Sylvia,
Are those your banana trees all brown at the far end of your yard next to the white fence? I lost my unprotected banana's too but the covered little pups are still looking good.
The rest of your garden space still looks good even with all the cold.

Lou

Hi Lou

Yes, those are banana trees around the garden, they always look like that after the cold but they come back from the roots, I have not lost any tree yet since I planted them. On the other hand papayas are more cold sensitive and they always die in my garden, I grow them as annuals and then I take them out.
And the garden is producing despite the cold greens by the garbage bags going to friends and people who likes them, harvesting a lot of carrots and beets also. Those are easy to go because people are familiar with them. Either this time I planned it better or the garden is just producing more.

Carrots harvested, still a lot more to pick, I have red, purple, yellow, white and plain orange, they are all good. Beets are also great.

Red carrots

{{gwi:13449}}

Silvia

Silvia,
I have been harvesting from my garden earthboxes and it gets converted into different soups and salads. My wife has been making soups as fast as I can eat them. I love wintertime for all the soups and the homemade breads that she makes, but I don't like working in the cold winter garden. Today was a nice day to be outdoors in the garden and I got a few starter pots planted with the spring veggies. I do a few pots each day and it keeps me busy.

Did you get my reply to your email to me or did it end up in your junk mail?

Lou

WOW Sylvia, looks like you had a 5 star meal and a busy weekend and I thought I was busy today! I really had a great weekend, cleaning up, rolling up frost cloths for the LAST TIME!! (mea culpa-I mean I pray it's the last time!) Your peas look awesome and miles ahead of my Sugar Daddy peas. I did plant some more pea seeds between the peas already climbing up the left over lattice from my pergola roof. Tell me Syl, or anyone else...Can peas and beans co-mingle? I have lots of peas going but haven't started any beans, I am running out of space and thought I'd plant some between the peas since they would have something to climb. They would be a month or so behind the peas...or is it too late?? I already have some raddish showing and some of the romaine looks good enough to eat! Planted out a bunch of tomato seedlings today and planted some more broc and cabbage seedlings. I need to get some nasturtiums, I love them. I planted some delightful marigolds with my tomatoes and veggies, and also sprinkled some cosmos and sunflower seeds for the birds n bees. Beautiful weekend!

Silvia, your cabbage is on steroids. I love the warmer weather.

Lou, I thought the same thing that my email ended up in the junk mail, lol. If you want to send me an email in the future try to put a title like vegetables or anything like that, then I don't miss it.
And I agree with you there is nothing better than soups and salads from the garden especially when they come with homemade bread, that is the best!
Like you, I have a lot of work to do in the garden but if I do little by little it gets done eventually.:)

Hi Cindee, I never grew peas and beans together because peas like cooler weather and beans warmer, but I guess you can try to overlapped them and see how well they perform. Not all the peas in the garden are doing good with the frost, Super sugar snaps are also doing good but a variety tall telephone pole that was growing very vigorous and had a lot of pods, kind of got affected by the cold and the pods are not filling well.
Nasturtiums are in the porch doing well, and I had planted white marigolds that were very nice and got killed by the frost. I liked them, so I will plant them again, together with some cosmos, zinnias when the weather stabilizes a little bit.

Here are my white marigolds, actually they were more like pale yellow before the freeze

Silvia

Silvia,

That meal looks amazing, but your cooking always looks better to me, and I bet it tastes better too! Glad you enjoyed yourselves.

Amber said it right- those cabbages are incredible! All your greens look great.

We are eating broccoli, lettuce and radishes, and still a few tomatoes from the garden (they are very small, but taste much better than from the store). We are harvesting sugar snaps lately and a few greens- collards, tuscan kale (still puny, but I pick the outer leaves), red kale and arugula and other mesclun greens to add to the salads. Nothing in the magnitude of yours, but enough to keep us going to the garden daily for produce. A few carrots look like they're getting big enough to pick now. Just a few. Still have a few pac choi and a little tat soi left to harvest and recently planted another crop.

