Fill the Yard With Milkweed – The Right Kind!

Be sure to select a native milkweed for the yard, or you could be harming the Monarchs instead of helping. Don’t take store and seller’s word for it – be informed.

When I wrote this blog post, over two years ago, I had read an article about Tropical milkweed being horribly bad for Monarchs. It seems that is not completely true. As I’ve continued to learn about growing milkweed, I think the Tropical variety can be used as a good stand in if native milkweed is not available. But it must be cared for correctly.

Back then: On a trip to the Farmer’s Market, we found some plants for the yard. I was happy to find this plant at the market. It cost me $15.00 but I was very excited to find such a wonderful, big plant to help the monarchs. What I didn’t realize is that it is NOT native. I bought Tropical Milkweed which is becoming a problem in the south.

Two-colored flowers (red and orange/yellow) with pointed leaves – this is the non-native Tropical Milkweed. But, the only reason it seems to be a problem is that it does not die back in Fall / Winter.

Good Intentions

I want to fill my yard with food for the bees and butterflies (namely Monarchs)… BUT… this is not the right kind of milkweed for my area. When this milkweed plant began to drop its seeds, I looked for information about planting them. I’m so glad I searched for information. BUT, now there is more information.

I suggest removing the seed pods so the plant doesn’t spread into the wild where it can’t be cut back over winter.

This is when I realized that I have the wrong type of milkweed. Wrong meaning not native. It was time to learn more about milkweed.

Updated Info on Tropical Milkweed

Tropical Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) is NOT a native Florida plant. It is native to Mexico. It’s always best to plant native. However, I have not easily been able to find nice, native milkweed plants at local nurseries and garden shops. Tropical milkweed is easy to grow, and it grows fast. No wonder plant sellers prefer this one.

If you have tropical milkweed, the most important thing is to cut it back by December. It won’t die back on its own in many locations. This keeps the Monarchs from migrating. If they stick around and continue to breed, the caterpillars can develop a lethal parasite (OE). Read the article about this at IFAS for more info.

I doubt that many sellers of the tropical milkweed even realize it is not native to Florida. And many probably don’t understand the need for cutting it down.

Non-native, flowers are bi-color red and yellow.

If you are willing to cut back the plants in winter, and remove the seed pods so the plant won’t spread outside the yard, Tropical Milkweed should be okay to grow.

Tropical milkweed is not native to Florida and can cause problems for the Monarch butterflies.

When is it Okay to Plant Tropical Milkweed?

So what if you have this milkweed growing in your yard? After I removed my Tropical milkweed plants, two more plants grew – 2 years later. Right away I began to see caterpillars. I knew this was the wrong milkweed, but it was feeding those hungry caterpillars. So, is it better to help the Monarchs even if the milkweed is not native? I say yes.

monarch caterpillar

I now believe that having some tropical variety can be good to supplement the native types. Native milkweed is hard to find to buy. Certain types need sun and lots of moisture (swamp variety). Others need sun and dry conditions (Sandhill). Milkweed is meant to grow in Florida’s diverse ecosystem, which is vanishing. It should not be grown in a yard that is sprayed with chemicals.

All these things make native milkweed hard to find. With roadsides mowed, and lawns taking the place of fields, butterflies are now endangered. If we can help by providing some plants – native or not – I say let’s do it.

Right now I am trying to grow native milkweed for my yard. I have planted seeds, and purchased milkweed seedlings online. My goal is to have a variety, with many native plants (mainly) for the butterflies.

Florida Native Milkweed Links

  • Sandhill Milkweed – Big, dark leaves and pink flowers. Likes to grow in sand and doesn’t need lots of water.
  • Orange Butterfly weed – Not preferred by monarchs (so I’ve read) but great for butterflies and other insects.
  • Swamp Milkweed, white / pink – Moist, well-drained soil. Full sun to part shade.
  • Whorled Milkweed – blooms longer, into Fall, and can supplement if other native milkweed has died back.

Find Milkweed Seeds and Plants Online

You may find what you want, along with other Florida native plants, from this list of growers / nurseries on the Plant Real Florida site.

I have purchased seeds from Johnny Butterfly seed. They have sprouted at this stage, but are still tiny.

The Monarch Story – IFAS

Keep reading the blog…

Planting Some New Flower and Herb Seeds

Planting new types of seeds purchased from Eden Brothers online.

