Crinum Lily, Crinum augustum

Uses : Xeriscaping. Native to : India and Asia
     The crinum species is a large family of flowering bulbs that look similar to daylilies albeit larger and more tropical. They are actually closely related to amaryllis, and can grow very well in locations that amaryllis succeed in. Like many bushy non-natives, they do better in part sun rather than full, unless you intend to supplementally irrigate.
     Unfortunately this flowering beauty is not edible and cannot be used as forage for livestock, as it grows so well here in barely amended sand. None of the amaryllis family are edible.
     A thin layer of mulch does benefit the plant, and it will, in time, produce young bulbs that you can transfer elsewhere or give away to your friends.

Loquat, Eriobotrya japonica

Uses : Edible Fruit, Forage. Native to China.
     This is a small tree, maybe 20-30 feet tall, but can easily be trimmed into a dwarf style with yearly pruning after fruiting. It is not native, but like the mandarin orange, it can withstand the mild winters in most of Florida. It has been reported that it will not set fruit north of Jacksonville, and I can say that I have never seen loquats growing in Duval, but it could be unknown there.
     It sets its flowers in the fall and fruit ripens in the spring. The fruit can be eaten fresh, with the seed removed, or cooked into jellies, added to sauces, or used in any way you would use an apple or pear. They can be dehydrated or canned, with the seed and peel removed for canning. The fruit should be an orange color and soft when fully ripe, if hrd and yellow it is not ready. The fruit ripens on the tree and will not ripen adequately once picked.


     I suspect the reason not more people enjoy this delicious fruit is that it has a shelf-life of about a week. I have seen it at the farmer's market just once, and never in the grocery store. Usually all the fruit ripens on the tree at about the same time, much like its cousin the apple. Also wine can be made from the crushed fruit in much the same way as you would make apfelwein. A winery near Gainesville makes delicious loquat wine, but it is only available locally.
     The tree does not seem to have problems with pests, unless you consider birds a pest when they ninja all your ripe fruit.

Loquat Wine Recipe

4 pounds fresh loquats
2 1/4 pounds sugar
Water to one gallon
1 campden tablet (crushed)
1/2 teaspoon pectic enzyme
1 teaspoon acid blend
1/4 teaspoon grape tannin
1/2 teaspoon yeast nutrient
Wine yeast

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.

Dehydrating Food on the Cheap

     Having a curious mind will get you everywhere. While stumbling around the internet I was able to find some fascinating information about using solar cookers. There are many different kinds of solar cookers available to build yourself or purchase. There may even be a market to produce solar cookers for sale, if someone were enterprising enough.
     The best part about using a solar cooker is that it uses no electricity at all. It creates no heat in your kitchen for your refrigerator and air conditioner to fight against. It is carbon-neutral, green technology that can be cheaply made and acquired, that will pay for itself in savings after a few uses.
     I am unclear on why so few people use solar cooking here in Florida and elsewhere around the United States. When the weather is pleasant it is good to just be outside, and most solar cookers require very little tending. Sunlight, is much more plentiful and cheaper than charcoal, firewood, or propane.
     The most basic solar cooker that I know of has materials I was able to get at the local W. Mart for under 10 USD. It really has only two necessities, a vehicle sun visor and some self-adhesive Velcro from the craft department.

     Wrap the vehicle sun visor into a cone with the reflective side on the inside. Place the Velcro carefully so as to attach the sides to one another. Ready to go, and portable.
     When dehydrating, follow the conventional rules for dehydration. There are many great videos online, apparently spearheaded by the Mormon movement. Cut the food as thinly as possible, then into as small of pieces as possible. I placed the apples in between two splatter guards that I got for Christmas. I put the splatter guards on top of a dark bowl, then out in the sun at about 11:00 am. I did end up turning the cooker about every hour to track the sun - about 5 seconds worth of work. After 4 hours, half the apples were completely dry. The rest I put out the next day to finish up.
     The secret to dehydrating well seems to be all in the cutting. A lot of people recommend using things like lemon juice or soy sauce, and you can if you wish. But the magic is in the slicing.