Today I planted sweet basil, just a couple of squash and cucumbers, eggplant, more carrots, and a couple of sunflowers. I am hoping for rain tomorrow.

Anna

I've had a big weekend and will have a crew come to help plant. I've bought dozens of plants, shrubs, and a couple of small palms. I'm a snowbird and this is our second year reclaiming a horribly overgrown yard.

I've been cleaning out beds and replanting with cold tolerant plants as a foundation and some plants I know I'll have to protect when it is cold. I put in a shade garden with lovely bromeliads and some cold tolerant plants in back. That was my 2011 promise to myself and it'll look wonderful in 2014!

The back part of our house, like so many here, is all glass and open to the pool cage. The great Florida natives I planted last year between the fence and the pool cage look awful. Either it was too hot and dry last summer, or not enough sun, or both. Bananas look horrible enough to cut back to the ground. The most important view is terrible!

I cleaned that area out and will plant the same way. Back drop of holly and other cold tolerant plants, with decorative "dwarf" palms and some plantings that require protection.

In another back side yard is "The Farm" with six Earth Boxes. I want another six.

In the front, I have a good beginning, but it needs laying, texture, and more interest. So more planting! I'm planting some hummingbird and butterfly friendly things that are more cold tolerant and again, some things that are not.

It's back spasm time. I was moving the Earth Boxes with a good hand truck and saw my neighbor come home from the nursery and load a cart attached to his bright red shiny tractor. His lot slopes steeply down to water, so I get it. But, oh my, I had tractor envy!

Carol B.

Your night out on the town looks fabulous!

Hubs cooked tonight; while I kicked up my heels and enjoyed a well earned glass of wine. I finally decided to get rid of the weed patch that masquerades as lawn and extend my prime veggie gardening space. After playing around with stakes in the ground for various ideas; I got going this weekend.

This looks curvy and interesting

Measured out and nailed precisely; worm goodies started

Testing the sprinklers before the wood is finalized - looks good

Coffee break time

All cleaned up

Of course, I ran out of supplies and there is more work to be done; and more yellow flowers to obtain. But, it looks OK for company I think. I think it will be OK in the long run; though right now it looks a bit bare. The tiers will be alternating colors and/or textures of edibles.

Seed starts aren't quite ready to go in. I took you all's advice and acquired another light fixture; but the mechanics of hanging them are not quite worked out yet. Back for more PVC fittings and the Restore for a piece of shelving. Then, I think we'll be lighting the joint up a bit better.

Beyond this curvy bed is a 42" path way then a square 42" bed to be. Right now, I'm tossing weeds and dug out dirt in it. Tomorrow I'll add a layer of Sunday Newspaper, Compost pile cookings and fertilizer. Then keep tossing weeds as I dig them out.

~dianne

Dang you guys are good!
I just watched football all weekend.

I pruned the roses, but other than that my weekend was unproductive.

Silvia, the meals at that place look almost as good as yours ;-) Marvelous garden darling! As usual....

Lots of love in your garden too Dianne, very nice :-)

Football, scrubbed containers, football, potted up peppers, football, ripped out old tomatoes, football, built new plant rack for inside. Off today so I'll scrub more containers if the rain passes, if not I'll rig grow lights to my new plant rack.

Tom

Hi Anna, the dinner that we had was excellent in taste but I have to tell you that if I ate like that every day, I would not have the health that I have now. My meals are based mostly on freshness and vegetables, it is a luxury that we can not have at the best place. The chef was very young and very well experienced for his age and as you can tell most of the dishes are meat or fish based, vegetables play a small part. In my cooking vegetables play a center part and what I picked in the day gets cooked.
As the dishes were coming to the table, the chef was explaining what was in them, when it came to dessert he asked if we prefer chocolate or cheesecake and I said fruits and a little chocolate is okay. If I knew that the berries were going to be so good I would of asked where they got the berries, they were not publix imported and flavorless berries that are available this time of the year.
When I go to different places is good as a learning experience, I liked the idea of the simple square dishes to display the food, I also thought the small serving glass for the appetizer that I did not take the picture was nice and small. I would serve a cherry tomato, a mozarella mini ball, a basil leaf with a reduction of balsamic vinegar, next tomato season coming up.:) And Anna your wishes came through for me, it is raining today!

