North Florida Gardening

[PlainJane]

Crazy time of year as I’m trying to transition from cool to warm weather crops plus keep the rest of the garden going.

Veggie growing area. Still harvesting kale, cauliflower, kohlrabi and mustard.

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[PlainJane]

Only 1 of the romanesco cauliflower is heading up properly; the other 6 are taking up space but no heads.

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[PlainJane]

Outside seed starting station, spare tomato seedlings and some salvia started from cuttings.
The salvia will go into the pollinator garden this week.

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[PlainJane]

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This vita verde cauliflower was fantastic and will be back next year.

[PlainJane]

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Serious business of hardening off the tomatoes. I think they’re outside for better or worse now plus most of them have outgrown the lights.

[PlainJane]

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Today’s haul.

[PlainJane]

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Fava beans are plumping out nicely. They are an addiction and won’t make it into the house.

[Whwoz]

Looks good PJ, never tried Vita Verde Cauliflower, might have to track down some seed locally.
Favourite beans do you eat them whole or shell and eat seeds? We don't see them much down here

[Texgal]

How do you eat the fava beans? With the pod or shelled?

[MsCowpea]

Your tomato plants look great-so healthy. And the selection of greens, flowers, and Kohlrabi looks beautiful. VV cauliflower grew fantastic as well—must love the cooler temps of N Florida.

[PlainJane]

Your tomato plants look great-so healthy. And the selection of greens, flowers, and Kohlrabi looks beautiful. VV cauliflower grew fantastic as well—must love the cooler temps of N Florida.

They are healthy now, lol, but it will be a different story in June.
Both Flame Star (orange) and Vita Verde (green) were fantastic. Every plant produced a uniform, large head. (Both are F1 hybrids)
This makes the 4th time I’ve tried Romanesco...spotty results.

[PlainJane]

[quote=Texgal post_id=12578 time=1583121675 user_id=328]
How do you eat the fava beans? With the pod or shelled?
[/quote
The outer pod is not edible; think of them like a ‘shelly’ bean.
When I have enough to cook I blanch for a minute, let cool then pinch off the outer skin. It’s time consuming but worth it.
The flavor of fresh vs. dried is not comparable.
Unfortunately, fresh fava beans rarely show up in the grocery stores around here.

Most of the time I open the pods and pop down the beans raw, skin and all.

[PlainJane]

Looks good PJ, never tried Vita Verde Cauliflower, might have to track down some seed locally.
Favourite beans do you eat them whole or shell and eat seeds? We don't see them much down here

I’m surprised fava beans are not a thing in Australia; the climate would suit them. Most beans like varying degrees of warmth but favas like it cooler. I plant in November here in N. Florida and harvest in March/April.

You split open the pod and eat the beans. The pod is very thick and fleshy; hard to describe.

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[AZGardener]

You have a beautiful garden [mention]PlainJane[/mention] The Vita Verde cauliflower is new to me, I may try it next Fall.
Really enjoyed your photos, thanks for sharing.

[PlainJane]

You have a beautiful garden @PlainJane The Vita Verde cauliflower is new to me, I may try it next Fall.
Really enjoyed your photos, thanks for sharing.

Thank you!

[MissS]

I have the same problems with the romanesco. It doesn't perform well for me. I am in the same boat with everyone else and love your Vita Verde cauliflower. I does have great flavor and is very expensive in my stores.

[Nan6b]

Ditto with romanesco here. None of mine headed up.

[PlainJane]

I have the same problems with the romanesco. It doesn't perform well for me. I am in the same boat with everyone else and love your Vita Verde cauliflower. I does have great flavor and is very expensive in my stores.

That’s why I grow cauliflower instead of broccoli, focusing on green, orange and purple varieties. Sometimes $5 a head in the stores here. Crazy!

[fluffy_gumbo]

I have the same problems with the romanesco. It doesn't perform well for me. I am in the same boat with everyone else and love your Vita Verde cauliflower. I does have great flavor and is very expensive in my stores.

That’s why I grow cauliflower instead of broccoli, focusing on green, orange and purple varieties. Sometimes $5 a head in the stores here. Crazy!

Interesting! Broccoli did surprisingly well for me and it was my first time growing them and they were soooo tasty. A neighboring gardener gave me her extra starts, otherwise I wasn't even going to try growing them. I guess I better give the cauliflowers a try next fall!

[PlainJane]

Organic broccoli is fairly cheap locally ... but cauliflower is a different story. That’s why I’ve concentrated on cauliflower, especially the colorful varieties, there last few seasons. Only so much room!