South Florida Challenges

EARLY APRIL OBSERVATIONS

2011-04-06T14:45:00.008-04:00

The month of April has arrived once again here in South Florida. It begins the two month period that I call the blow dry months here at the Sandpit garden. April and May here are consistently hot, dry and windy. Just as a blow drier works the warm winds evaporate all the moisture out of the soil and the lack of rain compounds the drying effects. We are in a drought here now and the government has imposed water restrictions. The next two months will require dedicated watering to keep the garden going until June when the rainy season starts up.

I have started getting away from containers for most of the plants and put them directly in the soil. It keeps them at a more constant moisture and temperature and seems to be working better for me. The containers have their advantages but during this time of year will dry out overnight. With the plants in the ground I can stretch a couple of days between watering's which can save the plants when away from the garden.

Anyway since we are speaking of Orchids I found this guy stuck in the middle of some other potted plants outside. This phalaenopsis Orchid is trying its best to bloom for me but I was remiss in watering it and it has been getting too much direct sun.

I brought it inside to get some much needed attention, kinda like Orchid CPR. I hope that it soon perks up and the when the buds on the flower stem open they will show its true form. This bloom was just wilted over itself. How do you say Orchid guilt.

I had last month brought inside some of the other Phalaenopsis Orchids and put them by a window so they get the morning light.

This guy is solid yellow with a tinge of lime surrounding a purple throat. It is quite simple but striking. It has been blooming for over a month now.

The Phalaenopsis like it inside in the air conditioning seems like. These Orchids like daytime temps between 70 and 80 degrees so they are much like people. During the heat you can bring them inside without worry to enjoy their spectacular bloom. They will get to stay inside while in their bloom cycle then get returned outside to the harsh world that is the Sandpit. Plants here have to be tough .

This Phalaenopsis Orchid has been around the Sandpit now for several years. I call it freckles.

It has smaller blooms than some of the others but is my favorite of the Phals that I have.

And speaking of the Sandpit raised beds the Jubilee heirloom tomato plants are looking really good. No sign of disease or other Tomato malady's that seem to plague the tomato plants here. I have been feeding them with liquid tea made from the Comfrey leaves. These are yellow tomatoes and so far so good. Of course by writing this I have probably doomed them but they look good for now.

They are growing amongst the Collard plants and both are competing for space. Maybe that is a good thing and the competition makes them grow better.

That's the sitrep for early April here at the Sandpit garden.

Just a reminder that now is the time to plant some Moonflower seeds. It is my unscientific theory that the Moonflower plants will bend Hurricanes away from your home and garden. Even if they don't the plants are super cool opening their white flowers at night. With Hurricane season just a short time away some Moonflower plant seeds will cost you a lot less than what your windstorm damage insurance deductible in Florida is. Urban legion or not I have never been struck by a hurricane when The moon flower plants were growing at the Sandpit. Believe it or not.

--SANDDUNE--

MARCH IN THE SANDPIT

2011-03-23T14:55:00.008-04:00

Around here at the Sandpit March is a pivotal month. The Winter is long gone and the heat and Sun's intensity is getting stronger as each day passes. This is the time that a lot of the plants here get moved to the precious semi shade spots. Shade or even partial shade here is very limited and in high demand at the sandpit for the survival of a lot of the plants growing in the garden.

This little Zinnia seems to like it in the direct sun. I read an article not to long ago that you can't grow Zinnia's in South Florida. It is really difficult to grow them here as they seem to be a target for every fungal disease that comes around as well as irresistible to the bugs. Maybe it is the humidity here that comes with summer. Don't know for sure but I keep trying different hybrids hoping to find one that can handle this climate . This guy is a hybrid Zinnia called Highlights. I had two seeds in an old pack of seeds from several years ago and planted both seeds on January 15Th of this year into small pots made from old newspaper. One sprouted, this guy, and was transferred to this small plastic pot collected from someone's garbage. It's blooms are supposed to be exceptionally bright hence the name Highlights like the marker pen highlighter. Comes pretty close it turns out. Since this was my last seed I might just have to break down and get some more of these Zinnia seeds. I believe they came from Parks Seed best as I can recall.

Another new favorite that I discovered just last year has reseeded itself and is producing some exceptional blooms. This is a heirloom Morning glory called Granpa Ott. It has it's origins as a heirloom seed given to Diane Whealy in 1972 by her grandfather from his farm in Iowa. One of the original variety that started Seed Savers Exchange.

This Morning Glory bloom produces some of the deepest rich purple colors I have ever seen on a plant. In the sun this bloom is hypnotic as it seems to change luminance. With it's rich colors it is hard to look away. The Granpa Ott will stand out in any garden and will positively draw attention to itself. Also reseeds itself so you get lots of free plants or next season which can be good or bad depending on how you look at it.

I am also using this month to plant out some of the brick planters with the plants that were sprouted back in January and February from seed. The brick planters are heavy and will not be blown around by the winds we get here as well as get the plants up off of the ground so they get good airflow.

I put one of the Four O'clock sprouts that were germinated from seed in the left side and an wild Tomato plant that had volunteered itself in the right.

I have a lot more seed sprouts that will need to be planted out in the hear future. But that's ok because I have a lot of the brick planters with empty holes to stick the new sprouts in.

But March is not all replanting work in the garden. This month we also get to reap some rewards for the work on the planting beds last fall. The Southern Collard Greens are ready to start harvesting before it gets to hot.

This batch is fresh from the garden and is on the menu for dinner. If I can find where I put the cornbread mix we are going to have us a feast -Southern Style.

And you just can't beat that.

---SANDDUNE--

ENDEAVORING TO PERSEVERE

2011-03-05T12:49:00.011-05:00

Seems like a good as any description of the sandpit garden. Endeavor- To exert oneself to do or effect something. Persevere- Continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty. I like it. It describes the Sandpit garden exactly we are Endeavoring to Persevere here but are making headway albeit slowly.

The Amaryllis plants are up and blooming which is a sure sign that the cold weather is over here and the summer is fast approaching.

These bulbs grow easily here in South Florida and are left in the ground the entire year. These particular Amaryllis bulbs are many years old collected over time from the yards of relatives. They never fail to put on a flower show this time of year and are quite dependable.

Another South Florida special is the Croton plant. It is not very keen on cold weather but give it some heat and this guy is going to thrive.

This Croton was made from a stem cutting and is responding to the rising temperatures here with new growth. They are one of the easy plants to propagate from cuttings and are found throughout the Tropics. The leaves change colors in response to the amount of sunlight the plant gets and it will stand up to the tropical heat and humidity we will get here. It's one of the tough guys to have in a tropical setting.

One of the other plants that I have been messing with for the garden is the Four o'clock. I read that this plant is a good companion plant in the vegetable garden. Supposedly the bugs will eat the four"oclock leaves which are poison instead of the vegetable plants. So it is meant as a diversion plant for the bugs so the vegetables have a chance.

The bugs have not shown up yet but they will come with the warming weather. The Four o'clocks are a new experiment this year to see if they will help control the hungry bugs.

This Four o'clock pot has three baking potato size tubers planted in it. I dug them up from under my front yard bushes a short while back and planted them in this pot to contain their spreading.

When I first transplanted them the tubers had growth a couple of feet tall on them. Once in the new pot the growth immediately died down to the bare soil. After several weeks the tubers have sent up new growth to take a look around and try to figure out what happened and how they ended up here. I am also growing some more Four o'clocks from seed and hope to get some different color flowers. This plant in the picture will have yellow flowers on it once it grows up a bit.

On the edible side in the beds that I have been working on there are Collards ready to harvest some of the outside leaves. These Collards seem to be doing pretty well in the new bed to which was added lots and lots of last years compost. These were grown from seed that I started in homemade newspaper pots then transplanted out into the bed after they were grown up a bit.

This particular type are Creole or Georgia Southern Collards. They are a Southern staple and really good as a Winter green here in Florida. They are a heirloom really old type Collard that dates back before 1760 and was a food staple grown by slaves in the South. This type Collard takes about 75 days to harvest and tolerates sandy soil and heat which is just perfect for the Sandpit garden. These here Collards were started from seed on January 8th.

Another Heirloom that is growing well so far in the new vegetable beds is the Jubilee Tomato. It dates back to 1891 and is an orange-yellow Tomato. This type is indeterminate so it will produce as long as the plant remains healthy. Growing Tomato plants here is a roll of the dice but so far these plants are looking really healthy.

As a side bonus to preparing the new vegetable beds from the new mixed compost I have about 8 to ten sprouts from the Everglades Tomato plants. These have self seeded from the compost added to the beds. I was down to just a couple of these plants because they are one of my favorites and I never get around to saving their seed because I eat all the fruit first. So It will be a priority to save some seed from this wild cherry type Tomato that nature has provided. Now if I can convince my resident Mockingbirds to cooperate in the seed saving effort with the Everglades Tomato's. They love them too and it is a fight to see who can get the fruits first.

Anyway that's the update from the Sandpit for now. Here is a good you tube video that I ran across for today's times. Makes sense to me anyway.

http://www.youtube.com/user/donze52#p/u/52/u9l4l-cunSc

Hope that your garden is thriving and that you too are endeavoring to persevere.

---Sanddune---

THINKING FORWARD - COMFREY

2011-02-06T14:32:00.008-05:00

Read in the local paper yesterday that worldwide food prices have hit an all time record high. This is not too surprising when you consider that the food consumed now travels an average of 1,500 miles to get to the end consumer. Fuel prices keep heading up and it takes lots and lots of fuel to grow commercial crops and to power the semi trucks delivering them to your local store. This alone is causing food prices to rise but then figure in the weather events [ freeze in Florida, floods in Australia and you can go on and on ].

When you start to figure the steadily rising food prices, the expanding population growth, and the scary chemical pesticides we are eating in our food It makes one stop to ponder. It seems to me that it might just be a good idea to start growing some food yourself. It is not something that you can do overnight and takes some planning, education and forward thinking. Start to learn how now is some good insurance.

Like in a game of chess you have to think several moves ahead of the opponent. In the case of our food it seems the opponent is being dependent on always being able to just pick something up from the grocery store. Let's become more self sufficient and less dependent. Enable yourself.

OK, enough of the sermon but after all this is Sunday. Here is a smart move that I made that I will share with you. The first raised bed that I made in the Sandpit garden I made a dedicated bed. It is dedicated to growing plants that will support my organic beds to come.

As always , with some help of my friends I discovered Comfrey. In this case it was Africanaussie who suggested that I grow some Comfrey to make nutrient tea for the plants. After some research it became clear that this member of the Borage family has numerous benefits to an organic garden as well as being a medicinal herb plant.

I decided to make an investment after researching Comfrey and purchased six root cuttings of Russian blocking 14 Comfrey from Horizon herbs. The Blocking 14 type is sterile and does not make seeds so it will not spread beyond where you plant it as is the case with regular Comfrey. The blocking 14 is Symphytum X Uplandicum for the technical minded.

The root cutting grow easily into six plants that fill this dedicated bed. The Comfrey grows quickly producing large leaves that are filled with nutrients. The cold won't hurt it as it is hearty down to minus- 35 degrees and it loves the Florida sun.

These Comfrey plants send down roots like 8 feet deep and act as a nutrient accumulator. They are like a sponge absorbing nutrients which are transported to the leaves.

These leaves are richer in nutrients that compost or manure. The Comfrey leaves contain Nitrogen - Potassium - Magnesium -Phosphorus - Calcium - Silica -Iron and a host of micro-nutrients. Comfrey is also one of the few plants that can take up vitamin b-12. It's like having your own renewable fertilizer machine in your garden. After you harvest some of the giant leaves others quickly grow back to take their place.

Here is just one way to use the leaves. I cut a few off and cut them up into Comfrey confetti which I then plop around the base of other plants. The Comfrey Leaf Confetti breaks down and the nutrients are leached into the soil for the plant. Or you can make Comfrey tea which works a little faster and as a nutrient spray on a plants leaves.

Did I say the Comfrey leaves will activate your compost pile? They will.

Do you get Tomato end rot where much needed calcium is leached from the soil by to much rain? You guessed it, replenish the calcium with Comfrey tea.

Tomato, Peppers and Cucumbers all crave Potassium . Comfrey leaves provide it .

The Comfrey plant can be harvested repeatedly and just provides more leaves without having to be replanted. Comfrey fills my first dedicated raised bed and provides year round sustainable FREE fertilizer for the other plants.

All the above just touches the surface of the benefits of the Comfrey herb. Google it and you can read volumes as well as get info on making medicines and the Comfrey Plant Tea.

So next time you are waiting in line at some garden center to buy some plant fertilizer just think you could be growing your own in your garden.

If you don't already try out the Comfrey Plant. They make a great case for thinking forward.

--SANDDUNE--

SEED COLLARS

2011-01-30T17:51:00.005-05:00

In keeping with my 2011 opt out challenge goals here are a few ideas that work in my garden. The first idea came when I dug up some old pvc water pipe that was destined for the trash. I was going to cut it up for the trash pickup when it seemed like a waste not to reuse the pvc pipe for something. The pvc was 1 1/2 inch diameter and would probably last forever in the landfill.

The idea to reuse the pipe to make some homemade seed collars from the almost indestructible pvc plastic seemed like a good reuse for it. Simple idea which is the type that always work best here at the Sandpit. So the pipe was layed our sideways and sawed through every 2 1/2 inches until I ended up with a mess of pvc collars.

They are practically indestructible and make direct sewing seed in the planting beds a snap.

Just put the collar where you wish to plant a seed and give it a half twist into the soil. Then plant the seed in the middle of the collar. Your seed placement is now marked by the pvc collar.

The collar makes it easy to water the seeds as you can just fill the collar to the top with water and you will have the equivalent amount of water under ground when it soaks in. Besides that the sturdy collars provide protection for your new seedlings when they emerge. Protection from birds, bugs and the wind. After the seedlings form their first true set of leaves you can lift the collars off straight up over the plant and it is ready to use again with new seed starts or leave it on the plant also if you wish. These seed collars can be reused over and over so you only have make them once.

I also have been using plastic collars on some of my transplants made from clear plastic jugs the type cleaning detergent came in. The method is the same turn the jug on its side and slice it into sections like slicing a cucumber. These clear collars fit over the larger transplants and are great for holding back the surrounding mulch as well again for filling the collar with water so the water gets to the plants root zone instead of running off to the side.

The same idea is in play when you add some homemade nutrient tea to the plants . The collars keep the liquid over the root zone until it soaks in the soil.

These collars work well for me here and I have been happy with their benefits to the plants.

Besides you can make them yourself for free and reuse some of the plastic that ends up in our landfills so we all win.

--SANDDUNE--

PERSISTENCE PAYS

2011-01-28T18:57:00.007-05:00

Way back last early summer I picked up a pack of Burpee Nasturtium seeds. I figured to use them to fill a hanging basket whose previous occupant had keeled over. The seed pack instructions had in bold letters "blooms in Summer".

Being a newcomer to Nasturtium I sprouted the basket with the Jewel Mix Nasturtium seeds. The sprouted just fine and looked OK right up until we got some of those 100 degree temperature Summer days around the Sandpit. The Nasturtium's then proceeded to keel over in record time. Here is the picture of the fried Nasturtium plant from August of last year.

I put this picture up on the blog back then and got some gentle feedback in the comments from my fellow gardeners who actually have experience with the Nasturtium. The consensus seemed to be, reading between the lines of the comments , that only morons plant Nasturtiums in Florida in the Summertime heat. You grow them here in the winter months.

So taking the advice of Epictetus back from Around 100 AD who wrote, "We have two ears and one mouth so we can listen twice as much as we speak". The advice of present day experienced gardeners. As well as the advice of Winston Churchill who stated, "never,never,never ,never give up"it became clear that the best course of action was to try again in the cooler months.

That's what I did replanting the seeds in late November in the hanging basket once again. Here are the results now in this picture.

The Nasturtium plants are growing strong in the cooler weather. They even have started blooming orange and yellow flowers.

So my observations and on hand experiments conclude that Nasturtiums grow best in cool weather [ Seem like I have heard that from somewhere before but I forget just where, gulp ].

Anyway, I know that being able to grow a Nasturtium plant will not go down in history as some monumental accomplishment. But it is to me because it has taken me since last July to do it. But look at the results,way cool, yes?

As for the seed pack claiming the Nasturtium plants bloom in Summer I think that I figured that out. The Burpee Seed Co. is located in Warminster,PA. There Summer temps are my Winter temps. I think that a disclaimer on their seed pack , [Grows here in PA in Summer] seems appropriate.

Regardless, once again victory has been snatched from the jaws of defeat with a little help from my friends.

Here are the comments from my fellow gardeners back in August. Quite a funny lesson in tact and no they did not use the word Moron once in print although I'm sure it did cross their minds :-]

http://sofloridagardening-sanddune.blogspot.com/2010/08/whats-up-with-nash.html

---SANDDUNE--

THE OPT OUT CHALLENGE

2011-01-21T13:10:00.009-05:00

It has long been a goal for me to grow my own plants from seed or propagation. To me anyway, this gives a lot more satisfaction than purchasing the plants pre grown in a greenhouse from a retail store or nursery. Besides is growing your own plants not the essence of gardening. The trial and error involved is what makes gardening worthwhile along with the knowledge acquired along the way.

