Hey Fellow Floridians - Year 2

[Zone9b]

Originally Posted by Barb_FL

Thanks everyone.
This AM when I went outside it was 63 degrees. It was heaven; tonight is suppose to be the same. Low humidity too. All day it had that coolness to the air; Hottest part of day was < 75.
Anyone else looks at your tomato flowers and think which one will be the last to set a fruit? I do this all the time; not on the cherries of course.

Barb,
Here in Orlando it was 61 early in the morning and got up to 83. I wish we could have more days like this but probably not until late September or early November. Picture is of Cassidy snap beans. I am picking Cassidy and Pike snaps at this time. I have Crockett, Jade, Espada, Contender, Furano Romano, Rattlesnake Pole, Dixie Speckled Butterpea also in process.
I have 1 head of Broccoli left in my garden. Growing 5 consecutive crops in the same raised bed turned out to be quite doable, although I’m not sure I will do it again.
Larry

[Fiishergurl]

I can see the pix also in all the posts. SouthFl please keep us posted on how these plants make out.

Ginny

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[Fiishergurl]

Originally Posted by Zone9b

Barb,
Here in Orlando it was 61 early in the morning and got up to 83. I wish we could have more days like this but probably not until late September or early November. Picture is of Cassidy snap beans. I am picking Cassidy and Pike snaps at this time. I have Crockett, Jade, Espada, Contender, Furano Romano, Rattlesnake Pole, Dixie Speckled Butterpea also in process.
I have 1 head of Broccoli left in my garden. Growing 5 consecutive crops in the same raised bed turned out to be quite doable, although I&rsquo;m not sure I will do it again.
Larry

Larry,

Are all of those beans similar in type and taste? The batch you posted a picture of sure do look good!

Ginny

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by Zone9b

Barb,
Here in Orlando it was 61 early in the morning and got up to 83. I wish we could have more days like this but probably not until late September or early November. Picture is of Cassidy snap beans. I am picking Cassidy and Pike snaps at this time. I have Crockett, Jade, Espada, Contender, Furano Romano, Rattlesnake Pole, Dixie Speckled Butterpea also in process.
I have 1 head of Broccoli left in my garden. Growing 5 consecutive crops in the same raised bed turned out to be quite doable, although I’m not sure I will do it again.
Larry

Larry I can see your pictures easily, and I would love that bowl of beans. I have 2 bean plants, and they have had a losing battle with spider mites, but I am still getting a few, and they are so sweet. I like your experiment and reports too. 5 successive crops in the same bed, wow! I bet your broccoli was wonderful, it surely looked gorgeous.

[ginger2778]

Barb, if you have extra may I try a few seeds of Cr. Yugoslavian? It sounds like a must grow.

[ginger2778]

So Floridians what are your absolutely grow every year varieties?

[kayrobbins]

I change what I am growing often but I always grow Tasmanian Chocolate. It is the most prolific dwarf I have ever grown and it always does well. I love the look and the taste too so it is a total winner. And although I have only been growing it 3 years Beauty King has joined my must grow list.

[Zone9b]

Originally Posted by Fiishergurl

Larry,

Are all of those beans similar in type and taste? The batch you posted a picture of sure do look good!

Ginny

I think Cassidy and Pike are probably examples of very good commercial beans. They have the look - darker green color, long straight pods, slender sieve 2 and 3. Also, they have a fairly concentrated set (good for 1 shot machine harvesting), very good production and good plant habit,i.e. they stand up well. They are tender and for me the taste is pretty much what you'd expect in a good quality store bought bean. Pike may have a bit stronger bean flavor, at least to me.
I like Crockett because it also has the look, good plant habit, but it is also continuous, which for me, means I can get about 5 picks out of it. Also the taste is quite good. Crockett is also quite disease resistant.
Jade is a medium green, continuous, productive, sieve 3 - 4, heat and rust resistant and tastes good as well.
Contender is also continuous, productive, sieve 3 -4, and tastes good, but for me it has poor plant habit and tends to sprawl on the ground.
Espada is medium green, very productive, extremely disease resistant, sieve 3 - 4, continuous (up to 7 picks), plant habit is average and taste is ok but for me not great.
Furano Romano is a much different shape and I expected a different taste but not for me. I found it tasting just like another bean. I won't grow again.
Of course this is what I experience with these bean varieties, with my soil medium and my challenging climate. Others with richer soil and a different climate may have much different results.

