Tag: vegetables

December Yard Work and Garden Photos

It’s the end of the year but garden work is ongoing if you are a Florida gardener. I’ve expanded my little vegetable growing area and have some eggplants forming.

It is Christmas Eve as I write this and yesterday was a beautiful day! I took advantage of the 72 degree, sunny and breezy weather to do some garden work.

First I cleared out the growth next to my vegetable garden. Then, I put down some big pieces of cardboard and covered that with dirt. My dirt pile is already much smaller, so I’m using the dirt sparingly.

vegetable garden winter
Garden expansion
December garden Florida
Widened the vegetable garden

I’ll leave the new space alone and let the cardboard break down over the next couple of months. This may be a good place to grow watermelon or Seminole pumpkins in Spring. The vines could trail down the edge of the yard or off into the empty lot.

The Eggplants Are Coming in December

The big eggplant plant in the raised bed has ten small eggplants growing! And out back I found one Rosita eggplant – the first one I’ve grown. The Rosita’s have had lots of bug issues, with the leaves being eaten and constant worms. I’m pretty unhappy and will probably not grow this type again.

Winter flower garden florida
Changes to the hibiscus garden
firespike
Firespike and Nasturtium
flowers of hon tsai broccoli
Flowering Hon Tsai Broccoli
eggplant on vine
Rosita eggplant
Rosita eggplant

The Hon Tsai Flowering Broccoli is growing some beautiful, fragrant yellow flowers. Although I don’t like this plant for eating, it’s worth growing for the lovely flowers.

The hibiscus garden has gone through some changes as flowering plants have died off over summer. I’m currently using the space to grow a tomato and some little yellow cosmos plants. 

The Firespike, which I began from a cutting, is beginning to get larger. This took quite a while. And of all the nasturtium seeds, only one plant grew.

My first green bean plantings have gone by, but I kept beans on one of the better plants to grow big and dry.

pepper plant in fabric pot
Carolina Wonder pepper
borage leaves pineapple
Borage and pineapple
green beans growing
Letting these beans dry on the plant

One of the Carolina Wonder pepper plants needed some help. I’m not exactly sure what kind of help, so I transplanted it into a fabric grow pot. I’m hoping it will improve.

The borage has gone crazy, and apparently likes the colder weather. Only one plant is flowering, but I am using the leaves to make a delicious, mild tea!

All my seedlings and small pots have been brought inside. Nights have been much cooler than they prefer. I noticed that growth had stopped, and the peppers looked bad. I think it was the weather.

Roselle, milkweed and others
eggplant, peppers, mint

I probably should have waited to start these seeds. Now, I will have to care for them (put them out in the sun, take outside to water, bring them back in) for months until they can be planted.

I’ve received two gardening magazines through the mail already! Planting plans for spring and summer have already begun. Notes from fall and winter are being organized so I will do better next year.

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!

Easy Healthy Camping Food in Foil Packets

Here’s how to bring along vegetable packets for grilling on a camping trip.

Each time we get read to go camping in our trailer, I create vegetable foil packets to take along.

My son like to grill, so he takes care of bringing the meat. I’m not a big meat-eater, but I always have a small amount. My main dish consists of vegetables.

Paper plate with meat, baked beans and vegetables cooked in foil

Creating the Packets

Close to the camping dates, I shop for fresh vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, carrots, potatoes, and onions. I don’t buy all of these, just what looks freshest and is affordable. (I skipped the asparagus as the price was ridiculous!)

The day before we leave the vegetables are rinsed, chopped and wrapped. Potatoes and carrots will take the longest to cook and need to be cut very small. I add butter and seasoning, like dried parsley and garlic powder. We add our own salt, if needed, after cooking.

chopped carrots broccoli potato
Chopping vegetables
carrots and broccoli chopped in strainer
vegetables in foil

Use heavy duty foil, and place a mix of vegetables in the center of a large piece of foil. About a big handful size. Or, separate out the vegetables according to who likes what.

