Hey Fellow Floridians - Year 2

[Fiishergurl]

Originally Posted by elight

Seedlings were planted out after New Year's and are looking good. Varieties this year:

Big Beef
Sun Gold (back again, replacing Sunsugar)
Cosmonaut Volkov
Pink Berkeley Tie-Dye (new!)
Kimberley (new!)
Super Sweet 100s (back again)
Fireworks
Bundaberg Rumball
Green Giant
Black Cherry (back again)

I tried to stick mostly to hybrids and varieties with lower DTMs due to the short season. I also added cherry varieties because some animal is eating the fruit in my garden... it's painful to lose a huge tomato just before it starts to ripen. So far everything has germinated and has true leaves except Green Giant, which also took forever to germinate in the fall.

Also growing some peppers: Horizon, Datil (only one yet to germinate), Banana and Jalapeno. And two new varieties of lettuce: Little Gem and Red Butterworth.

Planning on planting out February 6-7 depending on the long-term forecast. Could delay a week. Haven't had a night even get into the 30s thus far.

Looks like a nice list. The weather is so weird its hard to know what will happen.

Looking forward to pictures.... :-)

Ginny

[jpop]

4-8" plants into containers around Jan. 1st. The transplants took off and the oldest are over 2 foot and the younger ones just behind them around 18" and counting. 18 plants out of 20 have blossoms.

[Fiishergurl]

Originally Posted by MarlynnMarcks

I have oodles of peas in leaf, no pods yet. Romaine lettuce is high about 6" high but spindly yet. Am harvesting Homestead 24 tomatoes 1 every day or so. Blossoms on all others. Rampaos have very strong stems and 3 sets of true leaves. I planted -3 weeks ago are so large they them have bent over in the winds. Will transplant tomorrow. 2 Red Siberian are up but still have seed casing still on their tops. Planted them about a week ago. As I did with Bibb lettuce which is just barely peeking its head out. This is the first time I've planted tomatoes in the Fall or Winter and the first time in Florida at all. I'm still learning as I am from Michigan. Planted them out last spring and seedlings were so good and healthy. Then I learned about nematodes. Never had them up north because of the long freezing weather. Now I am growing in bags for the first time. Any suggestions would be helpful I grew beauties of every sort in Michigan but wonder what skills are needed here.

I think Barb and Marsha on this thread use grow bags. I havent used any yet. Maybe they will chime in. I think they need to be off the ground but cant remember for sure.

Ginny

[Fiishergurl]

Originally Posted by jpop

4-8" plants into containers around Jan. 1st. The transplants took off and the oldest are over 2 foot and the younger ones just behind them around 18" and counting. 18 plants out of 20 have blossoms.

Awesome!
Ginny

[jpop]

Originally Posted by Fiishergurl

Awesome!
Ginny

Thank you Ginny. Here they are.

[Fiishergurl]

Jpop they look so beautiful and healthy. Such big thick stems on them!

Where are you located again?

Ginny

[jpop]

East Fort Lauderdale, about 200 miles south of you "as a crow flies". Hope they hold up, unreal weather year thus far. Hope the rain finally subsides, I mean deluge, either every 2 days or 4 days straight.

[Zone9b]

Originally Posted by Fiishergurl

How are everyones gardens doing? What is doing well and what isnt? How are your seedlings for spring?
Its a cold windy day in Florida... good day for everyone to update.... :-)
Ginny

Tomato seedlings under grow lights:
Champion II
4th of July’
Jetsetter
1st Prize
Tomande
Granada
Mountain Magic
Bush Early Girl
Bush Champion II
Celebrity
Yaqui
Giant Beef
BD Cherry
Bush Goliath
Bloody Butcher

Yet to germinate and probably won’t:
Better Boy
Black Cherry

I’m with you Kay; it is easy to get some varieties started too early. Champion II, Jetsetter, First Prize and a couple others are close to the top of a tall plastic domes and I seeded them on the 6th of January.
elight; I will be interested in knowing how your Green Giant verity works out. I’m anxious to see how
my Giant Beef does. I hope it is all Henry Fields says it is.
My second crop of Premium Crop Broccoli is well on its way. Hope to be harvesting in 4-5 weeks. I have 2 new varieties of Broccoli on order.
1st Castle Dome with DTM of 50, 2nd Lieutenant with DTM of 55. If Castle Dome were to work out I could potentially grow 5 crops of Broccoli between Sep and June. With Lieutenant maybe 4 crops.

