Spring Garden 2022 Part 2

 

     If I didn't mention it, I planted up my cannas this spring. I am so over losing all of my cannas to frost, from now on I am going to keep them in the backyard again. I am also going to utilizing the punch bowl method to ensure that they are well hydrated in the backyard, which is something I had trouble with the last time I kept them in full sun in the backyard.

     Also included naked onions, naked black beans. My mom gave me some stromanthe and variegated ginger.

Spring Garden 2022 Part 1

 

     This spring I had some time and I replanted some of my cannas, also planted some beans, onions, spiderwort, sweet potatoes. My mom gave me some ginger, and I bought a basil plant from the grocery store.

Morning Glory, Ipomea purpurea

     Wikipedia says that Ipomea is a large family of over 500 flowering plants, which include many species called Morning Glory, Sweet potato, moonflower, and water spinach.

      Many of the Morning Glories contain alkaloids, making them not palatable and possibly toxic. Some say that the seeds of certain Morning Glory species contain psychoactive compounds. Obviously this area needs more research; however, it was enough of a problem that Louisiana banned the production of Morning Glories outside of ornamental purposes.

   Plants for a Future lists Ipomea purpurea as not edible, but does address the medicinal or hallucinogenic quality of some seeds.

 
     So possibly edible, possibly toxic. Probably something I will not continue growing on in the future, in favor of better plants, like its cousin Sweet Potato.

Pink Mystery Flower

May 2019

     I wish I knew what this wildflower was called. It is quite beautiful and large, at least 18 inches tall. Found in the spring time in the grasses on the Weeki Wachee Preserve.
     One of the suggestions that I have received online says that this is a Thistle. What do you think?

Spring 2019 Beans, Part 3

     As full-on Summer begins, the Spring bean plants start to die down. I let the pods dry on the plant, then feed the dead bean plants to the rabbits after harvest. In September I will replant the new beans for another crop.
     I very much enjoy all of Fabiacia that I have tried. Perhaps soon I will give Chickpeas/Garbanzo another try. This Spring I was growing an unnamed white bean, which made bushes less than 12 inches tall.

Sneaky Morning Glory Plants

    You think you canna get away with that?

Beans, Spring of 2019

     This spring I decided to try something different.  I planted a bunch of mystery beans in my containers, along with some morning glory. The beans were cheap and white, and said they were bush variety, so why not? I guess I am a why not kind of person.
     The germination rate on the beans was pretty decent - more than half sprouted. I can't complain about that.

     The best thing about beans is that they have been hybridized to grow quickly. This is a boon in our short spring growing season. Beans share this trait with peas. Every day you can walk over and visibly see that there has been a change from the previous day. Suddenly there are flower buds and tiny pods. Leaves are good in salads and smoothies, or with the stalk fed to the rabbits. And the flowers are gorgeous!

     There is a lot growing on in these pictures, as I am a big fan of polycultures and diversity. I am learning to appreciate the traditional choice of potting mix - that spaghnum moss is an excellent moisture sponge. It makes me wonder what other traditions people are growing on? I will post more pictures as they flower and fruit, assuming I can keep up with rhe watering!

April 29th, 2019

How to Clone your Basil, Part 1 of 3

You may be wondering how to stay productive with your growies during the heat of summer. UofF IFAS recommends to do no planting or transplanting during the month of July, likely due to the high temperatures and extremely intermittent rainfall. In August, it would be acceptable to plant some seeds indoors for later transplanting outside, if you are into that sort of thing. Me, I would rather reproduce the growies that are successful asexually indoors during July, particularly growies like this delicious basil that I started from seed earlier this year.
This is a picture of the basil cuttings in my clone bucket, a miniature aeroponic system that bathes the stems in a constant mist. I had previously modified the sprayer head to produce finer misting particles, and once it was loaded with water and a pinch of rooting hormone it was ready to go. Also, the plants won't need light, so the clone bucket is tucked into my fairly dark kitchen where I can keep an eye on it.
Have you ever started cuttings in water, using this method or any other method?

Harvesting the Cranberry Hibiscus

     Earlier this spring my mother found these young plants at a garage sale, and they must have been priced well because she picked up one for me. It turned out the bargain annual happened to be the interesting and beautiful Hibiscus sabdariffa mentioned on the Florida Survival Gardening blog by David. No doubt the original seeds were from ECHO, as my mother lives not too far from there.

