Category: Garden, Growing Vegetables

Growing vegetables and herbs in a Florida backyard.

Do You Feel Like a Failing Gardener?

It is sometimes difficult not to feel like a failure when it comes to gardening. When we have high hopes, but the crops simply won’t grow, what then? Chin up, we are all on the journey together.

Summer is the time when gardeners like to brag about their gardens. Pictures are everywhere, on all social media sites, of gorgeous flowers, spacious and manicured backyards, fruit trees, lovely vegetables, perfect plants, and so on. It’s enough to be quite depressing.

If, like me, you sometimes feel like you are failing miserably at gardening, I’m here to remind you that most gardeners don’t share their failures! Every yard has some FAIL moments. And most importantly, we don’t all have the same advantages.

Problems With Peppers

As soon as I wrote a blog page about how happy I was with my pepper plants, they promptly began to die. No kidding. I pulled up my last Ancho poblano plant the other morning. One of the Nu Mex has also bit the dust, due to being stuck in a pot without correct drainage.

The two remaining green tomatoes on my last tomato plant refused to turn red, so I pulled that plant up too. Tomatoes don’t do well in Florida in summer. It was time to re-use the pot and get it ready to grow something else.

dead pepper plants
Dead pepper plants (and tomato)
pepper roots

Let’s see, what else is currently failing in my garden? The Seminole pumpkin plants are doing almost nothing. Two of them have long vines, but not a single pumpkin. Are they growing too late into the season?

None of the watermelon plants look decent, and last year I ate three nice, delicious, watermelons!

Last Year…

What happened this time? I think I planted too late and then I was gone for 2 weeks. We’ve had a drought too.

watermelon eating
Raccoon marks on watermelon
2023 watermelon

I had counted on doing a better job of growing all these things in my second year of gardening. I pictured a stash of pumpkins to last me until next season, and enough watermelon to share with the neighbors. Instead, I have nothing to eat from the garden but basil, some onions, and a few small eggplant.

eggplant and onion
Rosita and purple eggplant, and onion from the garden

I kind of feel like a miserable failure. And looking at videos from other Florida gardeners is not helpful. Their crops are bountiful. Their plants look fabulous. Their gardens are organized, and producing, and the raised beds are filled with great compost.

I look at my failing crops and wonder how much more money I have to spend to get to the point where I have some good dirt for growing. But, I don’t garden to save money. I garden to have food from my yard.

Right now I have a lot of “cowpeas” in the ground. They are (mostly) growing nicely. This will supposedly help my soil by adding nitrogen.

Cowpeas among veggies
cowpeas

If you feel like me, that your yard is working against you, try looking on the bright side. All that stuff that is not growing can help build the compost pile!

What is doing well in the yard? My flowers, specifically the Zinnias, are beautiful. My pineapple is growing. I see more butterflies, bees and hummingbirds than ever before.

When I get to see the little creatures that are enjoying the plants that came up from seeds I planted, I remember that I am on the right track.

grasshopper on zinnia
Grasshopper
green anole lizard
Green anole

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Expanding the Garden Over the Past Few Years

My Florida vegetable garden journey began in 2021. Here’s what I’ve accomplished in the past three years.

Once I chose to go into the backyard, and begin seriously growing vegetables, I realized I had a lot to learn. I also needed a lot more space.

Summer 2021

I learned to garden in New England. When I moved back to Florida I hoped to be able to grow some vegetables at least. In the summer of 2021 I purchased three, red-orange grow boxes and put them on the back patio.

These boxes have a tube in the corner and watering is supposed to be done through the tube. The idea is to pour water into the tube and water the roots. I also water from the top.

garden in grow boxes
Garden grow boxes
garden grow boxes
New grow boxes
Gardening in grow boxes
Tomato, pepper and eggplant

I bought my boxes at Home Depot and they are similar to this style available at Amazon: Emsco Group Bountiful Harvest Raised Grow Box (paid link). They have rolling castors so moving the box on a patio is pretty easy.

