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 all been planted except for Kale and dill. I will also grow more green beans along the way when I find space. (I’m already eating a few!)
I need more mulch. More grass needs to be pulled. Gardening is constant, but I am making headway.
The Roselle plants are looking awesome and I should have some red pods for tea soon. (Yup, I’m beginning to pick the pods.)
I’m growing Daikon radishes once again, even though last year I had so many. I was using them in salads last year, but this year I plan to ferment them!
Homemade compost is being added to all areas of the garden. More compost is brewing in the bins.
Composting
Chopping up the Marigolds and adding to the composter -My Hot Frog.
Onion bags
Fabric bags have been filled half full and onion seeds have been planted. Onions don’t have such long roots. I’m filling all my bags part way and rolling down the sides. They are planted with Texas Grano bulb onions.
Each day new holes are dug – by armadillos I presume – and old holes are getting deeper. This area will mostly hold flowering plants and dill. That way if things get dug up it’s not such a big loss.
Planting and re-planting in Fall for a good vegetable harvest. Bugs, weather, and animals can make things difficult.
Planting seeds is an ongoing process in my yard. Thanks to raccoons, my cats, and the armadillos, a lot of seed replanting happens. In my photos here, the only thing grown from a purchased plant (and not seeds or a cutting) is the sage.
purple sagebell peppereggplantbroccolitomato after Hurricanepepper & carrotsFall garden 2024 – Firespike is permanently angled from Hurricane winds
Where Are The Good Bugs?
I am into year two of vegetable gardening and I’m still wondering where all the good bugs are. Occasionally I see a ladybug. I rarely see much of anything else. It has me wondering if this area simply can’t support good things.
I’m not a fan of Florida. In my opinion the state is a swampland and should have stayed that way. Now, everyone sprays their lawns to kill all the things they never want to see.
All my neighbors spray their yards. I can only imagine how many beneficials are killed along with the unwanted cinch bugs and roaches. Is the ecology in my area so bad that I will never have a self supporting garden full of beneficial insects?
We have invasive frogs and lizards. Are they eating up all the good bugs that may show up? It really seems like everything is working against me here.
I Grow What Will Grow
Ideally, a backyard garden would supply food that is most loved and eaten often. What I would love to grow, and eat often, simply doesn’t grow for me. Onions, peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, and carrots would be great. I’ve had no luck with peppers, zucchini (any squash), tomatoes, and cucumbers. Certain types of greens do well – Tatsoi is a favorite. And last year carrots and onions came up.
Luffa flowersZinniaBasil Daikon radish and new dirt section for planting
The Daikon radish is looking pretty good, but I’ve never eaten one. Can I make a meal out of a radish? The luffa looks sickly, a few beets look okay, the Egyptian spinach grows great – but I don’t eat it (yuk).
I’ve given up on peppers. The one bell pepper plant is covered in white flies or mites or whatever. I’ve tried to get rid of them, and gave up. I had quite a few nice pepper plants growing that simply died.
Squash and zucchini don’t grow. Last year I had a couple of Seminole pumpkins, which were delicious, but this year I have one that might be okay.
Beansborage & cabbageEgyptian spinachcarrotsbeets
I will have some carrots in a few months, and hopefully onions as well. It hasn’t been easy to grow those either with the raccoons digging up my seeds each night.
The one cherry tomato looked nice, until Hurricane Milton blew through. I’ve now propped up the eggplant that blew over too. Oh yes, eggplants last for years, but actually grow eggplants only occasionally. And they are not one of my favorite foods.
After success with carrots and onions last year, I was looking forward to Fall planting. I had whittled down my list to the things I had luck with. Broccoli, carrots and bulb onions are tops on my list. They are all growing very slowly.
The last thing I am going to try is to plant in raised beds. I purchased two more Vegega beds but have not put them together.
This year I learned about growing greens that will do well here in Central Florida gardens. I have just planted something called Chijimisai. It is supposed to be a lot like spinach.
In general, greens like lettuce and kale, must grow in cooler weather. In order to pick greens for salads, smoothies and for stir-frying we must grow during the correct season for where we live.
Now, it is mid October and cooler weather is here. I direct seeded the Chijimisai into a grow pot on the 4th of this month. Today, two weeks later, it looks like this:
Chijimisai at two weeks – planted from seed.
After two weeks, I was wondering about thinning the greens. I found a YouTube video of a man (in Texas I think) harvesting / thinning his Chijimisai and it was very crowded. He had let it grow and then thinned it when the plants were pretty large. At that point he could use the bigger leaves to eat.
That is what I plan to do.
Right after I planted the seeds in this pot, the raccoons walked all through my planters and I’m sure stopped the growth of some seeds. Grrrrrr…. I put eggshells all over the dirt to deter their little paws. I don’t know if that works, but I had to try something.
By the first of November my spinach garden is full of wonderful, edible green leaves!
Arugula, spinach, and lettuce with radishes.
Buying Chijimisai Seeds
This is the packet of seeds. I still have some left to sow later on. At this point I don’t know what will grow and what won’t. I’ve only planted partial amounts of seeds in my small pots and some areas of the garden.
I bought my seeds from The Urban Harvest. They sometimes send seeds that come from other providers. I’ve had luck with most of the seeds they’ve mailed me and I continue to buy from them.
I’ll update the blog as the season progresses. I’m really hoping for some good greens this Fall.
Hydrangeas Blue 