Another goal for my Sandpit garden is to practice frugality. This entails making the best use of the resources available to me by reusing ,recycling and generally becoming more thrifty.

Both of the above goals tend to force you use your resources and imagination and lead you down the road to becoming more self sufficient. And being self sufficient is the end goal after all.

Way I figure, a lot of valuable gardening knowledge that used to be passed down from generation to generation has been lost in our society today. We take for granted that the store will always be open to buy our food and accept the inflated prices and pesticides used to grow the commercial crops for convenience sake.

So my challenge for 2011 is to opt out. Learn how to and grow your own garden plants and vegetables from seed without using chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Become more self sufficient and regain the lost knowledge that past generations had. Then share your experience with others.

The gauntlet has been thrown down and I double dog dare you to take the 2011 challenge.

--SANDDUNE--

SANDPIT NEWS 01-11-2011

2011-01-11T17:44:00.005-05:00

Just like every year the fall season is the busiest here and January is the month that things finally slow down. It's kind'a like getting of off of the interstate after a long trip and finally being able to relax with the knowledge you made it and didn't get run over by some idiot.

As far as the garden the new year promises much the same challenges as last year. The main goal is bringing my dead soil back to life. I don't call my garden the sandpit for nothing. The soil is pretty much devoid of nutrients, has nematodes as well as soil borne diseases. All contribute to not being the best medium to grow healthy plants. It is apparent that building the soil will bring about the most positive change. This year my garden resolution will be to continue to add compost and try to Feed the Soil.

It has been two years now that I have stopped using any pesticides and chemical fertilizers and there is a noticeable difference. I have a lot more bugs attacking the plants than before but keep trying to learn organic methods to control them. My plan for this season is to use Neen oil sprayed weekly to try to head off the bad bugs and control the blights. Neem is a natural biological pesticide as well as fungicide that I have experimented with in the past with varied results. I'm holding out hope that if I can keep a weekly schedule with the Neem it will show results. Please feel free to offer any suggestions as to what organic products work that you use in your garden.

Some of my research suggested that companion planting Four O'clock plants will help control Japanese beetles. The Four o'clock plant is supposed to attract the beetle which eat the plants poison leaves. I happen to have some four o'clock plants that were brought down from Jacksonville years ago and were growing wild in the front shrubbery . I dug up some of these Four o'clock tubers and planted them in a container which will be set by the planting beds.

Best I can figure the container will help control the FourO'clocks from spreading which they tend to do and getting out of control. As far as if it will help control the Japanese beetles that like to munch on my garden plants we shall see. If nothing else these Four o'clocks produce nice yellow flowers. I always get lots of the hungry beetles here with warm weather. They like to fly around mostly at night and besides eating the plants like to land in your hair.

As far as the edible garden I started some Southern Collard seeds this week in little newspaper seed pots that I made up. The Collards will go out in one of the raised beds and will be my first vegetables crop attempt this year. I'm thinking that they will do well in the cold weather which is said to improve their taste. If I can keep the bugs out of them they should do well.

It is a fact that that a mess of homegrown Collards with a dash of pepper sauce is hard to beat. So I will be keeping my fingers crossed. So if the good lord is willing and the creek don't run dry some fine Southern Collards will be on the menu in the not too distant future.

--SANDDUNE--

GARDEN RULES 2010

2010-12-23T17:25:00.009-05:00

As the year 2010 is almost over the time to sum up some important things learned this year is at hand. I call the garden rules so that they are easy to remember and assist me when considering what to do in my journey to grow an organic garden from a sandpit.

I'm sure that some won't apply to some folks but feel free to use any that you find useful.

GARDEN RULE #1 THRIFTY IS NOT CHEAP [ No matter what my wife says ]

Here is a prime example. This Matchstick Bromeliad is sending up its bloom stalk. It was made from a pup along with Eight other pups taken from the parent Bromeliad plant.

After these plants bloom more pups will emerge. These plants will continue to produce pups to supply the garden.

GARDEN RULE #2 GROW YOUR OWN AND YOU NEVER HAVE TO LEAVE HOME

Most of the plants that I grow here in the Sandpit were home grown from seed or cuttings.

Here is a picture of one of the Neem Trees that I started from seed this year . This is Neem Three and it is over eight feet tall now. Neem one and Neem two are planted out in my front yard . Both are about two feet tall now because I was lazy about planting them out from their containers.

Save yourself lots of money and grow your own plants .

GARDEN RULE #3 DON'T TRIM YOUR BOUGAINVILLEA BUSHES BAREFOOT

Trust me on this one it is not a good idea. Ouch!

GARDEN RULE #4 NEVER PAY CASH IF IT IS FREE IN THE TRASH

Lots of stuff from discarded plants to containers can be reused

and can be rescued from the trash. The bulk pickup day in

your neighborhood is a great time to look for garden treasure.

GARDEN RULE #5 SHUT UP AND LISTEN

Lots of folks have lots of gardening information and will share

with you . Master this rule and I guarantee you will be a better

gardener.

Aloe blooming just in time for Christmas

GARDEN RULE #6 TAKE TIME TO SMELL THE ROSES

Gardening should not be a chore . Take time to watch your

Garden and enjoy it.

Cassia bush in bloom . Every November this guy put on a show.

Well that's some of the stuff that I have learned and retained from this year .

Hope that everyone has a fantastic Christmas !

SANDDUNE------

TIME WARPING

2010-12-03T17:11:00.013-05:00

Wow, what happened to November. It flew by so fast best I can figure is that a space-time wormhole must have descended over the sandpit.

Ever got the feeling that time has accelerated or slowed down. Last I looked it was October and now it is December.

This here is what one of them there wormholes probably look like from Wikipedia.

South Florida is like a magnet for weird stuff like this. Not sure if I saw one of these jokers hovering over the pit during November but the month sure did go by fast.
Believe it or not, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it...

Anyway the garden is inching along fast as Molasses pours on a cold day. I have been slowly transplanting a lot of the plants that were being grown in containers directly into the ground in my new fenced section of the yard.

This Bougainvillea really likes getting out of a pot and into the ground. It was started from a cutting taken last year from one of my bushes . Since I do not use anything but natural fertilizer it doesn't seem as lush as a lot of the Bougainvillea's I have seen. But I am determined to stick to organic methods and have patience for them to take hold.

This is another plant that is having a birthday. This Shrimp plant came from a cutting last year around this time. I almost lost it a few months ago. I had put the plant in it's pot inside a container and didn't notice that the outer containers drain hole was plugged up with a wood chip.

The plant started looking worse and worse . I figured that it was not getting enough water and was drying out as most of the plants around it were. After giving the plant some water a few days later all the leaves started falling off.

Couldn't seem to figure out what was wrong and I finally felt the pots soil . It was underwater and had been submerged for several days.

After draining out all the accumulated water and setting the plant in the sun it finally revived itself.

New leaves grew on the former sticks and today it is happy and blooming.

Another yearling plant Is this Croton. It was made from a cutting also around one year ago.

I put this guy in the ground and it is looking good. Matter of fact I might just make some more cuttings as these plants remind me of the principal of sustainability. The plants pictured above were all free for my garden just costing the effort to make the cuttings from the parent plants.

As for the Nasturtium hanging basket I ran out of patience waiting for December to plant seeds and try it again. So I planted eight seeds in the hanging basket round near Nov 11th .

Seems like four plants came up and are growing so far. I plan on sticking some more Nasturtium seeds in the pot so that if it takes there will be four trailing type and four upright jewel type flowers. If it grows to expectations it should be spectacular. Hope springs eternal!

I have never grown Nasturtiums except for my summertime attempt which wasn't pretty.

I hope that this attempt now that it is cooler will pay off. They are looking good so far anyway.

The slightly cooler South Florida weather has been just what the old doctor ordered for the Dendrobium Orchids. They have all been blooming this week.
These purple blooms are from my Countryboy Dendrobium Orchid that grows wild attached to a Avocado tree trunk.

It has like six large stalks each covered with these purple blooms. There are even a couple of seed pods on some of the older stalks .

So that is a quick update from the Sandpit where I was sucked up in a time travel wormhole for the month of November and spit back out in early December.

I realize that there will be sceptics out there who do not believe in wormholes sucking people up and sending them through time.

I mean that would be like saying that plants have attitudes. Like saying an Orchid can stick it's tongue out at you.

Nahh, couldn't happen! Right?

----SANDDUNE---

OCTOBER STUFF

2010-10-23T16:57:00.015-04:00

October here at the Sandpit is a catchup month as far as the garden is concerned. The lower temps and humidity this month in South Florida make it a fine time to attend to the grunt work that the summer heat denied.

So that means the Avocado tree gets trimmed back as well as the shrubbery. The October winds start up this time of year and dry everything growing in a container out almost overnight. So I have started planting most of my container plants out into the soil adding the compost and leaf mold that came from this years composting.

Most of the gardening here this month is basic boring work that needed to be done. But there are a few new things to report.

The hanging basket that I had hoped to grow Nasturtiums in and replanted with Marigolds is in bloom. After learning that South Florida ,Nasturtiums, and Summertime do not belong in the same sentence this basket is the Summertime replacement.

These were grown from seed and are supposed to be a dwarf type French Marigold. They are annual plants so by the time these are spent it should be cooled down enough to try the Nasturtiums seeds again.

These were started in the newspaper rolled starter pots and the seed sprouts ,newspaper pots and all,were planted in the basket. They have done really well and I am impressed with the free rolled newspaper starter pots. They work well and are free. That kind of thing impresses me especially the free part.

Marigolds usually don't grow that well here at the Sandpit but these are doing well. Maybe being in the hanging basket with lots of compost instead of the soil with lots of sand is the difference. They can look good planted in a bed with lots of plants.

I saw this garden bed of Marigolds out in a hotel parking lot in L.A. California. They looked pretty good but I suspect they are replaced really often to keep the blooms going.

I also read that certain types of Marigolds are good for repelling bad Nematodes in the soil and are used as a companion plant. You are supposed to plant them beside Tomatoes, Roses and Potatoes.

You do not plant them near Beans or Cabbage. Is this true? Who knows. But it is Southern folklore that Marigolds repel snakes.

Another plant that likes the slightly cooler warm weather is the Dendrobium Orchid. This little guy couldn't wait to bloom this year. As soon as the nighttime temp started getting below 80 degrees at the start of this month it began blooming.

I got this Orchid a while back from a lady who gave away a bunch of Orchids on Freecycle.

It was in kind of bad shape when I picked it up but has rebounded and doing well now. I re potted it in a homemade hanging basket made from fence wire scrap from another project.

I put some old nylon screen on the inside of the wire pot to hold in some bark potting mix. It works real good as the Orchid roots get lots of airflow and dries out quickly. Beside it was free.

You can see in this picture how the Orchid roots are growing out through the nylon screen. This guy would probably prefer to be mounted on a tree but the wire basket with the screen and bark mix is working fine. Besides now that it is blooming I can move it up front to be enjoyed and if the freezes come this Winter like last year move it inside.

Another plant from the Sandpit that likes October seems to be the Blanket flowers. These are wildflowers planted from seeds that I first started in the soil, moved to a hanging basket, then moved back to the soil in the garden.

In Fact this is the original plant that I first planted as a seed today still producing flowers in the garden. When it was in the hanging basket the flowers were much larger but it had to be hand watered almost twice a day to keep the plant from drying out and wilting. I moved it from the hanging pot and planted it in the garden and it gets watered whenever it rains now.It seems really happy and just blooms and blooms and blooms some more.

Here are two more of the Indian Blanket flowers that I planted from the seed pack later directly into the garden.

The one in back has the same red orange colors but the one in front has bloomed all solid yellow.

Weird, but I really like these flowers. They are tough wildflowers that produce abundant blooms with minimal care. I cut the blooms off all the time and give them to my wife. These plants are better than FTD florist and free.

All the work associated with my Avocado tree cutback has paid off already. When tropical storm Paula swung by South Florida the stormy weather started a lot of the Avocado's falling . Not one impacted my shed roof . So the battle plan of a no grow zone over the shed roof is working.

Of course my garden helper and trusty assistant Odette was the first one to claim her Avocado's.

She has this strange ritual where she pulls out the grass all the way around the Avocado. After she is satisfied that no grass is touching the Avocado only then she eats the top off.

Quite bizarre!

---SANDDUNE---

BATTLE PLAN

2010-09-23T13:46:00.008-04:00

This year I figure to get a jump start on the upcoming annual battle that takes place every fall between my metal shed and the Avocado tree. It starts usually in October and reaches it's peak in November when the tree rains down a barrage of cannonball size Avocados onto the thin metal roof of my shed. If we get some really strong winds whole branches weighed down with the Avocados assault the shed. The end result is by the year end the sheds roof ends up a assortment of puncture holes and twisted bent metal.

Some early scouting has revealed that the Avocado forces are stocking up on ammunition for the coming assault. So I figure it's time to take a page from the military and come up with a battle plan to save the shed roof this year.

The plan involves establishing a no grow zone in the airspace above the shed roof just like the military establish a no fly zone above a battlefield. Any Avocado tree branch daring to enter this zone is to be be attacked without mercy with my expandable pole tree branch saw.

As is evident by the picture there are some violator branches sneaking out over the shed roof already that will have to be dealt with. A crack team of commando's consisting of me and my expandable pole tree saw has already been assigned the mission to take these violators out.

Unfortunately the no grow zone will require that a large portion of my Cassia bush that is growing on top of the shed will have to go. I really hate to have to cut this growth out of the bush as it will bloom about November and be just covered in yellow blooms.

But it has to be done to give access to the metal roof to repair the damaged sections from last season's assault. The Cassia branches hold the moisture over the roof and are causing it to rust so the intruding sections in the no grow zone have to go.

Here is the result after the first skirmish removing the Cassia bush overgrowth in the no grow zone. Sad for the Cassia bush ,"but to bake a cake you have to break a few eggs" eh!

The damage to the roof from last season is evident and the shed has lots of areas that will have to be hammered back somewhat into shape.

But next in line is the taking out of the tree branches from the Avocado tree that have crossed the imaginary vertical line. It is no use to repair the shed roof until this is done as the offending Avocado tree branches will indubitably hit the roof causing more damage to it. That mission is a go as soon as it stops raining here.

Other goings on around the Sandpit.

After waiting most of this month for the yard crew to show up I remembered that the yard crew consisted of me. That established, a meeting was held of the yard crew where I introduced a motion to make me the team leader of the yard crew. Hearing no distention the motion was passed by one vote. That's right I am now the official boss of my one man yard crew. Perhaps I shall take the title" El Jefe".

After all the hoopla of the election was over I did manage to make a couple more planter boxes to go into the new section of the Sandpit. They were made from scrap mostly leftover wood from other projects. Nothing fancy but that's OK they don't need to be.

Now all that remains is to convince that lazy no good yard crew of mine to get these planters ready to go for some Fall vegetables. Not an easy task.

Anyway with the battle plans drawn and the elections over I guess it is time to get to work.

---Sanddune aka" El Jefe" ---

GROWING TIRODS IN FLORIDA

2010-09-06T14:46:00.010-04:00

After careful consideration I have come to the conclusion that the thing that has grown the most over the Summer months here at the Sandpit is Tirods. Now that September is here looking around the garden it is full up with Tirods.

What is a Tirods you ask. Well it is defined in the Sandpit slang dictionary as Things I Really Oughta Do Someday. And my garden after the summer is full of them!

Unfortunately here the Summer heat and Tropical humidity make a great excuse for goofing off when it comes to garden maintenance. During such times staying in the air conditioning and thinking up more Tirods seems a prudent choice.

Now that it is September and the temperatures are moderating a bit it is time to get back to work whittling down the list of Tirods compiled over the summer.

They say that if you do something everyday for thirty days it becomes a habit. Who are they you ask . I have no idea who they are but back to the point. August had 31 days in it and I was able to consistently goof off for the whole month. That means that I am one day over the habit limit. Goofing off has become a habit to me now so to break my new addiction will undoubtedly be painful. It's always something.

Anyway back to more pleasant things. There is some exciting news from the Sandpit. My Swampbush specimen has bloomed. I abducted this bush back in May of 09 from a tidal swamp in North Florida along the St Johns River. I have no clue as to what it is but I remember some of the mature bushes in the swamp had white flowers.

It was an experiment to see if the Swampbush would grow in my eco system here. Apparently it has adapted and survived to the climate change and has set it's blooms.

It is a good looking Swampbush as far as Swampbushes go and it appeals to me. So there!

And on the America Beautyberry front my two grown from seed plants have berries and they are actually turning purple like they are supposed to.

I got the seeds from a gardener up in Tampa or thereabouts from an seed exchange by mail.