Grow Box as Seed Nursery

One issue I have with these grow boxes is that they are not very deep. The lower area of the pot is reserved for water to accumulate, so they are more shallow than they appear. These pots are perfect for starting seeds. Once the seedlings are big enough, they can be transplanted to bigger pots, or into the ground.

These grow boxes work well, but they do have a flaw. Because there are holes, dirt can be washed down into the bottom area which should be for water only. Once that fills up, and the box can’t drain, roots become soggy and plants die. This happened to my NuMex pepper plant.

NuMex pepper plant wilting
NuMex in trouble
Grow box with dirt
Grow boxes have a flaw

To avoid the problem of dirt sifting down into the bottom, I clean all dirt out of the box, remove the panel with the holes, and drill holes in the box bottom. A layer of mulch and stones will work for drainage. Now the box is more like a big plastic pot.

Spring 2022

I actually grew a few peppers in 2021. I was so stunned to find that peppers (and other things, like eggplant) would continue to live for years here! Eventually they don’t do very well, but I knew this climate was going to be a challenge.

In 2022 I tried starting seeds in egg shells. It was a fail. Not worth the effort. In fact, starting seeds in small pots is not easy, and frankly, a waste of time.

This was the year I began to compost. I bought the Hot Frog composter (which I am still using).

My son built a few raised beds from wood and white barrels he got from work. I still had nothing growing in the ground.

Hot Frog dual turning composter
I now have a garden back here.
Seedlings growing in eggshells
Not worth the effort.
small backyard gardening
New raised beds in 2022

First in-ground Garden Area, 2023

March of 2023 was when I decided to till the lawn and create some in-ground gardens for vegetables. I bought a rototiller and made a little area of dirt. After that, I began to use cardboard to kill the grass and create more gardens.

Cardboard takes longer, but it keeps all the good grass and topsoil undisturbed. It simply dies from being covered and becomes part of the soil.

To plant over cardboard that is not completely decomposed, use a hand fork and chop the cardboard and earth. Add amendments, and plant.

garden area tilled earth
First garden space
planting backyard garden

Summer 2024

I still use the red grow boxes, although they have faded to pink over the years. These grow boxes are best for growing vegetables that have shallow roots. I now have seven boxes. They are perfect for growing onions, half-long carrots, and greens. I use them as seed starters too.

Wood raised bed
Faded box
May 2024
June morning in the garden

Now, I am beginning to feel pretty confident about which crops to grow. I’m still in the experimental stage with some things. Gardening is an ongoing learning adventure!

vegetable border
Keep on growing…

Growing Suave Nu Mex Peppers

This year I am growing the Suave Nu Mex peppers, which are not going to be hot peppers. They should be orange in color and not red like the hot ones. After starting from seed, I have two plants growing and doing well.

Peppers, of all kinds, would be fabulous to have growing in my backyard. I use onions daily, and I would use peppers too, if I had them. This year I am growing the orange Suave Nu Mex peppers for the first time. (Not the hot ones.)

Pepper plants are tough to grow. I had trouble growing them when I lived in New Hampshire, because they would just be starting to have nice looking peppers, and the season would be over. They were purchased as seedlings, but the the short summer was a downfall. Now, in Florida, I have a long season, but the peppers were still not easy for me to grow.

Disease
pepper plants
Winter pepper seedlings
pepper plants with disease
Pepper plants with disease

I began my peppers from seeds, in small pots. I tried to keep them going over the winter months, but they didn’t do well. Most of the seedlings ended up dying. Then, the older plants got some sort of disease.

Because my seedlings were have such troubles, I waited for Spring (Feb.) to plant the Nu Mex seeds outside in one of the grow boxes. I waited to see what would grow, and ended up with 2 plants. Yup, only two.

It is now June, and I have one Nu Mex still growing in the box where it began. The other has been transplanted to a plastic pot. Eventually, I will re-plant it somewhere.