Hi Carol, you and Dianne I think were the busiest this weekend. Your project sounds very big and elaborate, you will get your rewards when done, and you have the right idea planting cold tolerant plants, nobody likes to see a dead yard, we should all be that practical. My front yard only has plants that tolerate our weather, they might not look beautiful but they always look the same, no dead foliage. Post some pictures when you get done, we all like to see the improved yard.

Hi Dianne, you are for sure some busy gardener, good for you! little by little it will get done. You are going to have enough seedlings to fill the bed. One veggie that is coming back for sure in my garden is the tronchuda cabbage, I have shared with everybody that likes greens and my dogs loves them, especially the stems and they are so good for them packed with nutrition.

Here is a better picture of my older girl

Hi Kristi, you did good too, at least you watched the football for us! lol

Hi Amber, when I had a lot of roses in Arizona, pruning was a big job! now I only have 3 and they take me no time. How is your garden doing? don't be depressed thinking about the nematodes, we all have them and kind of got used to live with them, that doesn't mean we like them.-( About your question of planting near the foundation of the house, it works against the nematodes that is the reason that some people plant figs that way. And the okra in containers, I also heard that happen, the pest control guide was talking that you can even bring pest from another parts just by walking, sometimes roots are contaminated in the mail when we order, I have seen that too when somebody ordered bare roots figs with nematodes already, those are some scary pictures!

Since it is raining today, I will be sowing more tomatoes and peppers that I will give away as seedlings.
Amber, if you like to do indoor projects that wreath is so nice if you see it in person, something like that would be nice as a gift, I was also thinking maybe I will make those dried chili peppers like I seen in Arizona, something to do with the extra peppers...

Silvia

Sylvia: "I never grew peas and beans together because peas like cooler weather and beans warmer"
I am confused, the fgua growing chart show both peas and beans Aug/Sep - April. Do I not understand it right? I am planting the beans a bit later...I have so much to learn.
Syl, I don't know if I told you before, but your girl doggie has the most beautiful face and penetrating eyes!

Cindee, I hope that I did not confused you, but in your zone might work the planting of beans and peas. There are a whole lot of variations to the theme, some beans like cooler weather and some peas take the warmer weather.:)

And thank you about the compliments for my Buffy, she has some wild in her from Arizona and she is extremely smart, she often communicates with me, sometimes she even moves her mouth, she sleeps under my bed, that is her cave. She eats cabbage or broccoli every day, keeps her bones young, even the vet told me that her blood is that of a young dog. For anybody having bone problems I would recommend to juice cabbage and broccoli stalks raw and see how they feel after drinking that. As a child my father always gave me beet and carrot juice mixed with herbs.

Silvia

Amber, I missed the post on the cabbages, thank you very much. This season, I will be growing your pumpkin, I hope that it looks as good as yours.:)

Hi Tom! I missed your post too, you watched football for all of us! and got some activities done as well for the garden. I have something to tell you, the most tasty dish was probably the tempura lobster, I am going to learn how to make that and you will be invited and of course side dishes will be whatever is in the garden growing at that moment. We had rain all day here, harvesting will be delayed for tomorrow.

Silvia

Silvia

You were in my part of town! I'm glad you had a good weekend

Hi Julia, thanks. Are you preparing for the the next tomato season? did you decided on the greenhouse? I hope that you are making plans for the warm weather vegetables coming up. Let us know...

Silvia

Thanks Silvia, you are always so helpful! Any recommendations for a hot-tempered tender green bean for zone 10? Also, I want to try spinach, for salads and steamed with olive oil, shaved parm and browned garlic like my Dad used to make. Recommendations there would also be appreciated. Isn't Malabar stronger and tougher? I am so stoked about my veggies this season! I have to take more Pergola pics. After the rains yesterday, I am sure everything is just happily growing like mad!