Originally Posted by ginger2778

Larry I can see your pictures easily, and I would love that bowl of beans. I have 2 bean plants, and they have had a losing battle with spider mites, but I am still getting a few, and they are so sweet. I like your experiment and reports too. 5 successive crops in the same bed, wow! I bet your broccoli was wonderful, it surely looked gorgeous.

Thank you Marsha.
After all those months of eating fresh Broccoli, now I'm doomed to eating Broccoli from the freezer. It just isn't the same.
Larry

[Barb_FL]

Larry - Thanks for the bean lesson. I'm growing Provider and Bush ? from Burpee (got the pack at HD, Lowes, Walmart). I mixed and matched them but the plants all look similar.

What do you think of Provider?

I've picked a bunch already but no where near what you are growing.

---
Marsha - Will definitely send you the CR. Yugoslavian seeds with Chocolate Lightning.
I have the Choc. Lightning already fermented.


BTW - I checked my CR Yugo. plants and all have flowers except one in an EB but I think b/c I still need to pick a bunch more from that plant. Might be too late for it to produce blooms.

-----
Will answer your ? about future growing in a new thread. I LOVE seeing what everyone else is growing. The standouts from the fall were both from you - DDR and General Lee (which I still have and still is pumping out perfect looking fruit).

ETA - What's OUT is all the PBTD, GGW and similar ones. - Maybe everyone should include their WHAT"S OUT list too.

[Barb_FL]

Originally Posted by kayrobbins

I change what I am growing often but I always grow Tasmanian Chocolate. It is the most prolific dwarf I have ever grown and it always does well. I love the look and the taste too so it is a total winner. And although I have only been growing it 3 years Beauty King has joined my must grow list.

I remember the first time I grew DP Dwarfs, I only bought your recommendations and Tas Chocolate was one of them.

I don't know why I stopped growing it; I found Wild Fred and now Chocolate Lightning the MOST prolific dwarfs I've ever grown. I've been growing WF since the first year.

Here's what I started for spring and productivity results:

1. Chocolate Lightning - The Clear Winner; at least 50 good size tomatoes.
2. Sweet Sue - (mine are red but people got upset in a thread when it was called Red Sweet Sue). (EarthBox)
3. Boronia
4. Beauty King (EarthBox)
5. Sweet Scarlet - EB, I did get 12 tomatoes FINALLY after all these years trying.
6. TastyWine - Not many but big, good, and LATE.
7. Chocolate Champion - Taste was great but ONLY 2 tomatoes. The exact opposite of Chocolate Lightning. Plant was healthy and NEXT to Chocolate Lightning.

[Barb_FL]

Lettuce - So a couple of days ago I planted my Super Jericho (very heat tolerant) and also sowed seeds for the Parris Island Romaine. The PI romaine is kicking the SJ butt.

Pics are some of my lettuce, beans, and tomato plant is Sky Reacher (tons of tomatoes).

[Fiishergurl]

Larry, thank you for the review. I love green beans and am fascinated by all the different kinds. You've done so much research so thanks for sharing. Great info there which I have book marked... :-)

Ginny

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[Fiishergurl]

Barb

Your lettuce is beautiful! Pretty amazing that you got 50 tomatoes from a dwarf. Nice!

Ginny

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[ginger2778]

Barb- your PI lettuce is to die for gorgeous! And just look at that loaded tomato plant. How is the taste? We had 2 beautiful weather days, but starting to heat up already.
My beans are doing poorly and will go down soon.

The Rare Fruit Council had a sale this past week, so I bought a Nam Doc Mai- Sia Tong cultivar Mango, a Cacao to go under my large mango tree because they like shade, and a pomegranate bush. Pomegranates can be installed as hedges too.

[ginger2778]

My must grow every year tomatoes:
Cherokee Purple,
Big Cheef
Rebel Yell
Olive Hill,
McKinley
Karma pink, purple and bicolor green
SunGold
Carbon
Dana's Dusky Rose
Maiden's Gold
Pruden's Purple
Grightmire's Pride
Brutus
Dwarf Beauty King- (thanks Kay)
Tennessee Suited (thanks Ted)
Green Gables
Cherokee Lime
Aunt Ruby's German Green
Arbuznyi
Neves Azorean Red
Milka's Red Bulgarian