Now I know that the American Beautyberry is just a kind of Mulberry bush which lots of folks consider pests. But I like it and planted in the Sandpit bird corner the two bushes look good.

The birds like it also as I saw a Mockingbird getting some of the berrys and trying them out. The Mockingbird usually prefers my Lantana plant berrys with the occasional Everglades Tomato on the side. But now he has a choice of berrys for lunch .

As for my 2010 Summer favorite I have to give the award this year to the Ruella plants. These guys never fail to be amazing with their Summertime blooms.

I have two containers of the plants that I keep by my back porch. They will be covered in purple blooms each morning which drop off every afternoon around 3 pm. The next day they start over again full of new blooms for the day.

During the Summer these plants really work overtime to put on a new show everyday.

I think that they are also called Mexican dropflower plants or Mexican Petunias.

And to wrap it up I couldn't resist adding this guys picture. He is making a picture perfect three point landing on the Mexican Sunflower that would make any pilot proud. Check out that landing flair. Now that's what I call technique.!

And that's the fresh poop from the pit. Here's hoping that you too don't find Your garden overgrown with Tirods from over the Summer.

--SANDDUNE--

COLLECTING DIVIDENDS

2010-08-27T15:27:00.010-04:00

Even with the smoldering days of August upon us in South Florida the garden still offers up some dividends.

This week I found that some of the Bromeliad pups that I had separated from their momma plant back last November are now starting to bloom.

Here is the link to the post back on November 16th 2009 where this guy and his momma were separated.

http://sofloridagardening-sanddune.blogspot.com/2009/11/new-home-for-pups.html

I still have three other plants of this Bromeliad all in various stages of getting their bloom. It is one of the attributes to the Bromeliad plants that they will give you many pups . Each will produce dividends for you in the form of more pups for free.

The harvested pups make great gifts or trade items for other plants from fellow gardeners.

The Bromeliads make great tropical or sub-tropical plants. They are for the most part Idiot proof. An important consideration here at the sandpit.

With a little patience these guys will add lots of new plants to your garden for Free. Also an important consideration here at the sandpit.

But the hot weather dividends are not exclusive to the Bromeliads. Back a couple of months ago I planted Sunflowers in a few of my raised beds here.

Besides the fact that I really like Sunflowers as a plant they also produce dividends for the good of the order here.

When it is just too hot to grow most vegetables here the Sunflowers seem to do fine in the broiling summer heat.

And in the best permaculture practice for South Florida I let the plant remain in the soil after it is spent.

The intense Sun here in several weeks time will dry the plant out as well as the Sunflower seed head. After it is dried out the seed head is clipped off and the plant stalk clipped at ground level leaving the plant roots in the soil to compost naturally.

The plant stalk goes in the compost bin and it is time to reap the dividends from the dried seed head.

And the dividends are of course free Sunflower seeds.

Note: Yes bare my feet are included in the above picture. Being in the tropics it is good permaculture practice to wear as little as possible. In fact in South Florida most folks only wear shoes for ceremonial occasions. Anyone seen with shoes on South of Ft Pierce is most likely a tourist from up North, a politician, or someone trying to sell you something.

Where was I . Oh yeah, Sunflower seeds.

Well these here Sun dried heads that I harvested today produced some delectable dividends.

After cleaning the seed heads of two dried Sunflowers I came away with almost two cups of seeds. That is after deducting all the seeds that I ate while cleaning out the seed heads.

These remaining Sunflower seeds are going to be mixed in with my birdseed for the benefit of the wild birds that visit the bird feeder in the garden.

There are quite a few more Sunflower plants left not yet ready to harvest so It looks like a good supply of Sunflower seeds will be available to feed the birds, feed me , and even replant another crop from the collected seeds.

As for some future dividends accumulating now in the garden during this oppressive heat and humidity I submit these Watermelon plants.

Here is the answer to what to grow in the worst heat. These Black Diamond Yellow Belly Strain Watermelon plants. So far they seem to be unstoppable by the heat and just keep on growing longer vines. It is to the point the vine tips have to be redirected every day just to keep them contained in my enclosed garden area.

Just two of these plants has turned the sandpit into a Watermelon Vine jungle.

And as to the plant in the picture that the arrows point to, can you guess what it is.

Well it is the mighty Neem tree that I started from seed several months back. That's right this is Neem #3 and it is almost three feet tall now. Neem#1 and Neem#2 are still in containers and need desperately to be planted out in the yard. I keep wavering back and forth as to where to put them.

These Neem trees will definitely have some dividends in the future for the Sandpit if they keep prospering. They love the hot weather and if they survive the Watermelon Vines trying to grow up them will be a asset to the Sandpit.

So really August hasn't been such a bad month for gardening and it has produced dividends with prospects of future dividends to come.

Now if this here baby melon keeps doing it's thing maybe I will get a fifty pounder out of the jungle of watermelon vines. In the meantime I have plenty of Sunflower seeds to munch on.

--SANDDUNE--

Mid-August Update

2010-08-20T16:51:00.007-04:00

Being that August is typically the hottest month here in South Florida it is a great opportunity to be lazy. It is ok to use the excuse , " It's to friggin hot to work outside today ! Honest don't let this window of opportunity pass you by for September will soon be here and time to start more planting .

One thing that I did learn this summer is that you don't plant Nasturtiums in June. In fact lots of my fellow gardeners gently advised me of this after my last post about Nasturtiums. In fact I appreciate the advise and hope to try another hanging basket with the Nasturtiums in December. This new knowledge has lead me to invoke a new garden rule here at the Sandpit.

Be it decreed that - Only BONEHEADS plant Nasturtiums in the Summer -everyone knows that they like cool weather. Amen...

Just after I told my last Nasturtium plant in the hanging basket this rule it immediately keeled over dead. I figure it had just been holding out for confirmation before suffering heatstroke.

The demise of the last Nash was a clear signal to try something different in the now vacant hanging basket. So I figure that a basket with Marigolds might work with the hot Summer conditions. Besides I have lots of old Marigold seeds that I have saved and collected in the past that need to be started.

I made up some small seed starter pots from using old newspaper to start the seeds in. I had read this somewhere and decided to test it out. You make the small newspaper pots by rolling about a half page of newspaper folded on itself twice around a old paper towel cylinder and tucking in the bottom. Then pull the tube out and you have a small starter pot . Add a little starter mix and the seeds then soak from the bottom with water in a tray. Simple!

Here are the Marigolds in the newspaper pots one week later.

I have to admit that the newspaper starter pots worked really well to germinate the seeds in. Apparently using my local paper for the pots added a large amount of Manure to the sprouts.

Just my observation.

Anyway, I stuck a bunch of the sprouts in the vacant hanging basket soil. Before planting them you rip off the bottom of the newspaper pot and the newspaper sides protruding above the soil.

This was easy to do because the paper is wet and pulls apart easily.

You can leave the rest of the newspaper in the soil as it will decompose quickly and add itself as compost.

Here is the new hanging basket full of Marigold sprouts after adding the new seed starts.

If they all grow they will have to be thinned out but I figured to use one of my other hard earned garden rules . Plant two hope for one.

Well that' s the latest poop from the Sandpit in a nut shell.

August being the hot month that it is it is a great time just to kick back with a cold drink and watch the sky.

Here are some massive clouds forming up over the Everglades being lifted by the heat.

Neat huh.

So instead of doing any real work in the garden until September I can use my free August Excuse .

"It's to friggin' hot to work outside".

---Sanddune---

WHAT'S UP WITH THE NASH

2010-08-10T14:11:00.009-04:00

Back in June I picked up some Nashturtium seeds with the idea of making a hanging basket . I had two kinds both from Burpee Seeds. One was a dwarf bush type supposed to produce assorted color flowers called Jewel mix. The other was a vining type supposed to grow 6 to 7 feet with cream color flowers called Milkmaid.

The idea was to plant several of each type in the hanging basket. The dwarf one producing color in the top of the basket while the vining type would cascade down the sides.

After they all sprouted and seemed to be well this is the results now. It's not what I envisioned and I am beginning to get the idea that Nashturtiums might not like the hot, humid summer weather they were exposed to .

This was my first experience with the Nash's but I have plenty more seeds to restart the hanging basket. Any advice ?

And speaking of seed stuff here is the result of the Sunflowers that I planted at the start of summer to shade some Squash plants.

These Sunflowers are all Ferry-Morse seeds called Mammoth. They were planted at the same time directly in the ground. The big one is up over eight feet tall .

It has a huge seed head the size of a dinner plate.

This guy lives up to the Mammoth name and should provide lots of Sunflower seeds to be added to the bird feeder. I am not sure why some of the plants were so much smaller than this huge one in that they all came from the same seed pack. Oh well , just another South Florida Plant mystery.

And even more seed stuff. I ordered some Thai Red Papaya seeds to start in my new fenced garden bed. Along with the Papaya seeds ordered from Baker creek heirloom seed company they sent along a free pack of Watermelon seed as a gift.

I planted some of both at the same time about a month ago.

After returning yesterday from a two week out of town assignment here are the results I found from the seeds.

The Papaya seeds never sprouted. However the free Watermelon seeds are growing like wild. This large vine is two Watermelon plants.

The free Watermelon seeds are Black Diamond Yellow Belly Strain.

They have lots of flowers on them and when I was pulling the vines out of the fence found a baby melon starting.

So it would seem that the old adage is true, The best things in life are free!

As for the Nashturtiums and the Papaya plants it is back to the drawing board.

How are your Nashturtiums faring in the Florida summer heat?

---SANDDUNE---

THE VENERABLE HILLBILLY ORCHID AND OTHER JULY STUFF

2010-07-17T14:46:00.014-04:00

Mid- July seems to be the favorite time with just the right conditions for my oldest Orchid. It is a Dendrobium. It was given to me round six years ago when it was just a small plant.

I tied it to the bark of my Avocado tree with some twine and the roots attached themselves. It has been there ever since surviving hurricanes and freezes. Every summer it comes alive with purple blooms emerging from the canes.

Being a Orchid novice I put it's picture on the Garden Web Forum where a fella from Australia identified it as a long cane Dendrobium. He did not know the name as there are so many Dendrobium Hybrids.

I decided to name it my Hillbilly Orchid from a line in a favorite Hank Williams Jr. song. It seemed appropriate as the line from the song goes," he never called me by my name just Hillbilly".

Here is the link to the Hank Williams, Jr song video. Check it out fits in about right for these times we are livin in.

http://video.yahoo.com/watch/2043099/v40129884

I also got another mid-July surprise from one of the Orchids that was given to me from a Freecycler last year. This guy was identified to me by another Orchid fella as a Brassavolla Orchid after I posted it's picture.

This is the first time that it has bloomed since I got it. Several folks that know about Orchids told me this type needs lots of bright light . I was always kinda hesitant to expose it to the intense sunlight here as the sun here quickly sunburns plants. But I took their advice and apparently this orchid loves the sun here evidenced by its new blooms.

After looking at the delicate blooms and some further research I was able to identify it as Brassavola Nodosa also called the Lady of the Night Orchid. It's blooms give off a perfume fragrance in the evening hours, hence the name.

This Orchid is native to Mexico south to Central America. It was susposed to be the first Tropical Orchid to be brought back by ship to Holland in the year 1698.

Other new blooms for mid-July in the sandpit here is the Butterfly Flower. I picked up a packet of seeds for this Parennial and planted a couple back in April.

This one is up and blooming now in the garden. It is actually an Asclepias Tuberosa for those so inclined although it didn't state that on the seedpackage.

It's common name is Milkweed. It didn't say that on the seedpack either. I suspect this was on purpose seeing that most folks wouldn't purchase Weed seeds. Them advertising fellas got it all figured out.

Whatever the name it is a kinda neat plant with golden- orange blooms that seems to be pretty rugged. The Milkweed is susposed to attract the Monarch Butterfly but I haven't seen any on it here but there have been other Butterflys on the plant's flowers.

For mid-July the Florida State Butterfly is the most prolific at the sandpit.

It is the Zebra Longwing which seems to like my wild Lantana bush the best.

The Lantana bush I dug up in Jacksonville and brought back to the sandpit. It is pretty much carefree except for some pruning to keep it inline and not growing wild.

Lots of folks see the Lantana as invasive but I have never had a volunteer spring up from this plant. It is wild and produces seeds which the birds like. It covers itself with flowers and has one type of butterfly or another on it most of the day.

That's the mid-July ramblings from the South Florida sandpit where it is now hotter

than a June brides featherbed { as they say in the south }.

Oh yeah, Almost forgot it is now time to start some Tomato seed. I figure one seed every week from now till September will give a good staggered planting. That gives them about six weeks to germinate and get up to planting out size when September rolls around.

I am going to start some heirloom Jubilee yellow Tomato this week. They go back to 1943 and I figure to give them a try this year. I plan on putting them in the ground instead of a container this season to see how that will pan out. Yes I know that is tempting a hurricane to strike for sure but I will keep my fingers crossed.

--SANDDUNE--

SUMMER PROJECTS

2010-07-08T14:30:00.009-04:00

With the July summer heat and humidity my theory is that it is time to plant less and make some improvements. My list of things that I really ought to do one day has become a small book so it is time to whittle the project list down some.

I figure that in South Florida at least June , July, and August are really not planting months. The season starts here in September for the most part unless you are a big fan of Okra.

So the plan is to reduce some of my backyard grass and make space for some new planting beds before September rolls around. The St Augustine grass that makes up most of the lawns around these parts during summer is really labor intensive. It has to be mowed and edged almost weekly now that the rains have started. So the less grass the less work way I see it.

Now that I have plenty of compost working it seems like a good idea to build some more small planting beds for vegetables. At the same time I am going to fence in my main backyard gardening area to keep my dogs out. Lets see; less grass = less work and better utilized space with a rustic garden fence that keeps out my dogs. Cool!

Here is the plan that I came up with. The fence will run all the way down the yellow line in the picture and all the grass to the right of the line will be gone.

I already made the first section of fence and two gates last week. So this week the project continues.

Here it the finished rustic garden fence as it looks now.

I can tell it is a great success because the dogs hate it. They now cannot frolic in my plants. They have been giving me the evil eye ever since I put the garden fence up. Priceless!

Now what remains is to take out all the grass to the right of the fence and replace it with some planting beds surrounded with mulch.

This will eliminate about one third of the grass in my backyard and give me a lot more room to plant vegetables this fall.

Here is the first section of the new rustic garden fence that I put up a couple of weeks ago. With the heat the only way that I could make it was to do small sections over a period of days.

Now that the whole fence is in and the dogs are no longer in the garden it is already more better [ as we say in the South ]. The birds can relax some without having to look over their shoulders for charging dogs. And the lizards can hunt unobstructed now snapping up the bugs within the fenced enclosure.

As for the ongoing folk plant bug repellent here is the latest update.

After getting several opinions the recipe has been refined some although the final produce may require further tweaking.

Here are the ingredients for the first batch. The bar of Ivory soap was carved into slices and put into a jug of water to dissolve into a slurry last week. It has dissolved into a nasty goop now and is looking good.

Next is the ingredients for the kicker to the brew.

This includes some hot Jalapeno peppers added to a clove of Garlic and a Half of an Onion.

All the kicker ingredients were added to a food blender with water included and blended together.

The end result made up a couple of bottles of Bug juice kicker.

This is a really hot nasty brew with an powerful odor. Perfect. Now to let this brew set and ruminate for a few days.

The squeezings from the bug juice will be filtered through a cloth to remove the particulate matter leaving pure liquid bug juice.

A shot of the distilled down bug juice will go into the sprayer along with a hearty glop of the Ivory soap liquid.

This will be mixed with water in the sprayer bottle , shaken well and sprayed onto all the plants that have been under bug attack.

Not sure if this brew will stop the bugs from eating the plant leaves but it just might convince them to dine elsewhere.

--SANDDUNE--

LATE JUNE RAMBLINGS

2010-06-30T17:42:00.008-04:00

With the summer heat bearing down it seemed like a fine time to work in the shade.

I have been eyeballing this area beside my shed for some time . It is under my Avocado tree and stays in the shade most all day or at least heavily filtered light.

I use it to stick some of my heat stressed plants in containers here sometimes to recover when they got too much sun.

So this week the shade area got transformed into a small bed for some of my shade plants to have a new home and not require so much Summer care.

Here is the finished bed into which went some shade loving Bromeliads and their divided pups.

The short fence is there to keep the dogs from running around the corner by way of over the plant bed.

The Passion Vine that I let grow up my back porch awning is really going wild.

It has reached the awning top and grown sideways to the house in two directions . This vine is at least 12 feet long.

It has produced Passion Flowers which last for one day before falling off the vine.

We had ten Passion Flowers in bloom at the same time this last week.

It is really neat to watch and this is the first time this vine has bloomed here for me. It is a volunteer that started itself from a vine around the corner.

The vine will be safe until the first hurricane gets close to the sandpit when I will have to cut it out to close the awning.

