21 Oct 2010 Leave a comment
in Food, Health, Life, organic, Orlando, People, Raised bed gardens, square foot garden, vegetable garden, vegetables Tags: green beans, Papaya, raised bed garden, vegetables, watermelon
Here’s what’s growing in my garden this fall.
Parsley, Peppermint, Spearmint, Sweet potato leaves, Hot peppers, Papayas, Green beans and Snap peas. I have just harvested the watermelons.
01 Jul 2010 Leave a comment
in Food, garden, Growing your own Food, Health, Life, organic, Orlando, People, Raised bed gardens, square foot garden, vegetable garden, vegetables Tags: carrots, eggplant, Homestead, onions, raised bed garden, Rosa bianca eggplant, square foot garden, thai eggplant, tomatoes, vegetables
Rosa Bianca Eggplant is the best eggplant I have ever grown. It grows well in Florida. I didn’t know eggplant could taste so good. I was expecting the opposite. It preserves well also when I peel, slice and store it in the refrigerator. It last up to several weeks. I found myself eating the slices uncooked and really enjoying it. Eggplants go well with tomato sauce and cheese, on top of pizza or just baked with a little olive oil and herbs. Their are two types of eggplants in the picture. The long one is a thai eggplant. The round ones are the Rosa Bianca Eggplants. The funny looking ones may be a crossbreed between the two.
01 Jul 2010 Leave a comment
in Food, garden, Growing your own Food, Health, Life, organic, Orlando, People, Raised bed gardens, square foot garden, vegetable garden, vegetables Tags: carrots, Homestead, onions, raised bed garden, San Marzano tomato, square foot garden, tomatoes, vegetables
San Marzano tomatoes are a determinate paste variety. I don’t find them to be very prolific in Florida. A mild taste. I’ll probably go with something else in the fall. They are smaller than they look in the picture.
29 Jun 2010 2 Comments
in Food, garden, Health, Life, Neighborhood, organic, Orlando, People, Raised bed gardens, square foot garden, vegetable garden, vegetables Tags: carrots, Homestead, onions, Papaya, raised bed garden, square foot garden, tomatoes, vegetables
Look at all these papaya plants that I have not been able to even give away. It feels sad to loose all the potential papayas these will grow. Sniff. O well. I’m sure this happens to plant nursery and farmers all the time. Good news is I have seven of them growing in my front and backyard. 
28 Jun 2010 Leave a comment
in Food, garden, Growing your own Food, Health, Life, organic, People, Raised bed gardens, square foot garden, vegetable garden, vegetables Tags: carrots, Cucumbers, Homestead, onions, raised bed garden, square foot garden, Thai five star cucumbers, tomatoes, vegetables
Thai Five Star Cucumbers come from Thailand. They are good tasting and crisp, though not as crisp and prolific as the Chinese yellow cucumber. The leaves cucumber early to mold. One plant yielded 12 cucumbers. I will not give it a five star rating for Florida, but it will probably do well in hot less humid conditions. 
27 Jun 2010 Leave a comment
in Food, garden, Growing your own Food, Health, Life, organic, Orlando, People, Raised bed gardens, square foot garden, vegetable garden, vegetables Tags: carrots, Chinese yellow cucumber, Cucumbers, Homestead, onions, raised bed garden, square foot garden, tomatoes, vegetables
Chinese yellow cucumbers are now my friends and family favorite cucumber. I’m not a cucumber fan. These cucumbers are different because of their crispness like that of an apple. It is sweet all the way through. It is also the most prolific and disease free cucumber I have ever grown in florida. Three plants gave us over 70 cucumbers. Amazing. We will definitely grow these next summer. 
03 Jun 2010 2 Comments
in Food, garden, Health, Life, organic, Orlando, People, Raised bed gardens, square foot garden, vegetable garden, vegetables Tags: basil, florida, herbs, Homestead, organic, People, Raised bed gardens, square foot garden, vegetable garden, vegetables
Basil from the vegetable garden is kept fresh on the top of the kitchen counter using a simple bowl half filled with water. It smell wonderful and tastes even better on sandwiches, for cooking and eventually a pesto sauce which I have yet to do. The addition of fresh herbs is changing the way we cook and eat at our house. What do you do with Basil?
Basil in a bowel
01 Jun 2010 5 Comments
in Food, garden, Health, Life, organic, Orlando, People, Raised bed gardens, square foot garden, vegetable garden, vegetables Tags: florida, Food, Homestead, organic, People, Raised bed gardens, square foot garden, tomatoes, vegetable garden, vegetables
Tomatoes can be so colorful in their different stages of development. I have been harvesting the tomatoes early before cracking and molds set in. Florida humidity can cause a range of bad tomato issues. We had a dry spring but humidity has jumped off the charts. They taste great and make for good salsa.
29 May 2010 4 Comments
in Food, garden, Health, organic, People, Raised bed gardens, vegetable garden, vegetables Tags: Food, garden, Homestead, organic, People, Raised bed gardens, tomatoes, vegetable garden, vegetables
Tomatoes either grow well in Florida or don’t grow at all. Some crack, some rot, some produce. I received a pack of pink ponderosa tomato seed as a freebie from Baker Creek Seeds. It so far is the best producing tomato plant I have grown other than the Robeson tomato. I am amazed how big the tomato is. No cracking problems and does well in the Florida heat. It is over 6 ft tall and still going. This tomato is bigger than my hand.
28 May 2010 Leave a comment
in Food, garden, Health, Life, organic, People, Raised bed gardens, square foot garden, vegetable garden Tags: florida, Food, organic, paul Robeson, People, Raised bed gardens, tomato, vegetable garden, vegetables
Tomatoes are fun to grow. Here is a unique tomato originally from Siberia so it’s amazing how well it grows here in Florida. You can learn more by clicking here at tomatofest.com
Fresh Vegetable Gardens for Everyone 