I am starting my fall garden like I usually do every year. Looking through my seeds and getting ready, indoors I planted tomatoes and peppers.

I follow the weather and conditions proper for planting , when cooler I will get the cool season crops.

My garden is very busy now harvesting avocados, mangoes, figs, bananas, and soon sugar apples.

Are you guys starting your seeds indoors under grow lights? I'm certainly dreaming of fall gardens!

I do start my plants under lights.... actually I use a Miracle Grow AeroGarden to start my plants.... I will do a variety of peppers.... I also will do Big Beef tomatoes, Celebrity tomatoes and Husky miniature tomatoes.... I have tried so many other varieties, but these are the ONLY ones that work for me.... I sure would like some of the heirloom varieties but the insects and diseases make them worthless for me.....

I will probably start my tomatoes toward the last of July because I can't set mine out til mid October....

I still have several peppers growing from the spring....

I normally plant herbs in fall too.

Silvia, this year I tried a new pepper and it is spectacular. SAHUARO HYBRID -- best part is it is one of the easiest peppers to peal when roasted. Nice crunch when raw with just a hint of heat, also great in stirrfries. Highly recommend it -- bought the 125 seed bulk pack since it is a hybrid.

Best regards,

Tony

Hi Tony!

Everything you recommend is always great for me, last season with the Bolseno tomatoes and the Ajvarski peppers, they are so good. I still have some of the peppers growing but I am going to plant more this time.

Thank you for letting me know about the Sahuaro Hybrid, I am getting them today!

Silvia

> "harvesting avocados, mangoes, figs, bananas, and soon sugar apples."

How much do the critters take /wreck?

Silvia, I have been wondering how your gardens have been doing! I had a great season with the few tomatoes and peppers this year, that I planted. I planted 4 varieties from the garden center starts. Two worked out really well..I dont think I will plant the other two varieties again. I got a some different Wild Boar's Farm tomato seeds late in the season and planted them late! Like in March lol. They are still setting fruits. Its been in the upper 90's and horrid humid but they are still going.

Which varieties of Fig Trees are you growing? I have LSU purple which I like, but they arent big trees. They are very shrubby and I want a bigger tree with more figs lol.

Which variety gets large and gives tons of yummy figs? lol

I made refrigerator pickles with some of the pepper I got from the garden. I have froze tons of tomatoes and peppers so I can can up some salsa, once I get a little time.

JF1174, I am starting the tomatoes and peppers on a Zoo Med Reptile Heat Mat and under reg shop lights ( I use one cool light & one warm. You can also use regular grow bulbs). This is my *go to* for indoor seed starting. This spring I got fancy light and a heat mat off amazon that just barely got warm..It was the first time I had an major seed starting failure lol. I am going back to what works for me starting seeds for fall.

Sharon, The Aerogardens do work well. I got 2 for an xmas gift. Mine are just the small ones so not big enough for mass seed starting but they are great for a few at a time.

I will have to look into your tomato varieties! Its so hard to find tomatoes that do well in Florida! The 2 varieties that did well for me that I got as nursery starts this spring are Lemon Boy and Juliette. The Juliette is like a oblong little grape tomato. Lemon Boy is a larger slicer tomato and seems to have low acid and sweet but mild tomato flavor. Both of those are still going in our heat in our raised beds. I had also got Rutgers and German Johnson. I am prob not going to grow those 2 again.

I started some Dr Wyche Tomato seeds very late and they are still getting tomatoes. Will def grow those again.

Tony, the Saguaro pepper sounds fabulous. I like those kinds of peppers. Looks like it could be a all around pepper.

four, I dont have problems with critters getting the bananas-ever. I feed leaves to my piggies but thats about it lol. We do have birds get a few figs.

I think the ants are worse. I have to pick the figs as soon as they are ripe, or else there are stupid ants on them.

Has anyone tried the Sugar Rush Peach hot pepper? Its supposed to be a medium hot but with a fruity citrus-y undertone.

I just got some seeds to try.

Going to start on my starts next week. Looking through my seeds and planning now.

Glenn, I love the planning stage almost as much as the planting stage lol.

Anyone know good varieties of peas to plant for fall/winter?

Also does anyone plant sweet pea flowers in the fall/winter? Which varieties do you like?

I have never been able to grow peas in Florida..... I kind of gave up on them..... Where do you purchase Maestro.