Top with butter, sprinkle with seasonings you like. Wrap the top first by placing the long ends together and folding over and over to the food. Fold each end in like wrapping a gift.

wrapping vegetables in foil
Tightly wrapped
Vegetables in foil packets
Vegetable foil packets going into the camper.
camper fridge door
Camper fridge

I bought a head of cauliflower, four red potatoes, one onion, and about 5 carrots to make 8 packets to take with us.

We grill the foil food for about 30 minutes.

We ate four packets our first night when my son grilled chicken. We cooked the other four packets the second night, and ended up bringing two back home the next day. So, we had plenty.

I almost forgot to get a photo of the meal! It’s not ready for a food magazine, but you get the idea.

This is a simple way to continue eating healthy away from home. Camping food doesn’t have to be all bread and cheese and pancakes! I don’t eat like that at home, and I won’t while away.

Wins and Fails This Summer in the Garden

It’s July and gardening in Florida has slowed, but some things are obvious wins and some are fails.

My first time seriously trying to grow vegetables and annuals through a Florida summer. I’ve purchase plants and seeds, and transplanted seedlings. A lot of work has gone into my garden area. Some things have done very well, and others are fails and best to be forgotten!

Some things I am still up in the air about.

First, The Wins

Watermelon is at the top of my list for wins. I have harvested three, edible melons. They grew from direct planting and I would have had four, except that the raccoons got one. The vines had no problems, even though I wished I’d had more space for them. These were Strawberry Watermelons which are good for growing in southern locations.

Watermelon

I picked the melons the end of June, and now, mid-July, I have another tiny melon on one of the old vines. Also, new vines are sprouting from the original, so I’ll see what happens.

watermelon preparation outside
watermelon next to foot
Garden watermelon

Eggplant

I’ve grown eggplant for a few years now. I had one plant that grew and grew and seldom ever gave me eggplants to eat! Eventually I cut it down. Now I have about five plants growing in various locations and have been eating eggplant regularly.

The small, Japanese eggplants are eaten fried in a pan. The larger eggplants are usually baked. *By the end of July, eggplants have pretty much stopped producing.

  • eggplant courgette
  • Eggplants growing
    Eggplants
  • Okra and eggplant
    Okra and eggplant
  • eggplant umbrella shade
    Shade for the eggplant
  • Japanese eggplant growing
  • Japanese eggplant plant
  • baking keto eggplant casserole meal dish recipe
    Layering the casserole
  • eggplant flower
    Spikes on eggplant flower
  • macro lady bug beetle on purple eggplant flower
    Lady Bug on Eggplant Flower
  • Eggplant growing
    My eggplant!
  • eggplant
    Eggplant

Okra

I planted okra seeds into the garden and then thinned them once they began to grow. They grew fast, have had no problems, and are hardy. The flowers are very pretty, but don’t seem to attract butterflies or bees. The problem is, I’ve discovered I don’t really like okra!

I was picking a few okras a day and slicing them to fry and eat with lunch. But the slimy, sticky okra just turns me off.🤮. I want to grow food I like, and I don’t like okra. I’ve begun cutting the plants down to add to the composter. But, I’m letting a few okra pods get big and dry out for seeds. A friend wants them.

  • Okra plants
  • Okra flower
  • Okra and eggplant
    Okra and eggplant

Moringa Trees Looking Good

Two Moringa trees grown from seed are planted in the back corner of the garden and look good. I love their lacy leaves.

Moringa tree small
The Moringa is growing well

Flowering plants – Good and Bad

Tiny yellow flowers on plant
Pink zinnia flower
Zinnia
orange cosmos
New cosmos from original yellow

New to the yard this year are the yellow cosmos, zinnias, Rudbeckia, Gaillardia, seashell cosmos, nasturtiums, and Amaranth. Marigolds also grew again, and they are always dependable, but *did begin to fall over and split by July.

Tiny yellow flowers on plant
Melapodium

A delightful reader of this blog was kind enough to tell me the name of the yellow-flowering plant above. It is a Melapodium, and it grows well in hot climates.

Of all of these flowers, the Zinnias are an absolute win.

magenta zinnia flower
Beautiful magenta
orange zinnia
Bright orange zinnia
Zinnia flowers red pink
Zinnia garden
Zinnia garden

Rudbeckia did great for a while, but the heat brought bugs and I had to cut the plant way down.

