Hi Amber

Happy December warm weather! good to know that you are also enjoying the temperature. Let's hope that January does not kick us,lol. For now I am busy making cookies, instead of covering plants.:)

Hi Tommy

Parks and Kitchen Garden seeds have them, but if you only need a couple send me an email.

Silvia

Silvia, your home must smell heavenly. WOW!

Carol

Hi Carol

I wish you could all be here for to enjoy the baked goods. I work with a program, first I make different kinds of cookie dough and freeze them, after that I bake them to do the baskets and boxes. And of course I have the elves helping me.:)

Merry Christmas to All!

Silvia

Silvia,that is a great alternative for the greenhouse foundation.I thought about pouring a small concrete footer to bolt the greenhouse to,but then opted to make a base out of 4x6 treated lumber.I partially sunk them into the ground & then drove 2ft rebars every couple of feet at a 45deg angle,through the lumber & into the ground.I think the greenhouse panels will get blown out long before the frame/foundation ever moves.
I will try soaking the parsnip seeds,but I think the issue is that parsnip seed only stays viable for a few months.I had much better germination last Year & just think the seed I got for this season(even though I purchased from a few places)was already old.The parsnips last Year were excellent(especially after the freezes):)
I have grown the English runners a few times.I grow them more for attracting pollinators & because they remind me of home,but I really prefer the varieties of bush snap beans for eating.Will be dedicating at least two or three beds for English peas next month,as I want to freeze a few lbs for later use.
Happy baking & after looking at those cookies,I'm off to get a glass of milk :) Best,Darcy.

Do you own a bakery Silvia? Gosh that's a lot of cookies :)

Darcy - I think that you have it all figured out about securing the greenhouse.

I am also planning to sow some English peas when I get some space. When I was in Monticello, I had some from Rodger, the seed saver for some companies, I told him to give me his favorites and one of them was that one.

And finally I am done with the baking, next I am planning Christmas dinner, every year I do something different, I don't even know myself till that time comes, it is a surprise for all.:)

This morning is back to the vegetables, this one is a mix of broccoli and gai-lan and is called broccolini in some restaurants, it is very good!

Amber- The checker cookies are some of my favorites, it is a Martha Stewart recipe and I have been making them for years, they have dried fruit, nuts, chocolate and coffee, they keep well in the freezer uncooked or baked.
This year the cashew spicy brittle came out very good but my favorite sweet for Christmas is the nougat/turrone, the real deal from Italy, hope to get a lot this year.:)

Silvia

LOL - Silvia.... Chocolate, coffee, fruit and nuts... you speak my language! I wanna be on your gift list. THe baskets look amazing!

Barbie

Silvia, I'm with Barbie...
Let me know when my basket is ready too. LOL
All of your projects are amazing.
Carmen

Barbie - we should do a cookie party for all of us,lol, there are so many good recipes out there, my favorite ones are the fully loaded ones the more add-ons the better.:)

Carmen - if you are a good girl, you will get your treats,lol.
Today is crazy around the house with the dogs and the painters. And I am making banana leaves tamales, I hope that they come out good, if they do I will freeze some for you.

And here are more baskets, all of them are different, no 2 are alike but what I really want to show is the small tool that sharpens knives, garden cutters and is small enough to fit in the packet, it works great!

Silvia

Silvia, thats a pretty spiffy tool.
I don't think I have ever baked a cookie in my life LOL love to eat them tho LOL. Wow you are making tamales.... thats how we make pasteles, we wrap in banana leaves after we wilt the leaves over the fire.
Love to do things the old fasion way

Carmen

Carmen - I made tamales Oaxaca style and they are so delicious! it is the first time that I made this recipe and I could not figured out how to make the banana leaves soft,lol. I even asked Willy for help and he was getting mad because we could not fold them without breaking them,lol. I came with the solution put them in hot water then put them in the microwave for a short time and it worked!
The painters were saying I don't know what you are making but smells so good! they said you inspire us to have a veggie garden and cook after coming to your house, they are still painting tomorrow...

This is how they look, they are still steaming.

