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.
I love to photograph flowers. They make an excellent subject. Who doesn’t like viewing the delicate intricacies, fantastic shapes, and stunning colors of flowers. They don’t move so photography is simple! LOVE.
So…. from all the flowers above, I see bees visiting most often the Spiderwort. I’ve let some clumps of Spiderwort grow randomly around the garden. Each morning when I water, I hear and see bumblebees visiting the purple flowers.
Another favorite is the purple Holy Basil, also called Tatsoi. Those flowers come out on tall spikes and the flowers are very tiny. But the bumblebees love them!
Butterflies usually visit the beautiful zinnias, but I have not had many butterflies. The occasional Gulf Fritillary has been spotted, and a few Zebra longwings, but honestly not many at all.
The Cosmos are not like the cosmos I grew in New Hampshire. These are small plants and not leggy like the northern plants. All of the cosmos growing in my yard came from saved seeds. I bought one plant and saved the seeds that I continue to plant in the yard. I like not knowing if the flowers will be yellow or orange, or a combination.
From the Front Yard
I rarely pay much attention to what is growing in my front yard. My focus is on the vegetable garden and flowers planted there. But, my hydrangea plant is blooming with big pink flowers.
Hydrangeas are the reason I began this blog. Many years ago, I lived in New England and grew many types of hydrangeas. I photographed the blue ones especially, and created this blog to share hydrangea info.
A few years ago, I decided to see what a hydrangea bush would do in my Florida yard. And here it is, still growing and flowering. I pay almost no attention to it. The bush is still small, but I believe it is surviving because it is constantly in the shade of a very large shrub.
BromeliadHydrangea shrubHydrangea flower
I bought the hydrangea in May one year. That’s when you might be able to find the plants. Big box stores get them out on display for Mother’s Day. When I bought this one, it was blue, or purple-blue. The gorgeous blues I had on my New Hampshire hydrangea bushes can’t really be replicated by making the soil acidic. I believe that the pretty light blue is just natural, and comes from the earth.
November is the month to see changes for the good in a Florida vegetable garden. It is still hot in central Florida. Our air-conditioner is still running day and night, but the extreme heat is gone. The vegetable seedlings are showing signs of happiness.
Planting Schedule
This is only my second year of vegetable gardening here in zone 9B. I have a lot to learn still, but have also learned a lot already.
September is a hot month. But I planted some carrots and radishes and they grew. Also, I planted beets in September.
This year I discovered that I can plant Daikon radish early. I put the seeds in the ground on September 1st, and they grew. I’ve never eaten one. A second batch was planted in October.
As a plus, I pulled up the old watermelon vine and found another planting space! I put golden beet seeds here on November 11th.
Daikon radish and new dirt section for planting
Also, an early crop of carrot seeds has done well. Those seeds were planted in mid-September into a fabric bag. I have since been planting carrots every few weeks wherever I find space.
Carrots planted mid-Sept.
Plagued by two hurricanes back to back this Fall – Hurricane Milton was the biggest problem. We had Category 1 winds with gusts to over 100mph. The cherry tomato looked completely dead. I’m glad I did not give up on it, because it looks wonderful now! The type is Apricot Cherry tomatoes – seeds purchased from Annies Heirloom Seeds. This is where I also bought my golden beet seeds.
I did try to grow some cruciferous veggies early, but that didn’t work. Also early cucumbers got bugs and died. I re-planted broccoli and it is finally beginning to take off. Broccoli seeds are not worth planting early.
Today, November 12th, the broccoli is finally doing well. Also, I have a few cucumber plants that do not yet have bugs. Could it be that I get to eat a cuke one day?
Broccoli in center of Vegega raised bed. I’ve planted bulb onions and carrots around the edge of this bed.
Luffa squash did not grow for me over summer. Now the vine is growing and has beautiful yellow flowers each day. The honey bees come to it each morning. Even if I never get a luffa, the plant is good for beneficial bees.
Luffa flowers
Egyptian spinach was something new to try. I dislike it, but it keeps growing. If you want something easy to grow – get this stuff. It has seed pods and spreads. I have cut it back and it re-grows. The flowers are very tiny and yellow and I have seen some bees go to them. All in all, I won’t plant more. Right now it is taking up garden space and I will eventually rip it out.
Egyptian spinach
Planting Seeds in Pots
I mixed up some soil and planted some long, purple eggplant seeds. After telling myself to NEVER GROW PEPPERS AGAIN, I ordered pepper seeds (oh boy) and will put some into pots. I’m a little mad at myself. I love peppers and add them to all my food. It would be perfect to get them fresh from the yard. I’m prepared to be disappointed, but am a little hopeful yet.
I’ll grow the seeds on this table outside, but can bring the pots in if we get really cold weather. I’ll put the plants into the ground in early spring.
Eggplants grow for a few years in this climate before they begin to look bad and have to be cut down. The ones in my yard are mostly older so I want a few new ones to replace them. I don’t love eating eggplant, but I will use it when it grows. The plants themselves are excellent for attracting lady bugs, are carefree to grow, and have very few pest problems that really bother the plant. Raccoons leave them alone too!! I also like the looks of the plant with its big fuzzy leaves and purple flowers. It’s like having cute little trees in the garden.
In my experience, the long thin purple eggplant grew the best. Other larger purple eggplants were also good, but not as prolific. The Rosita type had a lot of bug problems and I got only one to eat! Not worth the trouble.
