Watch My Food Grow ~ A South Florida Raised Vegetable Garden

Florida Backyard Raised Vegetable Garden

Okra Under Siege

April 19th, 2013 by Lila Steinhoff
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Chewed and Stunted Okra

I have the first pest problem of this gardening season. I have scads of voracious aphids on my okra.

aphids on okra leaves

Okra Leaf Covered with Aphids

Because they suck the juices from the newest, most tender growth, the okra pods never get more than 1/2 and inch long before they shrivel. (Click on any picture to make it larger.)

Soap

One of the safest and most common deterrents for aphids is soapy water. It isn’t really known how the soapy water works, but it is thought that it does something to the cell membranes or maybe removes the protective wax from the insect.

soapy water to kill aphidsSoapy Water Applied to Aphid-covered Leaves

The biggest downside to the soapy water is that you must apply it every day or so and get it on the bottom sides of the leaves where the aphids are. I mixed a few drops of liquid dish detergent in a pint of water and applied it for several days. I couldn’t keep up with the aphids. They multiply way too fast.

The soapy water did not get rid of the aphids fast enough for the okra to recover and grow. It was time to try something else.

Bring Out the Big Guns

Time for Plan B… Lady Bugs! The internet is your friend. It guided me to Hirt’s Gardens . The company had the package to me in two days. The ladybugs arrived in excellent shape and were crawling  around inside the net containment bag.

mail order ladybugsMail Order Ladybugs

I have been cautioned never to  accept gifts with air holes. This time, I was delighted at the prospect of seeing what was inside. I ordered a relatively small number… 1500… ladybugs. I was ready to do battle with the unrelenting aphids.

Taking the Ladybugs to Lunch

Per instructions, the ladybugs were released in the evening. Because they do not fly at night, they tend to stay on the plants long enough to find the aphids.

ladybugs releasedReleasing Ladybugs

ladybugs on okra leavesLadybugs on Okra Leaves

The ladybugs went to work immediately eating aphids.

ladybugs eating aphidsLadybugs Eating Aphids

I checked the next morning, and there were still ladybugs in the okra munching away on the aphids. I’ll let you know in a few days if they do the job.

 

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Radishes

April 11th, 2013 by Lila Steinhoff
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Front-page News… sort of

The Palm Beach Post April 7, 2013, Sunday Business Section noted that Palm Beach County… Belle Glade, in particular…  is the “Radish Capital of the country for seven months of the year”.

produce stand radishesProduce Stand Radishes – 2011

Glades farms produce 15 million pounds of red radishes each year, but I am surprised at how many people I am acquainted with who don’t know what a radish is and/or have never tasted one. The closest they have come is horseradish in mustard or cocktail sauce, and those are hot, white, long radishes… not the red round ones that are so-o-o-o good. There are many varieties, but the red is the most recognized.

What the heck is a radish?

You’ve probably seen small red orbs in plastic bags at the grocery store.  However, you have never tasted one, and you aren’t sure you want to. Boy, are you missing something special!

For those of us who grew up with gardens, they are a summer staple for adding crunch and flavor to salads and are great eaten right from the garden.

First Up

Radishes are really good for first time gardeners or those with impatient children who want to see green stuff  ‘right now’.  Radishes will sprout in as little as three days, and they are ready to eat in a month.

radishes in garden Radishes in My Garden

The Greens, too?

All parts of the radish are edible. Although, the greens can be prepared the way many other greens are, I’ve never eaten radish greens myself.

radishes with greensRadishes Right from My Garden

Fresh radishes are crispy and have a fresh peppery flavor. They are pretty to look at, as well… cherry red on the outside and bright white on the inside. I pull them, give them a squirt with the hose and eat them right from the garden.

I’d say that horseradish is probably the next in line… maybe not for knowing what they look like, but recognizing the taste in everything from Prepared Horseradish in a jar and mustard to shrimp cocktail sauce.

Funny Story

My grandmother, Christina Hoffman, grew horseradish every few years.

Christine Hoffman in garden - 1983-06Christina Hoffman

She would grind it and process it to have for the next couple of years. If you think horseradish has a strong taste, you should smell it when it is very fresh and being ground up. It will make your eyes water at 50 paces.

Grandma lived next to a lumber yard that had trucks going in and out all day in the alley between the two properties. There was no A/C in cars and trucks back in the 1950s, so in the summer, the windows were rolled down. On the days Grandma was grinding the horseradish, eyes all over the neighborhood burned and watered. The truck drivers were no exception. They’d roll up their windows as soon as they drove into the alley.

The Usual, Please.

I don’t know how much the radishes in my garden add to the the 15 million pounds of radishes in Palm Beach County… 0.000001 percent?… but I gladly participate.

radishes in saladRadishes in Salad

Radishes add a crispy, ‘get-your-attention’ taste to salads, but they are good munching straight from the garden, as well.

There are even two places in the world that celebrate the radish with festivals in December near Christmas time… The Night of the Radish in Oaxaca City, Spain and in Oaxaca, Mexico.

 

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Baby Food All Over the Yard

April 2nd, 2013 by Lila Steinhoff
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Baby Food, as Opposed to ‘Baby’ Food

This evening, I walked around my yard and took a good look under leaves, in trees and on bushes. My yard is full of baby food… starting with what I planted in late February and early March.

In the Garden

green beans

Green Beansokra

Okrapoblanos

Poblanos

tomatoesTomatoes

radishes

Radishes

In the Yard

Most of the trees and bushes… edible and not… were planted way before we bought this house nearly 40 years ago. The edibles are avocados, mangos and Surinam cherries. The newest fruit are the mulberries which I planted as cuttings about 10 years ago.

All stages of mulberries are on the bush most of the year. They have white, fuzzy flowers that become pale green, and then pale pink, berries. They are ripe when the berries are very dark blue… almost black. I eat them right from the tree.

mulberriesMulberries

These avocado babies are about the size of a dime and will not be ready until late in the year… November and December.

avocados

Avocados

The mangos on the tree now are about the size of small lemons. They will be about three times the size they are now and will be ripe and ready to eat in June.

Alphonso mangosAlphonso (or Indian) Mangos

Surinam cherries are more of a tall shrub rather than a tree. They have just bloomed and set the fruit. These tiny green cherries are about 1/4-inch in diameter, now. The cherries come and go all year. Even now, there are a few ripe ones on the bushes.

Surinam cherries

Looking Forward to the Backyard Bounty

Nearly everything is in the tiny, green stage, but I see  good things on the horizon. The radishes are ready to pull now. They will go very well with the lettuce that we have been eating for about a month. The squash – yellow crook neck and zucchini – green beans, okra and tomatoes are about two weeks out.

We will be eating mangos from June through the end of August. I have a Haden mango tree that is a late bloomer, so mango season is always deliciously long.  The avocados will be last. They are ready in December and into January and February.

 

 

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