Silvia

Hi Silvia,

...the yellow is Pork Chop and the black is Brad's Blackheart. Also got the feedback from the community garden and they liked the red beefsteaks Hungarian Giant and Neves Azorean Red, they also said the yellows, the bi-colors and the blacks. I gave them an assortment of these, the only one they remember was the Indian Stripe. I have to note here that a couple of them know a lot about cooking, they are experts.

So, tell me about the taste of Pork Chop and Brad's. I don't do well with the red open pollinated varieties because of the bugs since my garden is only eight feet from the water, helps when it gets really cold but otherwise it's a bug-fest :-( I'm so limited garden-wise sometimes I wish I lived over there between you and Deland since I see such wonderful things over there....

Yummy things from your kitchen, as usual ;-)

I'm remiss on getting your watering wands done, it get them done and to you next week while I'm off, these 50 hour work-weeks take their toll on me.

Tom

Hi Tom

Comparing the taste from the yellow tomatoes I think Pork Chop is one of the better ones, it also has pretty gold stripes, Brad is a heart variety with the taste similar to any other black tomato, if you like Black from Tula that you are growing now, you will like Brad's.
And you are right about the temperatures, with this nice weather that we are having tomatoes look perfect, when is very hot is a different thing. Even one of my neighbors is growing tomatoes for the first time and I gave him 3 varieties one was a small variety Ailsa Craig and other was the Indian Stripe, I could not believe the size and the looks of the tomatoes, he put them in a fresh made raised bed and they are fantastic!
The ones from the community garden are also great, it was a good season for novice tomato growers,lol.
You are having some beautiful tomatoes there too, so be happy! If you want to try Pork Chop and Brad's, I can send you some saved seeds.
Don't worry about the wand, it can wait till the next party sometime in the spring and I hope to see you then,:)

Silvia

It sure is wonderful to be having such a mild winter (so far) compared to the last two years! I have never had so many papayas ripen - dozens! Besides eating lots of Swiss chard, collards, broccoli, kale...now I have carrots to add to the list. So delicious.

Here is a line-up of 4 varieties of carrots harvested yesterday:

Here is a closer view:

It is great to see pictures of all of the gorgeous, healthy plants. Silvia and Tom, you have outdone yourselves! Fall is such a difficult time to grow tomatoes. Your plants look so healthy. Quite an accomplishment.

Christine

Silvia....Everyone who visits the garden asks about/what is "Arty"-the-choke.... what an absolutely beautiful exotic looking plant....what does your's look like now?

I have those pepper plants to grow out 'til spring....Here's the simple swag lamp using a "300 watt eqv." CFL bulb ....that's a pizza pan on top used as a reflector.......

These Caribbean peppers are enjoying the bright light....good color.....still nice compact plants....even starting to develop flower buds.....

After surviving a recent bout with THRIPS....the plants are finally putting on new shoots....

I tried Spinosad as a Thrip control but had to ultimately resort to the NuclearOption.....Pyrethrin

doug

Hi Christine - Beautiful carrots! you have done a good job and that is what we are having for the Holidays some tasty roasted carrots and beets.

Hi Doug!
You are so creative! those lights are doing a great job, love those peppers. And pyrethrin works well especially with the aphids that are stubborn,lol. That is the only thing that is used in Monticello organic gardens besides companion planting.
And I am surprised by the growth of the artichoke, mine looks big and healthy, I will try to take a picture today in the daytime. I have the painters today and tomorrow, hopefully the job will be done in time I have been lucky, no rain. They had to cut the rosemary, the hibiscus, bay and probably in the front yard they will be cutting the pomegranate, at least somebody is doing the trimming.
Doug, you have to make this tamales. I know that you are a foodie and you are going to love them, if you don't have banana leaves, I can give you some. It will take the whole day to make it but is so well worth it, they are on the top of flavor and I have been eating a lot of different tamales in my life. Willy had some leftover last night and he could not stop saying how good they were. I used the dried guajillo peppers. The painters were saying that smells heavenly and they are going home to make pulled pork,lol

Silvia

Here is a link that might be useful: pork tamales

Wow, Tom, your garden and your tomatoes look great!!! The cukes too. I'm going to try the corinto for the first time this spring. Glad you like it. I'm not any help, I haven't grown any yellows except small ones like sungold and aliana.

Christine, those carrots could be a pretty photograph for notecards or the wall! So pretty.