After these months of fresh from the plant salad makings I don't think I can go back to stuff from Publix. I'm planning to try several things to see which we like best and will grow best in our area. From what I've read, Okinawa spinach has the best flavor (and only propagates from cuttings; sadly I have none). I'm going to copy my notes from my journal below; I have managed to locate some of these seeds so drop me a note if you would like a few of any to try.

Winged Bean - The plant produces pea-like beans with four winged edges. Almost every part of this unique plant is tasty and edible. The fresh young pods are similar to green beans with a chewy texture and a slightly sweet taste. When cooked, the leaves taste like spinach and the flowers like mushrooms. The firm-fleshed roots have a nutty flavor. This remarkable bean could become one of the most important crops for underdeveloped countries, because it offers a high source of protein.

Winged bean is a tropical plant and grows vigorously in warm climates. However, this plant does not produce beans well during the long day season, but will bear/produce lots of beans when a shorter day season arrives in late summer and fall. Therefore it is suggested to consider this day length situation in planning your planting/growing time for obtaining the best results.

India Spinach Beet - a fast growing vegetable, native to Indian hot and raining summer weather. Leaves are smooth, tender and uniformly green. First cutting can be done in 25 to 30 days after sowing and subsequent cuttings can be harvested in 15-20 days. Instead of the cutting method, some people like to harvest by picking outter leaves for eating, while the plant continues to produce more new inner leaves. This vegetable is strongly resistant to heat and is one of the most popular greens during hot summer in India and Southern Asia. 'Spinach Beet' : Leaves and leaf stems - raw or cooked like spinach. A very good spinach substitute, the leaves are large and easily harvested, yields are high. Some people dislike the raw leaves since they can leave an unpleasant taste in the mouth. Flowering stem - cooked. A broccoli substitute. Looks a lot like chard I think. Also called perpetual spinach I think.

Quoting from an Orlando Sentinel Article (May 6, 2000!):

Okinawa spinach, quailgrass, mountain orach and Brazilian spinach are among the most attractive. Also, they will all grow as container plants.

Spinach oleoraceae is the typical green spinach of Popeye fame. Many other plants have the same common name. They are potherbs that produce edible leaves which are boiled or cooked like spinach. Why not try them?

Malabar spinach, featured at Epcot's Land Pavilion, has attracted a lot of interest. The plant grows as a heat-tolerant vine with red or green foliage. Leaves should be harvested frequently as mature leaves are tough. Young leaves and shoots taste like sweet corn and can be eaten fresh or cooked.

New Zealand spinach is another hot-weather groundcover crop. It has potential as a heat-hardy hanging-basket plant. Seeds are often available commercially. The plants are drought-tolerant and grow in full sun or light shade. Plants grow from cuttings and re-seed easily in frost-free areas.
Tender new shoots of New Zealand spinach can be used in a salad. For the best cooked flavor, boil the leaves twice, pour off the first water and add fresh water for the final cooking.

Relatives of true spinach and beets include strawberry spinach and tree spinach. Strawberry spinach gets its name from the small strawberrylike fruit that can be eaten raw or cooked. Young leaves are eaten in soups and salads.
It reseeds easily, as Hank Bruce puts it, ``with enthusiasm.'' Beware of where you plant it.
Tree spinach grows to a height of 8 feet or more. Eaten cooked or raw, this is another easy-to-grow vegetable.

Mountain spinach, Atriplex hortensis, known as garden orach, is another spinach relative. This attractive plant produces 4- to 6-foot-tall plants with leaves that may be red, green or white depending on the variety.
Coastal gardeners may want to try this salt-tolerant green. Leaves are arrowhead-shaped and can be eaten raw or cooked. Keep flower spikes trimmed to promote tender growth.

African spinach, Celosia argentea, is in the amaranth family. This African native is known as quailgrass in the United States. This plant is an annual that produces attractive flowers suitable for drying. The leaves are red and green and can be eaten fresh or cooked. Tender stems can be cooked like asparagus shoots.
This heat lover grows well in pots or in the garden. Provide full sun and adequate moisture. Harvest often to maintain plants at 2 to 3 feet high.

