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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Hope that your garden is thriving and that you too are endeavoring to persevere.
---Sanddune---
Sanddune: You are doing great with your endeavoring to persevere! It is interesting to know the Fourclock plants' benefit as companion plant in veggie garden. Your amarylis is really beautiful, are those flowers coming from one single bulb? They are lots of flowers for one bulb. I got most 4 flowers from one spike.
ReplyDeleteYour Amaryllis looks terrific ... and the Croton seems to be doing very well. I would definitely agree Crotons are one of the tough guys in a hot tropical setting ... they are just so worth it! Great to see your vegies doing well.
ReplyDeleteMy garden sure is endeavouring to persevere ... it's just made it through a horrid summer all battered and bruised. It's Autumn here now and I can't tell you just how welcome it is.
Your veggies look to be a success. Sure hope you get some tomatoes before it gets too hot for them to produce. Those Matt's Wild are indestructable aren't they? Enjoy your endeavors in this great weather we're having now.
ReplyDeleteIndestructible :)
ReplyDeleteIt is what gardening is all about Sanddune. Endeavoring. Perservering. Gardeners have to have lots of each characteristic! The amaryllis are a beautiful passalong. Crotons are not reliable here anymore. Too many cold winters but where you are they are stalwart. Your veggies are looking great. I really like the narrow framed beds. Makes it great for working around. Collards are looking good... they have been so prolific here since early winter. I'm growing two different variety of heirloom southern collards. Both very tasty. I'm not looking forward to the summer bugs... but THIS weather is fabulous.
ReplyDeleteMeems
Persevere---love it!I guess that's what all us gardeners do.I always take cuttings of my crotons,just in case.The past few winters,here,in West Central Florida have not been kind to the crotons.But I persevere...
ReplyDeleteI must try that collard.We had great luck this past winter with the old fashioned kind.
Ami,
ReplyDeleteThe Four o'clocks are a new experiment from something that I read. I can't say if they will work as to helping to control the bugs yet but they might. We will see what happens around May or June when the bugs are at their worst. The Amaryllis has one shoot which produces four opposing blooms. It is a good plant for us here as it seems to tolerate our climate well. The picture was shot down the row of Amaryllis so it looks like the flowers are from one plant but they are from several.
Bernie.
I have always liked Croton plants they remind me of South Florida and the Keys. They are great except they like it Tropical and hate the cold. I have read about the weather you have endured this year from floods to cyclones. You have really endeavered to persevere in Australia this year. I just hope the hurricanes stay away from here this year.
NanaK,
Growing Tomatos here is always a gamble as I am still on a Tomato learning curve . The wild cherry tomatos seem to grow dispite my best attempts to help them and always give something to show for the season. The heirlooms are a different matter but if they become established the saved seeds can become more adapted to this climate. I am always learning something from each attempt to grow them here.
Meems,
This is the first planting for the new beds with vegetables and the plants are doing well. It is mostly about getting my soil healthy and transforming it from sand to something healthy for the plants. It will take time I understand that but am pleased so far with the progress. The narrow beds are more the use of scrap materials on hand than planning that way. But they have worked out fine and are easy to get to from either side.
ChrisC,
I always try to keep the Croton's going here also. Just like the Bougainvillea they seem to belong in this setting seems to me. The Collards are an easy plant to grow and have adapted themselves to the South. I grew up eating Collard greens and have aquired a taste for them so they are perfect in the Sandpit garden.
Hey Sanddune...I've heard about the Everglade tomato. Someone told me they are tiny but very tasty. My mother grew four o'clocks when I was a kid. The scent is heavenly. Thanks for reminding me to plant some of them in my garden. Your veggies look great!
ReplyDeleteSusan,
ReplyDeleteThe Everglades Tomato fruit grow dime to quarter size and have a good flavor. They take the heat real well and reseed themselves. Best thing about them is they are great for just plucking a few straight from the plant when you are in the garden and munching on them. The Four O'clocks are growing well and I have also resently planted and sprouted some from seed to get some diverse colors. I am hoping that it turns out that they will help to control the annual Summer bug invasion here.