Are Orange Mushrooms in the Vegetable Garden Okay?

I’m trying to find out about these orange mushrooms that keep growing at the base of my vegetable plants. Are they okay to leave there? Are they good or bad for the garden? I have lots of questions because I have never had this happen in my garden before.

Read on for the answers I found.  (All photos on this page are my own.)

orange mushrooms in the garden
Orange mushrooms continue to grow in my raised bed garden

As soon as one “batch” of mushrooms dies down, others begin to form. They seemed to begin around the base of the eggplant, which has been growing for nearly 2 years now.  I am wondering if that plant is dying.

So after searching around the internet, many gardeners say that mushrooms in the garden are a good thing. It is a sign that the soil is alive and well, or something like that. But I don’t know about when the mushroom grows off the stem of a plant.  Usually mushrooms grow on dead or dying things, like trees.  It could be that the mushrooms just look like they are on the plant, but are really coming out of the dirt.  It’s hard to tell.

I did dig up the stinkhorn mushrooms that must have arrived when I added certain bags of soil to the bed. They really did stink, and were not something I wanted to look at either. I love nature, but those things were really disgusting.

orange mushrooms
Mushrooms growing at base of eggplant

Some people have mentioned that mushroom compost is excellent for amending the soil, so when these mushrooms die they are helping to compost the dirt in the bed.  Mushrooms will grow on organic matter.  We’ve had lots of rain lately, and they grow in the shady areas, beneath the bigger plants.

orange mushrooms
Orange mushrooms growing under and from the base of the pepper plant

I would love to know what type of mushroom this is. When I search “orange mushrooms” I get info about the chanterelle (good to eat, although I won’t ever eat a wild mushroom found by me!), and “pumpkin, or jack o’lantern, mushroom” (which is poisonous). I don’t believe it is either of those.  Of course there are so many types of mushroom, I may never know the identity of this one.

For now I will let them grow and do their thing. I found some “bird’s nest” mushrooms in the garden as well.
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orange mushrooms

Here are some links to more “mushrooms in the garden” information.

Are Mushrooms in My Garden Bad? @ Garden Mentors site.

Gardening With Mushrooms @ Mother Earth News.

The Washington Post

Found Some Bananas Growing in the Backyard

I only venture outdoors for about five minutes at a time these days because of the heat, but I do go out to get photos and check the vegetable garden.

Although the banana trees in the back corner of the yard were frozen this winter, they have come back and grown very tall.  In fact, one of them recently put off a shoot of bananas!

banana tree height
Height of tree and bunch of fruit – I am 5’5″ and can’t come close to reaching it. (That’s me in blue LOL)

I’ve had banana trees bear fruit before, but the bananas were never very good. Maybe we didn’t wait long enough to pick them. The only bananas I know about are the ones sitting on the grocery store end caps. So maybe it’s time to learn about those wild bunches of bananas.

How to Grow and Harvest Bananas – I Just Learned This!

All those little bumps along the stem above the bulb on the end (photo below) will become bananas!  This plant is just getting started.  The Dole video below mentions waiting 12-13 weeks after the bananas begin to grow before harvesting.  They cut theirs while they are green.

As the bananas fill in along that stem, they will get heavy (60 plus pounds!) and some trees need propping up. I don’t think I will be able to do that.  This tree, and other little ones around it, are in the bushes next to my yard and not in a “garden” area.  This bunch of bananas is on a tree that must be 15 feet tall (photo above).  Since I took this photo, the branch has elongated so more bananas can form along the stem.

bananas on tree
Bananas on the tree

First, I want to say that I did not plant those banana trees. The house behind mine has a big garden area and they do have banana plants in their yard.  I’m guessing that the banana trees now growing on this side of their fence came from their yard. I have no idea what type of banana trees they are.

The University of Florida Gardening Solutions page says that because of sandy soil bananas need to be fertilized. No one has fertilized “my” banana trees.

Something I have learned is that once a tree produces bananas it is done. It will not produce any more. That is why bananas have off-shoots, or baby banana trees growing near the large one. The little ones will grow and do the same thing as the “mother” tree.

Growing Bananas Videos

In my search for growing bananas information I came across a couple of cool videos. The first one is nearly 30 minutes long and the grower is growing (and eating) “ice cream” bananas.

He makes a mistake by cutting of the 60 pound bunch of bananas thinking he can hold it in one hand – and drops it! Then, according to the comments below the video, he hangs the bunch the wrong way – I don’t know about that. Some viewers also left comments that cutting down the main tree is not necessary.

In the second video, which is about the Dole company and how they grow bananas, all the workers do is chop the leaves off the main plant and leave them on the ground to provide nutrients. They do not cut down the whole tree.

Dole company video – which I found to be interesting.

Potential Problems With Growing Bananas

A healthy banana tree can add interest to the yard, but when they turn brown, or begin to die and fall over, not so much.