In the meantime it is producing an abundance of flowers and has numerous butterflys on it throughout the day.

We also gave the Bird area a rearranging. This corner I save for the birds and have planted protective bushes to encourage them .

There is Orange Jasmine shrubs in the far back and a large Cassia bush to the right of the bird feeder.

These bushes give them a lot of hiding places which birds seem to like.

The bush in front of the feeder is an American Beauty berry that I started from seed two years ago.

It is almost chest high now and will produce clusters of berries that the birds eat from the stems. I think it is related to the Mulberry tree.

Anyway the birds have more cover and seem to like it . There are two Northern Mockingbirds and a Loggerhead Shrike that hang out here eating bugs every afternoon. Free bug control for the organic garden.

And speaking on bugs here is one of my Spider lilies that has bloomed this week.

For some reason I find this plant fascinating .

It is just able to display a subtle simple beauty that appeals to me.

And as far as the home made bug repellent for the vegetables I have started mixing up the ingredients for the folk brew.

The first step was to get a bar of Ivory soap. It is supposed to be soap not detergent although I really don't know the difference or why it would matter. But it might so we got the soap bar.

Now this has to be whittled down into slivers and put into a container with a bit of water so the bar will melt into a liquid slurry.

Done and done for step one. Going to let the Ivory slurry percolate a few days and shake the container every time I go by it to mix the soap well.

More on the mixtures progress next time.

--Sanddune--

ORGANIC LEARNING CURVE

2010-06-22T14:27:00.008-04:00

Anyone attempting to grow things organically can attest that there is a learning curve involved. The same equally applies to permaculture methods . Both involve a lot of observation of your particular backyard ecosystem and how nature reacts with it and your plants.

The end goal is to learn to work with nature instead of against it.

My latest challenge here at the Sandpit is learning how to deal with the summer bug invasion organically. It is a challenge to not reach for the chemical poison to deal with them. But once you realize that you will be eating the same poison that you put on your vegetables and eventually drinking the poison runoff water it becomes clear that there has to be a better answer.

These are what is left from my summer Squash plants that I stuck in a new small planting bed made several weeks back. They were ruthlessly attacked and eaten by a combination of Squash vine borers and unidentified Ninja bugs. I call them Ninja bugs because they feed at night and are extremely stealthy. I have concluded that they love Squash plants in particular mine.

The tops from these six squash plants are now in the compost bin. I cut them off at the ground and left the roots in the soil to decay and compost in the soil of the bed. Nothing goes to waste in an organic garden.

Here is the result from an heirloom Jubilee Tomato plant. It was attacked by Tomato Horn worms which ate all the vegetation off of the plant . Amazingly it still produced one fruit. This was an experiment with the Jubilee seed which I plan to plant in September. I knew when I planted this one plant that it would not do well now it being the wrong time of year to plant them in South Florida.

My research on how to protect against the bugs naturally has led to my next experiment. I found this homemade recipe for a natural bug tonic on the Internet. I'm going to plant some more Squash[ the Ninja bugs favorite ] and apply this concoction to a couple and leave a couple of the plants with nothing to see if it has any positive effect. More observation to see what works here.

The concoction involves combining diluted Ivory soap with ground up Jalapeno peppers and the mix sprayed on the plant leaves.

Sense I don't have jalapeno peppers I am going to substitute some of the hot peppers that I have growing now. These are Thai hot peppers that were started from seed back in April.

They should give me a steady supply of hot peppers for the next month or so.

We will see if this will effect the Ninja bugs or not. I am still spraying with Neem Oil every couple of weeks.

The Ninja's seem to attack my Zinnia leaves, Sunflower leaves and the Squash the worst. The Neem Oil has calmed them down some so I am hoping this new concoction will add a boost to the Neem Oil .

The Ninja's liked my Russian Comfrey also but I think they started leaving the Comfrey to attack and eat the Squash. So for now the Comfrey are growing fast and looking less insect damaged .

But with the Squash now gone I am watching to see if they return to the Comfrey leaves.

It's always something as they say but the information learned from plants that did not do so well is invaluable to learning how to reverse that trend in the future.

--Sanddune--

ONE SHADY FLAMINGO

2010-06-11T15:50:00.010-04:00

Seems like its kinda hard to find any tropical shade plants that produce bright flowers. Not that There is a lot of shade here at the sandpit. But there is a few areas stuck here and there that only get the filtered sunlight for a few hours each day.

I was given this plant which is a Chrysothemis Pulchella or Black Flamingo back in December of last year.

This picture is how it looked last December in bloom.

It produces a colorful bloom that looks like a sunset sort of. Some folks call this plant Sunset Bells.

The plant has leathery large leaves that are crinkly looking. The leaves have several colors from copper to dark green with bright purple undersides. It is quite unique looking different than what is commonly seen planted in a shade spot.

The Black Flamingo has no use for cold weather and this is the same plant on March 2nd of this year.

Seems as though when the cold weather comes around this plant goes dormant and the growth dies off.

Not to worry there is still a tuber under the soil that is just waiting for the place to warm back up.

Here is the same plant at the end of April after the cold weather had left.

I had stuck the dead looking plant in its pot under some other plants in the full shade. Sure enough the temperature rising brought it out of dormancy and it is back with several new shoots.

You can see the strange leave texture and colors. Cool huh!

Anyway this is the Black Flamingo plant today starting to bloom it' summer sunset bells on three stalks now.

This picture is not the best but it was raining and the camera lens was fogging up from the humidity.

This plant should do well in the South Florida heat this summer.

It likes the shade and is a candidate to by propagated by tuber cuttings. So that means of course there soon will be lots of FREE little Black Flamingos in the sandpit shadows in the future.

And with this guy you can enjoy the sunset anytime it is warm.

--SANDDUNE--

EARLY SUMMER RAMBLINGS

2010-06-02T23:28:00.013-04:00

With the Summer heat bearing down more each day it seemed like a good as any time to plan for the next three months.

Lots of plants are already struggling in the sun and wind. Ever since I lost my big Mango tree to a hurricane several years back my backyard shade is mostly gone. Best I can figure about 3/4 of the yard is in the tropical sun now as long as the sun is up.

It's kind of similar to growing plants on the beach. Full sun all day and no shade to escape to until the sun sets.

So here are some of my South Florida favorites that thrive in the tropical summer heat.

One plant that I can always count on is the Mandevilla.

It is a tropical plant and seems to grow better for me the hotter that it gets around here.

It doesn't like the cold at all and every year around March I cut the vine back to about a foot tall. As it warms up the Mandevilla vine takes off and produces flowers up until about January. This guy will grow a good ten foot tall by the end of the summer and will be continuously covered in blooms.

Another hot weather favorite at the sandpit is the Desert Rose.

It stays in the full sun and never complains. The Desert Rose is native to Africa and likes it hot.

This plant never gets much water from me and seems to bloom better being a little water starved or so I have concluded.

Had worms eat all the leaves off it once until it was just sticks. A month later the leaves popped back out and it was blooming again. This is one tough plant great for South Florida.

One other proven hot weather survivor in the sandpit is the Everglades Wild Tomato.

They grow dime to quarter size fruit and are the best tasting cherry size Tomato that I have ever eaten.

They reseed themselves and pop up all over the garden as volunteers. I suspect the birds who also love to snack on the fruits spread the seeds.

All the better cause I like to snack on a handful straight from the bush while working outside. There are like five bushes growing now in the garden. None of which I planted.

These guys take the heat when other Tomato's are long gone. They will continue to provide tasty handfuls of fruit all summer long. They are wild so if one plants looks bad you can count on more popping up to take it's place.

And here is my great hope to help with my lack of shade .

It is one my baby Neem trees that has sprouted from seeds that I got from Zanzibar East Africa.

Actually I have three baby Neem tree sprouts growing for the nine seeds that I attempted to sprout. That is pretty good because the seeds are very time sensitive and must be planted quickly after harvest.

The Neem tree might not look like much now but it will grow quickly into a mighty pillar of a tree to solve my shade problems. Anyway that's what I keep telling the Neem sprouts.

They will have to stay in the pots until they grow to 50 cm tall. One cm is about the size of a pinky nail turned sideways so I figure by the time I figure how tall 50 pinky nails turned sideways is they should be ready to plant in the yard.

And as to strange new plant experiments here is my latest entry.

I picked up some hybrid Sunflower seeds a while back called Teddy Bear. Here is the results.

All I can report is that they are pretty weird looking and that the bugs absolutely find them irresistible.

Going to sprout some more later in the summer when the bugs calm down a bit.

I don't use pesticides anymore but have been spraying with Neem Oil to get some of the bugs under control naturally.

As for the pipe dream department here is my Zinnia attempts. I like Zinnia's and try to grow them every year with less than stellar results.

This one is a Giant Violet Queen. It has been afflicted with some unknown plant affliction as well as being ravaged by hungry bugs.

But with all that against it it still blooms for me. Now that's tenacity a trait which I admire.

So if the Zinnia's keep trying so will I.

And as to a summer suprise here is my Passion Vine flower. It is the first time that the vine has bloomed here.

For the past couple of weeks there are 3-5 blooms that open each morning than close and fall off that night.

Is that neat or what?

The bottom line is that in South Florida heat and weather you have to plan ahead to make it through the summer months.

Speaking of which it is now officially the start of hurricane season. This means it is time to plant some Moonflower seeds.

My theory is that a well grown Moonflower vine can actually bend a hurricane away from it. There's not a lot of science behind the theory but seem to me every time I have had Moonflower Vines growing the hurricanes have bypassed the sandpit.

More research may be required but it has worked in the past.

--Sanddune--

CHEAP PLANT SHELF

2010-05-27T23:46:00.009-04:00

With summer and the rainy season fast approaching it was high time to figure out a way to protect my small pots of plants. These are the plants that have been started from seed mostly and need some sun exposure and time to mature some before going out in the garden. They are mostly plants in the intermediate stages and need hardening off before enduring the full elements that South Florida dishes out.

After some careful cogitating as to what would work best for me and with nature I decided to construct a plant shelf.

First step was to establish what I wished to accomplish. This included placing the plants where they would get medium direct sun exposure. Getting the pots up off the ground to protect them from heavy rain, my dogs and the summer bugs. Giving the plants good air flow and allowing them to drain unhindered.

Perma-culture principles for consideration included placing the shelf where I would see the plants everyday. Some where that would not be in my way and would be easy to work with the pots of plants.

Other considerations in line with my 2010 challenge to myself included reusing materials that were on hand to make the project.

After watching the sun for several weeks I concluded that the front of my screened enclosure got the direct sun from around 1 pm till dark or maybe a half day which would work out about right. It is right in front of my back porch so I could see the plants and would be out of everyone's way. Location established.

I found some old wooden shelf supports that were saved from a past demolition taking up space in my laundry room. Also some scrap small pieces of pine wood saved from past projects. They all would be recycled into the shelf.

I purchased six 1x2x8 pine strips and some waterproof Gorilla Glue for the rest of the materials.

The assembly was easy. I sawed some 4 inch divider pieces from the strips ends.

Set the strips on their edges and glued the divider pieces between each strip. This gave it a latticed shelf so the pots would drain properly and the water from rain would not puddle and rot the shelf. The strips standing on their sides also gives the shelf more mechanical strength against warping besides just looking cool.

To add to the gestalt of the shelf I added some front and back rails . Same method glue and clamp. Next day remove the clamp them glue and clamp again until its all done.

Finally screwed in the shelf supports after some trimming and screwed the shelf on top of the supports.

After a few coats of leftover paint this simple shelf blended right in.

It is strong and now has 13 pots on it with room for a couple more.

The shelve fits all my design and perma-culture criteria while uncluttering the ground of 13 pots. Plus my wife likes it, the real gauge of a successful project.

--SANDDUNE--

A FINE DAY FOR A FRUGAL PARLAY

2010-05-18T19:32:00.011-04:00

Parlay is such a fine two dollar word to use to impress your friends. Use it in a conversation and your friends will be rightly blown away with your worldly sophistication. Say it long for added effect as in Par' Laaaaaaaaaay. Say it ten times fast to impress yourself with your own sophistication when your bored.

Anyway this post explains the principal of how to turn a simple garden asset to great advantage. The maneuver being the parlay. With proper forethought the results can be quite impressive.

Here's an example of how it works.

In early December I received this Aechmea Gamosepala plant as a birthday gift. A very neat Bromeliad and the cost was FREE [gift] to the Sandpit garden budget.

Now it just so happened that this bromeliad had three new pups growing from the Mother plant when I got her. I removed the three pups and planted them in separate containers. This was the first Parlay. From the one Bromeliad gift I now had four bromeliads.

Let's do the preliminary garden math. One free plant retail value for instance let's say $5.00. Parlayed into four separate plants 4x$5.00 makes the value $20.00.

Fast forward from last December up to the present.

Here is one of the four plants present day. It is time to separate the pups from the Mother Bromeliad once again.

In fact it is past time for this plant as the pups are now almost as big as the Mother plant.

This is where the planning part comes in to play. The pups were coming for all the new plants and they would need separate containers to harvest them into.

When a neighbor down the way did some landscaping he removed his new plants and promptly threw out all the plastic containers his plants had come in.

Yes, Thank you for the donation to the sandpit. The free pots will look more better used in the sandpit than discarded in the county landfill. They are a perfect size for the pups new home.

Collecting the pots from the garbage and storing them away fits right in to one of my frugal gardening rules.

NEVER PAY CASH WHEN IT'S FREE IN THE TRASH

As far as the new soil to plant the new pups in a visit to the compost bin gave me all that I would need. Once again at no cost.

As a filter to keep the soil in and let the water drain I use simple screen in the bottom of the pots. Works better than that barrier stuff they sell and you can buy a roll of window screen for less. Better yet save your old screen to use it in the bottom of your pots.

After removing the Mother bromeliad from her pot it was time to harvest the pups. With a knife I just cut straight down from the top slicing the pups away trying to get a little of the root stalk with each pup removed.

This one plant produced six new pups.

Each new Bromeliad pup gets it's own pot.

Of course my loyal garden assistant Odette is always close by to give advice and pounce on any bug that may be uncovered and flee during the replanting.

As the pups get re potted I like to give each one a support. This is due to the winds that come during the intense summer storms we have here in South Florida. It supports the Bromeliad until it can get established and holds it upright so the leaves will catch water to feed the plant. I use recycled bamboo stakes cut short and tied snug to the base of the Bromeliad with sisal twine. Works great!

And for the group picture all potted up with a bit of mulch added to keep the rain from splattering the compost soil.

There is the Parlay. This one plant became seven. Add the other original three left that I have not got around to harvesting their pups and there are now ten Bromeliads so far.

Back to the calculator. 10 plants x $5.00=$50.00. 10 free new pots salvaged from the garbage say $1.00 each retail=$10.00. Free soil from the compost bin say retail $3.00. Total value not spent $63.00. Total tax paid to the State and every other Government entity with their hand out= Zip!!!

See the Parlay---There is hope. We can achieve a frugal garden full of wonderful plants without busting the family budget at the garden center. All it takes is a little fore thought.

Starting plants from seeds, propagating plants from cuttings and pups and exchanging plants with other gardening folks. Finding items to reuse and recycle. Making your own rich compost to nourish your soil and plants.

It is all subject to a plant parlay for your garden.

PARLAY= To maneuver { an asset } to great advantage.

Wishing you a successful Parlay,

--Sanddune--

ANNE KOLB NATURE CENTER

2010-05-12T22:34:00.014-04:00

Being that last Sunday was Mothers Day, we all went out together to the Annie Kolb Nature Center. It is part of the Broward County Parks system.

First thing that struck me is that there was no admission fee to get into the north side of the park and there were not that many people there.

At first when I found out that this park was named after a former Broward County Commissioner my jaded nature of politicians kicked in. But further research about Annie Kolb, the centers namesake ,revealed her to be a strong environmentalist. She had convinced the Commission here to pass the Urban Wilderness Park System to preserve endangered lands. Her efforts placed a building moratorium in Southwest Boward County for 61,000 acres. The Florida Wildlife Association named her conservationist of the year in 1977.

Because of her foresight this park was created and the 1,500 acres preserved. Ok maybe I was wrong.

The Nature center is enclosed within WestLake Park. It has been converted to protected coastal Mangrove wetlands and native plants and wildlife.

The idea is to return this area to a native habitat and remove the exotic plant species.

They have built several nature trails that you can walk extending out into the mangroves. The area is mud flats and wet ground so the elevated paths are great.

They are all made out of that gray plastic composite from recycled plastic. This picture is from a top a five story observation tower in the park of one of the nature trails.

I got the feeling that this place was serious about teaching conservation . The more that I read and saw the more I liked it.

The grounds also has lots of wild flowers growing along with native plants to this area.

Here is some Lantana Plant which does great in the heat here and is drought tolerant. Did I say it is a fantastic Butterfly attractor.

They even give you an excuse to have some weeds in your lawn as well as a reason to stop wasting your money on Weed and Feed.

