Garden skinny – my personal scoop on gardening

20 May 2013 No Comments

Planting Sweet Potato Slips

Wow. It’s finally happened. My sweet potato slips have sprouted!

sweet potato slips have sprouted

Aren’t they wonderful? Now mind you, not all of them have sprouted. As with humans, you have your early bloomers and your late bloomers and so it goes with these little beauties. But don’t dismay–Mother Nature has a plan! By allowing only a few to sprout, she’s encouraging you to “stagger” your planting.

“Stagger my planting? What the heck does that mean?”

Simply put, you plant a few slips this weekend, a few next weekend and continue until all your sprouts have been planted in ground. While it’s great fun to reap a HUGE harvest at once, who’s going to eat all those sweet potatoes? Seriously, I like sweet potato pie and sweet mashed potatoes with maple, brown sugar and OJ as much as the next gal, but we must set limits.  And these gorgeous goldens will last longer in ground than in your pantry.

Trust me. The kids and I have seen this with our very own eyes. Besides, they get bigger if you leave them in ground and who doesn’t enjoy a big, fat sweet potato drenched in cinnamon butter? Mmmm. This is why we grow them. :)

To plant, place entire potato and sprouts in ground and water well. Speaking of wells, do create that “well” around your new sprouts to retain the water and keep them moist. It will ensure a strong start on their rather long growing season. Sweet potatoes take about 3 – 4 months to fully mature. Can you say fall delicacy?

planting sweet slips

You can also pluck the sprouts from the potato body and plant them alone. If you go with this method, wait until you have a well-developed root network (it will be stringy and hairy) before you plant in your garden and moisture is a must.

planting sweet slip sprouts

But only in the beginning. Once established, sweet potatoes will be fine if you forget to water a day or two. They also prefer a sandy soil versus deep, dark and moist. Another reason this Florida gardener loves them so much!

If you haven’t started your slips, it’s not too late. Check this earlier post for how-to instructions.

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16 May 2013 No Comments

If You See Poop…

It’s a telltale sign. The poop looks like this…

hornworm poop

The beast looks like this…

meet the tomato hornworm

It’s the tomato hornworm and not a good thing for your tomato plants. Look for him. He’s there, somewhere, albeit hard to find. This is a closeup shot taken so you’ll know what you’re looking for, but this fat fella blends in well–and I mean REALLY well, so be vigilant and don’t give up. If you see poop, he’s there.

An easier sign to detect the presence of tomato hornworms is the abundance of bald stems.

tomato devoured by hornworm

No leaves, just stems. (He needs something to climb on, doesn’t he?) He’s there, in the middle of the plant. Can you see how he’s the same color as the leaves? 

Yep. Trust me. This one camouflages well, so look watch for poop or stems. If you see either one, slip on your gloves and get to plucking.  Definitely dispatch this guy from your garden or say goodbye to your tomato plants.

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07 May 2013 No Comments

Don’t Forget to Pinch!

No, I’m not talking fannies. St. Patrick’s Day has come and gone so you’ve missed your opportunity there, but you still have your tomatoes to look forward to pinching. As the weather warms up and the rains fall (the sprinklers shower), they’ll need it. And it’s simple. While you’re strolling through your garden admiring your handiwork (give Mother Nature a little credit, else she dish out a storm of trouble), check your tomatoes for these little suckers. I’m talking about that sprout of a growth emerging between in the “Y” of the branches.

 pinch it

Once you start looking, you’ll notice them everywhere. When you see them, pinch them off. Yep, remove those suckers so that your tomato plant will funnel its growing energy into the main stalks of the plant. No sense wasting time growing a bunch of scraggly branches when you want nice full tomatoes that come from a strong plant. A heavy limbed plant that doesn’t need any more weight than the weight of those ruby-red gems you plan for your next salad–or sauce.

You’ll also want to think about pruning. When your plant reaches a height of say 3 feet, consider pruning further growth by clipping it back. Again, the goal here is to keep it strong and robust for healthy tomato production.

meet the tomato hornworm

While you’re out there, check for signs of this beast. The last thing you want is to invest your time and energy into growing beautiful tomatoes only to have this guy devour your plant in the space of an afternoon. It’s the tomato hornworm and trust me, he will, given the chance. But he camouflages well, so be diligent and check under your leaves, around your stalk. And if you see large droppings of poop on your leaves, don’t give up. It means Mr. Hornworm has paid you a visit and is likely still munching and crunching.

