Nothing like a Home Grown Pineapple

This is the second pineapple or ratoon from the parent pineapple that I planted in a container three years ago.  It has been growing in my front yard and has been a conversation piece among myself and neighbors.  This lovely little beauty was as sweet as it looks and the entire family enjoyed eating it.  I did save the top and set it to grow roots for hopefully another pineapple.  I also see what looks to be another top growing from the original plant and there are puppies in the pot that I will need to transplant into their own containers.

I hope you give pineapple a try in your garden.  Be patient and you too will one day be proudly eating a pineapple you've grown.

Growing Apples in South Florida

While the cold winter of 2010 might have damaged tender tropical trees, it seemed to have given new life to my Sentinel Columnar Apple Trees.  This is my second year with these trees which are being grown in containers.  Last it fruited but many fell off and the few that remained matured at a very small size, from what I recall, the flavor of the tiny taste I had was sweet.  This year the apples have already surpassed the size of last year's apple and the tree seems to be doing well and aphids have not bothered it (they enjoy my yard long beans more).

Click here to Learn About Columnar Apple Trees

Zone 10 Start some Seeds

Based on several seed calculation tools and information found in the UF Vegetable Gardening Guide , now in July would be a good time to start seeds for transplants for the fall garden.  Tomatoes and Peppers are good choices with lots of variety to choose from.  Seeds started now will be ready to be transplanted to ground by mid to late September, giving you a headstart on the fall garden and allowing warm weather crops such as tomatoes and peppers to fruit well before out first frost in mid December.  Be sure to transplant your seedlings into 4 or 6 inch pot sizes after they have sprouted so that they can grow until transplant time in September.  Seedlings do require extra care, shelter and nurturing, but it will be worth the effort when you consider the money saved from buying transplants from the box store and the availabilty of choice of variety that you will have. 

When selecting seeds, look at the number of day to harvest and spacing requirements especially if you are container or square foot gardening.  With tomatoes you will want to choose "Determinate" 

varieties.  You can still grow "Indeterminate" varieties in containers, however you will have to provide suitable trellising and support since they can grow over 6 feet tall. 

A Little Prehistoric Monster in my yard

I'm not sure what the variety or type of lizard is, but he's is big and has been elusive til now.  He's rather prehistoric looking and  runs really fast on hind legs. 

I always catch him scurrying out of the garden, today however he was in a different mood and stayed for this photo opportunity.  I was actually surprised that he didn't rush off and allowed me to go inside get my camera and return to his picture.  If anyone can identify him, I'd love to know who he is and if he's a friend or foe to my garden.