The greens are finally trying to take off - the lettuce is about to bolt. I just got done weeding right around the collards and kale. We got a late start due to the super wet soil after hurricane Irma here, we have clay soil. :(

Rita, I am glad that you are getting your greens to produce, they have more nutrients and are more versatile than lettuce.

Busy day for me, in the morning I went to pick blueberries and the afternoon I went to check what was new at the flower show in Epcot.

Picking blueberries, my favorite!

The show had too many orange flowers this time.

Silvia

It's going to rain this afternoon here, but the temps are lovely. Tomorrow it will only get up to 68 and partly cloud, so you know I'll be outside doing SOMETHING. I harvested my first four Everglades tomatoes today. It's not as glorious as Silvia's yield, but it's something.

D, it is going to rain here also, that is why I prepared to do work in the garden early, I am picking up some monster onions! they are my pride and joy this season and my favorite way to prepare them is just sliced and roast them in the oven with olive oil, salt and pepper, sometimes I dust them with garbanzo flour to get crispy. Today I am going to make them on the grill. This afternoon, I am busy making blueberry jam. It is a great season for blueberries at the farm and I am planning to go again before the season is over.

My red onions are so mild, the white ones too.

Next is blueberry jam especially to send it to my brothers, that is the only jam that they like.:)

Silvia

Blueberry buckle for breakfast, it is my reward for picking blueberries for a few hours....

Hi Barbie! Your garden is producing well, I am happy for you. Same here I love blueberry season, I made few jars of jam already and I will make some more before the season is over. I am impatiently waiting on the mangoes, avocados and persimmons, looks like a big season this year.

I lost my red guava with Irma, I made an order of 2 seedlings of a mystery guavas from Bakers Creek with some seedlings for oriental sweet potatoes, and was I surprised when I got them! one is Barbie Pink and the other one is Tikal, I will probably keep them in a pot.

Every day my New Guinea vine is producing more flowers, it was not affected by the freezes we had.

Silvia

Hi Silvia,and everyone.i meant to add on this post days ago but have had problems with phone's camera. So no pics. I just finished harvesting mustered seed.have had a good crop of mustered greens this year and way more seed then I will need for cooking.peaches are doing well and eating some already.so many mulberries.i will be making pie soon.figs are coming out, can't wait. onion are still in ground there just not getting as big this year, don't know why. Asparagus came up right on time.should be able to harvest next year.got a few cucumbers this year.have been getting a good amount of purple green beans.planted a lot of stuff this year and have been experimenting with different placement and companion planting. Very happy with my yams coming up and looking like a good potato harvest coming. But once again all summer squash dead. Tomatoes coming in thanks Silvia! As a added bonus my hard pear that i cloned from my great uncle has decided to bloom very heavy. Maybe it will fruit this year. I was told its self fertile. My other pears are done blooming. Hope everyone has a good grow this year.

Hi Glenn!

You have been very busy with your garden, good for you and your family. It is always a good idea to eat better and what can be healthier than just picked fruits and veggies.

I am getting ready for the heat in the garden, carrots, beets and radishes are picked and stored. Harvesting tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini. Still have kale and tons of onions that I will have to cure soon. Peaches are ripening nicely and use them daily in salads. I will have to make another trip to the blueberry farm before the season is over, have to make the jams for gifts....

For the summer I planted my favorite oriental sweet potatoes, white on the outside and magenta on the inside. Planning to keep busy during that time with avocados and figs. it is going to be a great harvest.

Silvia

I'm so looking forward to the figs this year, I have 2 more fig trees ready to go to ground.a settlers fig that took me way too many times to clone and a LSU purple from a friend. There spot is ready and has been since last year so its just when I get a chance,when all these fruit tree get to size I don't think I will be buying any at the store anymore.

(Glenn) How do you keep your mulberries from being eaten by non-humans? Thanks to you, my little bush is thriving and has a bumper crop, but the red ones disappear before fully black. Moved to the front of house away from the squirrels and birds... now I suspect lizards. Does that make sense?

Irma, I don't. I actually use them as a destraction crop. they keep the birds off my other fruit trees. The cardinals love them so do squirrel, Turkey and many other critters but I have never seen a lizard eat them. I would bet on cardinals. I get so many that I don't mind. Mine is in the ground and it has so many on it this spring that it is dragging the branches to the ground and i have already put back about a gallon plus the untold amount we ate fresh and what the cardinals have ate or what was knocked off by rain. glad to hear about how good yours is doing.enjoy.

Irma, when I was blueberry picking, I heard a very loud horn. When I looked up, there was a large flock of birds trying to get the blueberries but the horn sounded like 3 times and they were gone. It sounded like the Ricola commercial.

Glenn, I am looking forward to my figs too, they are loaded with fruit but my persimmons are my most tasty fruit and I am anxiously waiting for them!

My mini orchard, 2 figs in the pot and the other one in the background.

Silvia

Persimmons! In St Pete until adulthood, I didn't see a persimmon growing until I lived in northern CA. I guess you get just enough chill where you live, to grow this wonderful fruit.

Yes, I am lucky to have my favorite variety of non astringent persimmon in my garden.

This is how it looks in September.

And this is how it looks today.

Wow that is enpressive

Glenn, you and your family are for sure enjoying the peaches, it is a good peach season this year!

And look what I found this morning at the local farmers market, grown in the area brussels sprouts and I took home a bunch, and is heavy too!

The big tomatoes are ripening in my garden....

Nice,sure is cool to see the Brussels sprouts on the stock and your tomatoes look great.