Brazilian spinach, Alternantheria sisso, as its name implies, is native to South America. This plant is another amaranth but grows as a groundcover growing to 10 to 12 inches high. It thrives in partial shade or full sun and prefers soil enriched with compost.

Chinese spinach, Amaranth gangeticus, is another heat-loving annual. It is a popular addition to Asian diets. This plant grows quickly from seed. Grow it in full sun and provide uniform moisture for best flavor.

A daisy relative, Okinawa spinach, Gynura crepiodes, has attractive succulent leaves that are dark green above and purple underneath. Leaves have a nutty taste. Eat the leaves fresh or lightly steam them to avoid a mushy product.
The daisylike blooms attract butterflies.
Bruce has found this one to be the most adapted to our Florida summers. If you are unable to locate seeds, contact Bruce at 352-383-2704 or by e-mail at hankbruce@mail2.LCIA.com He is eager to hear about your growing experiences.

Diversify your garden, plant some uncommon vegetables and learn about other cultures. You may find we have a lot in common - we need to eat.
Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization, or ECHO, is in North Fort Myers. The group shares information and seeds from a variety of crops being used and evaluated throughout the world.
The group conducts classes and tours and links growers to research. For more information, visit ECHO on the Web at www.echonet.org or call 941-543-3246.
Jim Stephens, vegetable specialist at the University of Florida, has produced a Manual of Minor Vegetables that includes growing tips on a variety of uncommon vegetables. Contact the Osceola County Extension Office at 407-846-4181 or e-mail us at oscmg@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu for ordering information.

Okinawa Spinach is grown and sold locally by Simple Living Institute

Pigeon Pea grows well here in the summer - small bush

Mexican tarragon, Cuban oregano, African blue basil, fennel - these all should do well in the summer and possibly be perennial.

One of these days I should try perilla

Look at Asian greens and vegetables and look for names like "tropical"; or look for Taiwan named/developed plants; or Southern China, middle India.

Hint! Look at other countries/cities around the world in our latitude.

Senposai, Ching-Chiang Cabbage - Hybrid Tropic Wonder, Yu Choy Hybrid, - reportedly grew and tasted good in Houston

~dianne

Cindee
To follow the recommendation of a farmer that grows beans for a living, he said Rattlesnake and Kentucky Wonder did best on a trial. However they were not his favorites or mine. I always grow a combination of beans, different colors, flavors, textures. Since I am not growing for the army, lol, I don't care about a lot of production. But taste is personal and not too many people agree on that. To name a few that I always grow, Jeminez, Musica, a borlotto type always, a yellow Gold of Bacau, these are all pole, if you are talking bush beans there are a lot more varieties and most of them do well.

Now for the spinach dish that your Dad made and you are trying to re create here it is my experience and my likes and dislikes, again they might be different from another person.

In my book Malabar spinach is a no, I don't like the slimy texture when cooked, if you grow it it is like a weed, I had it growing in Arizona summers.
Okinawan spinach, very ornamental, taste not for me, also don't like the thick texture.

New Zealand spinach is only good when is cooked, it has a thicker leaves to survive in the heat, it reseeds in the garden, I have some growing now, can use it in soups where everything is forgiven. Would not use in a salad hot or cold.

Now for the better choices in my type of cooking, here they are.

Spigariello Liscia, an Italian broccoli raab, used mostly for the soft leaves, especially when young.

Swiss Chard when young can be eaten raw in salads, later can used cooked as a spinach, great flavor, very easy to grow and versatile.

The hardy greens that can be used for salads or hot in a dish, chicory, radicchio, frisee

the spinach that I am growing now, spinach regal

And the winner this season, spinach bordeaux

{{gwi:10794}}

When growing spinach try to give them a spot with a little bit of shade from the sun.
If I did not explained something please feel free to ask.

Dianne , you are doing your home work for sure.

This is not a good picture of orach mountain spinach but here it is.

Silvia

HOLY SOX!!! That's a lotta beans and spinach info! Thanks Dianne for that incredible list!

