When it gets cold in SoFla

From time to time the temperatures really drop...even in sunny South Florida. Tonight is one of those nights with temperatures expected to get down into the 30s...there is even a frost watch.

So, if you find yourself in such a situation regardless of where you live, be sure to cover your plants. Tomatoes, melon, cukes, lettuce and herbs are particularly suseptible to the cold. Old sheets and towels work best but you can also use a bucket or old tire, if needed. Try to stay away from plastic or tarp, if you can. Even though they provide some protection (and are better than nothing, they don't do a very good job keeping the cold out. For some added protection spray down your plants before you go to bed or, if you have a drip irrigation system, you can mist them overnight. Any ice that forms on the plant will provide some insulation and protection.

Things are coming along in the new raised garden

The garden took off after the weather started to cool down. The cukes (to the right of Jonas) and lettuce (to the right of the marigolds in the foreground) are particularly happy. The tomatoes are a bit slow this year and peas got a bit of blight which I was fortunately able to treat before too much damage was done. I've also been very happy with the marigolds...as I haven't had to deal with a single bug issue so far.

At this point the garden is really low maintenance. I go out to pull the random weed a couple times each day and turn on the drip irrigation for about 10 minutes every other day. It's great therapy and gets me away from my desk and into the fresh air. It also gives me some opportunities to do a little "teaching" with the kids. I'm proud to say that they know how their food grows and that it doesn't come from a room in the back of a supermarket or a truck. It actually grows somewhere.

Here I plant

Traveling a lot can do funny things to you. It can certainly keep you from posting on a blog.

When I travel, I have odd habits getting more ingrained as I go. I always get a meal just before getting onto a plane. I carry some snacks that could be shared easily with seat mates if we’re all stuck on a runway for hours. Almonds and peanut M&Ms are favorites.

When I get home there is a list of items I need to check through. I first check in with the important people in my life- just to touch base at least a little. I get laundry caught up, unpack and pack the clothes I only wear when traveling away from Miami. The turtlenecks & wool socks go right back into the suitcase when they are clean and ready. We don’t usually need such clothing down here in sunny Miami, although I wear them if it gets down into the 60s. yikes.

Traveling could keep me from tending my garden. But it hasn’t. Instead, every stretch of time I have been home this last month, I’ve planted something. Honestly, I have killed as much as I have planted. Irregular irrigation probably.

The important part to me, is the planting. It is a very real physical representation that HERE are my roots. This is where I hope to produce fruit. And later, it is the great hope to feast together on all that God has grown.

I leave for another meeting this week. Today I planted more spinach.

Vines of Stories Intertwine

It is so much easier to write about plants. I know less about plants than I do about people.  We’ve been in Miami for nearly 15 years. We packed up the essentials into our “Old Man” Van and moved from comfortable, friendly, cute and Christian Nashville to Miami. I’ve been involved in urban cross-cultural nitty-gritty, super fun heart-wrenching ministry ever since.
In the beginning we moved 12 times in 9 years. We finally settled into out our current house (insert “Gift from GOD!”) I’m settled enough to have had a garden for 3 years and I love to talk about it. 
I like to go out to water at 10 pm after the kids are asleep. I like planting seeds in strange places to see if they’ll grow. I like starting pineapples from the tops of the store bought fruit. And I love talking about it all.
Maybe it’s because it’s easier to tell you of the trials of the fruit and the pruning of plants than the fruit or pruning in a life. I can’t even begin to tell you of the many wonderful people God has in our life.
Their stories are their stories except when we are tangled up. And of course we are because our lives are intertwined like my cucumbers that are growing through the bushes.
Whose story is it?  Is it the cucumbers sprawling ways? Or is it the bush with the strength to hold up the dear vine? I feel like both at different times.

Harvest Moon

I finally built a small raised garden this summer (complete with drip irrigation) and planted on the harvest moon (full moon on the autumnal equinox) for the first time. I was hesitant to do so b/c it was still pretty hot and humid. However, the garden has done really well. I think nearly every seed I planted has come up and the plants are thriving. The peas, cucumbers and melons have been particularly happy. I'd encourage everyone to try it next year....it's more than an old wives' tale.

If you haven't already, IT'S TIME TO PlANT!!!

The fun thing about living in Miami, is being able to plant when the rest of the country is digging their gardens under.
Heck, I'm still havesting! I don't have anything fancy just some nice cucumbers, peppers, basil and sage.
My friend Jason was showing me his new raised bed garden. And he already has 10-12 varieties planted. I planted over the weekend.
What are you planting and when?