     I had no idea this plant could be so beautiful, unusual, useful, pest free, maintenance free...

     Today I am going to harvest the fruit. According to David, the round green bits are not the delicious part, but are where the seeds are stored. It's the red wrappers (or calyx) around the  round green fruit that is used for cooking and eating. This year recouping seeds is a high priority, since this is the only plant that I can source, and likely the only cranberry hibiscus growing in my county. It would be amazing to grow about 10 of these next year, as they like full sun. They do visibly wilt if you neglect to ensure hydration, but bounce back very easily and quickly. (I must have wilted it at least 5 times during the hot part of the summer.) Never would a tomato be this resilient.


       The leaves are edible, and I can tell you that the rabbits eat these leaves even before they eat their normal favorite weeds, Spanish Needle (Bidens alba). Although Hibiscus sabdariffa is tasty, none of the plants in the mallow family, or rose family, are particularly high in nitrogen (protein about 2 1/2%) - a consideration for overall rabbit dietary needs. I did eat a few of the leaves, which were very mild but did have a pretty tasty flavor, much better than Bidens, which is tart. These leaves would be good in a salad or on a sandwich (which is probably what I will be doing since the cold weather is here.)

     The seeds are higher in protein and very high in omega 6 fatty acids, and in quantity are valued as animal feed, particularly for chickens.

     This is the first and largest of probably two harvests from my one plant.

Debunking the paleo diet: Christina Warinner at TEDxOU

     I have decided that every once in a while I will be sharing some videos of interesting, probably nerdy topics. Not all will be related to the food supply, but many will, since we all need to eat.
     This video espouses the common claims that it is even possible to approximate Paleolithic humankind's diet in our modern world. She points out many interesting facts, the most remarkable being the severe hybridization of our modern agricultural system. Our fruits and vegetables aren't what they once were. The end wraps up with a concise summary and plan for those who want to eat in a more paleolithic style.
     What is your opinion?

 

Weeds for Farms

     I think anyone into eating natural foods should be a big fan of weeds. They can be an abundant nutrition source, and for whatever reason they haven't lended themselves to commercial agriculture. Most of the time this reason is difficulty to harvest or perhaps very short shelf life.
     This author is the first, perhaps only, weed advocate for the farming community. I wonder what he would think about the current agriculture revolutions, here, the UK, and in Australia?
     One of my favorite points in chapter 6 is how weeds seeds can be used as a cover crop and as a natural, free green manure source. Maybe this could be a good technique for the South?
     Regardless, it's a thought-provoking read.

Weeds: Guardians of the Soil

Cowpeas, Black-Eye Peas, Vigna unguiculata

Uses: Edible, Forage, Legumes, Xeriscaping. Native to: West Africa
     A true survival food, the cowpea is grown for its edible beans and leaves. It's a nitrogen-fixing legume, which allows it to grow in extremely poor soils. In addition, it's one of the best fodder plants for the deep south.
     Not only do cowpeas grow very well in this area, it seems that wildlife has very little interest in them. This can be a boon when squirrels and birds frequently do their best to defeat even the most resilient of gardeners.
     Plant cowpeas in the early spring, around the beginning of March if no additional freezes are reported. Plant them again at the end of September. They are a short-season annual that only needs about 3-4 months to produce a whole crop of beans. The beans germinate faster if soaked in clean water for 2-4 hours before planting. If desired, innoculate with additional nitrogen-fixing bacteria, but this step is not necessary in order to get good results. Grows very well in the full sun provided they plants have enough moisture to prevent wilting.
     Cowpeas have also been shown to be an excellent green manure and annual cover crop, as they grow in poor soil and have a short growing season. Supposedly they arrived in the US via the slave trade, and are still a New Years Day traditional holiday food in the south.
     Mine are originally from the grocery store, and I have been growing them now successfully for a while. I'm attempting to hybridize some cowpeas that particularly enjoy our weather and soil, though I have been amending the soil with rabbit manure for some time as well. This variety is low-growing and bushy, and can be planted very closely together to maximize your growing space. They are very well-behaved little plants, and will stay where they are placed. At the end of their cycle the beans and plants politely die and dry right on the plant, making harvest very easy.