Thanks Silvia! I did see a Magnolia sugar snap that was purple and one called Gold something that was yellow. I was wondering if they would do well here. I will try them & the Maestro!

Its crazy how many seed companies are continually out of stock on seeds now since the Corona hit and people are staying at home gardening. Baker Creek kept shutting down to restock periodically all spring.

Sharon, a lot of seed vendors have Maestro peas, what I usually do is whenever I have other seeds to buy, I make an order and you also have to check if they are available these days. Reimer, Territorial, and others carry them...

Sultry, the Magnolia do great and also the gold one. I have them on trellis and grow the 3 varieties together, different colors but for the taste I prefer the sugar snaps because they are productive, tasty and don't have to shell them.

If you have an oriental store near by, they sell pea tendrils as a veggie, they are good in a stir fry.

Magnolia Blossom Tendril -- in stock & free shipping

Oregon Sugar Pod II Snow Peas -- being a snow pea addict, I've tried most varieties, and this is the absolute favorite!

In stock & free shipping, also from planting seed to eating 1st pod -- 45 days! I grow these on a 42" high trellis.

Tony

Sylvia, I adore Asian foods so I am defintely going to plant the Sugar Snaps!

Thanks for the info on the Pea Tendrils. Can you use any kind of edible Pea tendrils from your peas or is only a certain kind grown like the Magnolia Tendril, to be only used for the tendrils? I am always looking for things to add to the wok lol.

14tomatoes, Thanks for the info. I will order them and will get on the wait list for the blue and gold podded.

My how one's taste buds must change growing up, I remember my grandma made me sit in front of a plate of peas until 10pm because I wouldn't eat my peas for dinner Lol! Now I love them 😅

Tony, those pea varieties look like winners!

Sultry, in the oriental store they sell big bags of greens, the pea tendrils together with the young leaves, they are mild and good tasting especially with seasonings. Any young pea shoots are good and can be used.

All the new pea varieties from Alan Kapuler are very good and productive, I like the colors on my plate.

I always liked peas maybe because I only had them fresh, frozen or from a can they are different flavor.

Some of my favorite snacks as a child were shelled garden peas just with salt and olive oil and fava beans.

My summer crops are still growing. They got a late start, so they're just starting to take off. I planted one Black Beauty eggplant in the garden last week. Lucked up and found a pot with 3 nice, healthy plants at Lowe's for $6.28, which is cheaper than buying them individually. I'll give one away and put the other in a 5-gallon container.

The Cherokee Purple sucker I put into a 1-gallon pot this spring had to be cut back because it was just too tall. I don't know where I'm going to plant that, but I want to put it into the garden outside so it can get more sun and bear more.

Have some seeds ordered from Amazon, but 11 days later, they aren't here. Evidently, they've been mailed, but are "delayed" because of this BS they're pulling with the post office. Ordered yellow squash seeds from eBay last week, so hopefully, they'll get here in time to plant them this month, rather than next.

I have a few different types of cherry tomato seeds I planted from store bought I thought I'd give a shot, but they aren't big enough to plant out yet.

SAHUARO HYBRID peppers -- love them!

Tony

Wow! Tony, they look good. I am still waiting for the seeds to arrive...

I got seeds from Portugal to plant this season, Maravilha de Kelvedon, they are shelling peas and I hope they do well in my garden.

I've had 7 spring planting seasons since moving to FL. All in containers with good soil amended with home-grown compost. Tried pretty much every tomato, sweet pepper, eggplant, squash, beet and carrot variety recommended here and at U of FL for my area. My 6 fall seasons have been a bust…mostly because either it was too hot later than normal or got too cool earlier than normal.

The only varieties that produce consistently are Everglade tomatoes, Cubanelle peppers and carrots. So as of this year that’s all I'll be growing. I'm tired of the heartache and disappointment I feel every time these plants don't “work”.

I miss my northern 30x45 foot garden that grew all the produce we needed for a year.

Bea, I understand completely. I branched out this year and tried a Homestead tomato and two different peppers, Poblano and Banana. Nematodes got the Poblano, and the bananas just wouldn't grow, but put out a couple of tiny fruits. The Homestead tomato is growing but hasn't set any fruit. I did try a Gardener's Delight cherry tomato too, but it hasn't done much. My Everglades is the only one that has done really well. I do have okra growing and just planted one eggplant in the ground and two in pots, but I don't expect much out of them.