Finally my seed packet order from Eden Brothers arrived. It took ten days, and I’d actually forgotten about the order because they sent no information updates at all! I’m not too happy with the company for that reason. I chose them because they had the Mimosa seeds.

Now I need to figure out what to do with these seeds, which include Nasturtium, Amaranthus, Powderpuff Mimosa, and Borage.

Nasturtium

I had loads of lovely nasturtium growing in my northern summer garden. I’ve never tried growing them in Florida. For that reason I will plant some seeds into the garden dirt, and the others will go into pots.

The seeds went into the ground around my pumpkins plants and watermelon. Two clay pots also hold seeds. They are the Alaska variety which is pictured below. The leaves and flowers are edible.

This is one of my favorite photos of my cat Skittle sitting amongst the nasturtiums and marigolds in my New Hampshire garden.

flowers of fall
Nasturtiums and Marigolds (and Skittle the Cat) in my NH garden
The full packet of seeds from Eden Bros.
nasturtium flowers
Alaska Nasturtiums grown from seeds in NH

Mimosa Seeds (Powderpuff)

I know nothing at all about the mimosa ground cover except that it has fluffy pink flowers. Most sites talk about growing it indoors, but here in Florida it should grow easily outside in the sun. Because I don’t care if it covers the grass, I’ll plant the seeds at the edge of my hibiscus garden.

This one is also called the Sensitive Plant because the leaves close / move when touched. And, I found it listed at the UF gardening site under Powderpuff Mimosa. I will put a few seeds in a pot and the remainder into the ground.

Amaranthus – Molton Fire (Edible)

Here is a page at UF, Gardening Solutions in the “food” section, all about the Amaranth. I guess it needs to go straight into the garden. Since I don’t have a lot of space left, some have been put into pots.

Borage (officinalis) – Edible

Borage is a herb that grows tall and is listed on this page at the IFAS site as a cool season crop. My Eden Brothers packet says that planting time is Spring, but shelter from “hot afternoons”. I think I will put some seeds into pots for now.

Borage has pretty blue flowers and it is edible. It also attracts bees. It grew wild near my house in New Hampshire, but I’ve never seen it here.

Borage (photo credit: Pixabay)

Herbs & Spices in the Florida Garden – UF IFAS

Recent garden stories…

A Vegetable Garden Begun From Seeds

Planting a garden, year two, from saved seeds. Everything growing in my small backyard vegetable garden was begun from my own seeds and seedlings.

As of the end of April, my backyard garden is nearly full of little vegetable plants. Today I added two pumpkin plants after they grew from seeds in little pots.

The eggplant plants have been growing in garden boxes near the house and were transplanted into this garden. They came from seeds I saved from the eggplants.

vegetable garden spring
April vegetable garden

Vegetables I am Growing This Summer

In the garden I have okra (purchased seeds) that was planted as seeds. I’ve never grown (or eaten) okra, so this is new. I’m finding that okra plants are pretty hardy. Some animal dug up some of the seedlings and I replanted them and they are doing fine! Soon I will thin the row by cutting off the okra I want to remove.

The watermelon (seeds I purchased) is beginning to take off, and I will choose only a few of the best plants to keep.

Also in the garden: Hot peppers (from seeds I saved). I have planted one poblano, a couple jalapeños and one Habanero. We have more seedlings in pots, but I am running out of space.

Also growing are eggplants, watermelon, okra, pumpkin, dill, and marigolds. Everything started from seeds. Most plants grew up in pots and were transplanted, but the okra and watermelon were put directly into the dirt.

Watermelon seedlings
watermelon
okra seedlings
A row of okra

I’m already planning a couple more gardens in the small yard. I’ll be moving the kayaks and white barrels to dig up that area for my “winter” garden. It’s an area that gets a lot of sun.

garden

The picture below is of the edge of my garden where I put a board to walk on. I’m hoping it will help keep all those weeds out from the edge of the yard.

board to keep out weeds

I am standing in the lot next door to take this photo (below). The back corner of my yard contains a few banana trees which I did not plant. They moved in from the back of the empty lot next door. Each year a big banana tree would have a bunch of bananas, grow a couple of new baby trees, and then die. The baby trees kept moving this way and are now in my yard.

banana trees in back of yard
Back corner of the yard

Saving Seeds

By saving seeds from your own (and sometimes store bought) vegetables and flowers (marigolds in my case), you will always be able to re-plant your favorites. And it saves money, obviously.