Innovative Intensive Farming for the Humid Tropics

     I really enjoy this diagram for a self-sufficient farm in the semi-tropics. This particular plan calls for a large crop of sugar cane, which is processed into juice to feed the ducks and pigs. Perennial nitrogen-fixing forage trees are chopped to feed sheep, and azolla is cultivated to feed fish, sheep, ducks, and pigs.
     All the wastes are managed and recycled into the system to fertilize and prevent erosion. When done on a large enough scale, the meat and vegetable production could be great enough to take to market.
     This particular system could easily be modified for Florida by not changing a thing. Sugar cane grows well in most parts of the state, as does azolla and duckweed. The system might slow down in our cool winter, but should restart without any troubles in our warm spring. The daily chores would involve collecting food for the animals and managing livestock and manures. Like on any farm or homestead, the family's vegetable garden would need periodic tending. Overall, it looks like a balanced system with minimal outside inputs.
     The full description can be found here.
   

Survival Gardening in Florida, Part 2

     As far as growing carbohydrates, nothing really jumps out at me beyond sweet potatoes, cassava, sugarcane, the safe yams, and coontie, which are all very nutritious and pack a good deal of fiber as well. Also, kids like them. The leaves of all but coontie can be eaten or used as fodder. White potatoes are great too, if you are really good at growing them. Some grains that do well in Florida include amaranth and sorghum. Sorghum can be made into a tasty molasses if a person desired it. There are a ton of fruits that grow very well in Florida, the most well-loved being citrus, which can, with choosing proper varieties, be available for picking fresh about half the year. Canna, carrots, lilies, and cassava roots are all loaded with vitamins and nutrition. Sugarcane grows very well through most of the state. Bees love it here too.
     As far as growing fats, that's going to be a tough one. This might be a good time to mention micro-livestock like rabbits, guinea pigs, or chickens. Quail are great, but need an extremely high-protein feed as they naturally eat insects. Rabbits can live almost completely on grass and weeds. Chickens can live on almost completely grains and bugs. Fish can be raised in ponds or containers and fed things like azolla, duckweed, or garden worms.
     If I had to choose just three plants to grow to survive on, it would be cowpeas, cannas, and sweet potatoes. Cowpeas are a nitrogen-fixing legume that grow very well in poor soil and can be grown twice a year. The beans are high in protein and fiber, while the plant is high in protein for the rabbits. Cannas, aside from being beautiful and able to handle our hot, humid weather, can yield a starchy root and the leaves are high in vitamins for the rabbits. Sweet potatoes are a nutrient-dense starch, with very excellent tasting leaves which are high in protein. The leaves from all three plants can be eaten raw or cooked.
     Areas of the property which are not actively gardened can be, over time, landscaped with perennials that produce nutrition, fodder, or both. My favorite useful perennial is probably the wild rose bush. They don't have much of a smell, but make large, beautiful flowers that turn into rose hips - very nutritious. The leaves are good fodder and the thorns make the plant valuable for fencing. Thorned or thornless prickly pears are also a wonderful perennial, as the leaves are edible and the fruit is delicious. Plant those with an asiatic lily in between each bush and you will have created lush, flowery nutrition.
(Previous Page)

Actual Survival Gardening, Part 1

    Survival gardening is a phrase that has been thrown about and equated with permaculture, which it is not. Permaculture is lasting plantings of perennials which give abundantly year after year, while survival gardening is active gardening with a care to provide all of a person's nutritional needs.
     All nutritional needs. Fats, carbohydrates, proteins, fibers, trace minerals, and vitamins.
     There is a lot of debate as to how much land it would take to provide for all nutritional needs. Some people might say one acre per person, others more. Would all nutritional needs include meat and fish? what about the healthy fats that are in avocado and olives? So everyone is going to have their own opinion on land consumption, particularly in regards to climate and use, for example, like bio-intensive agriculture.
     I think as far as growing protein the first thing that jumps to mind is nut trees, and the first one that really jumps to mind is pecans. They grow really well in most parts of Florida, where other nuts fail. The rumors of a pecan blight exist, though I have not seen it for myself yet. Then there are bean plants, which are low-growing, sun-loving herbaceous protein factories. Peanuts, cowpeas, and green beans all do well here. Probably the best part about growing beans is that the plant stalk and leaves make great fodder for livestock once the beans are harvested. Sprouted grains are reputedly high in protein and vitamins.
(Continue Reading)