Windshield Shade Solar Cooker

China Berry Tree, Melia azedarach, Persian Lilac

Uses : Firewood, Xeriscaping. Native to India.
     This is an extremely fast-growing tree that has naturalized itself all over West Florida. It is much hated by some, because of its fast-growing nature it can and will drop limbs without notice. It is susceptible to rotting from the inside with no visible marks from without. Storms and even children can tumble large limbs down.
     That aside, they aren't all bad. They are extremely underutilized as fast-growing shade trees, which could be quickly providing screen while more permenant, slower growing trees take hold nearby. It is nothing to dig up a young sapling and stick it where you wish in the landscape.
     Another frequently overlooked use is for lumber and firewood. Their live fast die young philosophy makes them ideal for this purpose, perhaps more so than even the native pine trees. More research should be conducted as to whether China Berry trees would make good firebreaks on traditional tree farms.
     The leaves and berries are toxic if eaten in large quantities. Birds snack on the berries but it seems to not be a preferred source of sustenance, so if planning a garden for the wildlife China Berry might not be a great choice.
     The seeds sprout readily in sandy soil much like Cherry Laurel.

Traditional Agriculture Doesn't Work in Florida

     You know what Florida has a whole lot of? Sunshine, humidity, sand, and people.
     A person might logically conclude that sunshine is really all you would ever need, because crops can't grow without it. That's true, plants can't grow without light, but there is so much more that they need in addition to light that light alone does not make Florida the perfect place to grow crops. Florida is blessed with an extremely short cold season, so short that strawberries and tomatoes frequently survive the hours below freezing south of Tampa.
     Sandiness can be a good soil characteristic for plants that need excellent drainage. Most vegetables do need adequate drainage, and plants that "burrow" into the ground, like peanuts and potatoes, do very well in sand. Unfortunately most of our sand lacks beneficial organic matter in quantity enough to support beneficial nematodes and worms, which help plants. Any wimpy tomato or squash will quickly become food for root-knot nematodes, grasshoppers, aphids, and dozens more.
     Virtually all the produce in Florida is treated with insecticide in some form or another, even the organics. This may or may not be a bad thing depending on how you view it, but it is true. The only way to avoid the chemicals is to grow it yourself or be willing to eat strange-looking fruits and vegetables. Even our delicious citrus isn't exempt from this truth, which is why something to the tune of 95% of all citrus grown in Florida becomes juiced. No one wants to eat an orange with canker on the peel even though it may be delicious.
     The solution - eat what can grow here and grow it yourself, or buy local.

Industrial Farming Murders the Tasty Tomato

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.

On Permaculture

     Permaculture is the idea of creating a self sustaining ecosystem with no human inputs (work) that produces a bounty for the landowner. This bounty could be in fruit, vegetables, meat, eggs, firewood, fish, or all of the above. Many property owners are interested in creating a permaculture to efficiently and sustainably use their land.
     A lot of people get caught up in individual aspects like swaling and food forestry yet lose sight of the big picture. Permaculture can be created on any size piece of land. The biggest, hardest part of permaculture is deciding what you want to do with the land and never losing that ideal.
     I think when people move to Florida they usually don't know what they are getting into. Traditional northern gardens where you plant your strawberries and pumpkins in the spring and harvest in the fall simply do not exist here. The bright sun and high humidity bakes most vegetable plants, so gardening for food must be creatively timed around the seasons.
     A much better approach is to plant perennial food-producing plants that tolerate the conditions in your area along with supportive plants, like for example nitrogen-fixing legumes. Sweet potatoes and prickly pear cactus are two great examples.
     Native plants that benefit your ecosystem should be encouraged, not removed. These plants are already well-adapted to the sand and heat. Non-natives that provide no fodder, nitrogen-fixing, edible food, fencing, or firewood should be coppiced and mulched as the caretaker implements his or her permaculture.
     One of the hardest, if not the hardest, parts of starting a permaculture is identifying the plants you already have before jumping to replace them. There are many great plant identifying websites out there, but many do not have pictures or have misleading information about the care of the plants listed. A lot of the commenters on these websites do nothing but complain about how invasive some native plant is. Those people should go live in the city surrounded by buildings and grass, because they won't be happy with anything else. Nay-sayers abound in our lives, just listen to them, smile, and nod, then go do what you want to do anyway. And research your plants; if it's invasive but beneficial, please invade!
     On where to get plants... a complicated question. I have had tremendous luck with the plants from the Spring Hill Garden Club. The plants they offer for sale are disease-free and well-rooted without being rootbound. When you buy from Home Depot and Lowe's it's dicey, plants are usually expensive and rootbound, but the year guarantee kinda offsets that. I have had a lot of annuals die out quickly. Another great place is the USF Botanical Garden spring and fall sales. Vendors from all over West Florida bring an amazing variety of plants. The very best way to get plants is to propagate your own from healthy plants, but this is a skill which takes some practice. What better time to start than now?
     As far as I know, there are no permaculture homesteads in West Florida. There are several CSA's in every county, and these are all polycultures and should be supported. Homosassa Springs State Park grows much of the feed for their animals on-site in the form of duckweed. It's a fun place to take the family in the cooler times of year to see the manatees.
     There was a family that was working on a true permaculture homestead in Dade City, but their blog says that last year they were forced to sell their property. I suspect one or both were laid-off. The young man, errr, I guess he must be about my age, did a great deal of research into good plants for the area for food forestry and aquaculture. I'll put up a link.
     Personally, I am doing a good deal of work on my suburban lot and looking to purchase 10 acres in Citrus county, or maybe Sumter or around anywhere I suppose, for camping and permaculture and hunting. I have had tremendous success with peppers and tomatoes here in Spring Hill, and we are building rabbit pens in the back to continue that success. Here in Spring Hill it is forbidden to have fowl even though it is a bird sanctuary.
     Research. Listen. Figure out your own Big Picture, work slowly toward it. Don't get distracted into the little things or by nay-sayers.