The issue of pesticide use to me now is pretty much common sense. Whatever you spray on your lawn or plants sooner or later you will be drinking in your water or eating in your food.

Some more wildflowers growing along the walkways.

These are Blanketflower which grow really well here .

But the real star of the place is the Mangroves themselves. This park is covered in Mangrove wetlands. The Mangrove trees themselves are really not that impressive to look at compared to a lot of other trees at first glance.

But when you begin to learn just how important the mangrove tree is to the marine ecosystem they take on a new light. The Mangroves provide the nursery for countless juvenile marine fishes as well as wildlife. Their tangled root systems provide protection for the fish and wildlife giving them a place to hide and prosper.

This picture is of the Mangrove roots. It was low tide so they are visible . You can see the white tide lines on the roots to tell where the high tide water will come up to on the plants. Don't they make a great hiding place for juvenile fish.

I thought this park to be an outstanding example of what we could do to conserve some of our native habitats. Personally I would much rather have my tax money spent on an effort like this than on another baseball stadium. Maybe I'm just weird. It just seems that we have to be stewards of nature.

After a while we went to the other side of the park and rented some Kayaks for a few hours adventure. There are three Kayak trails carved out of the Mangroves that you can paddle down or you can just paddle around in the large shallow saltwater lake.

It is a great way to observe nature close up as you want and have a lot of fun doing it.

The canals extend all the way out to the inter coastal waterway just inside the beach shoreline.

The bottom line here is that Westlake Park and the Anne Kolb Nature Center is a really neat place. Not a lot of people , Minimal costs and a lot to see both plants and wildlife.

Then add in a bright blue South Florida sky, Fresh air , and a sultry pre- summer day. Topped by being surrounded by your best girls. Who could want more?

--SANDDUNE--

PASSION ON THE BACKPORCH

2010-05-06T14:57:00.011-04:00

-CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE IT-

Well maybe the Title is subject to different interpretations. The only thing steamy going on around here is the weather. Summer is fast approaching and the South Florida heat and humidity is fast climbing.

This week has been hotter than a goat's butt in a pepper patch as we say in the South.

Anyway the Passion that I am referring to happens to be the Passion Vine.

I had one growing last year and now they spring up on their own at random points in the yard.

This one sprung up next to the concrete on my back porch. Instead of pulling it up I let er grow up the support of my back porch awning.

After it reached the awning roof I strung out some wire in both directions and the passion vine has been growing sideways along the wire.

It has gotten pretty big and I can sit on my back porch and watch what's happening with the vine. Turns out to be kind of interesting. The passion vine has lots of activity going on.

The Butterflies are attracted to it as a place to lay their eggs. There have been both Gulf Fritillarys and Zebras on the plant every day this week. It's what's known as a host plant for these Butterflies and they have flocked to my back porch to get to this plant.

Once the eggs are laid and hatch the Caterpillars emerge and start eating the Passion vine leaves.

This Caterpillar here shown munching away is from a Zebra Heliconian Butterfly.

Apparently they just hang around eating all day getting fatter and fatter. Kinda like humans in a way seems to me.

This Caterpillar is from a Gulf Fritillary Butterfly.

It too is enjoying the salad bar of the leaves of this Passion vine.

But you have to be tough to be a Caterpillar because as they are busy eating away other insects are eyeing them as a tasty lunch.

The Mockingbirds sure wouldn't pass up one of these plump morsels. But for now they stay away whenever someone is on the porch.

However their are other Caterpillar predators lurking in the Passion Vine .

This little fat cat fell victim to one of the many other insects that like to call the Passion vine home.

For those Caterpillars that survive they stop eating and move on to the next evolution which is forming their chrysalis.

This is one of the Zebra Caterpillars that formed a chrysalis on the Passion vine .

I watched it the other night as it gyrated itself around repeatedly weaving itself into a case.

It will stay this way for around 10 days and emerge as a new Zebra Butterfly.

The Passion Vine is covered in different insects as it gives out a sweet scent that is attractive to them.

I don't mind that the Caterpillars are eating the vine as it is cool just to sit and watch everything that is going on. And to be surrounded by Butterflies throughout the day is kinda neat also.

So now the Title becomes clear as I do have passion on the back porch :-]

--Sanddune--

ORCHID OBSERVATIONS

2010-04-29T11:54:00.009-04:00

I have to admit to having a certain fascination with Orchids. One that apparently is shared with many gardening enthusiasts.

The most common Orchid that I notice being sold around these parts is called the Phalaenopsis. It is the Orchid with hound dog ears or thick floppy leaves that send up growth spikes. These growth spikes arch and form fantastic colorful blooms at the ends.

Being that there are literally thousands of hybrids of the Phalaenopsis Species the color patterns are endless.

As with any new plant the idea is to watch it, make observations, and try to figure out what to do to keep it happy.

Here are some of my observations on how to keep the Phalaenopsis happy.

I am no expert by any stretch of my imagination but here is what has worked for me .

The Phal is an Orchid that likes filtered light. It doesn't like being put in direct sun or it will burn. It is kinda like people wanting to stay in the shade on a hot day. All my Orchids stay outside and are only brought inside to protect them from freezing temperatures.

In nature the Phalaenopsis is epiphytic. That is just a fancy two dollar word means in nature they like to attach themselves to trees. Most of them locally are sold in plastic containers with many drain holes in the bottom. To keep them happy best I can figure you water them same as they would get in nature by the rainfall sitting on a tree. This means not too much but every now and again. Make sure that the water that you do give them can freely drain out the bottom of the container you keep them in.

I use collected rainwater on the ones I have. Just makes sense to me as the city water is chocked full of chemicals used to purify it.

These Phals get water once or twice a week depending on how windy and hot it has been. Don't allow water to set in the v formed by the leaves so it doesn't get crotch rot.

Here's a Phal trick that I learned. When the blooms eventually die don't cut off the stalk back to the leaves. If you look on the stalk you will see raised areas every few inches. As in the above picture these are growth centers on the stalk. If you clip the stem an inch or so above one of these growth centers the stalk will sent out a new brack of blooms from that growth center.

Here is a picture of one of the Phal stalks that I clipped above the growth center last year.

You can see that the plant has regenerated a new growth stem from the growth center below the point the stem was clipped.

So what is the best way to tell if your Phal is healthy. Look at the two top leaves. The top leaves are the new growth on your plant. The leaves under them are old and will sometimes turn yellow. So if the top two look healthy you are doing fine. Remember the plant you got probably came from a greenhouse and was grown under ideal conditions.

Here is a picture of that same new stem a month later. The first new flower is beginning to open .

The Phalaenopsis flowers open successively or one at a time in order along the stem.

One of the best kept secrets of the Phalaenopsis is that is really not that hard to grow and keep happy. And the blooms last quite a long time and are spectacular. Two of my Phalaenopsis Orchids are still blooming from last Thanksgiving . What's that about five months now.

Here is a picture of the new bloom fully opened on the new growth stem.

It's hard not to become addicted to Orchid collecting because of their exotic beauty.

Hope the above observations help you with your Phalaenopsis Orchid. All I can claim is that is what works for me here in South Florida.

--Sanddune--

RECLAIMING THE DESERT

2010-04-24T17:06:00.009-04:00

In that last week was Earth Week there were some good shows on PBS showing the man made desertification of vast areas of the world. Best I could figure folks clear cut the trees destroying the shade and falling biomass the trees provided to renourish the soil leading to the natural soil cycle being disrupted. With nothing to hold and replenish the topsoil it eroded and blew away.

The bottom line is the importance of the soil. The more that I study Organic methods and Permaculture it seems to always lead back to the same thing. The SOIL. Feed the soil and protect it and the plants will grow to feed you. Neglect the health of your soil and the micro organisms it contains at your peril.

On a macro scale of the same principal in my own backyard I have areas that have turned into almost pure sand. I figure that its time that start to reclaim some of the useless areas and repair the damage .

First step was to make an addition to my crop circle area over into a pretty much dead area of sand and weeds.

I took some 4x4 x8 posts and painted them with concrete stain that had been sitting for awhile in my shed.

I cut two short pieces with my old skill saw and add some corner support in the form of some spare shelf brackets screwed in. Instant raised bed.

Next was the cure involving removing the weeds and adding the Magic ingredients to start healing the soil. That magic ingredient is compost. The compost will enable the sand to retain moisture and give it some structure.The micro organisms in the compost will start to heal the soil.

The compost was mixed almost a foot deep and mixed well with the sand.

I was immediately rewarded from my digging and mixing effort.

I found my long lost wire nippers. Buried under the sand there they were . I mean how cool is that! I have been looking for these damn things since 1983.

I mean the soil gave them back in return for giving it some nourishment. I mean sometimes there are omens and they can mean something. What I have no idea.

Ok where was I ? Oh yeah. Time for the next ingredient Mulch. The soil in the new bed was then covered with a couple inches worth of eucalyptus mulch. The Mulch will keep the soil from drying out and protect it from the sun. It will also break down over time and add its own compost to enrich the soil.

That's the organic one two punch. Compost and mulch. It's kinda like baking a cake. Add the ingredients and let her cook!

This small raised bed is the perfect answer to an area that was of little use even to raise weeds before.

Finding my lost wire nippers and the perfect solution to my micro desertification of my soil all in the same day could only mean one thing.

That's right. Time to plant some Summer Squash to celebrate good times!

These Summer Crookneck seeds were free as part of a catalog promotion.

What could possibly look better popping up out of the new raised bed garden than these guys.

So as the inaugural crop in this bed I direct sowed the Squash seed . I found a empty plastic bottle in the trash and used it to create some temporary plant spacers to hold back the mulch until the Squash sprouts. Worked out pretty good . I just rescued the plastic bottle , Turned it on it's side , and cut it into slices. Each slice was like a donut that will serve to hold back the mulch until the seedlings are big enough.

So there it is ! A reclaimated sand pit into an raised soil hospital. I'll take that with a side of Squash thanks.

And if you look closely that's another small slice of former dead grass and weeds that will not have to be mowed this summer.

Anyway that's my Earth Week contribution from the sand pit.

--Sanddune--

MY ORGANIC SANDPIT

2010-04-17T13:43:00.013-04:00

Seems like a fine day to update the news from my backyard garden adventure commonly referred to as my organic sandpit. It is typical April weather for South Florida with the wind gusting to 25 knots. It is a sure sigh that Summer is fast approaching here.

Another sure sign is the return of the bugs to the garden. As the weather gets hotter the bugs show up in greater numbers ready to chow down on the plants.

Some newly arrived bug has been chowing down on my Bougainvillea.

Whatever it is it comes out at night to eat. I am going to spray the plants with Neem oil as a natural bug control. It doesn't kill the bugs right away but makes them stop eating over time.

This week my Momma Yellow Shrimp plant was put out to pasture. It was growing to large for the pot that I had grown it in. It is a Justicia Lutea for those so inclined.

It was given it's own spot in the sandpit where it can grow to it's hearts content. Of course it was given a wire cage to protect it from my dogs.

These are pretty common tropical plants here and will grow into a large shrub if the conditions are right.

This baby Shrimp is getting it's first flowers. It was propagated from a cutting taken from the above Momma Shrimp back in November of 09.

Best of all the price was right for my organic sandpit garden. Free!

And there is breaking news from the shade tree ring of death. Apparently the stick Swamp Mimosa tree is making a comeback. Best I can figure is it saw me giving it the evil eye and figured it had better do something before it became a folk art rustic Tomato stake.

In the last two weeks it has exploded with new growth. Maybe all it needed after all was an attitude adjustment.

Here is a picture of the new growth emerging from the top of the main stick.

I have no idea if the Swamp Mimosa goes through a dormant period but it is now highly motivated and coming back strong.

This is a prime example of one of my South Florida gardening rules in action.

The rule is, if it looks completely dead give it 30 days. It doesn't always work but sometimes it does.

And some new arrivals into my organic sandpit garden.

This guy is a bloom from the Grampa Ott Morning Glory.

The rich color of the bloom is outstanding . This plant is starting to cover the stump now and has had several blooms already.

It is a heirloom plant grown from seed. Hopefully the stump will be filled with the royal blue and purple flowers from this plant.

And an update on the Neem tree seeds that were started on April 2nd. Out of four seeds started I have one seed that has germinated so far.

These seeds are hard to germinate as they must be fresh. I am going to start five more seeds of the Neem and hope for another plant out of the group. I may have waited to long for the planting of the other seed.

Hopefully I will be able to keep this plant going and it will mature into a great tree. But experimenting with the exotic is part of the fun of gardening.

---Sanddune--

DAY 100 ALREADY

2010-04-10T16:50:00.013-04:00

That's right today is the 100th day of 2010 and the 100th day of the 2010 challenge. The year is going pretty fast but the transformation of the garden to organic and permaculture methods is shaping up one small step at a time.

Really it makes me feel good not to have to rely on chemical fertilizer and pesticides to grow the garden. There are plenty of natural solutions to many of the plant issues and it is kind of fun to learn and experiment to see if they work. It has certainly made me think before I plant something .

Anyway I am not out to change the world just my little piece of it.

Here is some parts of my backyard garden garden and how it is coming along.

This is the bird corner. It has plenty of cover for the birds to hide in and is a great place just to sit and watch the birds from my back porch. The wildlife put on a free show all day long and add a lot to the gestalt of a garden.

The bulbs in bloom are Amaryllis's. They are over 60 years old handed down from several generations. They bloom every spring right on schedule each year and kind of signal the approach of the rain season and hotter weather.

The Doves like to hang out on the power lines over the bird area and chew the fat.

To my Northern friends, " chew the fat" is Southern for hanging around talking about nothing in particular.

Every once in awhile the Doves will get into a savage fight over the pecking order for who gets to get on the feeder in what order. After being witness to some of their brawls makes me wonder how they became the bird of peace symbol.

Over to the old Mango stump I figured to dress it up some.

I planted this Nasturtium from seed in one of the cricks of the stump figuring it will add some color. I'm hoping that it will get big before the summer heat cooks it. And even if the sun does cook it the leaves and flowers are edible. How's that for a permaculture plant. If it starts looking bad you just eat it!

At the base of the stump I put the Grampa Ott Morning Glory of course started from seed. It is a heirloom type of Morning Glory dating back generations. It is starting to cover parts of the stump and I am anticipating some spectacular blooms from this plant.

Speaking of salad here is the update on some of the Cucumber seeds that I started a while back.

They are flowering and the baby Cucs are visible right behind the flower.

Won't be long for the Cucs will be Cucin'.

Add some of the Nasturtium leaves and Everglades Tomato's and a fresh garden salad is in the makin'.

Back on the permaculture front this here is my latest planting bed. It is a custom job that I made from 4x4x8 posts . It got a coat of concrete stain that was sitting in the shed for color. The fence is a dog barrier to keep my mutts from trampling the plants in the bed.

This bed is for Comfrey plants. They will be used for making Comfrey Tea to feed the vegetables. The Comfrey is also medicinal for use as a poultice on sprains and cuts.

I was able to get six root cuttings of Blocking 14 cultivar of Russian Comfrey.

This type can be harvested like four times a year for the leaves. It grows quickly and produces a lot of biomass.

This Comfrey is growing already three days after planting a bare root slice.

These Comfrey plants will serve as to make a bio dynamic tea for the garden plants. Also the leaves are for the compost pile as a starter.

To learn more about organic gardening is one of my 2010 challenge goals. I have to thank African Aussie for the Comfrey idea. She mentioned the plant in her blog which led to me researching it and deciding to try it out.

That's the poop for day 100 of the challenge.

---Sanddune--

THE PERFECT TREE

2010-04-02T18:43:00.008-04:00

Awhile back I was struck with the notion of placing a shade tree in the backyard. The summer sun is so intense out there and my old sun diffuser a huge Mango tree fell victim to hurricane Wilma back in 2005.

With the idea percolating in the back of my mind last May I was able to obtain a Mimosa tree to plant. It came from a tidal swamp up in Jacksonville, Florida.

I'm not really sure what kind it is so I just settled for calling it a swamp Mimosa.

I brought the small Mimosa back home and planted it out in the sunny spot that I concluded a shade tree was needed. It was in kinda sad shape when I planted it from the trip and the heat in the truck. The Mimosa looked hopeful and was perking up when one of my dogs started pulling it out of the ground and running around with it in his teeth. I replanted it for about the third time and constructed a fence circle around it to deter the mutt.

As the summer progressed the Mimosa was growing taller and sending out new leave shoots. It was looking fine then suddenly started getting eaten by some unknown insect.

This is a picture of the Swamp Mimosa back in September before the insects munched out on it.

Today the Mimosa looks like a bare five foot pole.

So keeping with my garden rule not to compost any plant until waiting 30 days to see if it will come back I left the stick sit .

A week or so ago when weeding under some hedges I found a small tree growing. I pulled it out then figured maybe this tree was the answer. It is a native and seemed to be growing well under the bushes. I have no idea what kind of tree this is but I planted it in the tree circle with the Mimosa stick.