The yellow cosmos, which has very different leaves from the frilly leaved cosmos, didn’t do well, but the seeds I collected from it, and threw into other gardens, grew great! So, maybe the original plant was not in a good spot. Now I have lots of new little plants growing. One of them is producing orange flowers. This flower has a remnant of its original yellow as a stripe on one petal. See the original plant in the slide show below.

orange cosmos flower
Orange flower, from yellow plant seeds

Borage hates the sun and heat, so I have covered it. Nasturtiums did horrible. Amaranth has done nothing, so I’m not sure yet if it’s a win or fail.

  • rudbeckia or black-eyed-susan
    Rudbeckia began great, then had to be cut back
  • Zinnia
    Zinnia
  • Pink zinnia flower
    Zinnia
  • yellow cosmos plant
    Yellow cosmos – original plant
  • orange cosmos
    Seed from yellow cosmos
  • Short cage for flowering plants
    Marigolds doing great
  • Borage
    Borage is not happy
  • Tiny yellow flowers on plant
    Unknown

Now For the Fails

My vegetable fails for summer were tomatoes and Swiss chard. I had grown a bunch of cherry tomatoes, but really wanted big tomatoes. I KNOW they don’t like the extreme heat. But, I had one plant already growing so I planted it. The plant is looking great, but no fruit is forming. I’m going to let it grow and maybe it will get tomatoes in a couple of months.

Here’s the tomato plant behind a couple of sunflowers. Tomatoes are suppose to be planted in February here, I believe. That way they are all done by the time the real heat arrives.

  • volunteer sunflowers
    Volunteer sunflowers
  • swiss chard
  • Fordhook chard

I planted Swiss Chard twice, in two different varieties and they fall over and don’t grow.

swiss chard

Happy Gardening!

black cat garden yard

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What’s Happening in the February Garden?

Butterflies are dropping their eggs, and some of my vegetable plants are looking much better, now that February in Florida has arrived.

Spring comes early in Florida. February is a good time to check the garden for signs of butterfly eggs and newly hatched caterpillars.

Swallowtails Laying Eggs

I noticed the black swallowtail butterfly laying her eggs all over my little dill plants. Now the black caterpillars are crawling around, eating and growing.

egg of black swallowtail butterfly
A tiny egg on dill
swallowtail caterpillar
The swallowtail caterpillar
black swallowtail butterfly
black swallowtail butterfly
butterfly in the garden

Every day I looked to make sure I could see all three.

Monarch Caterpillars

I’ve recently discovered how bad it is to have the wrong type of milkweed growing in the yard. I have removed all of my tropical milkweed. It looks like the photo below – with red and yellow-orange flowers – and please plant native milkweed instead.

no to tropical milkweed

Read About the Monarch Story, and the Reasons to Plant Correctly

lost caterpillar

Pests

That’s about it for the creatures, except for the unwanted white bugs. I hand-picked / squashed a bunch of these that were hiding in the tiny new growth on my eggplant. I’m not sure what they are, but probably some kind of aphid.

white aphids

Vegetables That Love February

Many of these vegetables were planted late last Fall. They survived the winter and are now beginning to love the warmer nights and not-too-hot days. I like February temperatures also. The humidity is lower and the days are sometimes hot, but bearable. A bit like a summer days in the north.

The pineapple had a lot of brown leaves. I had to cover some of these gardens when the temps dropped to near, or below, freezing.

Kale
Kale
potato plant
Potato plant
green pepper plant blossom
Pepper Plant
pineapple
pineapple
Lettuce
Lettuce
eggplant plant growing
Eggplant
Cherry tomato plant in raised bed
Cherry Tomato
dill flowers in garden
Dill flowers

The plants themselves are looking much better, but I’m not getting to eat from them. I have picked a few cherry tomatoes, a hot pepper here and there, and had some kale chips, which I made from my kale. I use the parsley and dill to cook, but all my basil died.

It won’t be long before the weather is too hot for the gardens to do well. I’m letting my lettuce to go seed so I can plant more next Fall. I do expect to continue to get peppers and also some eggplant soon.

