Watch My Food Grow

South Florida Raised Vegetable Garden

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Where to Find Vermiculite in South Florida

February 2nd, 2010 · Backyard Garden

All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel BartholomewA few months back, I wrote about Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. In order to be successful in his method of gardening, a key element is vermiculite. Unfortunately, vermiculite is hard to fine.

Vermiculite Found at Atlantic-FEC in Miami

Lawrence, a Watch My Food Grow reader, mentioned Atlantic-FEC as a potential vermiculite supplier in a comment. I emailed them yesterday and got a quick response back from Frances Corona. Here is what she has to say:

Good morning ….. We do have vermiculite our price is $8.30 [for a four cubic foot bag] we gladly sell to the general public. Rather it be walk-in or delivery.. you can buy as many as you need …… for more information that you need please feel free to email me back anytime…… we also have a product book so again feel free at anytime….. have a wonderful day.

While I haven’t done any business with Atlantic-FEC (yet), I’m impressed at how quickly they responded to my email. Based on their web site, it looks like you can get just about anything fertilizer-related you need from them. Miami is a bit of a drive from Palm Beach Gardens where my garden is located but it might be worth stopping by the next time I’m down there for other reasons.

How to Find Vermiculite and Atlantic-FEC

Atlantic-FEC Fertilizer & Chemical
305-247-8800 Phone
18375 SW 260th Street
Homestead, FL 33031

Tell Me About Your Florida Vegetable Garden

It is prime planting season. The freeze is past and we’re ready to grow. Let me know about your garden. Also, if you do purchase from Atlantic-FEC, please let me know. I’d hate to recommend them and not have my readers have positive results.

— Farmer Matt

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Planting After the Florida Freeze

January 22nd, 2010 · Backyard Garden

South Florida Backyard Garden Planted

As you may have heard, South Florida was hit by a very un-Florida like cold front at the first of the year. Instead of planning on New Year’s Day as I had planned, I waited a few weeks. Last night, I got home unusually early and put two tomatoes and three pepper plants in the ground. Not much to see yet but I wanted to let you know I’m on the job…

Finally: Plants in the ground for 2010.

What to Plant in My South Florida Garden?

Last year the crowd favorites were broccoli and green beans. No one (except Florida Food Writer, Jan Norris) liked the fairy tail eggplant. I hated the herbs. The peppers, both hot and green, we great since we eat a lot of southwestern style meals. The lettuce was good on BLT sandwiches. The Sun Sugar tomatoes were great but the bigger tomatoes didn’t do so well.

Trip to the Nursery Soon

I gotta stop by the nursery this weekend and see what is available. I’ll be updating this gardening blog soon with more details. Please keep in touch and let me know what you’re growing.

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Crookneck Squash in Florida Backyard Vegetable Garden

August 6th, 2009 · Backyard Garden

This Crookneck Squash is pretty much the last thing growing in my South Florida backyard raised vegetable garden….

Crookneck Squash Growing in Florida Backyard Raised Vegetable Garden

Long story short, it’s hot here in South Florida and our growing season is pretty much over until October.

Coming soonish… a review of the LinkSys webcam that is powering the live garden video feed.

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Record Setting Rain Affects Vegetables: From Too Dry to Too Wet

May 29th, 2009 · Ask The Farmer

How Much Rain Is Too Much Rain?

Cycling buddy George asks a great question about the amount of rain my Palm Beach Gardens raised vegetable garden has been getting lately.

I know the weather has sucked for cycling lately. But I’ve been looking on your blog for news on how it’s been treating your garden. Are the tomatoes bursting from too much water, or flooded out and drowning? Has all this wet crap helped or hurt things?

Usually, Not Enough Watering

I’m lousy when it comes to watering.

Previously, whenever it has rained, my raised vegetable garden has exploded with new growth and record vegetable production. That makes me think the plants were not getting enough water. In fact, I’m pretty sure I killed three of the four varieties of tomatoes I planted thanks to my lack of watering.

My Vegetables Are Getting Too Much Water

This last batch of rain (a foot in the last week?), however, has been bad for the garden.

The raised vegetable garden planters have turned into swimming pools. Normally, thanks to the specialized weed control cloth under the beds, the raised vegetable garden drains slow enough to hydrate the plants but quick enough that they don’t get root rot. However, the beds can only drain water so quickly when it is coming down at more than an inch an hour.

Causalities of Rain

I lost several cucumbers to mold and rot. My cucumber and watermelon vines are turning yellow. My Sun Sugar tomato plant — a steady producer since day one with always several tomatoes on the vine — is empty and looking pretty sad. (Part of that could be we’re getting near the end of growing season but, mostly, I think it is too much water and a good beating.)

Mulberries Trees Lose Their Fruit

The torrential downpours we have seen in Palm Beach County have also desecrated my mulberry trees. It used to be I could go outside and pick a gallon or more a week of ripe, black mulberries. The trees are now bare. All the ripe fruit has been washed off the trees. It’ll be a week or more before I have another crop.

Ask the Farmer

If you have any questions about my garden or gardening in South Florida, comment below or contact me directly: farmer (at) watchmyfoodgrow.com. No correct answered guaranteed but I do read my garden email.

—Farmer Matt

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Vegan Birthday Gifts from my Raised Vegetable Garden

May 27th, 2009 · Backyard Garden

Amanda and her Vegetables, With Hard HatAmanda has been a friend since we both attended Forest Hill High School back in the day. Her birthday a couple weeks ago. My wife was out of town visiting her garden-hating sister.

I had no time to shop as I was taking care of our son while she was gone.

What to do?