Well it didn't take too long to figure out why this new tree was growing so well under the bush. Apparently it can't stand the sun especially the intense sun my backyard gets.

What a wimp. This shade loving Bush Tree is toast or resembles it closely if you look at the color.

Here is what the plant looks like now a week later.

After careful review of my new shade tree selections and how they have failed to deliver inside the tree ring I have renamed this circle the shade tree ring of death.

Anyway back to the story-- It struck me that something drastic was in order to get a tree that is tough enough to survive the broiling sun and hungry insects.

So after some careful research I think I have the tree selected that I want to grow here .

It had to meet the following criteria:

1- Withstand the blistering direct South Florida Sun.

2- Grow in sandy nutrient deficient soil.

3- Be drought tolerant.

4- Provide filtered shade.

5- Be something different than every other tree around here.

What I have decided upon is growing a Neem tree from seed.

This tree meets all of my criteria and is really super cool. The seeds that I ordered last week and got today had to be shipped from Zanzibar through a U.S. dealer.

Bet you don't know where Zanzibar is. I didn't-- but it is in the United Republic of Tanzania. Still don't know where it is do you?

Ha Ha. I told you the tree had to be different. I mean how exotic is that, a Neem tree from East Africa.

The benefits from the Neem tree are too numerous to list but here is a link if anyone is interested. It is fascinating reading.

http://www.discoverneem.com/neem-tree.html

The experiment starts today as I just started four seeds.

If they grow this might end my search for the perfect tree. I'm even considering tempting fate and planting one of them in the shade tree ring of death if they come up.

---SANDDUNE--

PATIENCE PAYS

2010-03-27T13:20:00.008-04:00

It seems that having patience has paid of in the form of some cool Blanket flower blooms. I first saw this flower in bloom in a planted bed out in Los Angeles, California in 2008.

The blooms were so sharp and colorful that it went on my list of plants that I wanted to try in South Florida.

Last spring I started a couple of Gaillardia Aristata seeds to stick in the garden. After they germinated they were transferred to a planting brick where one of the plants got trampled by my dogs and the other grew slowly under the foliage of a bigger plant.

Back in January of this year I dug up the plant to use the planting block for something else. It was stuck in a beat up plastic pot with some homemade compost. I added some holes to the pot top and some wire and made it into a hanging basket.

This was moved out front into the sun and hung up so I could keep an eye on it from the porch.

I had read that the blanket flower likes the sun and that it doesn't like much water.

It didn't take long to figure out that in this hanging pot and South Florida sun the rules didn't apply here.

I found that this plant takes a large drink cup of water per day to keep it from wilting and happy. Exposed to the wind and sun the moisture is quickly evaporated from a hanging basket here.

I had also read that this perennial wild flower doesn't bloom the first year when planted from seed. Of course this didn't apply either because with the warmer weather and its one large cup of rainwater per day the Blanketflower has prospered.

It is now as happy as a pig in ...Ah well anyway it is content and sending out stems with blooms in bursting color.

It may look kind of funky in the hanging basket but I like it . I mean after all this is South Florida where the normal is considered unusual.

The blooms of the blanket flower are so bright you have to love them,right.

The reward for a little patience is well worth it.

And how does this figure in with your 2010 Challenge you ask.....

Well i'm fittin' to tie it all together.

First I had to research the flower to determine what it was in the first place. Then read up on what exactly it likes to grow well. Then disregard everything that I had read because in South Florida the gardening rules don't work here.

Second I grew this plant from seed . One seed at a cost of maybe a dime . It was planted in a rejected old pot that had been saved from the garbage. It was made into a hanging pot with the simple addition of a few holes in the pot rim and a few feet of wire that I was able to bend and twist into the hanger supports.

And last it is growing in the compost that I made in my backyard and watered with saved rainwater.

Did I mention that the Blanket flower is a Perennial that will last for more than one year and re bloom again.

This plant has done well here and I give it the much coveted Sanddune Seal of Approval.

---SANDDUNE--

ZONE 10 CROP CIRCLE

2010-03-23T12:57:00.009-04:00

One of the challenges of urban gardening is using the limited space available to the best advantage. Although my yard is small it has lots of hidden potential.

I have been trying to wrap my mind around using the principals of permaculture to use the space that I do have in a more sustainable way that works with nature and for me.

I started studying Permaculture a short while back from a link posted by Africanaussie. In her Australian garden she is using some of the ideas with great success. Here is her blog site:
http://africanaussie.blogspot.com/
And the site for learning about Permaculture:
http://www.tropicalpermaculture.com/

One of the areas of my yard came to mind that could be improved is the area around my old Mango tree stump.

This area is a path that I walk around most every time I go in the backyard.

It gets full sun most all the day long making it a great place to have my container vegetables.

The space gets little water as it is outside the reach of my lawn sprinkler so the grass is mostly dead.

The dogs use this area as a trail.
This area is hard to mow and hard to keep the grass looking half decent.

So with the permaculture principals in mind I have converted the space into my own crop circle.

Here is the rear view of the crop circle. Well actually it isn't a circle but it is good enough for government work as my father used to say.

What advantages did this achieve?
The circle eliminates much of the hard to grow and mow grass area and converts it to a mulched pathway around the stump.
The 4x4 posts side by side give me a stable platform to set the 5 gallon containers on. This gets them up off of the ground assuring they will drain properly out of the holes in the container bottoms. It also gives me about 25 linear feet of raised surface to set my vegetable containers on around the ring.

The mulched area inside the ring leaves a path to access all the containers around the stump as well as a path for the dogs . The dogs like it already and have been lying in the path soaking up the sun.

Here is the entrance view to the crop circle area.

It benefits me by reducing my lawn area while still utilizing the sunny space for the vegetables.

This simple change has transformed the gestalt of the area making it more inviting and aesthetically pleasing.

Or as we say in the South it looks more better!

---SANDDUNE--

A ROLL OF THE PLANT DICE

2010-03-17T14:30:00.013-04:00

Back around the first of the year I was up in North Florida for a few days. On that trip I brought back a Brunfelsea Pauciflora or Yesterday,Today and Tomorrow plant.

It has been sitting out back until I finally got around to moving it up to the new rock bed.

At this time I discovered that several stowaways had come along for the ride along with the original plant.

Growing out the side of the container were two uninvited plants. Best I can figure they figured life might be warmer down in South Florida and decided to come on down.

Whatever the reason , the fact is two free new plants for the garden.

After extracting the first stowaway I stuck it in an old pot so It could be studied some.

I have no clue as to exactly what this first plant is.

Stowaway number two is obviously some type of Tomato plant.

It was extracted and planted in one of the five gallon containers that are used for growing vegetables.

What makes this a roll of the dice is that I have no idea what the parent Tomato was.

There are so many different Tomato types it could be anything. I am going to try to grow it just for fun to see what it turns out to be.

Chances are that it reseeded itself from a hybrid type Tomato . If that is the case there is no telling what this plant will look like or produce.

Seeds taken and grown from hybrid plants most often do not result in the same traits as the original hybrid plant.

http://www.primalseeds.org/hybrid.htm

A good example of this is a Marigold plant that I grew from seed last year.

The seeds were taken from a spent flower on a Marigold plant that was really exceptional. I planted the saved seed expecting to grow a plant like the one that I took the seed from.

What I ended up with was a mutant Marigold. The plant grew bigger and bigger until it was almost three feet tall.

The whole time it grew there was never had a single bloom or flower bud on it.

It was quite interesting to watch but obvious that the seed I had collected came from a planted hybrid.

With the mutant Marigold in mind I am going to grow the stowaway Tomato hoping that it grew from an open pollinated heirloom plant. Just for the fun of it.

After all they were free and that's how they got the old saying ," never look a gift horse in the mouth".

P.S. If anyone knows what the plant is in the second picture please to let me know.

---Sanddune---

FEEDING THE SOIL

2010-03-13T12:33:00.013-05:00

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Probably the greatest gardening obstacle that I face here in South Florida is the soil itself. My yard is composed mostly of sand with few nutrients for the plants.

The goal is to change that organically and thus give the plants a healthy place to prosper. The best answer that I can find is to make compost and add it to the areas that are to be planted. Hopefully over time this will enrich the soil and thus empower the plants.

My plan is to feed the soil and not the plants. A long term strategy to be sure but an obtainable goal. Chemical fertilizer is out and compost is in.

Living in a city it is not that easy to find material to compost. I rely heavily on what few fallen leaves and hedge clipping that I can get from my yard to fill the compost bin. When the wet season starts up again I will have lots of grass clippings to add.

In the meantime I have to scrounge up whatever is available to fuel the compost bin.

The biomass that I have now is the Avocados that have fallen in my yard.

It is a fight over them because they are a favorite here.

The Squirrels and fruit Rats want them to eat as well as do the birds and dogs. I want them for my compost.

We all seem to manage to take our share. I was chopping the Avocados up to add to the bin today.

Removing them from the lawn caused some hurt feelings with the dogs who regard them as their property.

They made sure that they got a few pieces for themselves before the bucket of chopped Avocados was dumped.

But sacrifices have to be made for the good of the order. The old coffee grounds and Avocado pieces were dumped in the bin .

I have been looking around for some free sources of compost and mulch around here. Some city's give it out free. Apparently Miramar is not one of those citys as far as I can find out.

I know that they grind the Metaleuca Trees into mulch here. It is supposed to be termite and nematode resistant. I think the city here uses it in the parks but do not share with the taxpaying residents.

In other news around the garden the plants seem to be perking up to the warmer temperatures.

Although a few are still confused as is this Christmas Cactus which is now blooming like crazy.

One of the free volunteers from the garden this Cuban Buttercup was blooming also this morning. They like the sunshine and will have blooms all summer long.

I potted up a couple of them to take up to North Florida later this month.

They will become trading capital along with some Mandevilla cuttings for some other plants that I have had on my would like to aquire list.

The Cardinal Air Plant is still evolving its bloom also. It is a Florida native that is endangered here.

It is most happy just to sit in the tree and collect rainwater.

The bloom is slowly changing color and it looks really neat right now.

As for the 2010 Challenge more of the started seeds have been planted out to the garden.

Some of the smaller sprouts are still in the yogurt cups. They are getting some sun and wind exposure to toughen them up by being set temporarily into the 5 gallon containers.

The larger plants in the containers are the Cucumbers started last month from seed.

The gray bucket contains rainwater left to warm up in the sun for when the plants get thirsty.

---Sanddune---

SIMPLER EACH DAY

2010-03-09T18:50:00.011-05:00

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It occurred to me today that the 2010 challenge is really becoming second nature. Quite a bit of my garden is established and returns each year by itself with minimal care.

These Amaryllis plants have been in the garden for years. They return to bloom every spring. The bulbs are sending up their bloom shoots now and in several weeks the garden will be covered in their blooms.

The seeds that were started last year are growing fine without the use of chemical fertilizer or pesticides.

This one is a Gaillardia Aristata or Blanket flower grown from seed.

I stuck it in an old recycled pot ,added compost from the bin, and added some wire to make it into a hanging basket.

All it gets now is water and an occasional shot of compost tea. It appears happy and is also sending up flower shoots.

Matter of fact for my plant something each week goal I started four more of

the Blanketflower seeds today.

By starting seeds each week it gives a continual stream of new plants to put out in the garden.

Since these are perennial wildflowers they should come back for more than one year.

I can then collect and save the seeds and will not have to buy the seed pack again to start new plants.

That is the goal of frugal sustainable gardening.

This is a cutting that came from my Mandevilla vine.

It should give me a new plant for this summer.

It was also put in some compost from the bin and some newspaper mulch added to hold in the moisture.

This week some of my older sprouted seeds went out into the garden on so I could reuse the yogurt cups to replant more seeds.

One of the new plants from seed that went out is this Grampa Ott Morning Glory.

It is a Bavarian type Morning Glory that was brought over from Germany in 1883.

The seeds were given to Diane Wheatly [Ott] in 1972 by her grandfather. Thus the name Grampa Ott.

I planted this one by my old tree stump and hope that it will grow to cover some of the stump.

If it does well I will be able to collect seeds from it . See what I mean about the challenge becoming second nature.

--Sanddune----

STUMP EVOLUTION

2010-03-06T16:04:00.008-05:00

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It has been said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This magnificent piece of stump art evolved from a large Mango tree in my backyard.

Back in October of 2005 I was struck with the inspiration to create this piece.

It just so happened on that very same day I was also struck with hurricane Wilma and her 120 mph winds.

That fateful day my Mango sacrificed itself to Wilma's fury and became the object of some chainsaw art.

After cutting and cutting and more

cutting I finally pooped out.

The stump has been a permanent fixture in my backyard ever since.

I cut her off level so it is also a natural table. The Y has been used to hold different plants over time . This one is a Cardinal Air plant in bloom.

My wife, not to be outdone by my artistic chainsawin' ,added the face to the stump. It can be seen in the first picture. Sort of adds that evil forest look .

Sort of creepy if you ask me but of course she didn't.

Next the figurine went on top holding the light.

Over time the bark has fell off and the weather has changed the stumps appearance.

It now hosts some form of growth like a white shelf. I say this because they are like a half plate emerging from the stump. I am not sure just what they are but can attest they are hard as a rock and make a great shelf to set your coffee cup on .

Anyway, art piece or eyesore the old stump is evolving every day into something else.

Way I see it it makes a good termite rod. Kind of like using the Principal of a lightning rod. Hope is it will draw the termites to it instead of my house.

To update the 2010 Challenge this week has been kinda slow. The temperatures dipping down into the 40's at night has slowed down my seed starts from germinating.

Seeds like both warmth and moisture to germinate. Being outside the cold air has put them on hold for a time.

In the meantime I was able to repot several plants that had been propagated from cuttings back in November of 2009.

This one is a Yellow Shrimp plant that is now big enough to go outside on it's own.

As the weather warms up this plant should really take off.

These Purple Bougainvillea Were also repotted and set out in the sun.

They were made from cuttings from last November also.

Guess this is a good time to just pull weeds this week and wait for the temperatures to get a little more stable.

---Sanddune----------------------------------------

WEATHER EFFECTS

2010-03-02T16:01:00.011-05:00

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It might just be me but has anyone noticed your garden behaving strange from the weather lately?

This Christmas Cactus is blooming in March. It seems a little confused. My local temperatures have gone from the mid 80's to the mid 40's as each successive cold front rolls through.

Usually the cold fronts don't make it this far South at this time of year.

The difference in weather here in Florida this year is due to El Nino. It is a natural cycle occurrence every two to five years due to periodic warming of the
central and eastern pacific waters. El Nino usually lasts about 12 months and the one we are in now was announced July 9th 2009.

It effects the subtropical jet stream allowing for cooler and wetter weather in reach down in Florida.

Researchers predicted for Florida that the Winter temperatures would decrease 40% from normal and that we would get 50% more rain during the dry months here.

For Central and South Florida El Nino significantly increases the chances for tornado and for severe weather.

So the extra long January freeze and the rolling cold fronts were predicted and can be attributed to El Nino conditions.

The good news is that the El Nino going on now helped from us getting slammed by a hurricane last season. Also the wetter conditions reduced the number of wildfires that we have been getting in the past few years during the dry season.

So for a few more months we can expect unusual weather for Florida.

That was no consolation for my Black Flamingo plant.

This is how it looked in early December when the temperatures here were still warm and toasty.

This plant is Chrysothemus pulchella if you like.

It likes the shade and has leathery coppery green leaves.

I found out while it likes the heat and being in the shade it doesn't like the cold fronts we have been getting.

And here is the proof. This is my Black Flamingo now.

Below 50 degree's apparently it didn't like.

The upside is that when consistant summer weather arrives it is supposed to come back again.

Anyway I still have the Orchid's blooming to cheer things up.

This one is soaking up some late afternoon sun.

It is a Phalaenopsis type named Chien Xen Pearl.

And some more progress toward my 2010 challenge .

For this week I started six more seeds in the yogurt cups.

They include:

2-Butterfly flower [Asclepias Tuberosa]

2- Sunflower

1- Jubilee heirloom Tomato

1-super beefsteak Tomato

------Sanddune----

TEA TIME

2010-02-27T21:54:00.009-05:00

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Figured it was high time to make some tea for the plants. They all have been through a rough time this year so far with the unusual long January freeze and the strong winds lately.

Going back to some folk wisdom and some organic gardening basics I came up with this concoction.

It is manure tea with a dash of Epsom salts. Should be just the thing to perk up my beat down plants.

A couple of trowel scoops of cow manure go into the brew and just a tablespoon or so of the Epsom salt. I put the ingredients into some Arizona tea containers that I had saved up. The containers are thick plastic, hold about somewhere around a gallon or so, and are great to reuse to mix stuff in.

Next added some rain water collected in 5 gallon buckets during the passing cold front this week. Put on the cap and shake the brew up and let her sit in the sun. After a few days of settin' in the sun it will be ready to pour on the base root zone of the plants.

Will it help? Who knows, but I figure it couldn't hurt.

