Summer
July is an interesting time in a South Florida vegetable garden. In the past we have grown a variety of edible tropical summer plants in the heat here, but not so much anymore. There’s been so little interest in harvesting them or it just doesn’t pay to battle the influx of insects that plants draw at this time of year. So – no luffa, no black-eyed peas, no bitter melon, no tropical spinaches that nobody wants to use… This season’s summer crops are limited to okra, eggplant and long beans, along with an ongoing harvest of sweet potatoes – all of which our gardeners enjoy. (If you’re an okra lover, check out our recipe page here for three different dishes). And if you want to know what some of those summer crops are that we don’t grow, here is one of many articles which you can access online: “Growing Vegetables in South Florida”. Be sure to indicate “South Florida” in any searches you do since our growing season is quite unique compared to most of the US.
Fall Planting Time Begins!
Every year we post about the excitement of fall planting time, and this year is no exception. With the temperature beginning to drop a bit now, we do tend to get over-enthusiastic, we can’t help it. Not just because we’ve had enough of the heat, but also because we can start putting some of our favored crops in the ground without killing them.
Mid-Growing Season
January and early February mark the middle of our growing season here in South Florida. It is a time for assessment and planning as to what we want to grow into the Spring. Many of the crops we grow can be planted throughout the entire season. Others (such as cabbages and heirloom tomatoes) have a shorter window, i.e. the time for planting them is running out, especially if starting them from seed.
Fall Gardening – Action!
It’s early November here in South Florida, prime time for planting our organic garden for the new season. We have just gotten a real break in the weather, with some cooler mornings last week (not quite cool enough for us South Floridians to get our boots and scarves out, though it’s tempting, right?) This cooling does make us enthused about being outside and getting our garden going! So, to give a rundown on how we’ve started with either seedlings or direct plantings, here goes:
Vegetables Still Growing in May
Well, it is that time of year again in our organic vegetable garden, when the crops are beginning to wither, the harvest is thinning out, and the heat is rolling in – yes, it’s May in South Florida! We are also having an extra-heavy rainfall bout, like two weeks solid of rain on a daily basis. We’ve had to say goodbye to some of our favorite crops (til next season!) – heirloom tomatoes, Chinese and regular cabbages, escarole, broccoli, dill, most of our lettuces and our delicate greens like mizuna and arugula, and our nasturtiums. The good news is that there are still many things growing in May, and a few we can still plant at this time of the year.
Today’s Harvest: Small & Plenty
Is there anything more gratifying than finding uses for a “small harvest” from the garden to enhance a meal? Well, after a thoroughly enjoyable and productive gardening session, my husband and I stopped by one of our favorite shops on the way home – Proper Sausages is an artisanal store located in Miami Shores, specializing in homemade (off-the-scale!) sausages as well as a range of other meats and goodies (like bacon jam, homemade condiments, incredible sandwiches, etc.). As soon as we laid eyes on the bleu cheese burgers, we knew what dinner would be. Adding a package of those wonderful special buns they have, along with two pounds of the best bacon in town, we were on our way.
Green Beans with Mustard-Tarragon Dressing – Simple & Delicious
Tarragon grows like a weed year-round in our South Florida garden – not to mention how easy it is to grow green beans here in the fall-to-spring. For more on growing beans, please see our post: Growing Green Beans – All Season Long! We were lucky to harvest our first crop of beans right before Thanksgiving (actually, we do try to time it that way each year). And while we didn’t have enough to feed our big crowd, we were proud to add them to this dish as representative of our organic garden’s harvest.
We are a small group of South Floridians who share a love of organic gardening, cooking and leading a healthy lifestyle. We garden together in Miami on a weekly basis year round, and enjoy the labor, harvest and feeling of community that this provides us. We are learning together what it means to grow food in South Florida, with our unique climate and seasons, which are so different than the rest of the country. This website is a venture in sharing information and resources relevant to gardening (and enjoying the harvest) in our South Florida environment. We hope you will find it useful!