Marigolds are very useful in the garden as bad bug deterrents. To make sure you have plenty for the following year – or all season long here in Florida – snap the old flower heads off and save them.

After a while they will dry out and all the seeds are inside. Every flower contains many seeds, so I sprinkle them generously all around the garden.

Not every seed will root, and they can be thinned.

To save vegetable seeds, simply do that. When you cut a pepper, eggplant, tomato, etc., cut out some seeds to dry. I put them on a plate. Seeds must dry out to store. Don’t put them into a closed bag or bottle. An envelope or paper bag works, and don’t forget to label with type of seed and the date.

Because of the humidity here, I store my seeds inside and not on the porch.

Saving seeds
Saving seeds – arugula stems and seeds, dill, lettuce and pepper

The Seed Garden Beginnings

Although every vegetable and flower in the garden began from seeds, I did have to first buy a few packets. Last year I began all my seeds in saved eggshells – and I do not recommend this. I purchased Dill and Marigolds as seeds and started them last year. Both plants are prolific seed providers.

So all my purchased and saved seeds have carried over to this year.

Please keep reading….

Fall Gardening is Underway

Here I have a photo of my Fall garden. It is hard to tell what is growing, and honestly not much in the way of food just yet. The seeds have…

End of Summer Garden Clean Up

It is the beginning of September and my end of summer garden clean up is underway. I happily pulled up all the Seminole pumpkin vines. I managed to haul in my…

How to Begin Growing Vegetables in Florida

Some things I did and places I bought seeds to get my Florida vegetable garden going.

Although I have lived in Florida for most of my life, I have not done much growing of vegetables. Now, I am interested, and have begun to slowly add garden beds to the backyard. But how to know what will grow here and where to find the plants and seeds?

I always assumed that nothing would grow in a Florida summer. But, if you look around, the citrus and banana trees do just fine. Some vegetables are specifically known as being southern, such as collard greens and okra.

Bunch of bananas hanging from a tree in the yard
Bananas in my backyard

There is a definite advantage to having a very long growing season here in Florida. In New Hampshire my bell pepper plants would just be looking pretty good when suddenly it was cold again.

Peppers like it hot, and I’ve had good luck growing some types of peppers (jalapeño, Serano, and bell) in my southern location. If the winter is not too cold, they will come back and produce more peppers the following season.

green pepper
Green Bell Pepper

Begin the Search

It’s tough to know what to plant and when, but the University of Florida has a collection of excellent advice for the southern gardener. This page, for central Florida gardening, is filled with flower, herb, lawn and vegetable advice.

Narrow it down by viewing the vegetable planting guide, and you will be ready with a list to use when seed shopping. Decide which foods you and your family will eat and see how to go about making it happen.

When I view the lists of warm and cool weather crops for Florida, I do disagree with some of the vegetables listed. This means that maybe each gardener will have different degrees of luck with certain crops.

Maybe I have planted at the wrong time, and maybe I need to try again and take notes. But at least these vegetables have a chance of growing and are worth a try. I have not had luck with carrots or beets.

If broccoli is a favorite with southern gardeners, I will put that on my “cool weather crops” list. Now I have expanded to have a ground garden where I can rotate “warm” and “cool” crops. The only thing is… many vegetables continue to grow year round – the growing season does not really end. I have had eggplant plants and pepper plants grow for years! So one garden may not be enough space.

backyard Florida garden plot planted with seeds and seedlings
Peppers, dill and eggplant growing in the ground

Where to Buy the Seeds and Plants For This Climate

If you live near a nursery that sells plants that will grow locally, you are lucky! Big box stores like Home Depot don’t seem to specialize in selling local plants. I’d rather give my money to a small business but I can’t seem to find the plants and seeds I want at a location nearby.

The Farmer’s Market and flea market are places I plan to scour further. Sometimes local farmers will have plants for sale.

Shopping for Seeds Online

First, I bought seeds from The Urban Harvest, which is a central (west coast) based seed and plant seller – they also have many YouTube videos. I have had good luck with the seeds germinating, but they were sold out of many items I would have liked. If you live near them in St. Pete (I believe) they have a garden center where you can pick up live seedlings.

Some of the seeds I got will be planted in Fall, but I did plant the pumpkin, okra, and Moringa this Spring. I don’t know what to expect from okra, but the UF site has a whole page about okra.

seed packets from the Urban Harvest, a florida based company
Seeds from Urban Harvest

So, I continued to look online. Johnny’s Selected Seeds had a nice variety, including heirloom and organic vegetable varieties, but they wanted $11.50 for shipping just a few packets of seeds! I moved on.