Sunflower - Update

First more details- Planted 8-10, Black Russian Variety from the ECHO seed bank, Ft. Myers in early May.  All but one sprouted and grew well. They reached about  3-4 feet. Blossums about 8" in diameter.
Now they're bowing their heads. The yellow petals are falling.
In theory, this is when you just let them sit as they dry out. The seeds, in the center hidden under all the pollen and fun stuff the bees love, will swell but will eventually dry out and will slide out as you pick at them lightly.
However, in my earlier post, I explained I had tried these in a planter that catches the run off from a flat roof. They have been a lovely site out the back window. But, if you live in South Florida with me, you know we're getting at least a little rain every day. It's September, that's what happens. So today I inspected the heads of forming seeds. At least two look to be overcome with mildew. I will wait it out and see how it turns out.
Also I am going to plant additional 8-10 tomorrow. I'm thinking the rainy season of the month with allow for good growth. But the dry season should be taking over, just as the heads bow down and want to dry out.  We'll see.

Grapes

The grapes are ripening. They are a lovely shade of purple-blue but the size of large blueberries.

First recipe trial will be a grape pie. (Thanks Krista's Mom for the recipes!)  After that we'll see if we might be up for Jam.

They are time intensive and my fingers are seriously stained but I'm excited.  There must be thousands- Not that I'm counting.

Sunflowers

We don't commonly have rain gutters in Miami.  Mostly we just let the rain fall.  We can take it and nothing can kill a crab grass lawn anyway. Tropical plants like water or they wouldn't live here.  Many houses have barrel tile on the roof.  It does not lend itself to a gutter.  Many of the older houses (old is used loosely since there isn't much here that is old really) have flat roofs since we don't have to worry about the weight of a snow fall.
But I have a flower bed that the rain slides off the mostly flat roof and directly in the bed. This was okay for the bushes that were originally planted there. It has often provided a great collection spot for a rain barrel. But the bushes were a haven to one of the many species of insects we have gotten to know too well. They had a fungus of some sort, common in our humid climate and they just looked ugly.
As I tear them out I'm experimenting with what edible plants will be able to with stand the down pour that will slide off the roof on them. First try, sunflowers (purchased from ECHOnet.org.) So far they are loving it! They germinated within 3 days (I'm not kidding.) They're about a foot high and they've been taking the rain as often as God wants to send it.  I'm excited because this bed is directly below a large window. Sunflowers will be nice to see.

Check out ECHO. Located in Ft. Myers, ECHO is on a mission to eliminate hunger, in all types of climates, through a seed bank, education, experimenting, conferences and general exchange of knowledge.  If you can make it there, take their 'world farm' tour and see the exhibition gardens. You'll be impressed and inspired. You can support them through donations, purchases from the seed/book/supply store and nursery.

Ooh Grapes!

It's a fence full of grapes in Miami. When we moved in a few years ago, we were blessed by the previous owner's green thumb and love of good food, particularly food from Greece.  Beside this fence vine, we have figs, kumquats & bay leaves.

However, grape vines were intimidating. The first few years, I did nothing. But two years ago, I read up on pruning. As it turns out, it's a two year process. The vine 'fruits' upon 1 year old wood.  This means you need to have planned the pruning to allow for such 1 year old wood for the fruit the following year.

Looks like I managed to prune it well because there is an abundance of clusters. I have no idea what type of grape it is yet nor do I know when it will ripen.  I've tried to thin a few of the clusters.  They seem bunched too tightly to ripen well.

I have met a neighbor with a grapevine and stopped to ask his advice. However, he only grows them for the leaves. At least I have plenty to share. We'll see if they taste good enough for him. 
If all goes well, I'll post later in the season with results.

Some of the websites I've been looking for advice;

Florida Grape Growers Association
http://www.fgga.org/index.html
Wouldn't it be fun to try wine making?  Well maybe fun- maybe a pain in the neck, we'll see.
http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/riparia.asp
The University of Florida Online Extension site
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg105

Who knew Coconuts were so Versatile? the Samoans

From the National Park of American Samoa, our tropical cousins...

June 1, 2010        by Pacific Island Ranger

A coil of sennit, hand-woven from coconut husk fibers at the National Park of American Samoa. The coconut is the most useful of all plants in American Samoa.  The tree provides a wide range of useful products, and nearly all its parts except its roots are used.