Benefits vs. Arguments for Guerrilla Gardening

     Guerilla gardening is in full swing during the warmer months all across the United States. Likely a reaction to cooped-up urbanites retaliation against metropolitan space waste, guerrilla gardeners plant flowers and vegetables in areas that are otherwise laying fallow or abandoned.
     Some people aren't happy with guerrilla gardeners. Recently in Washington DC, the city removed hundreds of red, white, and blue flowering plants that had been placed by a guerrilla gardener on a sloping embankment, claiming that his climbing could lead to falling, which would incur liability for the taxpayers. They also claimed that there was no money in their budget for the upkeep of the plantings.
     Another recent article in the New York Times paints urban guerrilla gardeners in a negative light by supposing that a landscape of nothing but edibles will be a landscape without pollinators. This, of course, is untrue. I also emailed the author, Mariellé Anzelone, about her error concerning sassafrass. Her solution is not to avoid planting up the urban landscape, but to plant native wildflowers to promote diverse pollinators.

   "Urban activists should celebrate the indigenous wildflowers that sustain our pollinators beyond the short life span of fruit tree blossoms. In addition, we should incorporate native edibles into the planting palette. Blueberries, Juneberries and beach plums feed more species than just us humans."

     Anzelone and I agree on one thing, which is that native plants should be incorporated into any plan for regreening an urban zone. All too often city planners try to beautify by planting non-useful non-natives, like crepe myrtle and oleander. WE, the citizens, should be greening with natives and edibles like oak trees and others that were once found here in a time before pretty little homes.
     She neglects to point out that done properly, a neighborhood or area planted with nothing but edibles would still attract pollinators because the garden planners would want great diversity in their plantings. Anyone with a bit of gardening knowledge knows to plant more than one type of vegetable, or a time will come when you will be hungry. Does she think guerrilla gardeners are greening their cities with nothing but Irish potatoes, the nation's most popular vegetable? Or nothing but red delicious apples?
     As any permie can tell you, diversity in plantings is what promotes resistance to disease and pests. Planting a good deal of wildflowers will bring in butterflies and bees, but also bring in caterpillars and grasshoppers. You have to pick and choose your battles, and better to have a wide variety of edible or useful plantings than a lot of space wasted on toxics that attract plant-eaters. With the internet making distant knowledge available, and international shipping being how it is, there is no reason every abandoned easement can't be planted with useful edibles, or native edibles, or just native plants. Sweet potatoes from Japan, climbing beans from Germany, sugarcane from the Dominican Republic, the possibilities are endless. For some ideas for diverse edibles for Florida, check out my site and this site.
     For example, a maple tree might be useful in several ways, and is native. Native cottage roses are the same way. Both can be edible to humans and urban livestock and provide beauty. Roses attract pollinators. Maples provide shade and windbreaks, and can provide firewood. Almost any plant can be rated according to some simple points like these, and as long as plantings remain diverse, urban gardeners will do well with it.

     Eight Points for Identifying Useful Plants

     Edible to humans

     Edible to urban livestock

     Edible to urban wildlife

     Attract pollinators

     Provide beauty

     Provide shade and windbreaks

     Provide textiles or firewood for humans

     Provide habitat for urban animals

The Rabbit Manure Garden

     I didn't believe the claim that rabbit manure was garden gold, so I decided to prove it for myself. After all, if a five gallon bucket of this stuff can go for $10 or more, it must be great, right?

    The patch above was the remains of the first pond hole, the hole that had the cable line running through it. I filled it with rabbit manure and planted some seeds, topped with a bit of mulch. (A sunken garden bed). With the watering and excellent spring weather, the squash plants quickly overgrew the beans and peanuts, with the cannas reaching outrageous proportions faster than the cannas elsewhere. I didn't even expect these squash to do much more than sprout, since I have had such dismal luck elsewhere in the yard. They are even larger than my dad's squash plants, and he's a gardening genius who's fond of fertilizer. It would be pretty nifty to get a squash out of this bed, but if I don't, the squash leaves are good rabbit eats.

Same squash plants planted at the same time lacking manure.

     There are wild claims on the internet that rabbit manure is wonderful because it contains no weed seeds. That is true, but only if you feed your rabbits commercially prepared pellet diets and no other food. My rabbit manure has weed seeds from their favorite weeds, and seeds from some of their other foods like strawberries and blackberries. So they poop out more food to eat. Awesome.
     An interesting, but unrelated paper about phosphate.

