North Florida Gardening

[PlainJane]

Yes, @karstopography, I’m a huge fennel fan. Love all the cooler weather veggies but especially fava beans and fennel. I’m also doing beets this year (Boro) to see if I have better luck than past attempts.

[GoDawgs]

I’m also doing beets this year (Boro) to see if I have better luck than past attempts.

LOL! You too, eh? I keep swearing I'm never trying beets again but it never fails that some little internal voice whispering "Loser!" keeps me trying. So I planted 8' a month ago (the old Detroit) of which 3' actually came up and are now 3-4" high. I'm keeping my fingers crossed because this is the point at which they usually kick the bucket. I just planted another 5' a few days ago. We'll see.

Do you soak your seed pre-plant? I've tried planting soaked and dry and it may or may not make a difference.

[Seven Bends]

I’m also doing beets this year (Boro) to see if I have better luck than past attempts.

Have you grown Boro beets before? I grew them this spring for the first time, after always growing Detroit Dark Red. The Boro plants were absolutely gorgeous and perfect, and they produced large, uniform, flawless beets, really impressive. However, they were a little less sweet/less flavorful than Detroit in my garden. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on their taste. I haven't tried them in the fall; fall beets are kind of tricky around here.

[PlainJane]

@Seven Bends, I haven’t grown beets for several years because they proved frustrating and a lot of work for the space. This time instead of starting them in February I started them last week. We’ll see if the change in timing helps.
I decided to try Boro because I’ve heard good reports from a gardener I follow in California. Have never tasted them.

Chiogga, DDR and Golden were the 3 I attempted down here in Florida. Both Chiogga and DDR were great in my Massachusetts garden.

[PlainJane]

@GoDawgs I just can’t stand it when I can’t grow something. It sits there in the back of my head and nibbles away until I give in and try again.
I’m devoting only 1 30 gal. grow bag to the great beet experiment as I’ll be busy over the next 2 months converting to cedar raised beds.
Fennel is getting 2 bags, fava beans 3 bags then the rest are going to the green, purple and orange cauliflower.
I’ve never pre-soaked beet or chard seeds; guess it didn’t occur to me lol.

[GoDawgs]

The "can't grow" frustration also extended to the two times in the past when I failed at growing leeks. That gnawed on me for about five years. I've always had good success with scallions and when I finally got the hang of onions the leek thing loomed large. Well heck, it's just a large scallion, for heaven's sake! So last year I tried again, growing and planting the starts just like I do scallions and bingo! Nice leeks but not enough white part (maybe 3") but still better than the Walmart leeks with 1" of white! Now why didn't they grow before? So this year one row has become two with each row a different variety. They're trench planted so I can pull more soil to them over time and maybe fix that white part thing.

[PlainJane]

Lol, I’ve grown leeks for years but onions intimidate me for some reason … plus they’re so much cheaper to buy than leeks and space is at a premium with me. @GoDawgs it’s always something.

[karstopography]

Lol, I’ve grown leeks for years but onions intimidate me for some reason … plus they’re so much cheaper to buy than leeks and space is at a premium with me. @GoDawgs it’s always something.

I was kind of this way, but growing onions for couple of years now has made me a big proponent of growing them.

One, onions take up very little space. Onions can be planted 4 to 6 inches apart, in all directions, at least in raised beds where a person isn’t needed to have a path to walk. Two, nothing bothers them, no pests or diseases do, not here anyway. No fighting with infestations of this or that or this or that disease. Three, the sets are dirt cheap. Sets last season were a dollar something and that dollar something got you 60, plus or minus, useable pencil thick sets. The return on investment is good even if the onions don’t get particularly big. Four, the tops are good as chive like add ons to foods. Five, they are better than store bought onions. And onions here are now creeping up on to dollar and more a pound. Six, onions store well. Seven, onions get used in almost every recipe, you’ll find that they go quickly.

[PlainJane]

@karstopography once my raised beds are all in place I’ll have more gardening real estate. I’ll plan to give onions a try especially if I can tuck them in that closely.

[worth1]

You can actually plant onions closer and thin them out as time goes by all the way up into the late spring before they hopefully don't bolt and start to bulb.
Onions like water and fertilizer.

[GoDawgs]

Lol, I’ve grown leeks for years but onions intimidate me for some reason … plus they’re so much cheaper to buy than leeks and space is at a premium with me. @GoDawgs it’s always something.

@PlainJane, it IS always something! Maybe you can start with scallions to get the hang of it. They're quick growing and so useful in the kitchen. I plant mine 2" apart. Do you grow your leeks from seed?

@karstopography, my feed and seed doesn't carry onion sets in the fall; just in the spring and I plant mine in the fall. I grow them from seed and they're only about 1/8" thick when I plant them out. Same with the scallions but they both do fine. There are only two things I've had bother either the onions or scallions. One is some kind of fall worm that chews the green tops a bit until bT is administered. The other one is purple blotch, a fungal thing on foliage. It seems to happen during stretches of wet and cloudy weather during those mid winter/early spring warm spells that happen now and then. Purple blotch is a type of Alternaria. Usually one hit with a fungicide does the trick if you apply it as soon as you notice the problem.

[PlainJane]

@GoDawgs, yes - I grow my leeks from seed so will probably do onions the same way unless I can find sets in the fall.

[PlainJane]

The Gem marigolds are opening - love them.

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[PlainJane]

The little patch of Borsalino bush beans is yielding really well now that the weather has moderated.
Matilda pole filet also picking up the pace.

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[PlainJane]

Lemons are ripening.
Have to do a better job of thinning next time.

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[GoDawgs]

Those are beautiful beans and I can only imagine the wonderful scent you enjoy from those lemon blooms. Ahhhhhhh!

[PlainJane]

Those are beautiful beans and I can only imagine the wonderful scent you enjoy from those lemon blooms. Ahhhhhhh!

Yes, it’s heavenly for both me and the bees. Once the blossoms start opening the honey bees ignore even the African Blue Basil.

[PlainJane]

Daikon radish harvest - this is Summer Cross #3, F1 from Johnny’s Seeds.
Fairly spicy raw. I think I’m going to roast them and see how that turns out.

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[PlainJane]

Made some progress these last 2 weekends.
This area is roughly 25 ft x 32 ft, and is the main vegetable growing area. I’m converting this space to raised beds.
I’ve got almost all the grow bags housing various crops moved off to the side and around back of the house, and started raking up the old mulch.
After all that’s done I’ll level the whole area and start staking where the beds and wine barrel planters will go.
Then comes landscape fabric and the putting together of the beds.

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[PlainJane]

I’ve got tons of seeds starting which will fill in gaps in the new herb garden.
Eventually I’ll transplant the rosemary and sage in there once the sunflowers and zinnias are all finished.

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