North Florida Gardening

[PlainJane]

Abutilon striatum behind the Scarlet Beauty plum. Everything is loving the weather these last 3 weeks.

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[GoDawgs]

Those daikon might be a bit spicy due to warm weather. I've grown that variety before and they'll do that sometimes. I think I'm going to pull the first one from my patch today and see how they are.

Good progress on the conversion of that area.

[PlainJane]

@GoDawgs the daikon were a little spicy raw but roasting took care of that.

[GoDawgs]

I've never roasted daikon! This is good to know in case mine turn out to be spicy. 350? Whole or chunked? About how long?

[PlainJane]

I've never roasted daikon! This is good to know in case mine turn out to be spicy. 350? Whole or chunked? About how long?

I chunked them with garlic and olive oil, roasted at about 375 for maybe 45-50 minutes. They were pretty big chunks.

[PlainJane]

The artichoke experiment, one of the 4 bags of favas, purple broccoli and fennel.
I started so many marigolds I’ve had to stuff them into almost every container.

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[karstopography]

I’ve tried artichokes, but have come to realize I haven’t set up the soil, siting and nutrients correctly for success. I’ve seen beautiful artichokes grown here loaded with buds and artichokes so I know it is possible. Good luck with your artichoke. I think the grow bag offers a good chance at success. A mature artichoke plant is a thing of beauty and baby artichokes are at the top of the list of all time favorite vegetables to eat.

I did plant several cardoon seeds in 4” set containers and those are up and growing. I plan on putting those into the in the ground bed where the trees once were. I knew someone that grew cardoons here and they do work. They are supposed to be easier to pull off than artichokes.

Your plants look great!

[PlainJane]

Thanks @karstopography!
I’m really excited about the off-season this year and glad to hear about some success with artichokes outside California.
Another one of the “love to eat/expensive to buy” decisions that often shape my seed purchases.

Be sure to update us on your cardoons!

[PlainJane]

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1 raised bed down, 5 to go. I’m still prepping the grow area but was dying to see what they look like.
Easy to assemble but I did clean out the pre-drilled holes a bit first by running our drill through them.

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[PlainJane]

I THINK all the roots are dug out now so moving on to grading and leveling.

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[PlainJane]

Marigolds are still going strong and have been harvesting lemons for a while now.

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[karstopography]

@PlainJane what are they saying y’alls low temperatures will be? I saw some 20°s for the Florida Panhandle on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

[PlainJane]

@PlainJane what are they saying y’alls low temperatures will be? I saw some 20°s for the Florida Panhandle on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

We are forecast to drop to 37 tomorrow evening but our house is a block from the river and in a warm microclimate. I’ll be surprised if it’s under 45 here. Night temps are back in the mid-50s on Monday.

[karstopography]

@PlainJane what are they saying y’alls low temperatures will be? I saw some 20°s for the Florida Panhandle on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

We are forecast to drop to 37 tomorrow evening but our house is a block from the river and in a warm microclimate. I’ll be surprised if it’s under 45 here. Night temps are back in the mid-50s on Monday.

Yes, I believe it’s next week, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Accuweather has Jacksonville, FL getting to 25° Saturday the 24th.

[PlainJane]

Well, just about done making ready for the big freeze.
Harvested some things, covered others - especially my fava beans, and brought tender plants in to hang out in the guest bedroom for a few days.
Nothing I can do about my lemon, lime and avocado trees as they’re too big to cover. Hoping for the best!

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[GoDawgs]

You're as ready as you can be. Same here. Now it's just a wait and see game. Hope your stuff's ok. The only thing not covered here is the scallion row. I ran out of cover stuff and had to prioritize. They'll get blasted, I'll cut the foliage off and hopefully they'll regenerate like they did the last time this happened.

[karstopography]

Aren’t lime trees the most sensitive to cold of the citrus? Meyer lemons can take mid 20s type of cold I do believe. True lemons might not be quite so hardy. Rootstock used makes a difference also. Our blood oranges, meyer lemons and red grapefruit could handle mid 20s without too much damage. Unfortunately, none of them can get into the teens.

Anyway, good luck. It’s the jet stream that I believe determines how far south these arctic air masses get. The weather people seem pretty good at predicting future movements out a little, but little wobbles here and there can add up. Hope your wobbles are warm ones.

[bower]

Microclimate can make a big difference too... I hope your beautiful garden design is a charm that drains the cold air away from the delicate trees! Fingers crossed for those citrus.

[PlainJane]

Thank you @Bower!

[PlainJane]

About the only accomplishment today was getting the tomatoes, peppers and eggplant started and a small dent in the garden cleanup from last week’s freeze.
Also started new broccoli and cauliflower seeds to replace those stunted by the cold snap.

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