It would be pretty epic if my thoughts would just form then transfer to Word document, but my magic isn’t that cool and I’m not going to have one of Elons Bluetooth chips planted into my brain. So here I go once again hoping my brain synapses is going to do its thing. It was a pretty great week on the water, the Florida sun is hot enough to fry my mermaid tail in minutes, but the sound is refreshing and full of life. After a long day of playing at sea in 100 deg I do honestly tend to want to hide in my dark room with air conditioning after a cold shower until the sun begins to set but I did manage to spend some time in the afternoon heat preparing my fall/winter vegetable garden which I am really excited about. See In Michigan and California I didn’t have any problems growing some veggie goodies, Florida however has presented to be a challenge. Because a of that this year I am trying something a little different, while still sticking to the Florida vegetable planting guide.
One of the main issues with growing veggies in Florida is the soil, we definitely don’t have one of those dark black nutrient rich soils with billions of healthy microbes and mycelium pathways. Florida’s topography is limestone, a porous and clarifying mineral but not what veggies prefer. The solution for that is raised beds and pots, but then we are still left with the sun being two feet from us and humidity measuring “the air is always wet”. I am also pretty sure my well water also causes some stress to my garden, but we are moving on.
I have had some success growing a few things over the years here in Florida like peppers, lettuce, kale, cucumbers, tomatoes, strawberries, pineapple, eggplant, squash, and lots of herbs and a few other yummy foods using pots, but when I tried a metal raised bed, I got nothing. Taking that lesson, the metal raised bed is ditched and now I just have a big pile of soil, that kind of looks like there could be a body buried there and some pots. The soil has been rained on, cleared of weeds and made ready for planting, I left some purslane at one end of the big dirt pile which is an edible and medicinal weed I love and am always growing.
Knowing what to plant and when is very important, and the best place to get that information is the farmer’s almanac and I also use a planting guide from the University of Florida. I will provide links to both of those sources at the bottom of the blog along with the seed brands I prefer to use.
This last week was the full moon and therefor the perfect time to sow seeds. Why the full moon? Well for as long as humans have been agrarian they have been planting by the moon. Those who swear by this ancient growing method say the water in both the ground and in plants are affected by the gravitational pull of the Sun and Moon, just like ocean tides are. Just as the tides are highest during the new and full phases of the Moon, this theory holds, seeds, too, will absorb the most water during these times. The Farmers almanac has the most accurate planting guide according to moon phases, it’s a must have every year.
So following the planting guide for south west Florida, zone 11a I planted big moon pumpkin, which is a giant pumpkin species that can reach 200 lbs in about 120 days, not that we have that long until Halloween. I also planted, sweet pumpkin, peppers, beans, echinacea, okra, and eggplant. When planting seeds I have had the best lucky with the ready to use seed starters, and the moon pumpkin seeds took right off! In a few days the seedlings were already giant and ready to be transplanted. The other veggies are slowing emerging, always fascinating to watch. I hope this year’s planting goes better than last, but for me its never a bad time playing in the dirt, getting to know some plant friends and learning to practice stationarity.
Click here to learn about the organic seeds I use and why....Seeds of Change – Hope Grow Thrive
Click here to learn all about the farmers almanac ...2022 Planting Calendar: When to Start Vegetable Seeds | The Old Farmer's Almanac
Comments