Silvia, what can I say. Your pictures make me hungry all the time, and I'm trying not to gain weight for Christmas. Those are the prettiest tamales I've ever seen. I can almost smell them from here. Haven't had them in years and I absolutely love them. Makes me want to visit a mexican restaurant. Those baskets are such special gifts from the heart. Lucky recipients.

Anna

Silvia - How's the production with Pork Chop? I'm not sold on the blacks yet....I will get the wands off to you soon :-(

Christine - gorgeous carrots, I'm definitely jealous!

Doug - I'm glad to hear how you were able to overcome the thrips. This past season even denuding my plants of leaves didn't work, and I've never found spinosad to work against them.

Anna - I'm growing Corentine, not Corinto...not sure if they are the same but seeds for the one I'm growing are MUCH cheaper.

Tom

Silvia ~ I've been using the "runt" carrots for juicing but the beauties will be roasted, like you will be doing to with yours. I picked almost a bucket full so I now have a little extra space made available. I plan to fill in those spaces with new carrot seeds this weekend. The carrot patch has seedlings of different ages so I can pick every so often. Unfortunately, I won't be roasting beets because I just don't have the nack of growing beets yet. :( The beets I eat come from the local Farmers Market. They taste good but I wished that I grew them.

Anna ~ Glad you like the photos. I purposely spent the time to make the picture attractive since I have so little around the yard to show off right now.

Tom ~ I guess it works both ways. I'm envious of your beautiful tomatoes and cukes. Actually, I was wondering if your area gets cold enough for you to grow carrots. I'm so thankful that they grow easily for me.

Christine

Christine beautiful carrots, what wonderful colors...
Tom I agree your tomatoes look great..
Silvia you are such an inspiration to me. Everything you do just seems to come out so perfect.
Everyone keep the pictures coming they give me hope..

Amazing stuff!

Do green beans (bush) only produce one set? I've got a few plants that produced about half a pound and haven't produced anymore.

Anna - You are not the only one that were thinking tamales, one of the painters that is also a chef said that all night he was dreaming about them,lol I showed him the recipe in the magazine and I told him about making the banana leaves soft that was not included in the recipe,lol. At my house my father made the best with different leaves the name is achira and they are soft and look like canna leaves but they have an amazing taste, I can probably use parchment to make those, maybe next year for now I am doing cookie bags, with small jars of meyer lemon marmalades.:)

Tom - The production of the Pork Chop tomatoes is similar to that of the Beefmaster for me, they do have a longer shelf live than other yellow colored tomatoes, I buy a really good reduced balsamic vinegar from Italy and just eat them with splash of that and some salt. I like the blacks in a caprese salad or tomato sauce.

Christine - Very good idea to put all your carrots to good use, carrot juice is very popular in Middle Eastern homes, when I was visiting I saw the biggest carrots of my life and the biggest juicers too.

Hi Maxine - I am sure your garden is looking good and you have a lot of things growing, my bananas are fruiting at the wrong time,lol. Your cane sugar is growing nicely. Today I am finally finish with the painting of the house, what a relief!

Hi Cammunizm - Are you in zone 9? if so you are lucky to get green beans at this time of the year, it must be the warm days of December,:) And yes bush beans produce a crop all at once, pole beans have a longer season. I will be planting pole beans in spring.

Silvia

Lovely photos. What a great idea about using banana leaves for tamales. I learned to make tamales growing up in Phoenix from my best friend's mother. Their whole family would get together around Thanksgiving and roast 2 large turkeys and make a ton of tamales. Thier house always smelled so fabulous during that time that I wanted to do that when I grew up and had my own family. Luckily my dh loves tamales too.
I use pork in mine or sometimes beef roast and wrap them in either corn husks or parchment paper (so much easier but not as festive looking lol). I will have to try the banana leaves, my dh will love that idea.
Lenette

Well, things are going pretty good at the moment. My tomatoes are ripening despite the poor looking condition of the plants. I've harvested about a dozen that look and taste good. My broccoli and cauliflower are starting to make heads. I'm still getting some green beans and have my Scarlet Runners (I think that's what they are called) started for a second round. The first round of sugar snap peas are blooming and starting to produce. My lettuces are doing good except for the spinach. I've harvested one small bunch. Squash is still a bust. I only have one plant still in the ground with a squash on it, that has stopped growing. I'm sure it will rot soon like the others, but we'll see. What else? Oh, carrots are started and doing well.
I guess it won't be long and I'll need to start tomato seeds for the spring.