Plant in an area where there is space for more “baby” plants to spring up. None of those banana trees in my photo were planted. They sprung up on their own.

The hurricanes – we’ve had two major ones come through within the two years I’ve lived in this house – the wind shredded the leaves of the trees to bits.

Then we had some very cold nights over the past winter which turned the trees brown.

Yet, here we are with very tall, lovely trees less than a year later, and one is growing bananas already. The trees bounce back quickly in this hot, tropical climate, but they can die way down.

dead brown leaves plants after freeze
The same tree in winter this past year

Ways to Use That Overload of Cucumbers From the Garden

It is mid-June as I write this and I am beginning to get an overload of cucumbers from the garden. I am the only one in the household who eats them. Since I hate to be wasteful, I’ve begun using my cucumbers in places other than salads.

Please note: Not all food here is Keto friendly.  I wrote this page before I changed my diet.

Cucumbers in Smoothies

A few years back I bought an Oster personal blender. Because of my diagnosis of poly-cystic kidney disease, I began to create healthy smoothies full of fruit and vegetables.

This morning I picked 2 more cucumbers from the garden to add to the collection of 5 I had already sitting on my kitchen counter. Cucumbers can be very good for for patients with CKD (chronic kidney disease) and of course, for everyone else as well.

I chopped one whole cucumber for my smoothie. To that I added five frozen, organic strawberries, organic red grapes, and some unsweetened cranberry juice. Once I remembered that I had bananas to use, I added a small banana too.

Cucumber smoothie
Cucumber smoothie with fruit

For those with any type of kidney problem who have to watch their potassium levels, don’t add the banana.

Of course this is my made-up-on-the-spur-of-the-moment recipe, so change it up. Adding other greens along with the cuke would also work. Throw in some kale or spinach. That goes well with strawberries. Use orange juice or iced tea for the liquid. There are many options when it comes to creating a healthy smoothie.

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Ready to drink from my House Targaryen GOT glass

Easier still, add sliced cucumber to a glass of water. Throw in sliced apple, orange, lemon or lime if you have it. Most people should drink a lot of water every day and this may help you do so.

Cucumber Sandwiches

Although I try hard not to eat much bread, I love a cucumber sandwich. When slicing the cukes for a sandwich I leave the skin on. I only remove skin from store-bought cukes.

Add mayonnaise and a little pepper and yum… the perfect summer sandwich.

cucumber sandwiches
Crustless white bread cucumber sandwiches (photo: Pixabay)

Or choose a more healthy type “bread” by spreading hummus on a (gluten free, low sodium) tortilla and fill with chopped cucumber and other veggies. Roll it up and you have a tasty meal without the bread.

Cucumbers and Hummus Dip

Cucumbers are quite delicious all by themselves, but it’s more fun to dip them into a healthy dip. I love cukes and hummus. Again, if you have no health issues, eat what sounds good. Chic peas are the main ingredient in hummus and most brands offer additional varieties along with plain old hummus.

Hummus is a wonderful and healthy dip that goes with any vegetable. It provides fiber and protein and other nutrients.

bowl of hummus
Hummus

More Ideas For Using Fresh Garden Cucumbers

I can get tired of eating salad pretty quickly, but the trick is to change it up. Use a small amount of greens and add lots of cucumber, tomato, sliced onion and green pepper. I like to add walnuts and fruit to my salads too.

For a simple cucumber only salad, check out this recipe at Taste of Home.

I have a no-cook recipe link for making sweet bread and butter pickles.  Be aware that these pickles last only a couple of weeks before the slices get soggy.  Eat them quickly or they will have to be thrown away.  Still, it’s a good and easy recipe for an abundance of cukes.  Maybe give some away?

Also, cucumber slices can be used to play checkers. (Smile)

Simple Bread and Butter Pickles Made From Garden Cucumbers

Cucumber on the vine
Cucumber on the vine

Now that the cucumbers are growing in my Florida garden, I was reminded of a simple bread and butter pickles recipe I found a few years ago. No canning was involved. Fortunately I was able to find my printed copy.  (Recipe Link Below)

I don’t do canning, but I love bread and butter pickles made with fresh from the garden cucumbers. These pickles are stored in mason jars (or any jar) but there is no boiling required. Slice and mix the six ingredients (and add some of your own) and store in the fridge.

Include sliced onion and green pepper for flavor. Garlic cloves and hot pepper slices may work as well. Other herbs could be added to change the flavor, like fennel and dill.

And by the way, you don’t need to use a specific type of cucumber.  I am growing two types, and I can’t remember what they are, but as you can see in my photo below, one type is very long!

The shorter, regular looking cukes taste better, but when making pickles it doesn’t matter.  There are many other ways to use fresh cucumbers from the garden.

Cucumbers and onion

The recipe calls for 7 cups of sliced cucumbers, so wait until you have a bunch to use up. Cukes don’t last long once they are picked, so plan to make pickles the day you pick the cucumbers.
A mandolin slicer makes all that slicing go fast.