Mary’s Heirloom Seeds has a good selection of beans especially, but the seed potatoes were sold out. I liked this site, but had already purchased some seeds from the Eden Brothers site.

I found mimosa seeds (a flowering ground cover) at the Eden Brothers, and it is something I had been looking for. Then I found more flower seeds and a few veggies and placed my order. This time shipping was only $3.98 which is much more reasonable.

Most seed sellers do not specify what does well in a sub-tropical climate, so have that list of specific, Florida friendly crops, ready before you shop.

If you are a Floridian and have a favorite online place to buy seeds, please let me know! I also appreciate any helpful advice when it comes to gardening in our climate.

In Closing…

Check for vegetables and herbs that will do well in our area / your area of Florida. Decide what you have room for, and plant what you want to eat! Search for a place that can supply the seeds. Local nurseries, farmer’s markets, or online. Maybe a neighbor is also a grower and would share some seeds with you!

Remember that most seed packets are packed for a specific year, so don’t load up on seeds that you can’t use within the year.

I’ll be updating this blog with my garden stories as I try to grow more vegetables. Currently my “in the ground” garden is planted and doing well.

backyard garden with vegetable seedlings
The new garden – Nearly full, end of April

Keep Reading ….

How to Use Coconut Coir in the Garden

Using coconut coir for the first time to grow seeds.

For the first time ever, I purchased a block (well two) of Coconut coir. I’ve heard about this stuff for gardening and for some reason never tried it. What a mistake to overlook this wonderful planting material!

I chose the Burpee brand, which claims to be organic. The package comes with two bricks of coco coir.

coconut coir
This link goes to Amazon, where I am an affiliate. This is the brand I bought and used.

Is the coir only used for seedlings? Apparently not. It can be used to grow plants, or mixed with soil in a pot to increase aeration. It works like peat moss, if you’ve ever used that, but is more environmentally friendly. The idea is to break up the soil and provide an easier growing environment for roots. The coir also holds water well even though it is quite loose. When watering, the water will pour right out, but the coir retains moisture enough to nourish the roots. This way, the roots will not become waterlogged, but have the moisture needed to thrive.

Coir for Starting Seeds

My basil died over winter and I’ve been trying to grow more from seeds in pots this spring. The new plantings in dirt finally sprouted and are still pretty small. So I used the remaining seeds by putting them into the coir.

Three days later…. seedlings already showing! I am amazed by this quick sprouting action in the coir.

Basil is sprouting in Coconut Coir – after 3 days

basil seedlings in coconut coir
Basil seeds sprouting after 3 days in the coconut coir

The first seedlings below were planted weeks ago in a dirt, compost mix and are still very small. I’m betting that the basil in the coir will surpass the dirt-growing plants!

Basil seeds planted in soil- weeks ago

Basil seedlings growing in soil.

By May 1, the basil in the coir has nearly caught up with the basil in the dirt.

basil growing in pots
May first – a comparison of the basil seeds

The coir does not contain any good nutrients for the little seedlings. Once they begin to grow be sure to give them something… I water with a fish fertilizer. When my seedlings are a little bigger I will put them into a combination of coir, compost and soil….. BUT, better yet, do not start seeds in Coir only.

In fact, the next time I made up pots with “soil” I used the coir in the bottom for good drainage, then a layer of coir mixed with compost, dirt and bone meal.

My basil seeds are Genovese Basil from Seeds of Change. I bought them at the local Home Depot last year and they (Seeds of Change) were not available this year. My local store did not carry any of this brand for some reason. Now I am looking for someplace to buy organic, non GMO seeds. I did buy seeds from the Urban Harvest (which is a local Florida company), but many varieties of veggies were sold out.

From Coconut Blocks to Growing Medium

If you are wondering how the bricks become fluffy medium for planting, it couldn’t be easier. Just add water. It does get a little messy. I added too much water and the stuff became soggy, but it doesn’t really matter. It was easy to pull out the coir and add it to pots and then strain out the excess water. All this was done outdoors.

coconut coir block in bucket
Coconut coir in bucket
planting medium coconut coir

I suggest you don’t add lots of water all at once as the directions say.

