Broccoli and Tomatoes...Oh My!

The temperature in Zone 10 is ramping up and the recent tropical thunderstorms have enhanced production in the garden.

Remember this? From my recent post. 

April's Yield - A Veggie Update

Give that Broccoli a good shearing!

After the main head has been removed from the Broccoli, and little biddy side shoots are still being harvested, just give the Broccoli a really good shearing. At least a quarter of the plant off. Cut off all those "healed" side shoots and put them in your compost bin.

And, after two or three fairly decent yields just from just the off - shoots, and after the shearing, here is the result a week later from just one plant.

And here is the total Broccoli produce - just from side shoots, along with my tomato yield.

I have a variety of tomatoes ripening on a western window shelf, because if I don't pick them the Woodpeckers will pick at them. The larger green/yellow tomats are "Lemon Boy," also the best tomato ever in my opinion.

The small red and green tomats are "Early Girl" a total dud in my opinion. Also non producers in my garden is the so called "Heatwave," and the equally misnamed "Solar Fire," (not shown here since all shriveled up and died in our 'heatwave' of 70 F, yup, totally worthless). I have yanked all three from the tomato bed. 

The temperature is already in the mid 80F here in South Florida, so Zone 10, do yourself a favor and stick with at least one Lemon Boy in your garden - they will still yield fruit into June.

Firsts of The Season - A September Preview

My Florida Gardening Season is now underway and I wanted to highlight some of my ‘firsts’ of the season.

Left: Seedlings of Lemon Boy tomato (seed planted 8-20), and Ichiban Eggplant (seed planted 8-3). Both from seeds I harvested myself.

Left - Sweet 'n' Neat tomato that I bought a month ago as a transplant now has some little buds on it. It's a Determinate variety and will grow in a 10" pot, so ideal for a patio veggie garden. 

The Early Girl is flowering (right). This tomato is really thriving at almost 14” taller than when I bought the transplant. Early Girl is an Indeterminate variety and we should have some yummy tomatoes before Thanksgiving.

The Ichiban eggplant has one pretty, little flower.

The Sweet Bell Pepper below is showing signs of vigorous growth. I can almost taste that salsa I'll be making soon.

Now the temperatures are around 75F at night, I have also planted seeds of broccoli (Packman), and also some Oak Leaf lettuce - both from self harvested seeds.
In addition I have Cherokee, Brandywine and Heatwave II tomato seeds waiting to germinate. I bought the Heatwave II from Reimers.
View my previous blog for seed sources - link below.

Ready, Pot, Grow......

But my piece de resistance is the abundance of little Calabaza squashes (below) that are draped all over the bottlebrush. They are about 5” long.

This very hot pepper plant (read scorching hot) has revived itself. The label at Home Depot reads Jalapeno, but I don’t think so. I believe they are Tabasco. We can’t eat them anyway, but a certain type of bird visiting in the summer (now since migrated) just couldn’t get enough of them. I really don’t know what to do with them, but they remind me of little Christmas lights on the tree for some reason.




Have you started your Florida Vegetable Garden yet?  What "firsts" do you have  going growing on in your garden?

My Summer Veggie Garden Rests - A Summary

I was pleasantly surprised this year by the amount of produce the garden yielded. Between whitefly infestations, aphids, powdery mildew, ants in my pots, munching lubbers and hornworms, squash borers, flea beetles, and sparse rainfalll, 2012 was a winner...No really it was!

The above picture is an example of a twice a week picking (March through June.) Just double the tomato and broccoli count.


As a general guide for other Zone 10 South Florida gardeners, my garden harvests were ready to pick as follows:


Nov - May      Broccoli (Packman)
Dec - June     Ichiban Eggplant, Sweet 100 Hybrid Cherry, 
                   and Lemon Boy Tomats
Jan - May      Bush Beans, Cherokee Tomats, Roma (Juliet) Tomats,
                   Big Beef Tomats, Black Beauty and Hansel Eggplant
                   varieties, Red Leaf Lettuce, Oakleaf Lettuce, Arugula,
                   & Bok Choi
March           Cauliflower              
April - June    Radish (Riviera)
June - Aug     Finally the onions I planted back December ripened.


What didn't do well at all this year: Spinach, Zucchinis, Carrots, Squash, Solar Fire (variety Heirloom) Tomat, and Cucumber. The Artichoke failed completely - although, while it lasted, it made an attractive accent to the garden with its spreading, silvery gray and feathery foliage. I think I'll just consider it an ornamental next season.


Eggplant: This was my first year growing eggplants. I tried 3 varieties: Ichiban, Black Beauty and Hansel. Next season I will just grow Ichiban and Black Beauty.

Six things come to mind immediately.

Black Beauty

 1) They need a really big pot 2) Lots of regular feeding with fish emulsion 3) Plenty of water 4) A large tomato cage right from the start, cos they grow BIG, and the vines with fruit on are heavy, and need to be supported 5) Watch for whitefly infestations 6) Have plenty of friends and family that love eggplant because you will probably not be able to eat them all!

