Getting children interested in home gardening is, to say the least, a challenge. Instead of relaxing on soft cushions in climate-controlled comfort where the WIFI signal is strong, the youngster must put down the electronic device and go outside. When in the great outdoors, there are hand tools to be used which require physical exertion….Read more
Tag: Exotic Species
A Time for Tomatoes and More in the Sunshine State
Two popular vegetables will soon be producing in panhandle Florida vegetable gardens. One will come to the end of its season in a few weeks, and the other one is just beginning. Tomatoes and peppers have a long history in the region’s home gardens and a much longer history of being cultivated in the New…Read more
A Sweet Fruit to Bridge the Holidays
Retail marketing in the 21st century has occasionally strange and odd juxtapositions of merchandise which have some shoppers scratching their heads. For example, on the shelves currently are about 20 different cream-of-mushroom soups from a famous brand. There is the usual fat free variety, but there is also the gluten free, heart healthy, low salt,…Read more
A Healthy, Tasty Snack Throughout the World
In north Florida, October is a transitional month for home gardeners with the summer vegetables ebbing in both growth and production. Fall and winter crops are going in, but in most cases, they are still too underdeveloped to utilize in any volume. It is a curious alignment of convenience that one of the last to…Read more
Adding Some Spice to the Home Garden
Gardening during the summer of 2024 has been “interesting”, to say the least, in panhandle Florida. The temperatures have been higher than recent averages and several storms have been quite violent. The environment’s tantrums limited the choice of crops to the stalwarts able to handle the 90-degree temperatures, high humidity and the intermittent rains, some…Read more
A Spicy Addition to the Home Garden in the Sunshine State
Panhandle Florida’s gardens are still producing in August, at least in plots where the weeds have not overtaken the remaining vegetable plants. Granted, the choice of crops is limited to a few stalwarts able to handle the 90-degree plus temperatures, the high humidity and the intermittent rains, some of which have been brutal in their…Read more
A Tasty Garden Staple That Can Take the Heat
The summer temperatures have begun to transformed the vegetable gardens of panhandle Florida. The daily 90 degree plus thermometer readings and the typical summer humidity have wilted many spring garden vegetables. One heat hardy exception is the eggplant (Solanum melongena). This member of the nightshade family, which also includes tomatoes, requires the heat to thrive…Read more
A Colorful Beauty With Many Uses
In the days before mass marketing, big box retailing and internet sales, people had to create their own solutions to the wants and needs of daily life. The results were based on the materials at hand and were often imaginative, but sometimes bordering on the absurd. If purchasing and bartering were not an option, then…Read more
A Beautiful Surprise in the Home Garden
A familiar face in an unfamiliar setting can often cause confusion. This understandable reaction can happen with gardeners and their plants just as easily as with any other scenario. Currently with so many exotic and seasonally showy horticultural products in the environment, it is challenging to keep up with all the blooms. Even so there…Read more
A Healthy Food Staple With Thousands of Years of History
March in panhandle Florida is a transitional gardening month. Both spring and winter gardens are being tended, with the winter crops soon coming to an end and the spring crops developing. From a weather perspective, the year 2024 has been kind to vegetable gardening. The temperatures and rain have been close to seasonally average. Most…Read more