Meat of the green nut is eaten raw or grated and used as a basic ingredient in a number of dishes. Grated coconut, when compressed..... Read the post
http://pacificislandparks.com/2010/06/01/its-just-a-coconut-right/

Starting Pineapples

This is what a pineapple top looks like when taken hold and beginning new growth.
Note the leaves of the pineapple top will die off as the new growth emerges from the inside.

How do your potatoes grow?

The potato seedlings that were planted at the beginning of April are pretty much done. The leaves are all brown and no potatoes developed at the roots.
I didn't try them during this month before.
Has anyone had success with potatoes at this time of year?

Tropical South Florida Planting Calendar

This may be incomplete, but at least a start, at gathering planting calendar information. When we first moved to Florida, I went to get some tomato seedlings and was told I was too late. I was shocked. It was still warm and beautiful. I gave up too easily. Likewise, the garden centers are full of seeds at this time of the year but in our climate, it is too late for many of them.  Either it is already too hot, it will be too rainy or some other reason I haven't figured out yet.
Please add your experience and advise and let's create a calendar that you be a good guide for Miami gardening. I haven't planted much in the fall, so please add your experience.

Dec-February   Tomato, Basil, Spinach/Lettuce, Pineapple, Broccoli,
Mar-April    Tomato, Herbs, Beans, Strawberries, Cucumbers, Spinach/Lettuce,
May-June  Beans, Strawberries, Cucumbers, Spinach/Lettuce,
Year around  Pepper, Potato,

Found this fellow Miami gardening blogger with an article they wrote about their summer plantings.
http://www.urbanoasisproject.org/gardening-in-south-florida/tropical-summer-veggie-growing

Measure it and you'll be careful using it

We have friends visiting South Florida on their way back to their home/farm on a mountain in the DR and off the grid. They live there self-sufficiently, local materials, solar panel, chickens, garden, the whole nine yards. They've let me borrow a electrical meter they own. It measures the wattage drawn by an electrical appliance/device. 
I have been collecting the water used to wash hands and rinse dishes in the kitchen sink.  Just by merely measuring, I use less. It's the equivalent to calorie counting. Count them as you go and you eat less.
The last couple of days I've measured everything with a plug and attaching a sticky note with the watt usage so I'll remember.  For comparison- My mostly new printer uses 50 watts when ON. My lamp, using a CFL bulb, draws 39 watts.  My window AC unit draws 87 when it's a fan, but when it's an AC it draws 550.
Also, I checked the watts used by my computer (13" macbook.)  At a party on Sunday, someone wondered if it would use more in different operations. It does increase to 220 watts when opening a new program but then it settles into it's normal "Im charging while you're using me" range of 185 watts. It doesn't matter how many tabs I have open or how many different programs were running, just when a new one launched.  When charging in sleep mode it drew differing levels depending the various ways I left it. And when the charger was only plugged into the wall and wasn't attached to the computer (so doing nothing basically) it drew 6 watts.  [None of this was done scientifically!}

I didn't pull out the refrigerator.... hmmm maybe tomorrow.

The garden is doing very well.  More experiments, more lessons.  I'll post more tomorrow.

Info on the meter- This one is called AmWatt appliance load tester by Reliance Controls.
If you write with requests soon, I'll measure before I send it back.

Erin's first post on Gardening in Miami

Hey, Everyone! My name is Erin, I'm serving for a year in the Presbyterian Church (USA)'s Young Adult Volunteer program and DOOR in Miami. Its been really fun to start a garden down here, because I'm originally from Iowa... which has been covered with snow while I'm starting a garden in Florida.

So far, my lettuce, cilantro, onions, and broccoli are doing really well. I also have spinach, cayenne pepper, and basil, which are sprouted, but not taking off like the others yet. I had also planted carrots, cherry tomatoes, and sweet peas, but those didn't come up at all - I'm blaming it on the recent cold weather. I've replanted tomatoes from seed, and I plan on planting green beans, so we'll see what happens. Also, Heidi just gave us two tomato plants which she had started, and I just planted those today.

Like Heidi, we threw some potatoes into our compost and have two beautiful plants growing very well. At first we had no idea what they were, but they were growing so well that my roommate, Megan, decided against weeding it. I've recently discovered that one plant has a good size potato, and the other has a tiny little potato that's started.

Another exciting addition to our garden is a lime tree! My sister and brother-in-law, who live in Vero Beach, gave me two lime trees from their yard. One did not take well with the transplant. It had a lot of roots, and I couldn't dig more than a foot into the ground before I hit solid rock. I read that lime trees don't do well if there are air pockets around the roots, and with the challenge of not being able to plant it very deep (because of the roots), it didn't have much of a chance. The other tree - which might be a key lime - is doing very well. It has new leaves and little buds, so maybe we'll have limes this year!