Ichiban

Millet: We have three birds, two Maroon-bellied Conures and a Lovebird. So May and June I grew our own millet. Take store bought millet and sprinkle seeds in the ground/pot and watch those grasses pop up. They didn't grow as large as store bought millet, but the birds loved them, even in their slightly green stage. But then my birds love everything, including, but not limited to: shredded cheese, sea grapes, apples, strawberries, scrambled egg (with cumin), cheerios, bacon, marigolds, hibiscus, coriander seeds, peanuts, yoghurt, pizza crust, and sips of orange juice...whew!

Tomatoes: I tried four different varieties of tomato this year. In addition to my prolific producers Lemon Boy, and Roma Juliet, I added:
Sweet 100 Cherry -----  fruits are so sweet and juicy and makes for great snacking while working in the garden. No problems with this tomato. I grew it in a pot and it was fine.
Big Beef -------- great tasting tomatoes, deep red, very juicy - watch for hornworms early, it was nearly wiped out by them and took a month to come back. Fruit is a little slow to set but worth it. I'll just plant two or three next time. I also grew this one in a pot and was very pleased with yield.
Cherokee ------ an Heirloom, yet not a producer in my garden, although the flavor is amazing, so I'll persevere. Grown in the ground with plenty of compost, feeding and mulch.
Solar Fire ----- an Heirloom and supposed to be well suited to warmer climates. We had maybe 3 little tomatoes and it faded away. Grown in the ground, as above.
Next season I will be dropping Solar Fire and Roma Juliet and growing Brandywine (Heirloom) Yellow and Red varieties and Heatwave II.


Peppers: In previous years we had bumper crops of Sweet Bell and Banana type peppers, not so this year. My consolation prize was that we had hundreds of Jalapenos, but they were so darn hot, we couldn't eat them. Luckily they did not go to waste. A unknown, migratory bird of a gray and black coloring, with a creaky-door sound as bird song goes, came to the garden every day and picked them off, one by one.


Broccoli: We had a seemingly never-ending crop of Packman broccoli from November onwards. Cut and come again with those little side shoots, divine in stir fries or omelets. My son would walk around the garden, snap off those little side shoots and eat them raw. See below for his cheeky face.

"Guilty, as charged!"

This year I am going to try another couple of Florida recommended types: Waltham 29 (large heads up to 8" across and good for freezing), and DeCicco,(whose leaves are edible like collards), maybe Calabrese too. Yep, we eat a lot of broccoli.


Onions: The onions that I planted in December 2011 were very slow to develop. I need to be more patient and give them time. I have been pulling them up in their scallion phase and chopping up for stir fries. We have a bumper crop though. Well worth the wait. Some sources online suggest pulling the earth away from the emerging bulb.

Onions

We are also growing Peanuts this year, although the pesky squirrels think they belong to them.


The Calabaza pumpkin has taken off again, although I must confess it's a bit of a nuisance and is trying to smother the Bottlebrush. The leaves are at least 5 - 8" across. I think it's very tasty, but the boys don't care for it at all.

Calabaza

The Mammoth Dill is still growing and attracting the black swallowtail, also I have Red Leaf Lettuce still thriving (who knew), along with Culantro, and hoards of Mint, Basil and Rosemary. The Marigold reseeded themselves, as did the Pineapple Sage.


I'm getting the soil ready and purchasing supplies and seeds for the upcoming Florida Veggie Season. I will be installing some raised beds this year, and of course my broccoli-eatin' son will be assisting me with that project.. yes you are!


Next Up: What I'm Planting in My Zone 10a Garden this August and Sept.

Lemon Boy: Thumbs Way Up

This year, for the first time, I decided to try a different kind of tomato: Lemon Boy. The bush is huge and started off with loads of fruit, but the birds ate most of them. Luckily I saved one while it was still green (and unpecked), and ripened it on a sunny outside windowsill.

For the last few days the temperatures have been in the mid and high 80F.

Lemon Boy

With the toasty temps outside, I decided to cool down with a nice crisp backyard salad, and I wanted an excuse to eat the only ripe Lemon Boy that I have - and maybe will ever have.

Marglobe Tomato, Banana Pepper, Salad Leaves

I meandered around the garden picking oakleaf, endive, and prizeleaf lettuce, some arugula, I snipped some garlic chives, added a banana pepper and a variety of bell called yummy. To this I added a fresh chopped Marglobe tomato, the Lemon Boy, a few nasturtium leaves for their peppery taste, and the flower itself. I topped my salad off with a few items from the fridge; a strawberry, raw mushrooms, cucumber, topped off with a large sprinkle of sunflower seeds and an even larger drizzle of homemade balsamic vinegar.

 

It was delicious and filing. The combo of crisp, tangy peppers and peppery nasturtium and arugula, buttery lettuces and the sweetness of a ripe, home grown tomato, shone through the balsamic dressing. To me, the Lemon Boy tastes somewhere between a sweet red grape and a tomato. It's a different taste and, I think, quite unique.

Bon Appetit - to me!

Please forgive my modest plates. With two teenage boys I have gone through several sets already. 'Butter fingers' is the phrase that comes to mind :)

And yes, I did eat the flower: honest I did.