Withalacoochee Permaculture

Creeping Beggarweed, pros and cons

Uses : Forage, Cover Crop, Nitrogen Fixing, Xeriscaping, Ornamental. Native to : Coastal Southeast
     (Desmodium lineatum/Desmodium incanum)
     This beautiful little plant is much vilified by gardeners and mothers alike. An open mind is helpful when dealing with native plants, they were here first and aren't available at garden centers.

• Beggar's Tick is a nitrogen-fixing legume. The natural bacteria that congregates around the roots of the plant fix atmospheric nitrogen and turn the nitrogen into a plant soluble form. When the plant dies the bacteria and plant roots decay and release nutrition.
• Beggar's Tick loves growing in very poor soil and bare sand. Disbelieve the plant profile on Dave's Garden, which seems to be the same for every plant in existence. Beggar's Tick thrives in an acidic soil with low moisture and is a perennial
• Beggar's Tick has amazing flowers. This little plant has bi-colored leaves and in late spring or early summer will shoot up a little stalk with almost orchid-like pink/purple flowers.
• Beggar's Tick's taproot and diminutive size make it ideal for a small rock garden. The taproot will burrow into the rocky area, aerating. When the plant dies the organic matter will be left to improve the rocky area.
• Beggar's Tick has evolved a unique method of spreading its seeds. It can't be a coincidence that they are frequently found near sidewalks and roadways.

Cherry Laurel, Prunus carolinian

Useful for : Shade, Xeriscaping, Wildlife Habitat. Native to : Coastal Southeast United States.
     This beautiful evergreen native has a terrible reputation due to its prolific seeding and runners. The seeds germinate readily even in poor soil, which makes it simple to transplant the tiny trees into more desirable locations.
      The full tree itself is what I would consider a small tree or shrub, but can possibly get as high as 40 ft, though rarely does so when grown out in the open in full sun. The tree grows very well in sand and is very drought tolerant.
     Every winter visiting robins from the north invade my trees to eat the big black berries (about the size of blueberries.) It is well documented that the leaves, stems, and seeds of cherry laurels are high in cyanide, which is toxic to all mammals, but very little information is available about whether the de-seeded fruit is edible or not. Birds eat it, but their metabolism might be able to handle some cyanide while ours cannot. I did taste a fruit, and it was sweet, but I was too scared to eat it!

     A great place to use this tree in a landscape is anywhere that you might enjoy seeing birds, such as outside a patio or kitchen window. It grows quickly so is good for fast shade around your home. It makes a great big hedge which will widen and thicken over time, due to the runners.
     I will keep looking for more information about the fruit being toxic. IFAS says that "the fruit is suitable for human consumption" and that squirrels eat it. I have never squirrels eating it, but that doesn't mean that they won't.
     Supposedly a green dye can be made from the leaves, and a dark gray to green dye can be made from the fruit.