Becca

Silvia my banana started fruiting last week.. don't know what kind it is..also had a plantain that fruited early November. I know its the wrong time of year, but I am just so excited that they finally fruited.. Also, just noticed that my fig has fruited. I purchased it at the fair ground in September. It came in a small pot and didn't have a tag. It hasn't grown much and is still in the same pot.. Since it is so small should I remove the fruits so that it can grow or just see what happens and hopefully get to enjoy a fig or two?..

Hi Lenette - Nice memories you have and I am glad that you learned how to make tamales and made your own tradition for your family. Banana leaves gives a good taste to food especially pork, there is a very famous restaurant in Phoenix, Barrio Cafe that makes the best "cochinita Philbil" and is pork wrapped in banana leaves, next time I will make sticky rice in the banana leaves, got use the leaves for something good.:)

Hi Becca - Good to know that your garden is producing well, every time you will learn what works the best for you. Keep up the good work!

Maxine - If we keep having these warm temperatures, our bananas will ripen. Figs are very easy to root and you can start with cuttings, in a year or 2 they will start producing, they are hardy and will take cold temperatures, next time when you come to my house remind me to give you cuttings. You can remove the fruits because now they are suppose to be dormant with no leaves or fruit.

Finally the workers are done with the painting, tomorrow I will have to put things in their places, here are today's garden pictures.

Orlando eggplant is producing again

The greenhouse with the fruit trees and the tomatoes

Beets ready to be harvested, carrots too.

Doug, here is the artichoke getting bigger

Silvia

Silvia, yea bush beans. I will plant pole beans for Spring as well. Do you have a suggested variety? Right now, all of the seeds look to be bush types but i'd like to add some vining types.

That greenhouse is awsome.

Tom ~ I guess it works both ways. I'm envious of your beautiful tomatoes and cukes. Actually, I was wondering if your area gets cold enough for you to grow carrots. I'm so thankful that they grow easily for me.

Christine, I'm beginning to doubt it, never had much success with carrots here although I have been able to grow broccoli and radishes...that picture of the carrot stalks shows full sized tops but I don't see them above ground yet :-(

Tom I agree your tomatoes look great....

Thanks Maxine, being sooooooo close to the lake some years are better then others, and THIS is one of them. Lots of folks would call me crazy to have a veggie garden EIGHT feet from water but lets face it, we all here LOVE fresh veggies :-) :-(

Tom - The production of the Pork Chop tomatoes is similar to that of the Beefmaster for me, they do have a longer shelf live than other yellow colored tomatoes, I buy a really good reduced balsamic vinegar from Italy and just eat them with splash of that and some salt. I like the blacks in a caprese salad or tomato sauce.

Yum Silvia! Please save me some PC seeds for next fall, it's too late for me to start them now for the spring here...

Finally the workers are done with the painting, tomorrow I will have to put things in their places....

You're "new" here and I think you were the first to move into your current house, no? If so, it needs to be painted the first time at three years, then thereafter every five years, otherwise chalking will become problematic and the paint won't bond well to concrete block or stucco without an alkali primer.... For those of you who may not have lived here long, if you can rub the palm of your hand across any of your exterior house walls and see chalk on your hand it's too late for a single coat of paint, you'll need a neutralizing base primer coat BEFORE the final coat of paint or it won't stick and you'll have peeling problems down the road....

Tom

Cammunizm - I like a lot of pole beans, for reds I like Jeminez, for blue I like Blue Marbut, for yellow Neckargold, for thin greens I like Emerite, for Romano flat pod I like Musica, for Italian I like Borlotto and every season I trialed new varieties, this coming spring I will be trying seeds that I got in Monticello from the seed savers, so many beans, so little time,lol.

