 days from seed.

I hand pollinated a few melons the day after the last blog, since the ones I had taken pics of dried up for not having been pollinated naturally. Wanted to get those melons setting fruit! Lo and behold, I was successful! Here are the pollinated little guys on 10/8, 9 days after I did the do for them. The first pic is of the sugar baby (icebox size) and the second is of the crimson sweet variety (traditional oblong huge size).

And here they are today on 10/12, 58 days from seed, and the melons are 13 days from pollination. They are growing incredibly fast! I have set them up on top of some yogurt cups to keep them up off of the weed fabric. It should keep the worms away and also keep them from rotting if they were to stay sitting in all the recent moisture.

I hand pollinated a bunch of others on the vines, but they have not really started to grow. They have not dried and shriveled up, so I know I got them pollinated. Guess maybe these two beasts are taking all the nutrients and the others are waiting their turn??? I plan to give them their monthly dose of Fox Farm today or tomorrow. So hopefully that will give them a boost if they need it.

Cantaloupe

The cantaloupe vines are coming along nicely. I started to see male blossoms on 10/2 approximately 49 days from seed and 12 days from transplanting. They definitely benefited from getting into the plot and getting some of the fox farm under their feet. Hopefully soon we will have some female blooms. My neighbor already has a lope on his vine that's about the size of a basketball you see in the arcades. Since he has not grown any kind of melons, cucumbers, or broccoli before hearing about my plans for my plot... I'm guessing I inspired him to expand from just tomatoes and lettuce... or we're in a competition and I didn't know it!

Here they are on 10/6, 53 days from seed, 15 days from transplant

And here they are today 10/12, 60 days from seed, 22 days from transplant

Radishes

These are not too terribly exciting... but they are delicious!

Here they were before the cold weather came in and our overnights dropped to temps they like. 10/6, 23 days from direct seed and just a few days after the temps dropped slightly. You can also see my little pepper seedlings that just went in that day.

And here they are today - pretty much at the harvest stage I am thinking. Going to pull one later and see how they look/taste. 10/12, 30 days from direct seed. Looking back at the last blog, I can see how much the cooler temps have helped. The foliage has gone nutso! Here's hoping for some decent radishes beneath all those pretty leaves.

The Transplants

I am soooo excited over these. I had such drama with the seedlings in the start, but seeing the progression on these makes all the hard work of raising them from seed into wonderful plants well worth it! That big box store we were at this weekend, displaying all their transplants - some the same types as I have here - well I would not feel the same way if I had gone that route. AND I know mine are 100% organic from their germination to harvest!

I decided to try a ton of different types of tomatoes this season in order to determine which ones will grow best - and of equal importance - taste the best. Once I figure out which ones satisfy both requirements, then I will only grow those in future. Since we only had two plants last year and harvested a total of 8 tomatoes before they succumbed to disease, we're hedging our bets this season, planting a lot more varieties and quantities. Especially types more suited to our climate. We had a less than desirable outcome with the big box store transplants last season!

These are all from the second batch of seeds I initially started under the lights on 8/16. I kept them under the lights for the first four weeks of their life and then I slowly hardened them off over the next two weeks to the point they were outside full time and in full sun by 8/28 (6 weeks). We had some pretty serious rains going on and I didn't want to lose them to damping off, so I held off on planting them out for a bit longer. I also pulled them in under cover of the porch portion of the lanai when rain was imminent and each night. They were about 11 weeks old when they finally went out into the garden plot. Yes I know, a few weeks older than they needed to be, but I was nervous to lose my babies to the weather!!!

I also wanted them to get a bit stronger and taller, so I could bury them deeper and create greater root balls. The hairs you see on tomato stems will actually turn into roots if you pot them down into the soil. The more plant you can pot down, the more roots you will have, and the stronger the plant will eventually be. You just cut off the branches up to the top two stems and plant it that deep. I did not do this with the pepper seedlings as they don't have the hairs like tomatoes.

Upon the advice of some seriously experienced Florida gardeners/farmers, I tossed 3 match heads into the planting hole before I set the plants. I was told that the peppers like a little bit of sulfur when they are transplanted and that a few matches would do the trick.

I'll show a pic at the time of transplant on 10/6 first; they are all 51 days from seed at that point. Then the next pic will be from today 10/12; they are all at 58 days from seed and 7 days from transplanting. So here we go...

