Mrs tlc - I was out today, on my hands and knees, pulling weeds, then spraying, then planting a new kiwi bush, then cutting and pruning dead leaves from my banana corner.

I'm sore, my fingernails are dirty and.....it feels so good. Now, if that mango tree I planted last year will bloom things will be okay again.

Bill - I did get out today and do some weeding at least for a bit. It did feel good!!!

Hi Mrs Tlc

Nice to hear from you and sometimes we just get so busy! I am also behind on my cleaning of the garden,harvesting, and planting new crops.
I am sure that you still have time to plant some veggies, sweet potatoes, some heat resistant varieties of bush beans, peppers with some shade, even some greens, collards did well for me last summer.
If you can get sweet potato slips is even better but if not make your own from organic sweet potatoes.
My peppers were kept in shade last summer and are still alive, eggplant like the one I have Orlando is good in the heat and the plant is still producing now.
Start little at a time so the work is manageable.

Hi Bill - I hope that you are recovering from the hard work but happy! :)

Silvia

Silvia/Mrs tlc - Collard greens going in tomorrow; might also try some of that kale you mentioned.

Yep, am happy, missing my daughter who is off at college for her first year. Seems like things not just right with her away. Went over and spent a weekend with her a few weeks ago....first time I have slept in a college dorm in 45 years (they let parents do that nowadays) ...and nothing has changed about college life.

My back went out around Thanksgiving (for the first time) and I've done nothing in the garden! I call it my aging infrastructure. My orthopedist took great delight in telling me how much he loves gardening, got a lot of exercise doing it, and I could not touch a shovel! He's just mean.

I added four Earth Boxes a few months ago. And a few geraniums in pots. That I could manage, and that is it. I think I'm over being frustrated. I'll have to wait until next year. Or maybe make plans for different spaces...

Carol B. Sarasota

You could probably still start some pole beans now, and if you like okra this is a good time to start them.

We just discovered dehydrated okra at out Fresh Foods market and I love it, makes a great snack. We're going to try make it, I just hope this process isn't the one that requires a vaccum frier....

Tom

"dehydrated okra" sounds interesting. Can you elaborate on that?

Hmmmm....collard greens..... I've never eaten them or grown them. I guess you grow them from seed? Or do you get seedlings from a nursery? And, how do you make sweet potato slips?

Bill - Oh, it's so hard when they go away. Very strange and hard to get used to not having them around. How nice that you were able to go spend the weekend!

Carol - I hope you're doing better! I've had a bad back for yrs and it's NO fun! We were in a boating accident bringing home our new boat in Nov. so my back was hurting pretty badly for a few weeks, which didn't help either! LOL

So Sylvia - we have to live vicariously through you and the photos of your glorious garden!!! I hope you are having your garden party again this year!

Bill - You are a very nice man and a sweet father, your daughter is very lucky to have you in her life.

Mrs Tlc - If you like cabbage, you will like collards, it is really like an open cabbage and you can use the loose leaves for soups or side dishes, they do taste better Southern style.:) The best kind that I had so far are Green Glaze and the seeds are available at Southern Exposure, you can either plant them straight in the garden or starter them in cups.
Sweet potato slips are easy to start, just put a little bit of the potato in a dish with water, the shoots that come out, I snap them and put them in a glass of water till they have some roots. When recently planted they have to be kept moist, later on they tolerate less water.
Thank you for your nice comments about my garden and I always plan one part at a time, this Saturday we are having a birthday party, after that I will be making plans around March and hopefully after that a garden party.:)

Here is a sweet potato from another year, this year I am starting more small ones in a dish in the bathroom, when I get the slips, I will put them outside in a glass and after that will be planting time.

{{gwi:48802}}

Silvia

"dehydrated okra" sounds interesting. Can you elaborate on that?

No goo, it's dehydrated just like tomatoes. It crunchy and taste like fried okra but the consistency of potato chips. Ingredients say canola oil, salt and okra, so I think it's fried first, then dehydrated. In trying research it I found a process called vacuum frying where very little oil is absorbed...I'm hoping that is NOT how they do it. I wasn't going the grow okra anymore but we love this stuff so much that I will be starting some okra seed now in hopes of being able to replicate this process.

Tom

Unfortunately, Tom, I'm pretty sure it is vacuum fried. At least I know the green beans and the mixed veggie chips are. They say:

Our Veggie Chips are a delightful combination of sweet potatoes, taro, zucchini, carrots and green beans which are vacuum fried (resulting in less fat than traditional frying methods) and lightly salted for the ultimate snacking sensation! Our Veggie Chips have been a customer favorite for years and we are pleased to now offer them for online order.

Oh, I forgot to mention that besides salt, all those FM veggie chip things are sprinkled with dextrin to make them sweeter, too (which is why I personally don't care for them--too sweet for me). Something to keep in mind if you want to try making something similar at home.

:-( That's not what I wanted to hear....

Tom

Thanks so much Sylvia. I do love cabbage and mine didn't do so well this year so I'll have to try collards. I'm excited to try the sweet potato slips too. I love them and so does my dog! I also just read in Florida Gardening that the leaves taste like spinach and have more nutrition than spinach! I'm hoping to take the day off Sunday and just work in the garden!

I do hope you were kidding about giving up until September!

There is still SO MUCH that can be grown. I have something producing all year long. I don't ever go fallow and while I may 'give in' I'll never give up! LOL.

Hang in there and get your hands in the dirt! Peppers, beans, corn, okra, cow peas, sweet potatoes... there is still so much even in zone 10.

Barbie

What about Silvia's callaloo? The leaves are eaten as greens and since it's a tropical plant won't it grow through our summers?

Tom

Dug this out for further reference....

Tom

Barbie, I was serious mostly because my raised beds have gotten over run by those annoying dollar weeds too. DH made me the coolest raised beds out of bamboo and then we lined them with cardboard and filled with the dirt. This is the second season and the cardboard needs to be replaced too, which means taking all of the dirt out. I thought since it is still nice and cool in the mornings and evenings and there's not much that's worth saving it might be best to take advantage of the fact that my growing season stunk this year... LOL I like the suggestions so I think what I'm going to do is maybe just leave the one bad and re-do the other two.

Here's a pic of my raised beds. I have to re-line them and not sure if just cardboard is the right thing to use or if I should use that weed guard mesh stuff and then plastic............

TLC I love your raised beds and the shade cloth is ideal. You should be able to grow some nice peppers all year in there. Maybe even some fast growing maters. I think you have about 3 good months before the serious heat sets in. Don't quit on us.

Jamie