Rosy, your photos are gorgeous, especially the orchid! Such a different gardening environment from Idaho, it's fascinating to read about. :)
What I'm lacking in tomatoes this year is being made up in hot peppers. There are plenty more where these came from, including some other wicked-looking habanero type that hasn't ripened yet. I'm hoping to get more of the lemon drop peppers, because they make a delightful fresh-tasting hot sauce. The chocolate habaneros will go in the freezer and be used one by one to make blistering hot pots of chili into the forseeable future.
Thx
@horsepoor - that hot pepper photo of yours is swoon-worthy too:).
We got some very fine hot peppers this year - due to a sweet pepper seed packet that was mislabeled by the seed company:). I've dried some for the capsaicin for a natural arthritis relief medicine that I'm concocting myself - hence my interest in growing Turmeric this year which just so happens to have lovely tropical foliage and pretty pink and white blooms:).
Yay for happy accidents.
TOMATO VOLUNTEERS showed up via the compost pile two weeks ago, so I let them get to about two-three inches high in the Papaya tree pot and transplanted them into three pots this weekend - we'll see what happens.
OH, THE MANY FLAVORS & SCENTS OF BASIL and LEMON BALM - FASCINATING
This morning I seeded
'Mandarin' scented/tasting Lemon Balm called 'Mandarina' - a new variety.
I am trying it out in two of the tomato pots as well as in the garden.
Later, I'll seed the tried and true
Italian Sweet Basil into the third tomato pot.
Then I need to find my saved Marigold seeds from last year and this spring to add to the trio.
Lately, I haven't been able to find
spicy globe basil - one of my absolute favorite basils. Such a neat, small globe growing habit and it is sooo tasty with goat cheese, feta cheese, or Mozzarella - Yum!
Tracked down some
holy basil seeds, the Krishna variety is supposed to be particularly effective medicinally. We'll see how it likes my garden this fall. Came across
'clove basil' seeds - can't wait to plant that one in the early spring. Curious to see what it tastes like.
Extremely long time to maturity.
I really don't want to wait 180 days - like for the Endive, but sometimes good things are worth waiting for.
"CUCUMBER - Lemon. A gardener's favorite since 1894 but hard to find in grocery stores, this unusual, eye-catching, lemon-sized cucumber has excellent flavor and is a great slicer or pickler. It is scrumptious eaten with the skin and all just like you would an apple; non-bitter and burpless. Plants are more drought tolerant than other varieties."
Source: Botanical Interests
https://www.botanicalinterests.com/product/Lemon-Cucumber-SeedsWhy am I just now finding out that cool veggies like that even exist???
LEMON BALM - GOLDENSeeded this morning together with the cucumber - if it works they should look great together - on the plate and in the garden.
"Golden - Lemon Balm" with golden yellow leaves instead of plain green. Cool looking
new variety from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.
In the pictures, it looked a bit like a Coleus to me - golden yellow leaves with a slightly greenish tinge here and there. Reviews said some had white, yellow and green leaves. Should be fun to try.
I am testing it in various areas of the garden, in the ground and in pots.
The leaves should look cool in a glass ice tea pitcher too or any cocktail or salad.
@Trifele and all you veggie gardeners - if you didn't know about this place I think this one might be of interest to you.
... waiting impatiently for my latest seed order from a place called
Victory Seeds in Oregon.
Clunky website but I loved their interesting, amazing heirloom veggie selection and they had a pencil that is supposed to work on metal garden markers, yay.
Apparently, they are part of a global heirloom seed project - I was thrilled to find the Kohl Rabi and Sugar Snaps I wanted and a Turnip variety I remember from my childhood.
Of course, I caved and ordered several more interesting veggie varieties like one of their celeries.
Good thing that Florida has two growing seasons in Spring and again in the Fall.
I may become a true veggie gardener yet:).
Oh and Trifele - my Zinnias are reverting back to wildflowers, probably because these were not Heirloom varieties.
But I ordered enough new Zinnia seeds to last me at least three years so I'll get to play with new combos.
Only one variety looks promising and may have seeded true, we'll see. I just put all the others in an out-of-the-way area and let them be wild.
Anyway, it's 92 degrees here today - heat index 100 degrees - so I'm chilling with endless youtube garden videos and learning more about food forests and tropical gardening to implement in my newest garden area.
With luck, we'll have some decent temps, nice weather this weekend.
Can't believe poor Louisiana is supposed to get hammered by yet another hurricane.
My garden fountain project is stalled but I need to use what little time I can tolerate outside for actual gardening.
I just wish I were done with the weeding in the potager/veggie garden, it is coming along though.
Not sure about planting my other cucumber 'Beit Alpha' - how am I supposed to magically produce some afternoon shade?
I'm really glad I didn't try to transplant the Cucumber volunteers from the compost. They all have their tongues hanging out - this heat and sun intensity is just awful - although surprisingly the tomato seedlings/transplants are hanging in there without a drooping leaf in sight.
Glad the new banana baby just happens to be shaded by the huge Alocasia in the afternoon, still, it is struggling every afternoon.
I should have waited and ordered the banana in the spring to give it a better start - I always thought planting in the fall was better.
Should have paid attention to my Florida garden book - in
Central Florida - Bananas should be planted in the spring.
I am discovering that Australian plants do very well in my particular sub-tropical not tropical:) micro-climate.
California plants only work 25% of the time.
Expensive mistake!
One silver lining though - this beautiful scented Philadelphus 'Mock Orange'
It barely made it through our hot summer only with extra attention and water, but I moved it Saturday and found the perfect spot!
It shook off all it's leaves and is covered in new green growth already, finally looking happy!
It isn't the spot I would have chosen, but hey, if it looks good and smells amazing right by my potting table - I can live with that.
Hope you are all having fun gardening or dreaming up your spring garden!
Send me some cool air blasts!!!