What is round two gardening? For many of the fall vegetable plants, we can get two full harvests of each type of vegetable plant, due to the length of our fall and winter seasons. In Central Florida, our fall and winter seasons begin in September and end around mid-March. This potentially gives us six full months to grow our vegetables. There are some years that we get an early … [Read more...]
In the Garden: Plant for Our Planet!
It’s out with the old and in with the new for our fall vegetable gardens. Fall is the time to clean out any surviving summer vegetable plants that have been baked by the sun and soaked by the rain. Any plants that are still looking good right now are extremely heat-tolerant like Malabar spinach, okra, and winged beans. Hot peppers and eggplants are still hanging in there, too. … [Read more...]
In the Garden: Attracting Pollinators to the Central Florida Garden
Many of us live in areas that have had a lot of recent construction or current construction that is damaging to the environment and natural habitat. We recognize the animals that are displaced, but what about the beneficial insects like bees, butterflies and other pollinators? Pollinators are vital to a vegetable garden. Some vegetables are self-pollinating, but others … [Read more...]
In the Garden: Let Your Food Heal You
The healing properties of foods have existed since the beginning of time, so how much do people really know about the nutritional value of the foods eaten every day? The old adage, “You are what you eat,” turns out to be true. As a society, we have spent the last 60 years figuring out how to make food convenient rather than healthy. We package food to make it portable and last … [Read more...]