The manure adds organic matter to the soil which forms humus which helps the plants take up nutrients and minerals. Mixed with water in the tea it gets to the root zone quicker.

The Epsom salts are a naturally occurring mineral. It is actually hydrated Magnesium sulphate. It is easy for sandy soil to lack Magnesium so I have heard.

The other part of the Epsom salts is sulfur. Plants not getting enough sulfur show light green or yellow leaves. Got plenty of that going on in the garden.

Lots of gardeners for generations use Epsom salts on there plants. Some say it works wonders to make the plant grow stronger others say that it don't.

Anyway, here is the finished concoction ready to go after it ages some.

On the weird side ever seen whats left of an Avocado after it is attacked by black birds.

I have been throwing the Avocado's in a small area of my yard. The flocks of hungry blackbirds arrive and strip away everything but the seed.

Kind of like watching some of them Amazon piranhas attack something.

On the plant front my Mandevilla vine is sprouting some new growth.

I cut the vine off back to bare stick several weeks ago.

The new leaves started popping out this week.

It is a great plant and loves the heat and humidity here in the summertime. This plant never fails to provide
blooms year after year here.

And lastly, [ Is lastly a word? ] Thanks to Susan for identifying this plant for me.

It is a Brazilian Plume Pink Flamingo.

I took some cuttings from it last week that I hope will grow so I can stick it in my garden and maybe it will bloom this summer.

I like the way this plant blooms. To me, it looks like a big firework going off.

------sanddune---------

ASSORTED MIDWEEK RAMBLINGS

2010-02-25T14:10:00.012-05:00

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Some of the older plants that were stuck out in my garden are blooming.

These had been originally put out in the full Florida sun which immediately cooked them.

When they looked dead I stuck the pots in an secluded corner in the shade and forgot about them.

Seems that was the best thing for them as over several years they have flourished.

This one is some type of Begonia given to me by my brother in law. It was stuck away for at least five years.

These next two are both kalanchoes. I have no idea where they came from but figure that my wife must have bought them to stick out in the garden at some point in time.

They both were stuck away under a large fern until last December when I noticed them blooming and brought them back up front.

I put a picture of one of them on a blog post thinking they were some type of Begonia. Flowerlady responded to that post and identified them for me as Kalanchoe.

Since they are all well and blooming I deduced that these plants don't care for the full sun here to thrive. Also one of my hard learned South Florida Gardening rules has paid off . That is: If it looks dead give it 30 days before you chunk it. In their case they have been hidden for several years. But check out the result!

In other garden ramblings I found these Cuban Buttercups that have self seeded. I have since potted the small plants up to give to a friend.

They are Tunera Ulmifolia if you are so inclined. The grow well here in South Florida and bloom most all summer even in the worst heat.

They are supposed to be the official flower of Cienfuegos,Cuba.

I was given the original plant these came from so that makes my cost Free.

Need some motivation for an organic garden? In return for not spraying poison anymore in my garden Mother Nature has provided the promise of some natural
bug control.

These are Lizard eggs ready to hatch out in time for the rain and bug season as summer approaches.

And lastly some more progress on the 2010 challenge for this week . I put the challenge on the side of the margin to remind myself to do something toward it each week.

I started these seeds for the garden in the recycled yogurt cups with the homemade markers. Using some of my old seeds back to 2007.

They include two more hybrid Cucumbers Park's Pearl.
Two Grampa Ott Morning Glorys.
Four Dwarf Bolero Marigolds.
---sanddune----------------

INTERPRETING THE LANGUAGE

2010-02-23T10:26:00.007-05:00

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This morning I found my Angel Trumpet plant blooming for the first time this year.

It's a Brugsmansia that comes from South America.

Trouble is it speaks neither Spanish or English. But it has been trying to tell me something by it's appearance.

It's saying that it is not totally happy with it's environment and is stressed out.

Even though it is blooming it is not up to it's potential.

It's language is non verbal with the small yellowing leaves and stunted growth. It's said that over 90% of communication is non verbal. Don't believe it just ask any mother who can take one look at her child and know instantly that they are sick.

This picture shows what a happy Angel Trumpet looks like. Notice the difference?

The fact is this plant is from a cutting of the same plant as picture #1 that I gave to a friend several years ago.

Now to figure out just what is making my plant unhappy. Could be the sun. I moved it out into the full sun two years back when it wasn't growing well in the shade.

Maybe it's not getting enough nutrients in the soil. A distinct possibility with my South Florida sand.

Anyway I am taking a new perspective on some of my posts. An viewpoint proposed by one of my gardening blog friends a while back. None other than the Rose Maestro himself, Jim the gaudy gardener.

http://thegaudygarden.blogspot.com/

Jim suggested that most gardening blogs show only their successes and not their failures. I agree and figured out a long time ago that I learn more from what I do wrong than from what I do right.

I have also learned sometimes it's best just to shut up and listen.

So I am soliciting suggestions from anyone with experience with the Angel Trumpet plant.

What do you suggest needs adjusting to make this plant happy.

The Angel Trumpet is a cool plant and really easy to propagate from cuttings.

I have given away many new plants from this one bush.

Just cut the stem like in the picture and stick the stalk in the soil upright and a new plant will grow.

One word of caution. All of this plant is poisonous and can do nasty things to you or a pet if eaten. If you handle it best wear gloves and wash your hands often.

Some stupid folks intentionally eat parts of this plant or make tea from it to get high. Last time I was in Nicaragua a guide told me that it is a local custom for teen girls to drink tea made from the Angel Trumpet plant. The poison it contains causes their eyes to dilate which is supposed to make them more attractive. Crazy.

---sanddune--

SMALL STEPS

2010-02-20T16:48:00.010-05:00

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Even though I was out of town all week I was still able to round up some plants for the garden. I am trying to comply with my 2010 challenge to learn more about sustainable gardening, spend less by using seeds and propagation techniques and to recycle the things I have on hand whenever possible.

I was able to take some cuttings from some plants that I liked to add to my garden.

One was a Kalanchoe that had bright red flowers. I have two of these succulents already a light orange and a dark orange .

The other cutting is from a plant I am not familiar with.

It was still growing strong last week in 20 degree temperatures up North so I have to figure its a pretty tough plant.

Here is a picture from last May of the donor plant in bloom.

I am sure that some one will recognise this plant and tell me what it is. I had my eye on it for awhile and finally got some cuttings from it for my garden.

These guys are Park's Sweet success Cucumbers that I started from seed from the 5Th of this month.

They are replacing the Tomatoes that had been in the five gallon container.

I'm hoping to start some seeds a couple each week so that I can get a continuous crop of the cucumbers up into the summer.

These Sweet Success seeds are hybrids and I plan to start some organic heirloom Cucumber seeds after the hybrid seeds are used up.

Some more of the old seeds that I am starting have sprouted. These are mixed Zinnia plants that I am going to plant around the garden. I have a lot of the Zinnia seeds so I can start several more of them every week also.

The hardest part of changing to organic sustainable gardening is the attitude part. The challenge helps me to set some goals and helps to keep me honest about the methods I use. I really want to move away from the average garden center garden and plants grown by the nursery. Not that there is anything wrong with that it's just you don't learn much .

It's a lot harder to plan ahead and propagate your own plants than to buy them already half grown. The reward is that you learn and at some point I suspect no longer need the garden center. Not to say I am anywhere near that point but I am slowly inching closer. I have found lots of gardeners who will help and share their experiences and techniques if you are willing to ask.

It is a process that is taking a lot longer than I suspected. But there is a lot of forgotten information out there to be learned . Small steps to becoming less dependent and more self sufficient.

I suspect in times past folks knew how to garden organically and grow their own food and garden. Else wise they would have starved. The best part is that it is kind of fun to learn and empower oneself.

---sanddune---

WELCOME BACK

2010-02-12T23:42:00.008-05:00

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One of the noticeable effects of the Florida big freeze in January was that it took out all my Butterflies. I had them visiting everyday in the garden then after the freeze nothing.

I was real happy to see this female Monarch show up on my Mexican Sunflower blooms.

How do I know it is a female? Cause the males have two large black spots on their back wings.

I have really learned a lot about my resident butterfly's and can identify several on sight now.

As a reward for my learnin' this butterfly even posed a while for me to get her picture taken. Another sure clue that she is a female.

It seems like the long extended January freeze here in Florida has really done a lot of damage within the state.

The Governor here Charlie Crist sought a federal disaster declaration for 67 county's. The Florida crop damage is still being assessed and won't be known until March or April. It is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions.

That wont help the average gardener who lost their plants unless you had them insured. In Florida there is over three billion in insurance coverage on crops and 831 million coverage on nursery's. The losses are still being added up.

But besides the damage to the plants here the wildlife has taken a big hit also.

In the Everglades the South Florida authorities have documented 70 North American Crocodiles killed by the cold.

Also 60 Manatee's were found dead from the cold . When the water gets under 68 degrees they experience cold shock that can be fatal.

Across the state over 4,500 green sea turtles washed up on the beaches . When the temp gets below 50 degrees the Turtles go into shock and start floating. The good news is most of the turtles were rescued by the Fish wildlife Conservation Commission and volunteers. They were thawed back out and released .

The fish population was hammered also with fish floating up to the surface days after the freeze. It has killed so many Snook here that the FWC has closed the fishing season on Snook until September when they will reevaluate if it will reopen. Many other Fish were also effected in the state.

The Freeze in January has also killed quite a bit of living coral on our reefs ex specially in the Keys. Our Florida barrier reef is the only living barrier reef in the United States and a priceless treasure.

The weather has caused losses to a lot of folk's throughout the state as well as to our wildlife and reefs.

But there are signs that things are coming back slowly.

Many of the folk's in the gardening blogs that I read indicate they are replacing the lost plants and starting afresh. A good indicator of renewal.

Here in my own garden I found this Lantana plant blooming . After the freeze its leaves turned purple and I thought it was done for but it is back to being green again and is now blooming.

And the butterflies that disappeared are starting to return. Hopefully a positive sign. Welcome back.

---Sanddune----

EVERY DOG HAS HIS DAY

2010-02-09T11:50:00.008-05:00

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The beast barrier project is finally done.

It was a solution to the mud pit the dogs had made and their constant mud tracks onto my back porch.

Grass had no chance here as it is a pathway continually used by three dogs.

This weekend I was able to make considerable progress on the project.

The stakes to secure the 4x4 's were concreted into the ground and the 4x4's lag screwed into the stakes with 5 inch lag screws. I know it sounds like overkill but past experience with hurricanes has taught me to respect their ability to pick up and toss things around.

These 4x4's will not move now, even with me standing on them. I feel confident they will not become shrapnel during a hurricane.

Next was covering the dirt with fabric . I found some of that weed barrier fabric which is woven and lets water through . This should keep the dirt and weeds from coming up from under the rock fill.

As I was working Sunday on the project I was entertained by a free air show.

I live a couple of miles between the North Perry Airport and the Sun Stadium where they played the Super bowl.

Prior to the game and when a no fly rule went into effect the skies were filled with an aerial circus of banner planes, blimps and helicopters. Really wild!

Anyway, 28 bags of marble rock chips later the beast barrier was done.

later that evening when my son came over to watch the Superbowl with me he brought the beast Milo.
Milo is my son's 100 plus pound German Shepherd who made the original

mud hole and the main mud tracker. As is Milo's habit he ran out the backdoor full speed in hopes of surprising a trespassing cat in the back yard.

At full trot he finally looked up and saw the new rock barrier. He was so shocked he tried to stop himself, locking his front paws and almost flipping himself off of the porch.

He then delicately tiptoed across the rocks as if he was crossing a layer of ice over a pond. But only after turning and giving me a nasty look while I was laughing at him.

After seeing that look I knew that this project was a huge success and that the old saying," every dog has his day" is true.

---------sanddune-----

GETTING THERE SLOWLY

2010-02-05T22:48:00.009-05:00

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The beast barrier project is moving forward like molasses in January. I was finally able to cut some 4x4 posts in between rain showers into the frame of the area to be filled with rocks.
I took some old pressure treated boards and cut them into stakes to secure the 4x4's to the ground. This is hurricane country so I figure it is a good idea to secure them so they ain't goin' anywhere.

Now comes the fun part of removing all the grass in the enclosed area .

This is done slowly by hand so that I can recycle the grass to be planted in some of the bare areas of the yard.

I fill up a 5 gallon bucket with the grass then move outside the enclosure and replant it sprig by sprig.

Digging up the grass sprigs led to another discovery.

Not only have the dogs been trampling the grass from the top these here grubs have been eating the grass roots off from the bottom.

That's one of the drawbacks of trying to go organic and not use poisons.

I haven't sprayed the yard with poison for several years now. I will try to find an organic way to treat these grubs if possible. Any ideas?

Anyway in between grass pullin' and replantin' sessions I did make some progress on my 2010 challenge.

I started a bin of old seeds that I had saved up. Some are from 2007 so I have no idea if they will germinate now.

I recycled and reused some of the boards for the barrier project. Reusing and replanting the grass taken from the enclosure area. Am using my old seeds instead of buying new seed this year.

It's a start in the right direction at least.

My 2010 challenge is simple--- Learn more , Buy less, Recycle and utilize what I have on hand.

One other thing that I discovered from plantin' grass sprigs is a different point of view.

Looking up from the ground level I realized just how big this elkhorn has grown.

I found it several years ago the size of a coffee cup saucer on a pine tree in the front yard. Don't know how it came to grow there. I stuck it on this tree and have really not noticed how much it has grown. Pretty neat for free. My kind of plant.

---------sanddune-----------------------------

DEALING WITH THE BEAST

2010-02-02T13:30:00.010-05:00

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The beast has a name . It is Milo and he is my grand dog. He belongs to my son but stays here at the sandpit a lot of the time playing with my other dogs.

Milo is a very good dog but is huge weighing over 100 pounds. Him romping around the backyard has dug up large sections of grass leaving barren dirt holes.

The dogs like to play around at the end of my back porch and have made a dirt pit. I have replanted grass there twice that I pulled up from edging by my fence but the grass is no match for the Beast and his big feet.

Milo has a water bowl on my porch and for some reason known only to him insists on putting his right paw in the water as he drinks. Maybe he is checkin' the depth. Who can say?

Anyway between his wet foot and the dirt pit he makes mud. Of course he tracks the mud across my porch and into my house leaving Milo prints everywhere.

I have been cogitatin' on some solution and finally reached a conclusion. That being that I need to make some type of barrier between the dirt and my porch and I best be doing it soon before the rainy season starts up.

I got some inspiration from reading one of my gardening blog friends post.

http://africanaussie.blogspot.com/2009/12/i-never-promised-you-rose-garden.html

She replaced an area with rock and removed the grass . It looks good and creates a barrier.

With an idea in my head I decided that I am fittin' to take care of this problem. For my northern friends when a southern boy says they are fittin to take care of something best stand by because something is about to happen.

This project is going to take some capital expenditures so I had to steel my resolve and get up off my wallet.

Not that I am cheap but I do tend to have a frugal nature. In fact I have been known to squeeze a quarter so hard that the eagle screamed as they say in the south.

Anyway I broke down and started puttin' up supplies for the project. I hope to work on it this week if time permits.

Getting off the subject I did notice that the Passion Vine is coming back out. You can see where the freeze from the first half of January partially killed some of the leaves. I read in the local paper that if there was still some green in the leaves it is best just to leave them on the plant so I did.

So I am making progress with my list of things that I really ought to do one day. This week it is the beast project that has my attention.
---------sanddune------------------

SIMPLE STUFF

2010-01-28T17:10:00.010-05:00

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It's a good time this week to catch up on some of the things I had been planning to do one day. The simple stuff seems to be the easiest to put off for another day. I have made a firm resolution to work on my list which is fast becoming a book.

Of course the most important comes first which is to fix my wife's broken planter.

She knocked it over and it broke into pieces while we were taking in plants before the big freeze .

Of course if I can fix it back together again I gain plus points.

Some weird contortions and Elmers glue later it is back in one piece sort of.

A few of the pieces didn't fit and others were missing but it pretty much fit together. Good at least for effort points and if you don't look real close almost perfect, gulp.

Plus points are real important in a relationship as any husband will attest to. You bank them for the time you do something stupid at which time you have to cash out. The goal is not getting rich with plus points which is impossible. Breaking even is the best you can hope to do.

Anyway that's done and the points are in the bank. I showed it to her late after dark in the dim light and she acted duly impressed as is her unwritten obligation in the deal because she was the one who broke it. Simple relationship 101.

Getting back to the list I dug up this here Blanket flower plant from out of the garden.

I had planted it there after sprouting it from seed this last summer. I found an old plastic pot and added some wire to it to make this hanging basket.

This way the Blanket flower plant gets the full sun and I get to use some of the pots cluttering up my shed. It is a perennial plant that will not bloom the first year from seed. Hopefully it might bloom this fall.

I have never grown this plant here but I did see one in bloom a while back in L.A. California and thought it looked cool. Here it the picture of the bloom on the one I saw growing in a garden bed in L.A..

