Wednesday in the Garden

Field Peas (cowpeas)

It was a lovely day in the VegHeadz garden. We harvested Roselle, eggplants and field peas. The gardeners gathered for our fall planning meeting chaired by Glenn B.  We had an outstanding turnout and much interesting discussion as we reviewed last season’s crop and made plans for the new season. Stay tuned for upcoming adventures in the garden as fall crops are planted and our biochar trial gets under way. In the meantime, share with us some of the scenes from our garden today.  

Each fall we get to enjoy the exotic blooms from our neighboring demonstration bed – Bed 5–Tropicals. In their native area, many of them are evergreen perennials.  In our area, they die back to the ground in the winter, get a late start in the spring when the soil warms up, spend all summer growing, and only reach their full potential in the fall. Sharing them in pictures is lovely, but to truly appreciate them you must see them in person. Come by the demonstration garden on Paul Russell Road to see them while they’re still in their prime. It’s worth the trip. (We don’t know the names of all of them.)

Firebush

Yellow Butterfly Vine
Callaeum macropterum

Candelabra Bush
Senna Alata

Red Orchid Tree
(Bauhinia galpinii)

Thai Basil

Field peas as cover crop
And to harvest

Cover crops—Mustard and, in the rear, Buckwheat

Zebra Longwing, official Florida butterfly
On Firebush (Hamelia patens)

Peggy harvested Roselle 
calyxes in the cage erected to
keep  out deer