Tom - I will be saving you the seeds for Pork Chop and I think about last summer or two I grew the sub-tropical carrot New Kuroda, I still have those seeds if you want to give them a try...
And thank you for the info on the painting of the house, time flies and it was already time to paint the house, they did a pressure washing, put the base primer, then put a satin paint, better paint than what we had before, they did a lot of cutting of shrubs too,ready for the New Year.:)

Silvia

Here is a link that might be useful: sub-tropical carrot

Hey Silvia, did I just spot a cousin to my new patio chair in your yard? Are yours antique? Have you had them forever? How do you have them painted/finished? Do you think it is iron or aluminum?

Thanks!
Carol

Silvia thanks for your offer of fig cuttings.. The first fig I ever had was at your house.. You offered me two different types to try.. Fell in love with the sweeter one.. After that I had to own a fig tree.. Just e-mail me when you are ready to share your cuttings...

Carol, that is funny! you got some good eyes,lol. I had to go and look at your post with the chair and they do look alike, mine has the Kokopelli motif and I got it in Arizona long time ago, it is iron and I think is indestructible, I never done anything to it, it comes with the table and it was very cheap. Willy says that if he was going to do anything to it, he would wash it with a brush first and then spray paint with a black paint to be used in metal.

Here is a close up

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Maxine - I think you will be more successful to start the fig cuttings in spring, the same with the bananas, I have the Misi Luki and the Mona Lisa fruiting now. On the figs I have 4 different varieties, the one in the ground and 3 in a pot, coming this spring I will plant one of the ones in the pot in the ground, next to the other one.
In my childhood home, I had the best fig that I ever had it was a huge variety and so sweet and prolific! of course the volcanic soil was the best that I have ever seen, I had figs to give to everybody, we made the best candied figs to be eaten with fresh cheese. A little reproduction here is to have fig jam on top of a good cheese.

Silvia

Tom, mine are corinto F1. I don't know if they are the same either. I got them because I think someone mentioned them being really good producers with good taste. I hope I'm not wrong.

Silvia, that artichoke is a beautiful plant. Very ornamental. Would look great in a foliage garden! I thought they didn't grow well here, but if anyone can grow them it's you.

Anna

Hi Laurie!

Thank you very much for the nice surprise! love the bookmark and I hope that you can make it to the next party in spring, I don't remember where I put your email address, I hope that you see this and have a very Happy Holidays!

Anna - Last season I grew Corinto, you are not going to be disappointed, it is a very productive and good tasting cucumber that is also disease resistant.

When Tom was coming to the party he saw Louie's garden and he was growing artichokes, I talked to him about them and he started in the fall he did not remember the variety or name, this time he came to my house and said he could not find seeds, so I took him in the garden and gave him 3 plants and I am also growing one. I saw them at the fairy garden in Disney and they are very ornamental about 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide. Flowers are very pretty!

Here they are in Disney in May of this year

Silvia

Kinda getting off the topic a bit,but Tom are You painting Your house with a matt based paint?If so,I can understand the chalking issues,but I've not known many people to paint the exterior of a Florida home in matt based paints these days for that very reason.Also if You had to repaint Your home after just 3 Years & then every 5 after that,then the contractor didn't do a good job sealing the stucco,or at least hitting it with an acid wash to neutralize it.Most paints these days have at least a 10 Year warranty,but obviously that is very much dependant on the prep work & primer if used.I used to use the big box store paints,but then switched to SW paints & would never go back.The coverage & quality of paint for an extra few $ a gallon is totally worth it

Here's some updates on mine.

Butterfly Bush ( I love the foliage more than the flowers)

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Some Broccoli

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Lemon Grass is going to seed. Should probably go ahead and cut them and divide it but still unsure how i'm going to accomplish that.

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Where the beans were, now the marigolds are taking over. I Made this fence for some morning glories/pole beans but I think I'll have to wait until spring

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Compost tomatoes are starting to turn color! Also, my little cayenne pepper plant is still producing. I had to cut back all of the false sage.

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Hibiscus and three bush daisy's I got @ Lowes last week for .75 a piece. I need to plant them soon.

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Chinese cabbage is getting there. Also Miners lettuce

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Brussel Sprouts are huge!

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Brandywine is trucking along. Hope I can get some to ripen.

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Unsure if this is normal or if there is some issue with my Arabian Jasmine. Ideas?

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More Broccoli and Soy

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Chinese Cabbage

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I like these little clover flowers.

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The backyard garden in all it's hectic glory.