Then sit back, fix that glass of Rosemary Lemonade and enjoy your garden. Because really, other than eating, this is the joy of life. :)

by gardenfrisk in Garden skinny - my personal scoop on gardening

30 Apr 2013 2 Comments

Planting Peanuts

These delightful little nuts are a joy to grow.  Not only do they mature through the summer season, they take their time doing so–while YOU go on vacation!  Yep, plant these puppies in April/May and check back in July/August to reap your bounty!

peanut roots

Okay, just kidding.  You don’t want to leave anything alone that long–except maybe your bathroom scale–because who knows what could pay your garden a visit in the meantime?  Not that peanuts are prone to insects or disease, they aren’t really.  Pretty tolerant from what I can see and living with me–plants need to be tough.  I vacation!  I write!  I have other things to do!  (Don’t we all?)

That said, optimum practice is to “visit” your garden on a daily basis.  Not “work” or “weed” or “water” but simply visit.  Say it with me:  “Ah…it’s so lovely out here among the beds of lush green fruits and veggies.”  More

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24 Apr 2013 3 Comments

Stake and Tomatoes

Take it from me—trial and error gal—don’t learn this the hard way.  Your tomatoes want big stakes, firm stakes.  Sturdy, semi-permanent. They want to know there’s support for them when the wind blows, that they won’t lose their ruby-red jewels dripping from their vines.

triangle cage

Trust me when I say, “think strong” (as in men, too.;)). Next time you’re shopping for tomato cages and you see this packaged structure, walk on. Don’t stop. Don’t waste your time.

Admittedly, I thought this three-walled triangle style cage would be the secret to success. It was–for a while. But when the tomato plant grew and the tomatoes hung heavy, it fell over like a twig.

And this round, loopy one? More

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22 Apr 2013 No Comments

How to Make Sweet Potato Slips

Summer is fast approaching (in Florida, anyway) which means it’s time to get your slips in the ground and growing.  They require a long growing season and they require warmth.  But they don’t grow from seed potatoes, rather the “slips” created from your sweet potatoes.  How does one create a sweet potato slip? 

The technique is easy.  You simply cut your sweet potato in half, perch it upon the mouth of a jar or glass (suspended by toothpicks works well) submerging the bottom half in water.  Voila!  

creating slips

Place in a sunny location and keep the water level high enough so that the bottom half remains wet and then watch your potato sprout. 

After a while—times vary, but you can expect to wait days, even weeks in some cases—shoots (leaves) will form on the top of your potato.  You can gently remove these and place them in water, again half-submersed, and a tangle of roots will develop.   More

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16 Apr 2013 No Comments

It’s Blueberry Season!

We learn by doing.   It’s an age-old saying for a reason.  We read books, study the almanac, listen to the experts, but sometimes there’s no substitute for experience.   The tried and true kind.  Shall we say, true blue?

Blue, as in blueberry patch.   My pride and joy, my dream come true… strolling amidst the morning chirps and peeps, plucking fresh blueberries for my yogurt and bran flakes.  Well, you understand.  This little patch of heaven has come to mean a lot to you.  You work hard for these sweet, luscious, high in anti-oxidant fruits and you don’t want to lose them to the natural elements.  Wind, pests, birds.

bird netting for berries

 Blueberries are fairly easy to grow.  Lots of sun, lots of water, a good acidic soil (think pine bark/needle mulch), a well-balanced organic fertilizer and you’ll have yourself a blueberry patch in no time.  However, once you set out on this project, understand that birds are a definite problem when it comes to berries.   Like you, they enjoy a plump serving of berries with their breakfast.  But they’re hungry varmints and will eat you out of house and home—and garden, if you let them.  But me, I count myself as smarter than the average bear (no pun intended to my friend and also fan of blueberries).  I figure I can outwit these flying friends with a simple bird net.   Says so right on the package:  bird nest for fruit and shrubs. 