Rosary Pea, Precatory Bean, Abrus precatorius

Native to : India. Uses : Xeriscaping, Jewelrymaking (if you're brave).
    While camping at Oscar Scherer State Park last fall, our campsite had a beautiful climbing vine at the end of it. When I pointed it out, everyone in my family said, "Is that a fern?" Well, it turns out that it is a non-native, naturalized vine, that is listed on the Florida Invasive Plant List as a Category I.
     This particular vine was about 15 feet tall, it climbed from the ground into an oak tree very dramatically. It had 4 or 5 stems which were intertwined (growing up an older vine?) and many, many clumps of pods that looked like this one. I regret not having my camera for a photo of it!
     Historically it was cultivated for ornamental value. Both the vines and beans are attractive. The beans were formerly used to make jewelry, particularly necklaces, hence the name Rosary Pea.
     It is also known to be one of the most toxic plants on the planet, even more toxic than castor bean, because it contains a chemical called abrin, which halts all cellular protein synthesis. That sounds like a relatively painless way to go, is it any wonder that Rosary Pea had been used historically as a suicide agent? Most poisoning occurs unintentionally when children and animals eat the beans.
     It was featured in this National Institute of Health paper about death by mail-order. Among the natural toxins in this study, it is ranked fourth, while castor bean came in at a lowly twelve.
     Why are beans so toxic? Why are brightly colored things so poisonous?

Tomatoes in Florida, Solanum lycopersicum

Uses : Edible Fruit. Native to : Mexico, Peru
     There is a lot to talk about when it comes to tomatoes, but only a fraction of it is relevant in Florida. Information is readily available from IFAS and even the public library regarding pest control, so we won't go into that here. And the pests do love our tomatoes!
     Perhaps the most important part of tomato growing is the timing of planting the seeds. Whether you start seeds inside or buy seedlings or sow directly in the ground, it is really all about timing. I would say tomatoes are not for the person who puts things off, because late planting will delay flowering and fruiting which will make tomatoes not really worth growing.

     Here we can grow tomatoes in the early spring and late fall. The plants do not tolerate the hottest part of the summer, though your season can be extended into the beginning of the summer by moving your plants into a microclimate, which is why we have had so much success with growing our tomatoes in five gallon buckets. A sheltered part of your yard away from the warm breezes is ideal, and shade, especially midday or afternoon is preferable. Tomatoes need loose soil that drains well, with plenty of nutrition, and frequent watering when the temperatures approach the 80's.
     I personally think cherry tomatoes are much better to grow here than the traditionally larger varieties, as they produce an edible fruit very quickly after flowering, while the larger varieties need more time to grow out the fruit. This additional time factor gives the birds, squirrels, and bugs more time to take advantage of your delicious offering.
     Starting seeds indoors is not necessary but I highly recommend it. This last year we started the seeds in the five gallon buckets on the back porch, and brought the buckets indoors on the nights that dipped below freezing. This fall we will probably do the same, and then set the buckets out for some shady protection at the beginning of September. Another benefit to the bucket system is that we put in potting soil from the store - not something I would normally do, but the potting soil already has fertilizer added.
     Saving seed from season to season is easy to do at home in your kitchen, by harvesting from your best fruits and washing very thoroughly, then drying. Most plants are self-pollinating so even one successful plant will give you more seed to work with next year. Store seeds dry and away from light. Tomato seeds are great gifts!
      The plants are members of the nightshade family, and so are inedible to humans and animals. Dead plants are only good for chopping and composting.

Pink Purslane, Portulaca pilosa, Kiss-Me-Quick

Useful for : Forage, Food, Xeriscaping, Groundcover. Native to : Southeast United States
     This diminutive succulent is an annual in West Florida. Every spring the little plant appears from tiny black seeds the size of poppy seeds in bare sands on roadsides and poor soils. It's fleshy leaves allow it to store water so as to thrive where other plants cannot. The tiny flowers are beautiful on closer inspection.

     The nutrititional value of the purslanes are well documented. The plants are high in vitamins and omega 3. Native Americans used the plants for its medicinal value as well. It has anti-inflammatory properties and was used to treat fevers and as a poultice for burns.
     Its diminutive size and drought-tolerance would make this little plant perfect for a rock garden.