Suave Nu Mex pepper plant
Suave Nu Mex pepper plant
Smaller plant

Florida Gardening Conditions

  • Hot, heat, sun, blazing high temps.
  • Too much drenching rain, OR not enough rain (we just have over 2 months with NO rain in my area! Temps are reaching over 100.
  • Gardens need sun, but it’s too much for some plants. Must supply shade.
  • Humidity… lots of it.

My dilemma is that the boxes are great for starting plants from seed outdoors. But, those boxes are not very deep. They are better for shallow rooted crops. A Nu Mex can be 4 feet tall, and I’m sure it has an extensive root system. It really needs to be in the ground.

Anything growing in the ground in my yard, is open to raccoons harvesting my produce. They will rip the peppers right off the plant, as they do with tomatoes, eggplant, watermelon, and whatever else is in their line of sight. It’s a conundrum.

Raccoon tomato
Raccoon got the tomato
raccoons broke into a watermelon
Watermelon disaster

About the Suave Nu Mex Variety

The Suave Nu Mex (orange) peppers will look like habanero peppers, but won’t be hot like those. It means I can use them in meals without worrying about the heat. At least this is the hope!

Watch this video by Elise Pickett of The Urban Harvest, where she discusses which peppers to grow in Florida and how to care for them.

Suave Nu Mex pepper plant
Nu Mex leaves
Suave Nu Mex pepper plant

The leaves on the Nu Mex peppers are curled on the edges. I’m not sure if this is a characteristic of the variety, or if it’s a signal that something is wrong. The plants both look healthy, and the larger one has flowers. These plants are about four months old.

The Secret is to Give the Peppers Some Shade

The peppers that grew well from seed looked nice, but I was worried about how much water to give them. The sun is so hot, and it dries the ground pretty fast. But I don’t want to overwater either.

After a month of growing my pepper seedlings, one thing I discovered is to give them shade early in the day. They were getting a lot of sun until later in the afternoon, but it was too much.

Other Peppers Growing Well

After struggling to get my pepper plants past the seedling stage, I now have these types growing in my little backyard. I wrote a page about them here.

  • 4 Carolina Wonder Bell pepper plants
  • 2 Suave Nu Mex, orange, not hot variety (this page)
  • 2 Aji Dulce spice pepper / seasoning peppers
  • 1 Ancho poblano (2 have already died, so fingers crossed)

Using Umbrellas For Shade in the Garden

I have set up my beach umbrella next to the fire spike – which droops in the sun every day. I’ve arranged some peppers in bags around the bottom and try to remember to open up the umbrella by noon.

Both Nu Mex plants are near my table umbrella, which I put up to block the afternoon sun. All the pepper plants have begun to do much better now that they have less direct sun.

beach umbrella garden shade
Beach umbrella is up for shade
Suave Nu Mex pepper plant
Nu Mex – will get afternoon shade when I open that umbrella

Epsom Salt and Fertilizer

In Ellise’s video (link provided up this page), she talks about adding Epsom salt (paid link) to her pepper plants. About once a month, sprinkle a little around the plants. I have been doing this with all my peppers.

Don’t fertilize too much either or they will grow like mad, but not produce. Once they begin to grow little peppers, they may need more fertilizer. Some places say to fertilize once a month. I’m still in the learning stages and I’m not good at keeping track of when I fertilize what plants.

Umbrella Suggestions

If you want to use a stand alone (beach umbrella) to shade portions of the yard, be sure to get one that screws into the ground. Mine has the screw part attached at the bottom, with fold out handles to screw it in. The top of the umbrella comes completely out, which is nice if it gets super windy. Also the height is adjustable, and it tilts.

The one I bought (back in 2017) is similar to this one on Amazon (this is a paid link), but I’m not sure the quality is the same. The one I have is currently unavailable.

The plastic screw anchor is easy to put into the sandy ground, or take it out to move. Umbrella anchors can be purchased separately, and then you could find a cheap umbrella to use with it. The problem I see with that set up, is the wind. If the umbrella sets into the anchor, it could come out and blow away.