Silvia, phew, I am perusing the possibilities! Spinach Bordeaux is the winner because...????? Growth Habit, Flavor?? Thanks so much for the texture explain-aways on the others. I am a very picky texture, finish, feel-on-the-tongue person. I love certain smells but cannot tolerate eating certain fruits and veggies because of the texture. If it ain't crisp(fruits) I can't eat it! I guess I shoulda told ya that before! lol Anyway, I did take a gamble and plant a few seeds today. THANK YOU SO MUCH both of you for your info. I have a lot to digest in very little time.

In the meantime...I made beef stew tonight and picked some of my baby Romaine leaves and my FIRST RADISHES! A huge red globe larger than a golf ball and a spicy White Icicle(THANKS TOM)
It was YUM! OH BTW, Sil, My family used to make the most amazing swiss chard side dish and Swiss Chard Pizza. If you are intested, let me know! You are such a foodie girl, gotta love ya!

Lol! I love it when Silvia educates us! I forgot to mention that my list was all about what greens grow in the summer here. Which leads me to ....

Spinach and I are having a love hate relationship. I love to eat it and it hates to grow for me. Especially Bloomsdale Longstanding; gosh golly that stuff hates me.

When is it too late to start spinach? I love the look of that Spinach Bordeaux; and read that it is very tasty. I've hesitated to order seed; well since spinach seed hates me ....

MIL is here for a few days. We planned a special meal from the garden tonight. Salad with garnish. For garnish we had eggplant, turnip, radish, carrot, young onions, sweet pepper - all from our garden. This is the first I recall ever eating fresh turnip; and oh my - it was very good. Nice and crisp and tasty. For salad, we had arugula, red sails, lollo bionda green; young broccoli leafs, mustard, young collard leafs, young red cabbage and baby swiss chard.

This was the first time we have harvested root veggies; so it was quite fun. And everybody was most well fed and satisfied :)

~dianne

Hi Cindee, the ideal situation is to try the veggie and fruit first and then see if we like it and try to grow it if we do. I have been waiting to plant this bordeaux spinach since I bought in one of the best farmers markets in Hartford, Ma. They had some of the best organic vegetables, tons of heirloom tomatoes for cheap and taken out of the vines. The good news is that it grows well in cool weather even in the freeze. I pick the outer leaves and use it as a baby for salads, it is planted now throughout the garden. I included the link for this spinach, look at number 3 and 5, can you see my garden and the spinach bowl? lol.
And I would love to have your family recipes, thank you very much. This week I will be harvesting swiss chard for us and friends and neighbors, have to pick them before they are over grown. Remember I said this season bordeaux was a winner, maybe we will be sampling more new varieties. There are always new varieties of veggies coming up, same with tomatoes.:)

Hi Dianne, your dinner sounds delicious and packed with nutrients, good for you and your family.
And about the spinach, Bloomsdale does well for me when grown in the cooler months. Spinach seed sometimes is hard to germinate, the seeds can be soaked over night. What I usually do is start them in small containers and then transplant to different parts of the garden. You have to do the math between germination, grow out period, your local temperature, then it is still cold, too warm?

Here is a link that might be useful: bordeaux spinach

Today's pickings

Carrots

Beets and peas

Silvia

I'll be sowing seed flats for my son's garden as well as mine. I can sit in front of the TV and make little newspaper pots that can be planted when the seedling is ready. Any left overs are given away or sold at the neighborhood yard sale.

Hi Cora

Making the newspaper pots sounds like a very good activity and probably save you some money too.
It is easy to find people for the extra seedlings, I also start more than I need and after that find them home.
I think you said one time that you do crafts? that wreath above sells for good money and is maybe easy to make if you have the materials, they told me last fresh for about a year, we will see...

And today's pictures are the dishes that I made using the veggies from the garden.

This morning breakfast, sauteed swiss chard with onion, garlic and eggs. After the chard is lightly cooked I put the eggs on top and in the oven.

Salad in a jar to take it anywhere, it has cooked orzo, spinach, sun dried tomatoes, cucumbers, green onion, kalamata olives, dried cranberries, roasted pecans. Feta cheese and a light vinaigrette.

Silvia