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Silvia, thanks for the closeup of the chair. Yours are cute as heck! I still need to do another round of stripping on mine... and then paint. Although I thought mine was iron originally, I'm now fairly certain that it is aluminum. (Have learned that special primer and paint required for aluminum - much different than iron and other metals.)

Carol

Happy Holidays to All!

Cammunizm - Nice little garden! you will be doing some nice harvests, a garden is a work in progress and mine is always changing putting some new crops and harvesting the ones ready.

Beets and carrots harvested

Carrots had a dressing of thyme, garlic, orange juice, olive oil and salt and pepper.

Beets had rosemary, garlic, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Finished dinner, made some mashed sweet potatoes from the saved huge sweet potato that I saved.

I also have the lemon grass going to seed, usually at this time of the year gets hit by the frost.:)

This morning after the painting, at least the hibiscus are not looking bad.

Carol - Good luck with your chair, post a picture when you are done, to see the finishing touches.

Silvia

Amazing how warm it's been, huh? We have not yet a had a fire in the fireplace :-(

Silvia - just save me some Pork Chop seeds, I'll wait to see how these carrots do in the buckets. I had not tried growing them this way before and they are taking much longer than if they had been in the ground, I think because they dry out so fast....I'm hoping to get an irrigation line run to that side of the pool cage so I can set that area up with micro-sprinklers.

Anna - I got some Corinto seeds from Johnny's, I'll give them a try soon but they sure were expensive, and I'm still getting cukes from the Corentine bushes, I picked these yesterday.

Tom

Corntine and Iznik cukes picked 12/26

A little color, gave away 40lbs of beefstakes and 15lbs of cherries yesterday....

A little Christmas color, bloomed 12/23, second time this year!

My tomato-eating nemesis :-(

Hi Tom - It is raining today, but still warm.

Beautiful pictures! Tomatoes and cucumbers are looking great and love those hanging orchids.

Good to know that you are having a great production on the tomatoes, my neighbors first time gardeners are being very lucky too, they said that they had yesterday from one single plant Ailsa Craig more than 25 tomatoes, and also said they love the Indian Stripe and have so many that they are giving away.:) if it was not this warm, the story would be different.

My tomatoes outside are producing well, in the greenhouse too.

I am harvesting at least 10 ready heads of romanesco, I will probably pickle them what we don't eat with salads, we love the oriental radishes and are giving them away to friends that are having them for the first time.

Silvia

Amazing season isn't it Silvia? It's been so warm that the tomatoes are growing like gangbusters; here they are growing three times faster than usual. Of the two winners this year when it comes to cherries I've grown to love the Sweet Baby Girl much more than Mountain Magic. Everyone was raving about Mountain Magic so I had to try it, and while the production is excellent the taste doesn't even come close to Sweet Baby Girl for the same output, in my opinion. Is it too late for you to start seeds now? If not and you'd like to try it I'll send you some seeds.

I started some Veronica this year for the first time and in a bucket it's really a slow grower, I doubt I'll do anything with it but the same that I do with the broccoli, watch it bolt to see if the bees like it too.

I think the rain is about done here, I'm hoping to get out there and finish my micro-sprinkler lines inside the pool cage before this cold snap really starts.

Tom

Tom, I have a question for you, I started 2 plants of the Mountain Magic and one is like almost a beefsteak size.

And the other one is like a large cherry, they both productive, which one is the one that comes close to the ones you grew?

I have Romanesco and Veronica planted, one is shorter than the other one but both take a long time to grow, I already had harvested a lot of broccoli, white cauliflower and purple cauliflower and these 2 other varieties are just getting ready.
I am just going to start the tomatoes for me, the community garden and friends and neighbors, I always like to grow a combination of varieties heirlooms and hybrids because I want all to succeed, so far so good, everyone had a great season! If you have some Sweet Baby Girl seeds, thank you, I will try them. I am growing now a new cherry Smarty, is very productive and about 5 feet tall, I tried them and the only problem is that the skins are not soft, they are probably good for roasting them in the oven and maybe do well in the heat and rain, we will see.

Silvia

Hi Silvia - Both my Mountain Magic plants are producing a large cherry, golf-ball sized at best, I'd guess about 2oz. Did the second plant cross with anything else? Have you seen any insects inside the greenhouse and did you grow any other varieties in there?