Certain flowering plants may do better when planted in the coir. It is also a good idea to mix the coir into a planting bed to loosen the soil. Research according to what you are planting and then decide how much you want to spend to add this fine “soil” to your gardening plans.

Use as a Rooting Medium For Cuttings

I’ve had some cuttings from the Elderberry and Beautyberry trees / shrubs that are growing wild in my yard. The cuttings have been sitting in water for a few days now, but don’t seem to be doing well.

I took more fresh cuttings and stuck them straight into the coir in pots.

Here they are: Beautyberry on the left, and Elderberry on the right. I keep the pots outside tucked up under the cherry tomato for shade.

The Beautyberry is difficult. I’ve tried to root this one before without success.

Cuttings of the beauty berry

Helpful articles about coconut coir

Please keep reading more gardening stories…

Digging, Planning and Planting a Backyard Food Garden in Florida

Digging and planting a backyard garden takes muscle and planning, but is worth it to pick homegrown food. Here is my small beginner garden in my little Florida backyard.

I live on the central east coast of Florida. As a gardener, who knows quite a bit about gardening – in New England – this area has been a challenge. In fact, I have given up trying to grow my old favorites. Squash and zucchini turns moldy right away and even tomatoes seem to struggle in the heat. All I have had luck with are peppers and eggplant.

Time to change my outlook and ways, and adhere to a new way of growing things in this subtropical climate.

Over the past couple of years I have invested in a few grow boxes. My son made a few raised beds last year. We’ve been growing (or trying to) in these beds somewhat successfully.

This Spring I purchased a Tiller. It was not cheap but it did the work of creating a fairly small garden out back.

garden area tilled earth

I have removed a lot of the roots, vines and horrible grass that grows in tendrils. Next I mixed in three bags of compost.

The “dirt” in the ground here is sand. I never saw a single worm, which is typical. I think it will take a lot more compost over the months to create a decent place to grow things. For now, this will have to do. I can amend later with compost from the Hot Frog.

Spreading bags of compost into a freshly dug garden

First I found some boards to set down the center. I remember from my northern gardening that mashing down the earth is not a good thing. If I can remember to stay on the boards, the remainder of the dirt should stay loose for growing.

Next it was time to plan the layout for planting. I had to think about which things would be long vines (watermelon and sweet potato) and those would be in a place where the vines could go out into the grass.

Okra gets tall, I guess… have never eaten it or grown it … so I planted those seeds along the edge. I only planted it because it’s a southern thing and should grow well.

I saved a spot for the sweet potatoes yet to come, and will fill in the rest with some pepper plants and more eggplant.

My basic sketch for planting is subject to change.

backyard garden planting

I managed to get some watermelon seeds and okra seeds planted. Then an eggplant, which I covered with a piece of rug to give it shade.

It was so hot by then, that I took a break inside and waited for the clouds. The forecast called for rain later, but all I got was tons of hot sun!

Some dill plants went in the corners, along with a parsley plant. Last of all, I threw in some saved Marigold seeds.

Backyard garden planted with seeds, dill, parsley, peppers and eggplant

As soon as I took the rug covering off the eggplant, it began to wilt. They really cannot take the midday sun. I quickly watered the whole garden (each plant got it’s own soaking as I planted it) and put the rug back.

Already I am thinking of moving the okra to in front of the eggplant to give it some shade. I can’t run outside every day to cover it because of the sun. (Side note here – the okra was popping up out of the dirt on day 4!). The seed packet says this okra will be 4 -5 feet tall!

okra seeds sprouting
Okra – tomato cage animal deterrent

Although my summer garden may not do well due to the heat, this section of yard will remain a garden bed. When winter comes I can plant lettuce and kale. Also, I will continue to look for hardy, Florida crops to plant.

Bought My Seeds From Urban Harvest

I found this wonderful gardener online who has a YouTube channel called: The Urban Harvest – Homegrown Education. She lives on the west coast of central Florida and has lots of videos about growing things that actually will grow here in Florida! Immediately, I bought some of her seed packets.

The Urban Harvest website

seed packets from Urban Harvest
Seeds from Urban Harvest

I bought some organic Coconut Coir blocks and have added seeds and other things to the pots. I’ve never used the stuff before and I will compare to planting in dirt.

I’m getting ready to post this on April 15th and noticed this AM that one of my pumpkin seeds has sprouted! More about this unusual, southern Seminole pumpkin to come.

More Gardening Stories on the Blog