Garden 2020

[marko]

Pretty much got most everything in now. Onions plentiful over winter still. About 10 pepper plants dispersed between the onion/garlic, which will have room as I thin it out. Home made trellises with beans to the right and cow peas in the middle, cucumbers at the end of them. Squash seeds planted and tomato plants at the back. There some tomatoes and peppers around the pool. I bought some fabric bags for potato growing and they seem to really like it. Will get more for the sweet potatoes coming next month. Will have to followup in a couple months so you can see what it looks like.

[AngelGirl]

That's making good use of a small urban plot! Hope it works out well.

Do you compost? and have you gardened here like this in prior years? I'm familiar w/the varied soil/weather conditions in that region so I know what a challenge it can be!

[marko]

Yes, I compost. Mostly because I do not like spending money on dirt when I can make it better myself. been doing it longer then 10 years. It varies from year to year how successful, depending on the weather. The heat tends to kill off some stuff like the tomatoes, but the okra loves it. I share excess with neighbors and did manage to jar things like beans on occasion.

[AngelGirl]

Oh, yes, the heat some summers bakes everything!! I mostly gardened in flower pots when we lived in our little patio home in Ft Worth so I could move them back and forth into shade or sun, depending upon what the weather was at the time. But as for edibles, I grew only herbs so that was easier!!

Looks like a good year to share ... our local farmers here are finally getting the respect they so richly deserve!!

[marko]

A month later.
Some inventory of what I got, including whats by the pool and in pots:

Green Onions and garlic
Tomatoes - 3 varieties
Potatoes
Peppers - at least 6 kinds from hot pequinos to sweet gypsy peppers
Squash/Zucchini
Sweet potatoes - 3 varieties
Cucumbers - 3 varieties
Thyme, Rosemary, and Sage
Pole beans - 4 kinds but lost track of which ones.
Cowpeas - 1st time for those
Okra - Trying one called Stewart's Zeebest which should be prolific once it gets going. Interesting story about it here, http://masterofhort.com/2015/05/stewart ... g-leander/. Developed by a couple in Houston back in the 80's.

[AngelGirl]

Wow ... the rosemary really loves that spot!

[AngelGirl]

Marko, do you have anything planted in your fall garden this year?

[marko]

Yes, I did plant more stuff then I usually do for the winter. Mostly in large pots once the flowers were gone. I am still harvesting other stuff like peppers and tomatoes that made a comeback on a couple plants. New stuff:

Onion sets
Broccoli
Brussel Sprouts
Turnips
Radishes
Lettuce
Pak Choy
Carrots
tomatoes in grow bag

The one tree in a pot by the pool is meyer lemons we just picked. Sweet potato harvest was mostly a bust. Wasted a lot space on that. Okra plants left are just for seed harvest to plant next year. There is 4 potato plants I threw in there that were going to seed in the pantry.

[AngelGirl]

That just shows how even a small space can be utilized for a home garden! Lovely! Ah ... nothing like fresh, homegrown lemons for lemonade or a nice lemon sauce for veggies! Hmmm ... "pak choy"? I've never heard of it although I am familiar w/bok choy ... is it the same or related?

[marko]

Pak Choy is just mini Bok Choy. Last harvest for the summer garden before the freeze hit us.

[AngelGirl]

Wow - that's beautiful, Marko!

Yep, the freeze got my coleus. But while they were showing off their colors they were beautiful and not as much maintenance (sweeping the porch, etc.) as with blooming plants.

Other than the acorn squash plant I grew from seed in the early spring, I didn't even try to grow anything edible this year. The squash plant got so big and unwieldy that I finally had to let it succumb to the hot sun but it had some gorgeous yellow blossoms and there were a couple that I thought were going to set but they shriveled up and died. Our apartment has a large lanai but it faces north, doesn't get much sun except for a short period of time in the very hottest part of the summer! Not exactly ideal for plants!

[AngelGirl]

The frost is sure enough gonna be on the pumpkin over your way in the next few days! Our cousin was out covering all his sago palms.
Hope your garden has been successfully harvested and ready to winterize!