Wonderful.  Problem solved.  All I have to do is cover my plants—all twelve of them—and I’m off and running in the blueberry race.  It’s not pretty, but it is practical.

First recommendation:  don’t choose a windy day to start your net project.  Blueberry blossoms are extremely sensitive to the slightest tactile cling and snare easily.  Translated: touch them and they pop off the vine.   Bad.  Very bad.   No blossoms means no berries.

With a little practice, though, I became quite good at throwing and securing my net without touching my delicate blueberry blossoms and only lost a few to the endeavor.   Can you really miss what you never had to start?  If you’ve noticed, philosophy seems to be on overdrive in my garden.

But abstract distractions aside, I finished my task an hour later, rising with a nice deep yoga stretch for my back before I secured my last stake in the ground. 

Second recommendation: don’t attempt this after several hours of weeding and tilling in the garden.   Me?  I’m more doer than planner.  “Oh look, I still have two hours before I need to pick up the kids!   What else can I slip in before my time runs out?”

That’s when I heard it. More

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11 Apr 2013 No Comments

Ever Juiced A Carrot?

We bought a Jack LaLanne juicer a few years back to make the most of our garden.  While there are a wide variety of juicers on the market, we chose this brand for no other reason than the commercials stuck in my head.  Besides, Jack was a fit guy, a motivational sort and I thought, if it worked for him it can work for us!

close up carrot juicing

It does, but so do most of them.  And healthy doesn’t begin to describe a life of juicing.  You’ll be infused with energy, discover a spring in your step (probably because you’ll be pounds lighter!), your complexion will be brighter, your skin luminous–what’s not to like?  Actually, the hardest part about the juicing lifestyle for me is the clean up.  I know, I know….wah.  But truthfully, juicing is so simple and makes great use of your harvest, you’ll wonder why you waited so long to start.

juicing carrots

My daughter enjoys juicing, so long as I handle the mess.  (See what I mean?)  She finds it easy and fun though I’ll warn you, before you pull out that juicer, harvest a lot of carrots, or spinach, strawberries–whatever it is that you want to juice, because you’re going to need a bunch of it. More

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09 Apr 2013 2 Comments

Southern Cornbread

After my sad post about giving up on corn, I needed something to boost my spirits, a little pick me up, if you will.  And there’s no better way sometimes, than with a spot of comfort food.  Southern Cornbread, anyone?

This is a recipe I devised through trial and error, not to mention the help of my daughter’s taste buds.  I’ll warn you, she’s a sweet one.  Sweet on the outside, sweet on the inside, plain everything in her world is sweet—including her preference in food.  Which leads me to a disclaimer:  this is NOT my mother’s recipe.  (We don’t want to tarnish her reputation in any way, particularly “guilt by association.”)

To be completely forthright, we took her basic recipe and modified from there.  Frankly, I prefer her recipe, only not oven-baked as she directed, but pan-fried, with lots of yummy butter to make it a beautiful golden brown.  My apologies to my healthy friends—this recipe is anything but.

But it’s oh-so-delicious.  And simple–the best part of all!

Southern Cornbread

Southern Cornbread

2 cups yellow cornmeal

2 cups buttermilk

3 TBSP melted bacon drippings, extra to grease pan

1 egg

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup vanilla pudding mix (optional – to add moisture)

2 TBSP sugar (optional – for the sweet tooth!) More

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03 Apr 2013 2 Comments

Confessions From A Corn Field

Sort of.  I have a confession to make.  I have no plans to plant corn this year. *sigh*  It’s proven a tough plant for me.  Too tough.  Which makes for a very sad day in my household because corn is delicious–especially fresh from the cob.  It’s fun, because the kids can craft corn husk dolls on their way to the compost pile.  It’s versatile, because we can eat it standing between the beds of our garden or hauled up to the house and boiled, roasted or grilled.

kidney beans and corn

And giving up is not in my DNA.  But since I’ve gone organic (the first season after my wonderful neighbors helped me start my garden), I can’t seem to feed my corn enough, de-bug it enough, de-disease it enough.  I won’t say I’ve scored a zero in the endeavor, but the cobs I have harvested are few and far between. The consensus seems to be… More

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