Flora Journal in Northeast Central Florida

I have a potted pepper plant growing on my front porch that had about four peppers growing on it until the wind, the raccoons or my toddler knocked it over and severed two of the peppers from the plant.  I was looking forward to following the recipe for making Quinoa and Black Bean Stuffed Bell Peppers .  Unfortunately, with gardening comes the unexpected casualties.   I find gardening to metaphorical for life experiences.  We learn that the more seeds we plant, the more things can grow, but not all seeds take root.  We also learn to temper our expectations; to fervently work toward hopes and goals, but not to bury those hopes in cement.  Things change and we must adapt.  It's the natural forces which are too unpredictable and powerful for us to forecast with absolute accuracy.  We can only learn about that which we cannot control and do what we can to adapt while accepting the inevitable.  

I've seen the mustard green seedlings for a few days, but today I noticed the cabbages and carrots are starting to grow. Here you can see a mustard green seedling and behind it are lots of carrot seedlings. It's a bit blurry, but here's one of the baby cabbages! Just for fun, I thought I'd share the pineapple plant I grew from a fruit.  I planted this about six months ago, I think.  

According to the trusty planting wheel for zone 8b, cabbages should be set out in September through the beginning of October.  Well, we are in zone 9, so maybe I have a bit of some leeway, at least I hope, because today I just planted some cabbage seeds.  I raised a few beds and put some seeds in the ground.  I watered them, but I didn't add any topsoil or anything.  I just dug up the dirt a bit, then dug a trench beside them and added dirt on top to raise the beds. A while back I got the bright idea to fill up the garden with pine needles I've collected from a portion of our yard that has not been cleared.  Oh, the things I find back yonder.  Anyway, I thought the pine needles might deter weeds in the garden plot and help save some of the soil.  I think they helped a little, because the dirt looked kind of rich, but I didn't test it.  I probably should start learning how to test soil for acidity and all of that.  I read somewhere that you can do a vinegar or bakin

I bought a Florida Queen Peach tree two days ago from Lowe's.  I've heard that it's not a good idea to buy from bix box retailers, because you never know what kind of root stock the nursury used.  I've heard they might use bay laurel, which is interesting, because I transplanted a bay laurel near the area where our big oak tree died. I probably should have learned my lesson about bix box trees, because I now have thorny, trifolate orange tree growing where I should have had a tangerine tree.  Last year I bought a tangerine from Walmart, and when the winter came, all but the rootstock died, leaving a kind of orange tree that yields very bitter fruit.  I probably could have dug it up and brought it back to Walmart, but I let it grow.  I hear one can still make juice with the fruit, and I think the trees are kind of pretty.  For what it's worth, the White House Garden has a similar orange tree growing, but the fruit is edible. With that said, I'm a little worri

On October 18th, I planted Carrot Seeds, Mustard Green Seeds and my Brussels Sprouts in a small plot in my garden.  I double-dug a small area and covered it with organic topsoil.  I outlined the plot with carrots, then with the mustard greens, and I planted the Brussels sprouts in the center. I heard that mustard greens are good to plant near Brussels sprouts because the pests that attack Brussels sprouts with go for the greens first, so here's to hoping my border of mustard will be a nice barricade for them. I've been trying to garden for a few years now, and I'm so not with it.  I don't have pests memorized, and I'm pretty bad at guessing the right time to plant stuff.  I should have been keeping a log of when I plant stuff so I can learn from my mistakes, so that's why I'm blogging, in case you stumbled upon this blog.  It's really for my own self, but hey, maybe you'll learn from my mistakes too! I do have some eggplants, okra and sweet