Fortunately, Amanda is a Tree-Hugging Vegetarian

But wait! I have a raised vegetable garden and Amanda eats vegetables pretty much exclusively. While she tends towards fake vegetables, the kind you buy in stores, I’m sure she’d appreciate real vegetables, too.

What I don’t have, however, is any talent at turning a bunch of random garden vegetables and mulberries from my raised garden into something worthy of presentation to a birthday girl.

Stefani, Palm Beach Organizer and Present Stylist

The conversation went something like this…

Me: ‘Stefani, save me. Sarah is out of town. I have to make something look pretty. I realize it’s early on a Saturday morning and I’m calling you at the absolute last minute but I need organizational presentational magic.’

Stefani, The Happy Organizer, Takes My Garden Vegetable Basket to Fancy TownHer: ‘No’.

Me: ‘Please’.

Her: ‘No’.

Me: ‘Please’.

Her: ‘No’.

Me: ‘I’ll promote your organizational, bookkeeping and personal assistant business in my world-renowned raised vegetable garden blog.’.

Her: ‘Okay, but you owe me.’

And, thus, the best Organizer for Palm Beach and Jupiter, Stefani made present magic happen.

Amanda Liked the Basket of Garden Goodies

The jar of picked-that-morning mulberries were gone even before the party was over. Much of the broccoli was eaten, dipped in ranch dressing. The sunflowers were admired by all. All in all, the present was well received. The backyard raised vegetable garden, once again, saves the day.

—Farmer Matt

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Sunflowers in the Raised Vegetable Garden

May 8th, 2009 · Backyard Garden

Sunflower Friday!

Want a cheap Mother’s Day gift? Plant sunflowers. Here is what Malcolm’s Mother is getting this year…

Sunflowers for Mother's Day

Don’t Tell Sarah About the Sunflowers

We want it to be a surprise.

—Farmer Matt

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Jan Norris Hates My Garden: No Watermelon for Norris

May 6th, 2009 · Garden Non-Believers

Jan Norris: She Hates My Garden

Ah, Matt. Good luck with the melons. Tried to tell you that it’s not the right time to plant the melons, or the right way, but you wouldn’t listen. [W]ait till April, replant with dry cakey soil and on mounds that are mulched with plastic gunk. (SOURCE: Jan Norris)

Former Food Editor Doubts My Ability to Grow Watermelons

In late February, I planted watermelons seeds in my garden annex. Immediately, the hating started. Jan Norris, a self-proclaimed expert in Florida Food said there was no way in hell I’d get watermelons. She laughed in my general direction and mocked my seeds.

I didn’t have to water the first couple weeks, what with all the peeing she was doing on my garden parade.

Patience is a Farming Requirement

When I caught the first glimpse of my nugget-sized watermelon last week, I was not yet ready to declare victory. It was still too soon.

Today, however, with watermelons just about six inches tall, I’m here to say I have crushed Norris. She shall not repress my watermelon.

Even if the watermelon stops growing today (it has about 15 days left), it is still edible and, probably, tasty.

Here is the Watermelon Jan Norris Will Not Be Eating:

Sweeter: My Watermelon or Jan Norris Not Eating My Watermelon?

Who Hates Your Raised Vegetable Garden?

Are you, too, suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous vegetable fortune? Tell me who hates your garden and why.

I think Norris is just jealous.

—Farmer Matt

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Cucumbers in my Raised Vegetable Garden

April 30th, 2009 · Backyard Garden

Check Out This Cucumber

Marketmore 76 Cucumber

Broward Farm Bureau Supplied the Seeds

I picked up this pack of ‘Marketmore 76 Cucumber’ seeds from the Broward Farm Bureau booth at the South Florida Fair. They were promoting this variety of cucumbers because they are resistant to scab, mosiac, downey mildew and powdery mildew. I don’t really know what that means but it sounds good.

These will have white spines and dark green skins. I have never seen a cucumber with spines before.

—Farmer Matt

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Baby Watermelon Growing in Raised Vegetable Garden

April 24th, 2009 · Backyard Garden

My watermelon is growing!

For weeks I have been watching the little yellow flowers hoping they would turn into something that even remotely resembles a watermelon. Nothing, nothing then more nothing. Finally, yesterday: pay dirt.

Tiny but a Watermelon Nonetheless

Watermelon Growing in Raised Vegetable Garden

It Looks Like a Watermelon

It’s just a bit smaller. About an inch tall. Maybe an inch and a half. But, it clearly looks like a real watermelon. Here is a picture that can help you better get a feel for the size of these little watermelons

Watermelon Close Up and Tiny

You can see at the tip of the watermelon where the yellow flower is about to fall off.

82 Days to Harvest?

The melons have been in the ground for nearly 60 days. Does that really mean I’ll have watermelon in another 22 days?

—Farmer Matt

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Tonight’s Dinner: Garden Fresh Green Beans

April 21st, 2009 · Backyard Garden

Malcolm called me out to the backyard this afternoon because he had something important to show me. It turns out, we had a lot of beans ready to harvest.

Malcolm Harvests Green Beans

Malcolm Picks Green Beans from our Backyard Vegetable Garden

Malcolm isn’t the only Steinhoff to have picked beans from his own garden. His Great Grandfather, L.V. Steinhoff was also a fan of beans. His bean plants, however, look a lot better than mine.

L.V. Steinhoff Harvests Green Beans

L.V. Steinhoff Picks Beans in Dutchtown, MO

Show Us Your Backyard Vegetable Garden Beans

Look at Those Beans

How is your garden doing this season?

The beans are doing surprisingly well. Those are the first vegetable we have grown from seed. Everything else came in a pot.

Tonight we’re doing stir-fried beans with a bit of onion, garlic and a bit of bacon.

—Farmer Matt

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