Cherry Tomato - "Sweet 100"

Hot Pepper - No clue what it will be, came from a mix of seeds. Should be interesting, could be a long red slim cayenne, Jalapeno, Serrano, Hungarian wax or a large red cherry hot. I've learned my lesson - no more seed mixes unless I have the space to plant all 100 seeds. Regardless of how cheap the seeds are, it's better to know what you're growing lol.

Kind of have to search for it in this one - the radishes to the right of it are taking up some of its space, but they will be pulled long before the pepper needs it.

Sweet Bell Pepper - "Blushing Beauty"

Same thing with the radishes and this pepper plant

Beefsteak Tomato - "Beefmaster"

Beefsteak Tomato - "Ball's Beefsteak"

Sweet & Spicy Bell Pepper - "Cajun Hybrid"

Beefsteak Tomato - "Super Beefsteak"

Slicer Tomato - "First Prize"

Slicer Tomato - "BHN 640" - Sounds tasty right, lol... guess we'll see

Slicer Tomato - "Solar Fire"

I also transplanted two more "Fordhook 242" Lima Bean Plants, started under lights on 9/13, 23 days from seed

Missed the closeup on these guys today, oops. But I can assure you they are in there!

And a single "Contender (Buff Valentine)" snap bush bean plant, started under lights on 9/13, 23 days from seed

I also missed the closeup on these guys today, too. You can see them in the broad pic of the 10/12 fordhooks - well not really, but you can see the little bamboo tepee I made for them to vine up.

I added two more sweet corn transplants to the bin, started under lights on 9/13, 23 days from seed

The corn is an absolute blast to watch grow! Who knew I'd love seeing corn so much after I spent 5 years dreading going through the corn states, because the scenery was so darn boring for hours on end!!!

And I got the cucumber into its final resting place in a large pot, started under lights on 9/13, 23 days from seed

Cucumber starting to put up male blooms, yay. 30 days from seed

I won't be starting any more seeds under lights until we get back from vacation, since I will not be here to water them every few days. I can usually put them into small bins and fill the bins with a little water once they are about a week old. But any time before that I need to water them with a dropper (fish emulsion) from the top or else I will get fungus, yuk. Learned my lesson there!

I'm contemplating putting a few more bean seeds directly into the plot today or tomorrow though. The soaker hoses on a timer will be able to take care of those for me.

Herb pot update as of today. I harvested the parsley pretty hard and now it's taking painfully long to grow back! I need to get another one of the sweet and spicy oregano plants, too. They are fabulous!

Southern Peas "Mississippi Silver"

These guys are so happy and so delicious. I love mixing them in with salads. We are definitely going to plant some more!

Lima Beans "Fordhook 242"

These guys are finally starting to set pods now that the weather has cooled.

Pole Snap Beans "McCaslan"

These guys are also finally starting to set pods! Super excited.

Lettuce - "Tom Thumb"

I'm surprised, but the lettuce is still slowly developing. I really do think it's growing because it is under the roof on the lanai. It's completely shaded and only gets late afternoon sun for maybe an hour, two tops. My neighbor tried to grow some and is having no luck at all. Still too hot in the direct sun.

Seedlings

Hey Tim! I saw your comment on the last blog about your seedlings. If you can't get any tomato or pepper plants in time, I have my whole "second string" here. You are more than welcome to them. I'd actually like to see them go to someone since I will not have the room to plant them and would hate to toss them out. There are duplicates of most all of the tomato and pepper plants that I featured above - as well as some more of the "mystery peppers"

New Annuals

Here's our two new bushes. We have a dwarf firebush on the left and a five star iris on the right. The firebush will attract pollinators like crazy and will complement our neighbors flower and water garden off to the left. And the iris was just too pretty to leave at the nursery!

And finally, just a broad view of the garden, because even though it is small and was built to be relatively temporary, it's still making me very proud to see what we've done! I've seen others who have much larger gardens or much prettier, more exotic bunches of flowers, but this is my little slice of heaven and it makes me so very happy to see it coming together. I adore all of the color that has been introduced with the addition of the various flower pots. And now that the foliage on the plants are coming in thicker, it really makes me beam with pleasure :) Steve may not have been that far off way back in the beginning when he suggested putting a chair right in the middle of the plot!

Happy Gardening!