I'm sorry I wasn't able to attend the garden party. It looks like it was a fun learning experience. Yes, we really don't have a long enough growing season in the Spring or Fall. Better early than late though.

you live in Pinellas too - don't you Amber? Next time me and you and Tom can ride together. :)

Hi Tina, I am glad that you learned things on Saturday, you can get different root stock at Laurel including the dwarf, you can navigate the site and think about your space and future fruit trees. You have to put your order early before the bare root season shipping in winter.
You can make a small fruit tree grove planting the hardy ones in the ground and the sensitive to the cold in pots like you saw in my small space.
When my fruit trees are in season, I will post the pictures.
And you are very wise following Tom's schedule for planting, if anybody knows Florida it is him!

Hi Amber, we missed you at the party, next time like Tina said maybe you both can ride with Tom, he is a wonderful friend! I wish I was his neighbor.-(

Silvia

Thanks for the kinds words Silvia, if you were in my neighborhood I wouldn't grow anything, I'd just be mooching off of you ;-) I sure had a good time yesterday, you're the hostess with the mostess ;-)

Tina, your set dates will vary between 9/1 - 9/15, if it's not too hot and rainy you can start earlier. In the spring your set dates will vary from 1/7 - 2/1, again based on cool/cold snaps. I was late with my spring set this year (mid-February), almost a month late since this is the second year in a row that I've had frost, after never experiencing it here in the past...ideally though, 9/1 and 1/15 for our Zone 10 microclimate.

Amber and Tina, you both coming to Lori's next weekend?

Tom

Yep! I'm going to be there! I've got a couple more dill and curry plants - and I forgot to bring the planters yesterday so I'll bring those too.

I think I should just stealborrow Silvia's planting calendar .... and her garden sense while I'm at it!

I learned:
From Sandhill Preservation (excellent for FL weather) - Jeminez: 80 days. Red streaked romano-type bean. Delicious, but hard to get seed from. 1 oz.Pkt. - 1 Pkt./$2.50

From Johnny's - Estiva - excellent red tomato

From Jung's - Caveli Hybrid Zucchini - good taste, early and pathenorcarpic.

grinding your own wheat is easy, and far more nutritious - just ask Elizabeth

Squash does best in full blazing sun and put them out with the tomatoes

Florida Gardeners are sure good cooks!

Thank you Tom, you are such a nice person and so smart!

Dianne, you are a good student and great memory! I wanted to learn from Elizabeth too about the grinding of the flour but I was so busy that I missed the chance.

I am like you Dianne, I can not choose which dish I liked the best and what I learned is that Christine also grinds her own flour and made those delicious muffins!

Silvia

Christine! Those muffins were to die for! Do tell - ingredients? Recipe?

~dianne

Dianne, I have a picture for you.

Cucumber pickles, zucchini pickles, dilly beans, some freshly picked lettuce still good and on the plate Jeminez beans, Estiva tomato, Tomato berry and yellow Submarine, the first to ripe in the garden. Missing in the picture is a marmalade that I just made orange, grapefruit with candied ginger.

Silvia

OMG I am totally drooling!

So.Am.I - I just need to steal away Silvia's thumb, just one ... then maybe I will have a small bit of her success.

OMG - that looks so very good.

~dianne

ONE of those pickled zucchini jars has MY NAME ON IT! :-)

Tom (who can only take so much of Silvia's seductive ways in the garden ;-)

Willy, please forgive me...you're a lucky man!!!

Hi gang,

I learned I didn't know much about gardening, after looking at Silvia's gardening achievments. My wife Dottie said to me, look Silvia even has flowers thru out her garden to enhance the beauty of her vegetable plants. I told her I was still trying to learn how to grow vegetable plants!

I would like to know if they are a dwarf Mango tree. If so the name and where can I acquire one. When we get a freeze I would like to cover it.

Here are several pictures of my latest plants.

These are the 2 girls I'm talking about.

Luther

Tina, you are an eager student, soon you will have big harvests!

Dianne, you learn quick, that is the basis, the harvests will come your way too, sooner than you expect, in fact you are being successful with your greens at this moment.

Tom, what can I say to my all time favorite Floridian? You are always a big part of my garden, most things as you saw when you walk through the garden have your name on it! I am so thankful for knowing you, if anybody is happy to be your friend is me!
Did you see the movie Like water for chocolate? each time I cook for friends I remember this movie and how you have to cook with love and not with sorrow, like in one scene she was crying while cooking and everybody who ate her dish felt sick, if you did not see the movie, it is a good one to see. Especially when I cook my veggies and I think how healthy they are going to be for me.
And of course the zucchini pickles are reserved for you with all my thanks for being who you are.
But I don't want to keep the secret from all our other well deserving friends, if you never made a pickle please make this one, you will be happy that you did. I am including the link for you to try.

Luther, my friend - Your dear wife Dottie loves you that is why she wants to make you the best gardener, and you are! think of flowers like icing on the cake, I will take a picture of those on the trellises when blooming to see how all turn out.
And just like you said, we did not have time to talk, that is the reason that we will do get togethers more often.:)
I am going to answer your questions about the mangos and take a picture of mine next.

Silvia

Here is a link that might be useful: zucchini pickles

Luther, I am back and I forgot to mention your veggies are looking great! A+ for you.

About the mangos, last July we went to the mango festival at the Fairchild gardens. And me, a mango aficionado sample a lot of mangos, and brought home more. If I knew at the party, I would of let you taste the frozen mangos and papayas that I have in the freezer.-(

I was also looking for one that I can keep in the pot and I choose the Fairchild because I liked the taste and the small size fruit.

Here is the mango festival

And the Fairchild mango at my garden

I am including a link for you to see the condo mangos

Silvia

Here is a link that might be useful: mango

Thanks Silvia,

That is some good info on the Mangos. Now I know what to get. Didn't have the time to ask you all the questions I wanted to ask. Should have made a list of questions to ask and wrote everything down.

Next question is info on the Starfruit? Know you have done the research and know what type is best for our area.

Thanks again,

Luther

Luther

Look for the ratings on the flavor of the mangos, that is important and I agree because I sampled most of them at the festival.

On the star fruit, originally I had one very hardy with no name that look similar in size to what you can get at Publix, kind of not a good quality and a little sour. When I was at Echo taking the tour for the fruit trees the expert pointed out to similar varieties that he said they only use it for rootstock.

One variety that I really like was a variety from Excalibur nursery but when I brought home, did not make it to the first cold snap.

Now I have Shri Kembangen which is a good flavor variety and very productive and I keep it in a pot alive, gave me fruits the first year, it is flowering again now. I bought at the Leu Gardens sale.

In December and fruiting

{{gwi:118936}}

And today in the mini garden grove.:)

Silvia