Wednesday, July 1, 2009

SUMMER GARDEN


It is now officially summer and the garden here changes priorities until the end of August. Unlike my northern friends where summer is the prime season for their plants before it turns cold it is opposite here in South Florida. It has taken me many seasons to figure this out. Most of the gardening information out there in books and the Internet Just don't apply here.
I have found that that my best growing season is the fall and winter. Many of the plants that I used to try to grow such as main season tomatoes I will not even attempt until September rolls around. This knowledge I have gained from experience of past plant failures during the heat of the summer here.
I still have some plants like the Everglades tomato that will still thrive during the summer here. Also I like this time of year for the wild sunflowers that I have saved up seeds just for this time of year.
I guess my point here is that you can't believe everything you read and have to keep experimenting to become a good gardener for where you live. Lessons that I learned in previous seasons are the most valuable in planning ahead .
June was a strange month here with rain storms almost every day at any time of day. It has been like a rain forest with everything always wet . The plants have done well all in all and show little signs of disease from the constant moisture.
The Morning Glory pictured above was in bloom this morning. Several weeks ago the plant looked dead and I was about to chunk it into the compost pile. I had read that Morning Glory's don't like a lot of water or fertilizer. I gave the plant some liquid fertilizer and it has been getting watered daily from all the rain this month. I figured that there was nothing to lose as the plant was beyond hope. The Morning Glory responded and has never looked healthier or had as many flower blooms. Another lesson learned . ----sanddune---
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