MY ORGANIC SANDPIT

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--

STUMP EVOLUTION

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

A REAL TROPICAL WATERGARDEN FROM CENTRAL AMERICA

It only stands to reason that if you want to see and learn about tropical plants you visit the real tropics.

From all the cash saved from frugal spending in my own backyard garden my reward was this trip.

The wife and I spent the day at the Tabacon Resort at the bottom of the Arenal volcano in Costa Rica. For native Floridians or " flatlanders" being at the bottom of a active volcano was new. Hoping that it didn't chose this day to explode also added to the excitement.

This place is loaded with tropical plants of all kinds and has pathways leading throughout the gardens.

It also has thermal hot springs heated from the volcano. The average water temperature is 102 F so it is like a natural hot tub. There are areas all along the pathways where you can jump in the spring water and just soak while taking in the scenery.

Some of the plants here I have in my own backyard. This yellow shrimp plant pictured here being one of them.










The naturally heated mineral spring water has been directed through landscaped waterfalls.

These streams lead down to the ponds where you can get into the water.


It is obvious that the staff here work to maintain this garden. The entire time that we were here I did not see one piece of litter and the gardens were immaculate.

Another of the stepped streams flowing down into the gardens.

Anyone planning a water garden I would advise them to first visit this place. Strictly for educational purposes of course.

It is strong motivation for me to be extra frugal with my backyard oasis project so I can save to revisit here.
Again, strictly for educational purposes of course.---sanddune-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

COLD WEATHER

The first cold front of the fall has finally made it all the way down to Miramar, Florida.

As you can see from my $4.99 thermometer it is almost noon and only 72 degrees.

For the semi tropics here this represents quite a dip from the near 90s of the first half of October.

I have relocated my two container tomatoes now to an area that they will get full sun all day.

I gave them several days of partial sun to recover from being transplanted into the containers.

I mixed the liquid fertilizer according to the instructions from the extension service and will give them a dose each time that they need water. I am determined this year to grow some prime tomato's.

My yellow Shrimp plant is recovering also. I had washed the fascia boards on the house with a strong bleach solution to remove some mildew and drenched this plant. I was sure that I had killed it but it has come back out and is blooming again. It looked really sad for almost a month but is rebounding back now.

This baby Iguana has now taken up residence in a small tree in the garden.

It appears almost every morning and suns itself on the branches of the tree.

It is almost a foot long and is shedding its skin so that indicates that it is growing .

I didn't see it while taking this picture but one of my garden bugs is hitching a ride on his back.

So far I have not seen the Iguana eating any of my garden plants. So for now my standard unspoken agreement with natures creatures is still in effect. As long as it doesn't bother me I won't bother it. ------sanddune----------

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