I'll get some Sweet Baby girl seeds off to you today, I want to see how they do for you. I'm thinking this will become my favorite red cherry....

Westhamutd - I missed your post, sorry. If you're a painting contractor you'd know better than me. My FIL is a retired Florida GC and still recommends painting every five years, that way you don't have to neutralize the underlying coat before putting on the new coat because there won't be any chalking IF you've been using a good paint. We've been using Benjamin Moore....

Tom

Darcy - I did not make any comments on the paint since I know nothing about them.:) We used SW and I like the glossy finish better than what we had before. I hope that you are fully recovered and enjoy gardening, it is getting a little chilly at night here.

Tom - I don't know for sure what happened with the Mountain Magic, maybe I put the wrong label? I do have a lot of bees in the greenhouse because I put some basil plants there. Thank you for the seeds that you are going to send me and hopefully they do as well for me as they did for you, I am always in search for good tomatoes for me and others.:)

Greenhouse today full of bees!

Silvia

Silvia, when did you start your broccoli? I'm still waiting on mine but none have produced anything yet. The plants are all in buckets and only about 1' high. Are they not getting enough fertilizer?

Brussels Sprouts are starting to produce sprouts which I am now thinking is to soon. My plants are only about 1.5 feet high, and not exactly straight, but I'm glad I might get something out of this deal :)

Cammunizm - Broccoli takes a long time to grow that is why I started mine when it was still hot, some varieties are earlier than others, you have to look in the seed packet, I ate apollo broccoli today, is a mix of broccoli and gai lan, sometimes is called broccolini, they are great in stir fries.
If your broccoli is not producing try to water them with liquid fertilizer and see if that works, if you have access to compost tea that works great for the veggies.

Glad to hear about your success with brussels sprouts, brassicas tend to bend with the wind, all of mine have a small stick to hold them straight. Post a picture of your brussels sprouts when they are ready.

Silvia

Hi Silvia,Many thanks.I'm getting about really well,it's so great to be able to sow seeds or do some weeding,without having to crawl along.I'm hoping I'll be able to play soccer again by the summer,but We shall see.We have hit 37degs the last few mornings,but no frosts to speak of.I think We are supposed to get a proper freeze Tues/Weds next week-so it will be a good time to see how My GH holds up(I have a small heater just incase).I'm glad You are pleased with your paint selection.I love that brand & You should find that the semi-gloss or gloss exterior needs less maintenance(in terms of any pressure washing etc)than the flat based paints.

Hi Tom,I was actually a land surveyor & so would be on the construction sites from before ground was broken to often the final inspection.I gained a lot of great info from contractors in various fields.Trust me,there is nothing wrong in painting a house every 5 Years,I was just trying to let You know it is probably overkill & that You could save some $$$.Best regards,Darcy.

Silvia - Yes, I think now I know next year to support them early. Each plant lies on the ground for a bit, then bolts up. I suspect this will reduce my yield. I though they'd be much taller but I guess images.google.com can be misleading. Half of my marigolds did the same thing actually (the taller variety). Some creep then shoot up, others are as straight as a ruler and 3'+ high.

Thanks again.

Boy, is that greenhouse SWEET! Sylvia, I know you are loving it!

Carol

Darcy - I hope to hear soon that you are playing soccer again.:) We are still lucky and have not get too cold, I am still watering most veggies every day since we have not had much rain. Big harvest coming up this week, lettuce, beets, radishes, peas, romanesco and for the New Year I am making carrot cakes and I have borage and nasturtium flowers to decorate the salads and the cakes.

Cammunizm - The best teacher is the experience and actually visiting another garden and see how the things are growing, space, supports and things like that. Very often I bring people that are new to gardening to show them, some listen and some don't, eventually they learn what works or not by trail and error. If you have access to free bamboo, use that for support, and cut it in smaller pieces, check Craiglist or someone close to your area. Start preparing for the spring season, gather your materials and seeds.

Thank you Carol and I agree with you when we get hit with the cold temperatures a lot of the plants will be safe there. Every day I find that I can put more things some are taller, others medium and short.

Happy New Year to All the Florida gardeners!

Silvia