A Mandoline slicer makes all this slicing quick work

Note:  One thing I changed in the recipe was the amount of sugar. The recipe calls for 2 cups, and I reduced that amount to 1 cup.  I also added a few slices of hot red pepper and fennel sprigs.

Spoon the mix into clean mason jars. Divide up the remaining liquid into the jars, cover and put in fridge for 5 days. Then begin eating!  They will be good for months.

mason jars
Clean mason jars

The full recipe can be found here: Mamaw’s Refrigerator Bread and Butter Pickles.

Black Swallowtail Butterfly Eggs, Larvae and Worms

Finding the Swallowtail butterfly in it’s life stages in my garden

I’ve been watching as the Black Swallowtail butterfly flits around my vegetable garden laying eggs on the parsley and fennel. I took the camera out and got these photos. Everything looked good until the bees showed up!

In the first photo here you can see two eggs and one tiny black caterpillar.  In the second photo see a more mature caterpillar.  All these are currently found in my garden – all the stages.  Right now I don’t think there is a pupa or chrysalis. Earlier this year a green one formed on the lower stalk of the fennel. They seem to prefer fennel over the parsley, although they are also known as parsley worms.

swallowtail butterfly eggs and larvae
Swallowtail butterfly eggs and larvae in fennel leaf

Grow some fennel if you want to encourage the Swallowtail to visit your garden.  The worms will eat down the vegetables, so plant extra to allow them to feed.  Check for eggs and worms before picking herbs!

 

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Worm on the fennel

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Worm on parsley

The “parsley worm” is so pretty, and fun to watch. They will twist and reach for those strands of fennel. In fact I was watching one the other day, and decided to go inside and get my iPhone. By the time I got back out to the fennel, a wasp was eating the caterpillar! I took the video below as one wasp, or hornet or whatever it was, got kicked off the meal and another took over.
I was tempted to pull off my shoe and kill those bees, but it’s nature, so I controlled myself.

Between the hornets and the birds, it is quite amazing that any caterpillars get the chance to turn into a butterfly.

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Newly hatched black Swallowtail on basil flowers

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The Swallowtail butterfly hovers over my garden

And here she is, back at the garden laying eggs on the fennel and parsley. There you have it, the full cycle of the life of the Swallowtail, found in my backyard.
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For more great photos with life stages of the Swallowtail check out the post on Our Habitat Garden.

Finally, Growing Tomatoes Advice For the Florida Climate

As I was searching for some other gardening advice altogether, I came across a Florida gardening blogger who seems to have very useful information to share. Unfortunately it looks as if his blogging stopped a few years ago in 2015. Maybe he moved away to a better place.

I found a post with growing tomatoes advice which would explain why I have such a difficult time with tomatoes.

First of all he starts with seeds (Plant Your Tomato Seeds). I’ve been wondering if the fact that I buy seedlings from Home Depot (there is nowhere else I’ve found) is my biggest problem. He says store bought plants “are never very good”. I already suspected this.

Start planting seeds early enough to have seedlings ready for the garden by March first. He says to buy a combination of sizes, but tomatoes won’t grow very large in this climate. I’ve found that to be true as well. I don’t have the space for a lot of plants, but I can use my fabric bags.

Which Tomato Seeds to Buy?

The blogger I am referencing plants Hybrid Tomatoes only.  I am not sure why, except that they are probably tougher than heirlooms.  A hybrid is a cross-pollinated plant.  The characteristics are better yield and disease resistance, among others.

Roma tomato seed packet
Roma tomato seed packet

In case you are interested in buying tomato seeds online:  Organic Heirloom tomato seeds can be purchased at the Tomato Fest site. These are NOT hybrids. Heirloom tomatoes give the grower the option to save seeds to plant the following year. You can’t do that with hybrids.

Buy the most disease and pest resistant varieties. Look at package labeling for letters that follow the name of the tomato. See the key list of what that lettering means on this page at Gurneys.  My packet above contains the letters VF which protects from wilt disease.

Indeterminates only – this means the tomatoes will continue to grow shooting out stems and growing tall all during the growing season. Indeterminates continue to set fruit while you pick ripe tomatoes. In other words, they just keep growing until something stops them. They need staking, whereas determinate varieties are more compact and can grow in pots.
**Note here: Indeterminates can grow to be 12 feet tall! I will need to re-think my staking. I suspect that in Florida they could easily grow to astounding heights.  I can see the raccoons climbing my stakes and destroying my crops.

Pick Tomatoes Early

Letting tomatoes ripen on the vine is my preference, but the raccoons tend to pick them before I get to.  My reference blogger picks his early and says they taste better when he lets them ripen indoors.  His blog is helpful, but not easy to navigate, so use the “search” area.

He mentions planting some tomatoes later in the season, in the shade, in a new area, and they did well.  Read about that at the bottom of this page where he “answers a question“.

I’m grateful for this info.