Another option for shade is to buy a shade cloth. I’ve never used one, but they are big and need to be anchored somehow and tied somewhere. This works best if you have a big area to cover.

More stories for my gardening friends…

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So Happy With My Pepper Plants!

I probably shouldn’t say this out loud, but I am very happy with the way my pepper plants are growing! I have yet to pick a pepper, but my fingers are crossed.

Peppers are a vegetable I would LOVE to have growing in my yard. I like them sweet or hot, and preferably would have both types to choose from. I use peppers quite a bit in my cooking, but currently I have to buy them at the store.

You’d think that in this hot climate peppers would grow like mad. In fact, I’ve had bell pepper plants (photos below) that lasted for a few years. But getting a good plant started, and have it grow lovely peppers, can be a challenge.

green bell pepper
Home grown
Green bell pepper

I still don’t have a car, so the best way for me to grow peppers is to order seeds. Also, most stores / nurseries around here don’t offer the types of pepper I want to grow. If you can buy seedlings to grow, of a variety that works for our climate, that is the way to go. Seeds take forever to turn into lovely plants.

How I Grow Peppers From Seed Successfully

The way to be successful growing peppers, is to plant seeds outside in grow boxes. Plant lots of seeds because most of them may not grow.

Once the little pepper plants grow big enough, separate them by transplanting so each plant has space to grow big. Make sure all soil is full of good nutrients.

The Ancho poblano pepper plants, shown below, were started from seed in the red (faded to pink) grow box. I left one plant in the box and the other two were each given their own fabric pot. I love the flavor, which is not extremely hot when eaten green. I really hope these pepper plants grow well.

Ancho poblano pepper plants
Ancho poblano pepper plants
Ancho poblano pepper plants
Each poblano has it’s own pot

These plants were quite tall when I transplanted them because I had been away for two weeks. Usually I would transplant sooner.

*Update on the poblano: Suddenly the two plants in the grow bags drooped horribly. they ended up dying. I still have the one in the square box.

Aji Dulce and Suave NuMex

The Aji Dulce plants were growing side by side in a small pot. I didn’t know if they would separate well, but both plants are doing great. I think the trick is to let them get a good root system established before separating.

The Nu Mex variety (below) were also growing in a red box. Once they were big enough, I transplanted one to a plastic pot, leaving the other in the red box.

Suave NuMex pepper plant
Suave NuMex
Pepper plants in pots
Ali and Nu Mex

Be sure to mark the plants in some way because pepper plants can look a lot alike. Both of these varieties will have peppers that resemble a habanero, but they don’t have the heat.

Pepper plants started from seed are slow growing! You must have patience to grow peppers.

Carolina Wonder Bell

As an example of what I do, see the box in the photo below. It contains Carolina Wonder Bell pepper plants. I had two larger plants in this box and transplanted one to a big pot. There are still two tiny seedlings coming along (circled), which I will also transplant when they grow up. The remaining plant will stay in this box to continue to grow.

Carolina Wonder Bell pepper plants
Carolina Wonder Bell pepper plants

Don’t Bother With Starting Plants in Small Pots

I’ve found that growing peppers from seed can be difficult. The seeds germinate, and the pepper begins to grow and then, just when I think it will be fine, the thing curls up and dies. This was my experience over the “winter” when I planted seeds in little pots.

Plants do best when growing outdoors. Some people may disagree, but I have little luck with starting seeds and caring for seedlings properly. They have proven this to me by getting bugs and dying. Or, they die once they go outside. In fact the only seedlings that are now growing in the yard, and doing very well, are the Roselle hibiscus.

pepper plants grown from seed
Pepper seedlings are not looking good over winter.

In Florida, we have only a few months (central Florida) where a frost, or freeze, happens. December through February are the usual months to worry about. We can also get very warm days in these months. To be sure the little seedlings won’t freeze, planting outside should take place in March.