There you are- my first update of our garden. Here are a couple more pictures:

2,000 Dollars & Hours (not related to gardening!)

Tape your business card to the back of your laptop. 

Today I left my laptop inside the seatback pocket of my airline seat. I didn't realize it until I was driving away from the airport. Oh how my heart skipped. Such a big airport. What if the plane takes off, with my little mac still in the seat? Ugh.
As I run into the door to get a pass to go back through security, my phone rings. A gate agent has my mac and is saving it for me at gate K7. They called because my cell phone number was right there. They said in all the years they worked at the gate and all the many laptops left, this was the first with id information.

Speaking of Fruit

For all the fun I've had with composting, the surprise potatoes and the accidental beginning of all this gardening, I learned a little too late last year about coffee. My house has become something of a coffee laboratory. There has been a lot of coffee grounds in the wake. Last year I was flinging them all over.  Until I read up on possible reasons why my tomatoes weren't blooming. Coffee has a lot of nitrogen, and while that is mostly good, it can inhibit the tomato/ pepper family from blooming.
All week I've been thinking about weeding and gardening and how similar those things are to church. The difference, says the Jesus parable, is the fruit. You'll know if it's a weed by its fruit.  The fruit is the key to what that plant produces and reproduces.
What if it never even blooms? No blooms, no fruit.What keeps us from blooming? We see a lot of reasons why folks don't bloom; abuse, neglect, abandonment, lack of resources.
Kids are so resilient though. A little coffee wouldn't stop the blooming. They'll bloom anyway. They'll be strong, something like fertilizer. But too much, stops the process.   
The challenge I think, is once a plant doesn't bloom. The soil is all wrong. How can a gardener provide the conditions for blooming next season and coax the blooms? Can the soil be balanced to get things back on track? Can a life be balanced back to blooming?

Weeding is a Part of Gardening

The Bible is chock full of gardening imagery. It starts in the garden of Eden for crying out loud. The "New" testament is full of great parables that include harvests and workers and such. Anyone who has even tried some gardening knows that there are weeds, weeds that need to be pulled. There is a great parable (Matthew 13:29-31) of the master of the vineyard decides to let the weeds grow with the grain and it'll be figured out in the end. It's not a very popular parable, not one I learned in Sunday school. 
It ends up being all about fruit.  We'll know if it's a weed or not by it's fruit.  There's a groovy tune left from the Hippy Jesus movement- "and they'll know we are Christians by our love." 
Or not.  Seems like an awful lot of weeds in some churches.

More New Potatoes- from Compost

It happened again this year. I don't know if I ever posted my potato story. Last year I found a nice looking plant in the beds where I bury the various table scraps. I left it going. A couple more popped up in other beds and I left them as well.
One day as I was burying more compost near by, I found what I thought to be a red rubber ball. It wasn't a ball, it was a new potato! I had no idea that new potatoes would grow in Miami. I assumed it was a northern thing and that was that.
I didn't mean to repeat it (or I would have 'planted' in a better spot) but it happened again. The problem this year is that I didn't leave it growing long enough. The cute little taters aren't even the width of a quarter. Now I'm going to try to do it on purpose. I've picked a spot and tomorrow I'll clear it of the various weeds.  I'll keep you posted.
Anyone else successful in growing potatoes down here? types? start times? suggestions?

A little warmer must be time to plant

I know that winter is not over, but I'm betting that it is for our beloved sunny South Florida. The freeze warnings of last week are hopefully behind us as the days are getting longer.  But maybe it's just the warmth that gets me inching to plant.  I'm guessing that's how it feels up north.
So today, in hope of sunshine and new life, seeds were planted. Onions, spinach, oregano, cayenne peppers join the family.

Freeze Warning in Miami- Are you kidding me!?!?

I live close enough to the coast that we are supposed to be more protected by the 'warm' ocean winds. But just to be safe, I have watered and covered by little outdoor garden in sheets. I felt like I was tucking them in and I guess I am, minus the lullabye.
It's always funny when it gets cold in Miami. Usually we think 65 is cold. Folks out on South Beach bring out the fur coats for the 5 special "cold" days a year. But when it gets cold, as in 40-50, it honestly IS cold. We don't have heaters! We only have air conditioners. Right now, I've got my feet wrapped in a heating pad while the kids share a room with a space heater left over from our days up north. 
Hope the pretty little new blooms on the red peppers and tomatoes fair as well.