2 eggplantNew eggplantOld eggplantBig eggplant, blown over by Hurricane Milton, but looks good! Not sure of the variety.
The long purple eggplants are my favorite. They don’t have to be salted to remove the bitterness, and can be chopped and sautéed with other veggies. They grow to about the size of a long hotdog and then can be picked. I will be planting this type from now on.
Photos from a previously grown, long purple eggplant.
Fall planting time is nearly here in my area and I’ve begun to sow seeds already. Although the weather is hot, I’m hoping the seeds will grow.
I live in east, Central Florida, which is growing zone 9b. It is September, and I have planted a few different vegetable seeds as a trial. I don’t know if the weather is too hot for them. Last year I waited until October. So far, I have seen some nice sprouting.
Here’s a list of the seeds I have planted, and where they were planted (in ground or pots). They are all growing, but some look better than others.
Daikon radish – these seeds were put into the ground.
Cucumber – first set of seeds didn’t do much, so I’ve planted more from a newer packet. (in ground)
Carrots – in fabric bag
Texas Grano onions – will probably have to re-plant in October (grow box)
Shallots – barrel raised bed
Seminole pumpkin – edge of Vegega to hang over the side.
Golden beets (fingers crossed these do well) – in grow box.
Tomatoes – cherry and Mortgage Lifter (normal size) – both in fabric pots
The summer months have been unusually dry. Now, we are getting lots of rain. I only hope it won’t be too much for my seedlings.
This time, I purchased multiple seed packets from my favorite online places. That way I can experiment and see if things will grow this early without really losing much. I have a lot more seeds, which I will plant in October.
The beds are not completely ready, even though I have tried to be organized. My usual problem is a lack of dirt and compost. I buy and buy, but it gets used up so quickly. I still have time, because some of the seeds I planted did not do well. The Tatsoi, arugula, and broccoli will need to be planted again in October.
Each of my square grow boxes needs an overhaul. This means digging out all the dirt, drilling holes in the bottom and re-filling. I’ve done about half, but have three, or four boxes left.
Grow Box Refurbishing
The grow boxes I purchased have a drainage panel near the bottom. They also have a tube that reaches up through the dirt where watering is supposed to happen. The idea is to fill the bottom with water so it can be pulled up by the roots of the growing plant. There are side vents for water overflow. (When you tip the box and no water comes out, it could be because the bottom is full of dirt.)
The idea is good, but flawed. Seeds need moisture and must be watered from the top in this big box. It is unavoidable that dirt will sift through those drain holes. If roots get long, they can clog the base also. Even if you keep the drain system in place, cleaning out the entire box is advised. (Raccoons actually pulled up one of my drain pipes, and it can’t be put back without emptying the box.)
The boxes are still very nice and sturdy. They come with wheels, which is really helpful if the box is on a deck or patio. I will continue to use them, but without the drain panel. Instead, I am drilling holes into the bottom of the box itself.
Last April, one sweet potato slip was planted into a grow box. It grew like mad and gave me some funny looking sweet potatoes. There was not enough depth, but I was desperate for space when I planted it. Once I began digging out the sweet potatoes, I realized that dirt had filled up the water reservoir – and I found a few small sweet potatoes down there as well!
Now I am going through all my grow boxes to empty the dirt, remove that screen, drill holes in the box, and re-filling for planting.
Filling the Grow Box
Any time a grow box or fabric pot needs filling, a combination of products is needed. First, drainage should be addressed. For the box, I used a thick layer of pine straw (literally long pine needles) in the bottom. Then, I added some granite stones. After that I mixed potting soil, compost, and perlite, along with some bone meal to create a good growing compound.
The new idea I had, was to put a layer of coconut coir on top of the dirt before I plant the seeds.
One last suggestion is to add earth worms! I have them in all my boxes, raised beds and fabric bags. I found them in the yard and gave them a new home. They tend to multiply and make the dirt loose and fabulous!
Problems Planting in the Ground
I’d love to have rows and rows of vegetables growing, but I don’t have the space. Also, I have overnight visitors (raccoons and armadillos) who continually dig up the ground. Each morning I check on things, and usually there are numerous holes randomly dug all over the garden.
My backyard, September 2024
In order to resolve this problem, I will need to buy more raised beds. I’m hoping for a winter sale because they are expensive. It will be too late to use the beds for this year, but I can work on getting them ready for next fall. Filling those beds takes time.
Amazon Links to Some of the Products I Use
I am an Amazon affiliate, which means these links can provide a small income to me if someone clicks the link and makes a purchase. It does not affect the price of the item.
Grow boxes. If you have read this page you will see that I decided to not use that drain. It works well for a while, but the dirt eventually clogs up that space, and there is no drainage after that. Without proper drainage, plants will die.
Perlite, organic – loosens the soil, and is especially beneficial when beginning with new dirt. Once the dirt becomes really good – from compost, previous roots, and amendments – it should be naturally loose.
Bone meal, organic – helps growing plants create strong roots.
Coconut Coir, organic – good for water retention and starting seeds. It does not clump together, so used by itself, not good for transplanting seedlings. Mix with potting soil, or use on top of dirt to start seeds (see my photos above).
Garden plant tags – I have purchased two packs of these tags and they are great! The raccoons have not pulled them up. The writing stays. Just what I needed for seed planting.
Are you growing anything in September? Have you begun your Fall growing? It is the best time of year to grow in my area, but I may be starting a little too soon. What do you think?
Hydrangeas Blue 