Surprising Success: Growing Dahlias from Seeds in Florida

When my daughter gifted me a packet of Dahlia seeds, I had little hope that the plants would grow. I often feel that way about “normal” things trying to grow in this jungle. I live in zone 9b. My daughter was a little bit obsessed with the Floret flower farm. It was (is?) a show…

Pam's avatar by Pam

Starting Vegetable Seeds in Eggshells

While using my local, fresh, free range chicken eggs one day, I looked at the beautiful shell color and remembered something. I had read, at one time, about using eggshells as pots to start seedlings for the garden.

The shells were so pretty that I hated to just throw them out, so I began rinsing the broken shells to save.

free range chicken egg colors

Getting Ready to Plant Seeds in Eggshells

Here in central Florida frosts and freezes tend to happen in January and February, if they happen at all. By March the weather seldom gets all that cold, but can be chilly overnight. March is the month to plant in Florida.

However, seeds can be started indoors in February, or sooner, to have little seedlings ready to go into the ground by March. I planted mine in the middle of February.

With my organic bags of dirt – Black Gold by Sungro (Amazon affiliate link)- is what I used, and organic seeds purchased, I filled each eggshell and then stuck seeds down into the soil. Keep the egg cartons to use as the plant tray.

Duck eggs and boiled peanuts
Duck Eggs
Eggshell gardening with starter seeds
Eggshell gardening
planting seeds in eggshells
Seedlings in eggshells
seedlings in eggshells
I began planting my seeds in eggshells in February

When the weather got nice enough, I put all the cartons outside in the sun for the day. I brought them inside each evening. And checked them often to add water.

Difficulties and Challenges to Eggshell Gardening

Unlike little pots, the eggshells are delicate. One online site said to put a pin hole in the bottom of the shell for drainage. I did not do that because I tried and failed to make a little hole. It is not really necessary as long as you don’t overwater. Also, with a hole in the bottom, the cardboard containers would be wet.

Watering can be challenging. The eggshell pots are very small. They will dry out quickly when outside in the Florida sun. I water the seedlings twice a day, and this is March. Because the pots are so small and I don’t want to overwater and have them sitting in a puddle, I use my pour-over tea pot which has a small thin spout. Alternatively you could use a paper cup or anything that allows you to easily add small amounts of water.

Get the Seedlings Outside During the Day

Each day I put the seedlings – or soil with seeds – outside into the sun. Once the plants begin to grow they will need lots of direct sunlight and also some moving air. When plants grow in slightly windy conditions, it causes the stems to become strong. Or so I’ve heard.

Seedlings growing in eggshells
Seedlings are about a month old

I’m lucky enough to be home all day and can easily do this. Even if the plants can sit in front of a sunny window it will be helpful.

All in all, be ready to spend some time caring for the little pots. You can’t just plant and forget.

Choosing Seeds to Grow in Starter Pots

It is tempting to go overboard when picking out seed packets! I’m picturing the bounty of fresh veggies – arms loaded as I come in from the back yard. Realistically, I certainly don’t have space for many plants and seeds are generally good for one year only.

I love almost all vegetables, but must be picky about which ones I will grow. Fresh herbs are one thing I would use often. My basil and parsley has diminished over the years so I wanted to grow those two things again. I also have had difficulty finding dill plants here in Florida, so I am trying to grow that. Dill and fennel plants have flowers that attract the Swallowtail Butterfly.

Italian flat leaf parsley seedlings
Flat leaf Italian parsley seedlings – lookin good!

Getting to start plants from seeds gives me the chance to learn what’s what in newly sprouted form.

The basil did pretty well, but something did eat some of my basil. I planted as much as I could, filling all the saved eggshells. I knew that some things would do better than others.

Basil seedlings in eggshells
Little basil plants

My yard needs more flowering plants. Some of these eggshells contain marigolds and cosmos. I plan to plant more of those flower seeds in larger containers as well. Flowers don’t have to be planted in the garden – especially when your garden is made up of a few grow boxes. They can be in containers to save on garden space.