Grow Peppers For the South

In our hot and humid Florida climate, certain types of pepper do better than others. This year I have planted all three varieties mentioned on this page and they seem to be doing well, so far.

But take into consideration that I sprinkled seeds all over these boxes and ended up with only a couple of good pepper plants from each variety! But, let’s face it, how many pepper plants does one person need? If these all do well, and give me peppers, I will be more than pleased.

Suave NuMex pepper plant
Suave NuMex
Carolina Wonder Bell pepper plants
Carolina Wonder bell
Ancho poblano pepper plants
Ancho poblano pepper plants

More Tips and Tricks For Pepper Success

  • Pepper plants can continue to grow for a few years in zone 9b. I had a bell pepper that remained outside all winter and survived! But if the plant is in a movable pot, or fabric bag (paid link to Amazon), it can come inside during cold spells.
  • Peppers in pots can also be moved into shade if the sun becomes too much in mid-summer. Right now, most of my peppers are in locations that get afternoon shade. (I put up a beach umbrella for them too.)
  • Pots will hold nutrients and fertilizer better than the ground.
  • Pots help keep critters (raccoons and armadillos) from digging up plants.
  • Give them nutrients. Epsom salts (paid link to Amazon) give peppers and tomatoes the magnesium that they need. I also mix bone meal, kelp meal, blood meal, worm castings, vermiculite, compost, and whatever else I have, into the soil.
  • For more information about growing Florida peppers, view this Video by the Urban Harvest.

More stories on the blog…

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A Busy Spring Where Gardening Never Stops

Spring is a busy time for me with garden plans and life plans colliding.

In Florida we don’t get a break from the growing season. Something is happening year round in the garden and yard. In a way, this is good. What fails at one time of year can maybe be tried again in a few months. We don’t have to wait an entire year for the growing season to return.

It also means we gardeners stay busy year round, planning and planting. This is only my second year trying to expand and grow here in east, Central Florida.

Plans and Planting and Juggling it All

Every time the first of the year rolls around, I find myself swamped. This was true even before I began to garden.

After cleaning up from the holiday season this year, we had a few camping trips planned. Also, both of my cats had to go to the vet for their annual shots, AND I needed to get new eyeglasses. (Did I mention it is also an expensive time of year?)

Skittle black cat on back
Skittle – Learn to chill like a cat

My high school class reunion (a milestone 50th, wow) was being held in April. I had originally planned to skip it, because it meant traveling to New England. My daughter wanted me to come up to New Hampshire for a visit, so I combined the visit with the reunion. But first, my youngest son came for a visit! Busy, busy.

In between all these life plans, I had to do Spring gardening. I bought mulch, compost, and seed packets. Transplanted crops beginning in February, and did weeding, cardboard layering, digging and watering.

okra pod and seeds
Saved okra seeds
honey bee borage flower
Borage flower

While I was up north for two weeks, we got ZERO rain in the area of Florida where I live! My son was watering, but without good soakings, the ground all dried out. Once I got back home, I spent every morning trying to get water into the ground for my plants.

Finally, almost a week later, we had some much needed rain.

Spring garden and path
Rainclouds bring much needed rain to the area.

For the most part my plants have survived the drought. The hardy zinnias are blooming, caterpillars are eating the dill, and I’m even picking a few ripe blueberries each morning from the one plant in the garden.

colorful zinnias
Bright zinnias
growing blueberries
Blueberries!
Eating dill
swallowtail caterpillars on dill flowers
Black swallowtail caterpillars
swallowtail caterpillars
Hungry dill eaters
birdhouse lizard
Lizard

The crops that did not do well are cucumbers and spaghetti squash. I needed to get the cukes growing early to miss the moths that arrive in June, or July. Last year I battled the caterpillars that ate up my plants. To solve the problem, plant cucumber before the moths arrive in the area. Now, it’s too late to re-plant. I also tried a new type called “Ashley” but I may never plant them again.