Have 3 new, to me, varieties of Bell Peppers under grow lights. Alliance, Early Summer and Touchdown. They are the most disease resistant varieties that I could find being sold in small quantity of seeds.
For example Early Summer and Touchdown are resistant to Bacterial Leaf Spot races 1-5, 7-9.
I’m a little puzzled in how they are currently doing. Possibly I could get some opinions from you folks.
I planted the Alliance in seed starter they germinated ok, but all didn’t make it and they are doing well under the grow lights. I planted Early Summer in a poor, free compost. Lots of leaves and sticks. It germinated well and did splendid under the lights, easily outgrowing the other two varieties. I planted the Touchdown in a potting soil, which contains some slow release fertilizer. They were the first to germinate and they germinated very well. However, they almost refuse to grow under the lights. The plants each have two small true leaves and the seed leaves have turned yellow and now are dropping off. I not at all sure the Touchdown seedlings will make it. What do you think? Variety or seedling soil?
Larry

[kayrobbins]

One of my emails today had some good recipes for chile vinegars and oils.
http://www.fieryfoodscentral.com/201...gars-and-oils/

I got another 36 peppers stepped up last night but ran out of soil. I am only going to be keeping around 50 plants and the rest go to the herb farm but I am going to taking care of them through March.

[Fiishergurl]

Originally Posted by Zone9b

Tomato seedlings under grow lights:
Champion II
4th of July’
Jetsetter
1st Prize
Tomande
Granada
Mountain Magic
Bush Early Girl
Bush Champion II
Celebrity
Yaqui
Giant Beef
BD Cherry
Bush Goliath
Bloody Butcher

Yet to germinate and probably won’t:
Better Boy
Black Cherry

I’m with you Kay; it is easy to get some varieties started too early. Champion II, Jetsetter, First Prize and a couple others are close to the top of a tall plastic domes and I seeded them on the 6th of January.
elight; I will be interested in knowing how your Green Giant verity works out. I’m anxious to see how
my Giant Beef does. I hope it is all Henry Fields says it is.
My second crop of Premium Crop Broccoli is well on its way. Hope to be harvesting in 4-5 weeks. I have 2 new varieties of Broccoli on order.
1st Castle Dome with DTM of 50, 2nd Lieutenant with DTM of 55. If Castle Dome were to work out I could potentially grow 5 crops of Broccoli between Sep and June. With Lieutenant maybe 4 crops.

Have 3 new, to me, varieties of Bell Peppers under grow lights. Alliance, Early Summer and Touchdown. They are the most disease resistant varieties that I could find being sold in small quantity of seeds.
For example Early Summer and Touchdown are resistant to Bacterial Leaf Spot races 1-5, 7-9.
I’m a little puzzled in how they are currently doing. Possibly I could get some opinions from you folks.
I planted the Alliance in seed starter they germinated ok, but all didn’t make it and they are doing well under the grow lights. I planted Early Summer in a poor, free compost. Lots of leaves and sticks. It germinated well and did splendid under the lights, easily outgrowing the other two varieties. I planted the Touchdown in a potting soil, which contains some slow release fertilizer. They were the first to germinate and they germinated very well. However, they almost refuse to grow under the lights. The plants each have two small true leaves and the seed leaves have turned yellow and now are dropping off. I not at all sure the Touchdown seedlings will make it. What do you think? Variety or seedling soil?
Larry

Larry,

I don't know the answer about the peppers. Just wanted to say I have Jetsetter and Champion II growing as well. I did more hybrids than usual as some were listed as TYLCV resistant.

Somebody else on here should have input on the pepper question.. :-)

Ginny

[Fiishergurl]

Originally Posted by kayrobbins

One of my emails today had some good recipes for chile vinegars and oils.
http://www.fieryfoodscentral.com/201...gars-and-oils/

I got another 36 peppers stepped up last night but ran out of soil. I am only going to be keeping around 50 plants and the rest go to the herb farm but I am going to taking care of them through March.

Kay that's a lot of stepping up! I stepped up 7 tomato plants... lol. You have all of those Peppers under lights?

Those recipes look good. My friends that are from Jacksonville had some home made Datil Pepper BBQ sauce last night. It was yummy!

Ginny

[Fiishergurl]

We all live in Florida but look at these temperature variances at 7am..

Kay -Jacksonville - 30 degress
Ginny - Oak Hill - 37 degrees
Barb - Indialantic - 43 dgrees
Marsha - plantation - 50 degrees

A 20 degree variance top to bottom.

Ginny

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[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by Fiishergurl

We all live in Florida but look at these temperature variances at 7am..

Kay -Jacksonville - 30 degress
Ginny - Oak Hill - 37 degrees
Barb - Indialantic - 43 dgrees
Marsha - plantation - 50 degrees

A 20 degree variance top to bottom.

Ginny

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

I might be the warmest, but I'm still cold! What about Kurt in Homestead? What's that temp?
It's our coldest day yet this winter season.I love love love it!

[Fiishergurl]

Homestead is showing 53 degrees ... :-) Thats almost shorts weather!! In the sun anyways with no wind.... lol.

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[kayrobbins]

I actually had a light frost on my roof this morning. This summer when we were having record breaking heat here I told anyone and everyone that would listen that I did not care how cold it got I would not complain. I flat out lied. I hate cold weather. At least the sun is shining. I am also tired of all the gray days and excessive rain.