FEEDING THE SOIL

---CLICK PICTURE TO ENLARGE IT---

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---

WEATHER EFFECTS

---CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT---

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----

ICEBERGS IN MIAMI

-----CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE IT------
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----------------------------------

CHRISTMAS GARDEN

---CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT----------
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.

----------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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-------------------------

RIGHT ON SCHEDULE

------CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE IT---------------------
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.

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