Flowering plants in pots can be moved around the yard as needed to keep bad bugs away and hopefully draw in the beneficials.

organic seed packets

Larger seeds such as zucchini and cucumber can go directly into the ground. Let’s face it, I would need a lot more egg shells to get everything started. Also, I don’t know how well transplanting will go. More to come on that!

For now I am keeping up with the shell starters.

Pretty Flowers in the June Garden

Lots of flowers are beginning to bloom in June. Here in central Florida we have a jump on growing, but look forward to growth just the same.

Pam's avatar by Pam

Worthy Flavors Home Delivery Review – Disappointed

Worthy Flavors produce review with photos of my delivery box.

Today I received my second home delivery of vegetables from Worthy Flavors. I wanted to love this company and hoped for great vegetables delivered from local farms. Today I was very disappointed in what I unboxed.

What Came in my Worthy Flavors Box?

Here is a look at the box as it looked when first opened, and the products on my counter after unpacking. It feels a little sparse for the money.

This is the organic box, which at the current time costs $47.95. I had signed up for delivery every 2 weeks. Read about my first delivery here.

Worthy Flavors produce delivery review
Worthy Flavors produce delivery review

Worthy Flavors at FaceBook Lists Box Contents

Below is the list of produce which was to be in each of the boxes. I found this on the Worthy Flavors site on FaceBook. I was looking forward to blueberries and pretty much all the rest.

However, not only did I not receive blueberries, peaches, or carrots, I was pretty disappointed in many of the items I did get.

Below is a photo of everything that was included in my Organic Box. I paid over $47 for this….!

Worthy Flavors produce delivery review

First the good. The little bag of strawberries is good. The tomatoes look very good and need to ripen a bit. The green peppers are not “minis” as listed, but look nice. Sweet potatoes are good and the romaine lettuce is a bit wilted, but not bad. The red onion is fine.

Now the bad. I hate blackberries, which is not their fault, but a downside. I threw them in the woods for the animals. The red leaf lettuce was horribly wilted. The cauliflower looked quite old. (I also got cauliflower in my last box, and it was wonderful.) The leaves on this head were wilted, and there were black spots on the head.

The cucumbers are HUGE! One was smushed and I absolutely would not have purchased these at the store. I haven’t eaten an apple yet, but I would pass on apples that come from Florida. I’ll probably make a little crumble using them.

Where are the oranges (good ones- my last box contained dry and tasteless oranges), grapefruit, lemons and limes that Florida is known for? In fact, I had hoped to receive crops that were in season by month in Florida.

Worthy Flavors produce delivery review
Worthy Flavors produce delivery review
Worthy Flavors produce delivery review

On top of the fact that much of my produce was disappointing, I now have four more water bottles that I don’t want.

Not only that, but my water bottles have no ice in them when I unbox. I’ve seen videos where the bottles come still partially frozen. I only live a few hours north of the location of Worthy Flavors in Florida, so why wouldn’t my bottles have ice? It is winter here, so not super hot. What would happen in summer?

My guess is that the Worthy Flavors box is packed ahead of time and the ice melts and the produce wilts. Otherwise, I surmise that they are packing gross vegetables on purpose! The cauliflower looks like it has been sitting around for quite a while.

When I pay good money for a home delivery service I expect very good quality items which goes along with sending in-season food. I know that part of that fee goes toward packing and shipping, which is understandable, but when I open the box, I want produce that looks fresh-picked and yummy.

Recycling

I want to be eco-friendly and the packing that comes inside the box claims to be recyclable, but my town won’t take it.

Also the fact that water bottles are included in every box is a bit of a minus for me. I understand the attempt to send something that can be recycled, but I don’t want them.

I do recycle the box and cardboard inside.

Cancelling Worthy Flavors

I have cancelled my subscription to Worthy Flavors. I’d rather shop local and pick out my own good vegetables and spend much less money in doing so.

By the way, when you want to cancel your subscription on the Worthy Flavors site, it comes up as a “cancellation request”, saying they will respond in 1-2 business days. I thought, Oh Boy. But, I immediately got an e-mail from the company saying my subscription had been cancelled.

Worthy Flavors produce delivery review

It’s too bad that this didn’t work out. I was hoping to support local farmers and get good quality vegetables at the same time.

This place is a fail for me.

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