.The garden is thriving with all the rain we’ve been having! Summers here in Southwest Florida can be very hot and humid. We get a lot of heavy rainfall. But we are able to grow plants that do well in a subtropical climate. I’m seeing signs that some plants, like the cantaloupe, are receiving too much water. I knew when I planted them it was getting a little late in the year. Other plants like the okra, long beans, luffa gourd, and New Zealand spinach are loving it! I’m especially surprised by how well these grape tomatoes are doing. These came from tomatoes that I purchase at the grocery store. I put the seeds out just to see what would happen. I will be sure to save some seeds from these for next season!
My young mango tree (a Glenn cultivar) put out some good size fruit this year. I gave some away and have been eating some. They are super sweet and delicious. I also have a Nam Doc Mai variety but it hasn’t fruited yet. I made a mango salsa and had it with some Nopal Cactus that I also harvested.
Summer is a great time here for growing tropical perennials. Plants in the Ginger family do especially well and are surfacing now. The cassava and bananas love this weather also. Not a lot of gardening gets done in July and August. Part of our property floods during the wettest part of August and September. So I’m going to be planting with that in mind in the future as I focus on habitat building in those areas using Florida native plants. Happy Gardening!
Planted in May:
- Lancinato Kale
- Carrots
- Malabar spinach
- Pigeon pea
- Okra
- Peppers
- Tomatoes
- Tatzoi
- Mazuna
- Purple Tomatillo
- Long beans
- Seminole pumpkin
- Roselle
- Cranberry hibiscus
- Vegetable Amaranth
- Moringa
- Cassava
- Luffa Gourd
Harvested in May:
- Arugula
- Parsley
- Mint
- Basil
- Oregano
- Cranberry Hibiscus
- Mazuna
- Calamondin Oranges
- Lemon grass
- Tatzoi
- long beans
- Okra
- Vegetable Amaranth
- Malabar Spinach
- Garlic chives
- Potatoes
- Mango
- Nopal cactus
- Galangal