It looked like a huge Daisy. I figured if it grows there it will probably do well here. It is susposed to like full sun and little water from what I have read about the plant.

Figured in the hanging basket I could watch it better from my porch. Right now the plant looks like some type of limp lettuce leaves but I have great expectations for it.

After all this list shorten' seemed like a good time to see what there was to see from the rest of the garden.

I found one of my Cardinal Air plants sprouting a bloom spike.

These plants are native Florida Bromeliads. This particular type is endangered in Florida now.

It is really cool to see it blooming or about to bloom anyway. This means it will soon be reproducing by pups after the bloom is done.

And lastly I noticed that my creamsicle geranium is sharing some more of it's roselike blooms.

Well I figure thats a good start on the list anyway.

And it fit in my 2010 challenge by using the resources that I have on hand. Besides that I made points by doing it!
---sanddune------------------------------------------------------------------------

TIME TO RELOAD

2010-01-19T14:12:00.008-05:00

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It looks like my container Tomato experiment has succumb to old age and the elements. This was the first time that I was able to harvest main season Tomatoes here after many attempts. I gave up trying to grow them in the ground {nematodes} and stuck them in some old 5 gallon buckets. They have for me preformed well and provided many a BLT sandwiches during December.

The container Tomatoes were an experiment and here are some observations.
1- Growing in the containers gave several advantages. The plants can be moved around to the best spot for sunlight. The containers get the plant up off the ground and away from some of the hungry bugs.

I still need to fine tune the watering as growing in the containers cause the soil to dry out rapidly.

This Tomato bush is being cut up and going in the compost bin so nothing is wasted.

.
This means it is time to reload the 5 gallon bucket for another round.

I mixed in a couple of shovels of Compost from the bin and worked it into the soil. Then stuck in some Park's Sweet Success Cucumber seeds for the next crop. I have read it is best not to plant the same vegetable but to rotate something different in between. We will see how this one turns out.

Anyway here is some more of the recent cold effects on the garden.

I noticed that some of this Lantana bush's Leaves have turned a dark purple color. Maybe this is normal but it is suspect after the recent freeze.

I did get a variegated passion vine out of the freeze. Not to many of these around. Kind of cool looking.

I read that when water freezes it expands. Since plants cells are made up of a lot of water in prolonged freezing temperatures they expand and rupture . Some plants are more susceptible than others.

And the last casualty of the freeze is my wife's planter. We were taking some of the plants inside when it was knocked over and broke.

Not to worry', she was the one who knocked it over and broke it. I thereby avoided gettin' the evil eye .

---sanddune----

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HERE COMES THE SUN

2010-01-15T14:44:00.008-05:00

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It appears that the southern vacation of the Arctic cold is finally over and it is departing to return back north. The wind here has shifted back from the north to the east coming now off of the ocean and with it temperatures in the 70's.

Most of my plants seem to be in really good shape, to my surprise.

My Tulip experiment has started to send up a few visible sprouts now.

I planted the bulbs on 12-23-2009. It will be interesting to see what turns out from these . That is one of the things I like about gardening is that you can always experiment and maybe learn something in the process.

I had been concerned on how the Hillbilly Dendrobium Orchid would fare in the freeze but it seems happy.

It is still growing it's flower stalk and is halfway blooming apparently none the worst from the cold.

This is my first Orchid that I grew and I am kind of partial to it. It is attached to a tree so I could not bring it inside for protection from the freezing weather.

As a matter of fact all the Orchids seem to be thriving lately.

This is one of the Phalaenopsis type that is sending out it's flower spike.

Best I can recall it will have a solid yellow flower bloom.

It hammers in one of my garden lessons learned . Update your plant markers from time to time with pertinent info before you forget. Some how I now have 17 Orchids of assorted types and somehow get them mixed up with one another.

This one is another Phalaenopsis called Chien Xen Pearl. This Orchid is a real attention getter.

It has new buds getting ready to open into more flowers on the tract. It has been in bloom since Thanksgiving with more blooms on the way.

That's the update. Time now to get back outside and soak up some of that South Florida sunshine. It's great to feel all warm and toasty without the jacket.

-----------------sanddune-------------------------

HAPPY CRITTERS AND FROZEN PLANTS

2010-01-12T23:39:00.009-05:00

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Took a walkabout to see how the cold has been affecting the plants and critters dealing with it outside.

I stopped by my son's house to let out my grand dog and found this girl trying to warm herself in the sun. She is a female Anhinga. A bird usually seen diving into and swimming in the water after fish. Guess she figures that it is too cool for the pool and is working on her tan instead today. How do I know that it's a female ? The females have a tan neck where the males are pretty much all black.

Back in my garden found this Lizard

checking on things same as me. Guess the freeze has thinned out some of the garden bugs. Good for me but bad for the Lizards meal prospects.

I don't so much mind the Lizards in the garden. They help me to keep the bugs off of the plants and are a natural bug control so I seldom have to apply poisons to the plants.

All in all the critters seem happy but I have noticed that I haven't seen any Butterflies in two days. Hope the freeze hasn't killed them.

Best as I can tell early on the freeze has effected only a few of the outside plants.

This Moon flower didn't like the cold at all and looks like its all over for it.

They like the warm weather anyway and I had just planted it to celebrate the end of the Hurricane season here. I hope that the plant freezing is not an omen for the upcoming Hurricane season this year. I will have to study on that for awhile.

Most of the damage that I see so far seems to be at the tips of the plants that were exposed to the wind.

It might take several days to tell if the plants themselves will just loose so leaves and rebound back.

So it seems for now that the sandpit has once again survived the forces of nature with minimal damage. Hope everyone is as fortunate.

----sanddune----------------------------------

COLD WEATHER BLUES

2010-01-09T14:07:00.010-05:00

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I suspect most folks living in Florida have been trying to figure out just how to keep their plants from coming down with the cold weather blues. The unusual arctic cold has been here all week and it is a effort to protect the tropical plants. One of the benefits to my gardens poor soil is that most of my plants are in containers that I have brought inside to avoid the cold. Best as I can figure a lot of the plants that I have here are like people in that they like the same conditions temperature wise. Freezing weather and tropicals just don't mix.

Besides bringing plants inside I was able to get some pictures of some of the garden critters who are coping with the cold outside. The top picture is a
White Peacock butterfly getting some sun on a Mexican Sunflower bloom.
Next is the Florida State Butterfly a Zebra Heliconian or Zebra Longwing Enjoying the Sunflower bloom also. It became our State Butterfly on April 26,1996.

The birds have been visiting to feeder several times a day to eat as much as they can. Perhaps they know they will need extra energy to cope with the cold temperatures.

The Bluejay above and these Ringneck Doves are everyday visitors to the garden and enjoy the free handout.

This Coconut Palm is loaded down with a fresh crop of Coconuts. It is a reminder that this is after all South Florida and the cold weather here is only here visitin' from up North.

----------------sandddune------------------------------------

ICEBERGS IN MIAMI

2010-01-06T16:34:00.009-05:00

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Never heard of such around these parts. Yes it's true a 'snorter' has blown it's way all the way down to South Florida. The temperature has fallen to an unspeakable level the upper 30's last night.

Folks around here don't know exactly what to make of it. You can see them walking around in their heavy Winter wear with cobwebs still attached and even trading in their shorts for long pants with the top button open {they fit last winter} . The wifebeater T shirts have been replaced for t shirts with sleeves. It's that bad.

The general consensus if you ask anyone is , " It's colder than a well diggers butt". So much for global warming.

Anyway where was I. Oh yeah, you ask how is the sandpit holding up to such a tidal wave of cold air? How should I know I have been holed up inside in the heat trying to get the top button on my long pants to close.

But I did manage to return the Christmas Cactus back to its nail on the Avocado tree for another season. It really outperformed this year with its bloom. It can be out of the spotlight and get a well deserved rest now that the New Year has begun.

And speaking of Tomatoes my Celebrity bush is lookin' kinda sad but keeps producing fresh Tomatoes. Been chomping down on BLT sandwiches . Now that's fine dining to me.

The little Tomatoes [ Everglades Tomato ] are a constant snack every time I wander out in the garden. They are sweet tasting and get eaten from the bush a handful at the time.

And what about the Hillbilly Orchid. It's actually sent out another flower tract that is starting to bloom despite the cold weather .

Here it is soaking up the late afternoon sun before the temperature starts dropping again tonight.

And finally just a reminder now is the day to plant your Rock Candy plant. If you don't get er in the ground on January 6th you will have to wait to next year to grow one of these guys.

Just kidding the first and last pictures are glass sculpture by the artist Chihuly that were displayed at the Fairchild Gardens a while back.

Anyway here's to hoping that every one's plants make it through the 'snorter' OK
.

-----------sanddune----------------------------------

NORTHERN TREASURES

2010-01-03T14:48:00.011-05:00

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Just returned from a cool trip up North. I only went as far as North Florida but living in South Florida that still counts as north. And it was a cool trip literally as my truck has no heat and I never got around to fixing it because I never use it here.

I did return with some treasures from the North however and survived the blistering cold. Well it wasn't really blistering but living in South Florida you get rather spoiled. Anything below 60 is referred to as Arctic conditions around these parts.

One of the treasures is this Yesterday,Today and Tomorrow plant. It is Brunfelsia Pauciflora if you are so inclined. It has some cold damage from Arctic conditions up North but should do fine here . It is supposed to bloom purple flowers which turn lavender then turn white and to be fragrant. Should be great come spring in the garden.

My other treasure that was retrieved is this old varmit shotgun. It came from my family farm up in North Carolina and was best as I can figure my grandfather's. It is a plain utility 12 gauge double barrel shotgun produced by Hanover Arms and made in Belgium. Hanover Arms was a trade name for Folsom Arms and produced basic firearms which were imported to the United States from 1893 to WW1 or about 1914. So any way you figure this shotgun is around 100 years old. It sold around the 1900s for 12 to 14 dollars.
It is nothing fancy and has no engraving as it was meant to be used as a utility shotgun. I imagine that this gun put a lot of food on the table in it's day up on the farm.

My plan is to mount it on my wall as a showpiece much to the chagrin of my wife. I keep telling her that she is lucky that I like keeping old things but somehow she doesn't see the humor.

Anyway back to the story . I made it back from the Arctic North with my new found treasures. And to celebrate plucked some of the Tomato's from the garden. They are still hanging on although the bushes are lookin' kinda rough and still producing their last fruits. I plan on Lettuce ,Bacon and Tomato sandwiches for dinner using these home grown fella's from the garden. Anyway hope everyone had a fine time festivatin' over the new year.

-------------sanddune---------------------------------

BLOOMIN' AlOE

2009-12-26T15:24:00.008-05:00

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It seems that my Aloe plants are really enjoying the dry season weather here in South Florida. After all they are desert plants and are a semi-tropical succulent.

They are made up of 95% water and survive drought conditions just fine.

These plants can be grown outdoors in zones 9,10, and 11 and are great for desert landscaping.

They reproduce freely when given conditions they like. This Aloe gone wild planter pot started from several that I stuck in the pot. I have taken the pups and planted them in several beds around the yard .

They can be grown indoors in colder climates and prefer temperatures in the 70-80 range. They do not like cold weather.

Some of these Aloe are in bloom with the tall stalks and orange flowers. During winter they go dormant and need little moisture. This is perfect for South Florida as our dry season is the winter months.

Aloe is an old plant and has been found in Egyptian writings dating back as far as 1550 B.C. The plant can survive up to 25 years and has been widely used for its healing powers through out history. The gel from the Aloe leave hydrates and moisturizes the skin and is used for treatments of burns and as a beauty aid. Aloe gel can be found in numerous products from suntan lotion to cosmetics.

Best of all it is a cool looking plant that takes minimal care to flourish and provides a backyard medicine cabinet all in one. Who could ask for more.
----sanddune---------

TULIPS IN THE SUN

2009-12-23T16:01:00.006-05:00

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Well I figure that today was a good time to plant the Tulip bulbs in a pot .

My garden helper Odette was there to supervise and make sure that I did things to her satisfaction. That was OK with me because I figure she knows as much about Tulips as I do.

I got the Tulip bulbs for free early this year. I was in an office where the manager was throwing out a pot of Tulips

that had lost their bloom. I ask her if I could have them and she gave them to me. I stored the bulbs and stuck them in the refrigerator wrapped in paper on November 11th.

I read that Tulips need the cold to make them want to grow so the time in the refrigerator was the best that I could do here in South Florida.

Anyway today seemed as good as any to plant them. I put them in a recycled pot and filled it halfway with some organic soil mix with the bulbs pointing up.

After that I just poured the remaining soil mix over the top of the bulbs. Then poured some rainwater over the soil to wet it out.

The only thing left was to put a homemade plant marker into the pot

so I don't forget what and when I planted them.

I have no idea if these Tulip bulbs will even come up much less flower. But Christmas time is a time for miracles so who can say. Time will tell as always.

And my Christmas wish for all the nice folks who have stopped by my blog.

I wish you good health, safe travel, and the best holiday ever.

------------sanddune------------------------------------------------

CHRISTMAS GARDEN

2009-12-22T15:56:00.010-05:00

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Here are some images from my garden at Christmas time. A purple Christmas Cactus was an early gift from a friend moving to Virginia this week.

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------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A decorative Bromeliad shows it's bloom.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A White Peacock Butterfly on a Mexican Sunflower bloom.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And the ancient one, my White Christmas Cactus showing off now that it has competition.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------sanddune-------------------------

UNIDENTIFIED SAVED ORCHID MAKES IT'S DEBUT

2009-12-20T17:10:00.001-05:00

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As I was outside the other morning giving the Orchids a drink I found a cool suprise.

One of the rescued Orchid plants has decided to make her initial formal appearance just in time for Christmas. I had not even noticed her bloom spike growing before nor has this Orchid bloomed since I got her back in July.

The flower is about the sise of a half dollar coin and very petite.

I am not positive as to the type of Orchid this is yet. But it is going on my evergrowing research list.

Somehow I now have 17 Orchids. Each has it's own special needs which I am trying to learn.

The best part is that this Orchid was free from off of freecycle.

Here is a link from a past post from when I got her.

http://sofloridagardening-sanddune.blogspot.com/2009/07/free-orchids.html

Check out Freecycle in your area it might be worth your effort.

---------------------------sanddune-------------------------------------

MOCKINGBIRD GUEST FOR LUNCH

2009-12-18T15:54:00.001-05:00

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After some unsuccessful attempts at photographing the Butterflies my next attempt is of some of my resident birds that like to visit the garden.

This one is a Northern Mockingbird who
has claimed my backyard as part of his territory. It's proper name is Mimus Polyglottos which translates to many tongued mimic in latin.

It visits my garden when the mood strike it then will stay gone for several days. It sings cheerfully different songs during it's mating periods from February to August then again in September to November. During these periods I have heard it singing at 3am in the morning. I have read that a male Mockingbird can learn 200 different songs in it's lifetime.

This Mockingbird is a natural acrobat in the air and I have watched him pluck insects from the air in mid flight. It has moves that would make any pilot envious. It is also very territorial and will chase away birds that it doesn't like by flying around them displaying it's white under wing in a flash of white. I have watched it sit next to the doves in harmony then attack another bird it takes a dislike to.

It will often enjoy one of my Everglades Tomatoes when the mood strikes it.
In this picture it is sitting on the Tomato bush selecting the one it wants. We both like to partake in the Tomatoes straight from the bush.

Way back in 1927 the Florida Legislature made the Mockingbird the Florida State bird. It must be popular as it is also the State Bird of Texas , Arkansas,Mississippi and Tennessee.

Now this bird is unknown to me . It is one of the few who show up in my garden that have bright colors.

It only comes around in the late fall and winter and will be gone when early summer rolls around.

I figure that someone will be able to recognize it and tell me what it is.

I think that the birds make a great addition to the garden and provide a lot of entertainment. I encourage them to visit anytime they take a mind to.
----------------------------sanddune---------------------------------------

RIGHT ON SCHEDULE

2009-12-16T21:12:00.002-05:00

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Once again the old man somehow has done it again. I am referring to my Christmas Cactus, thank you very much.

He opened his first blooms today with little more than a week to go before Christmas day.

I was getting doubtful that he would bloom in time but somehow the plant can figure the date just fine.

This guy is a grumpy old man and likes to be left alone most of the year. I stick him on a nail behind my Avocado tree and forget him for 11 months.

With all that restin' up behind him come December it is his month to show off.

He has yet to miss a Christmas in bloom in four years.

The blooms are a soft white with just a tinge of pink. So he is on display for the next several weeks while the blooms are all opening.

Then he will be happy to go back to his grumpy ways hanging behind the Avocado tree being ignored until next year.

It's hard to figure out just how this guy knows when to bloom each year. Some say it is the temperature change , Others say it's due to the amount of light it gets. I don't know what is the correct answer but I like to think that it is the Christmas Spirit that tells him it's time to bloom.

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