I, too, miss my gardens in SC where everything just grew like mad. I've been a member of two different community gardens, and in each, everyone else's plants grew like mad and mine just sat there. I think I used up all my veggie magic in SC, because no matter what I do, I just can't grow veggies down here.

Still, like a fool, I've bought mustard, collard and squash seeds, so I'll try one more time to get something to grow.

My herbs do well although I have to treat thyme as an annual because it dies soon after the summer heat arrives. So I'll be planting thyme seeds sometime later this month. Also a new batch of basil and parsley.

I have good luck wuth most herbs but like Bea, thyme really doesnt do that well for me. I think it might resent our humidity. Oregano and rosemary seem to be better in a pot for me, for some reason.

Basil loves it here. I try to grow several varieties every year. Lettuce leaf variety keeps getting eaten by something. Genovese, Thai and Lemon basils do wonderful. The perennial African Blue Basil returns every spring and grows into a huge shrub. Bees love it. It is fairly easy to start from cuttings. I grow other varities but those 4 do the best!

Mints do pretty well if they can make it through summer. If you grow them in a bog or waterpot they will survive the heat and go crazy.

My onion chives did great in the raised bed but the garlic chives petered out :(

Does anyone know which variety of garlic does well here? Softneck vs Hardneck? I am confused by the whole thing lol!! Does garlic do better planted in fall or spring?

I planted red onion bulbs but I think they went in too late in the spring. The tops have died back and the onions are still on the small side. Can I just leave them in the raised bed over the winter? Will they keep getting bigger?

Also, When are onion seeds normally planted? I have some Red Torpedo onion seeds I want to plant.

Sultry, when I planted garlic, I planted the softneck varieties like creole, ajo rojo and others. I planted them when is cooler in the fall.

Every year I order onion sets from Dixondale farms and they are always the best , they shipped to warmer areas in the fall. I have onions for a long time after harvesting, I use them every day and still have them for cooking. I plant a variety of short day onions and I prefer the red ones.

In my experience, the hot weather, humidity and rains are not conducive for growing certain crops. Onions were harvested already and the raised beds get cleared for the summer.

Still harvesting sugar apples and avocados in my garden...

Sultry I brought two clumps of onion chives from up north with me when we moved and they have continued to thrive year after year. I grow basil every year and get 2-3 cuttings from each planting. I grow my oregano in 3 pots instead of in the ground because I find that when the summer rainy season hits they resent that much rain so I hang the pots under our house eaves.

I've never heard of African blue basil…sounds interesting. I’ll have to try it. Where did you get yours and how big a shrub does it become?

Bea, good idea on keeping the mediterranean- type herbs under the eaves! I do that with my epiphyllums, some succulents & cacti. It keeps them from too wet during our rainy season.

Our raised beds are very well drained but the Thyme still died out and it must be from the overhead rain and high humidity. Oregano isn't looking too hot either.

Some things like Century plants/some Agaves, and Prickly Pear are okay in the yard as long as they are in a higher well-draining spot.

I ordered the African Blue Basil online in a 4 inch pot 3 yrs ago. The first year it turned into a 4ft x 5ft shrub. It doesn't make seeds so must be started from cuttings. It has an intense strong basil scent. It is a little different tasting than the typical basils. Maybe like a basil mixed with a Camphor-y smell lol. It is nice for an oil infusion or vinaigrette. I got it because I had read so much about it being a favorite of honey bees and it has been! I wasn't sure if it would do well here in FL but it has been reliable.

The first year I thought I lost it as we had some hard freezes but it returned in the spring. I moved it closer to my garden fence this year due to putting in raised beds and it has remained happy. I have been beefing up my pollinator plant collection the last few years because I plan on getting bees at some point.

This is the article that "sold me" on the African Blue Basil lol. Her whole blog is a joy to read.

https://hedgerowrose.com/nature/bees-and-bee-keeping/2018/04/05/honey-bees-and-other-pollinators-delight-in-african-blue-basil/

Sultry my hubby had several bee hives (Italian bees) when we lived up north years ago. We loved keeping them both as pollinators and their honey…raw not processed. Unfortunately several diseases and bacteria came into the U.S. during that period and every year there was a new treatment hubs had to apply. One sad spring when the bees should be waking up for the winter rest…they didn’t …yet another disease attacked them and he lost his entire colony.

I hope these issues have been resolved. It was so heart-breaking to find all those lovely bees dead.