Spaghetti squash was something new I wanted to try. The plants began by looking great. Just before I left on my trip, they began to get powdery mildew. I sprayed the leaves, but by the time I got back most of the plants had died. The drought didn’t help, I’m sure. It is possible that this type of squash won’t do well where I live.

birdhouse lizard
Lizard

It’s good to be back h0me and now I will be gardening regularly once again. I’m trying to keep the watermelon and Seminole pumpkins going. Also, I am growing Egyptian spinach. Will let you know what happens with that.

Happy gardening!

Stories from the backyard…

Bulb Onions Grown Successfully Over a Florida Winter

First try at growing Texas Grano bulb onions in my central Florida backyard is a success!

A grower in Deland, Florida had posted about their success in growing Texas Grano bulb onions here in Florida. I hadn’t thought it was possible to grow onions in zone 9b. Now I have tried it over this past Florida winter, and have had some success. I look forward to growing even more next year.

Growing Texas Grano Onions From Seed

After purchasing seeds online, I went around the yard and planted them in raised bed boxes and in the ground.. I didn’t have high hopes for actually getting real onions from the garden. Truthfully, some are still growing and may not turn into anything. I did get a row that grew big enough to call “onions” and their stems just recently began falling over – signaling their end to growing.

Finding good advice for growing ANYTHING in Florida is difficult. But, you can take advice from growers in other zones. I can’t always do as they do, but things like “when to pull your onions”, is universal.

Watch this quick video, from The Rusted Garden, with advice about growing bulb onions.

Here in Florida I easily grow bunching onions. Those are the ones that do not get big at the bottom and we use the green stems for eating… unless they are left to grow and grow. The white bottom gets large, and they send out a beautiful big white flower which is where the seeds will be.

growing bulb onions
Not ready to harvest yet
Tall bunching onions and bulb onions
Bulb onions still growing

When I want to grow bunching onions, I buy some at Publix and save the rooted ends. Just stick the ends into dirt and a new bunching onion grows from that. I let them get big in my yard so they will flower, because they have gorgeous, big white flowers. Bees and butterflies love the flowers! Once the flower dries, it is full of seeds.

Bulb onions don’t do this – no flower

green bee on onion flower
Let the flower grow
growing scallions
Plant the ends of scallions and they will re-grow
Grocery store onions

Why I Chose to Grow From Seeds

When searching for more about growing onions you will find “starts” and “sets”, but I have tried starts and they did nothing. It was a lot of work, for NO return. This was my experience. I decided to try growing from seeds, and it is the method I prefer, now that I’ve seen good results.

I will plant seeds – directly outdoors – once again this coming Fall. Of course, it takes longer for the onions to grow from seed.

Plant seeds in September-October, Harvest onions in May

My Onion Harvest

I planted my Texas Grano Onion seeds in October. I am now harvesting them in May. That is a long time – seven months! Not all of them grew, in fact I’d say most did not grow at all, or remain small. I’m waiting to see if the small ones continue to grow.

Texas Grano onions
Tops falling over is a sign they are nearly ready to pull
pulling onions

I purchased the seed packets for Texas Grano onions at SESE (southern exposure seed exchange).

I will admit to not taking good care of my seedlings. My mindset was that they wouldn’t grow anyway, so I pretty much ignored them. Next time, I will be more careful because I know it’s possible to get nice onions from the seeds.

Curing Onions to Save

Once the onions are pulled up, I brushed the dirt off and put them under the umbrella. Now they are on the porch with the fan going. From most articles I’ve read, onions need to cure in a shaded location that is warm with good air flow. What I don’t have is low humidity, but I can’t change that.

Once the tops have dried, I’ll cut them off and bring the onions inside to store and use. A few of the smaller ones I’ve already sliced up to eat! Yummy. What is better than getting food from the backyard?

Texas Grano bulb onion crop
Texas Grano bulb onions grown from seed.

More stories from the garden…