Foodscaping – Create Beauty and Bounty

Foodscaping – Create Beauty and Bounty

Kelly Thomas UFWritten by: Kelly Thomas – Agricultural/Food Scientist II with the University of Florida/IFAS North Florida Research and Education Center

Imagine walking out your front door with a cup of coffee to admire your garden. A cucumber vine, ripe with crisp, succulent fruit, has grown so large and sprawling that the white staircase handrail is serving as its trellis. The resulting appearance is a lush green entranceway to the front door. The wall of cucumber leaves stands tall behind burgundy-colored day lilies and stokes asters that are shockingly blue. Nearby, buzzing bees feed on fragrant basil flowers. The plum tree planted near the road is heavy with perfectly round reddish-purple fruit that is almost ready to harvest.

Foxtail rosemary Rosmarinus officinalis standing tall in the Dry Garden

Foxtail rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) standing tall in the Dry Garden. Photo Credit: Kelly Thomas – University of Florida/IFAS

You’ve taken up foodscaping, the concept of integrating ornamental plants and edible plants within a traditional landscape. It began during the pandemic with more time spent at home, and the desire to tend to the growth of something. Now, the garden’s bounty has provided groceries, which has proven doubly beneficial as the pandemic continues to disrupt the supply chain and drive up the cost of food.

Brie Arthur sitting on steps next to tomato vines.

Brie Arthur sitting on steps next to tomato vines. Photo Credit: Brie Arthur

The concept of foodscaping is not new. In fact, foodscaping has been around in some form or fashion for centuries. In the early 2000’s, Sydney Park Brown, now a UF/IFAS emeritus associate professor, published an EDIS document titled ‘Edible Landscaping.’ Brown describes how edible landscaping allows people to create a multi-functional landscape that increases food security, reduces food costs, and provides fun and exercise for the family, along with other benefits. Foodscaping, another term for edible landscaping, really took off as a movement during the 2008 economic recession.

Around that time, a horticulturist named Brie Arthur wanted to grow vegetables to save money on groceries. However, the restrictions placed by her H.O.A. forced her to venture away from a standard vegetable garden. Within six months, Arthur had won ‘Yard of the Year,’ proving that edible plants can also be aesthetically pleasing, especially when incorporated into a landscape design. Now, her one-acre lot in North Carolina provides almost 70% of what she and her husband consume. Her garden produces food year-round, everything from sweet potatoes, garlic, and pumpkins to edible flowers like dahlias. She even grows sesame and barley, or as she calls it, “future-beer.”

Utrecht blue wheat beginning to form seed heads.

Utrecht blue wheat beginning to form seed heads. Photo Credit: Kelly Thomas – University of Florida/IFAS

Brie Arthur is a charismatic speaker and bestselling author. She continues to be a major proponent of the foodscape movement, inspiring others to realize their landscape’s full potential. Arthur came and gave an energetic and action-packed presentation on foodscaping at UF/IFAS North Florida Research and Education Center (NFREC) in Quincy, FL on March 5th, 2022.  Before the workshop, which was titled ‘A New Era in Foodscaping’ adjourned, participants toured edible displays in Gardens of the Big Bend (GBB), a botanical garden located at the UF/IFAS NFREC. Tour participants walked by golden and red-colored amaranth plants bordered by carrots in the Discovery Garden. Waist-high rosemary plants held their own next to agaves and other desert giants in the Dry Garden.

For more information and advice on foodscaping, check out Brie’s YouTube channel, Brie the Plant Lady.  Photos of her garden in North Carolina can be found on her blog. University of Florida resources on edible landscaping/foodscaping can be found via EDIS. And come visit Gardens of the Big Bend in Quincy to view edible garden displays in person!

What are these bumps on my pecan trees?

What are these bumps on my pecan trees?

I was recently sent some pictures of some unusual growths on pecan tree leaves.  At first glance, the growths reminded me of the galls caused by small wasps that lay their eggs on oak leaves.  However, after a little searching it became apparent this wasn’t the case.  These galls were caused by the feeding of an aphid-like insect known as phylloxera.

Leaf galls caused by pecan phylloxera.

Leaf galls caused by pecan phylloxera. Photo Credit: Matt Lollar, University of Florida/IFAS Extension – Santa Rosa County

The feeding from the phylloxera causes the young leaf tissue to become distorted and form a gall that encloses this female insect called a “stem mother”.  These insects are rarely seen, but the hatch from over-wintering eggs in March/April just after budbreak.  Once hatched, these “stem mothers” crawl to the new leaves and begin feeding.  Once the gall forms, they start to lay eggs inside the gall.  The eggs hatch inside the gall and the young phylloxera begin to feed inside the gall and the gall enlarges.  The matured insects break out of the gall in May and some will crawl to new spots on the leaves to feed and produce more galls.

Pecan stem damage from phylloxera.

Pecan stem damage from phylloxera. Photo Credit: University of Georgia

There are two common species of phylloxera that infect the leaves.  The Pecan Leaf Phylloxera seems to prefer young trees and the Southern Pecan Leaf Phylloxera prefers older trees. The damage from each of these insects is nearly indistinguishable.  Damage from these insects is usually not severe and merely an aesthetic issue.

Once the damage is discovered on a tree, it is too late to control the current year’s infestation.  There are currently no effective methods for control of phylloxera in home gardens.  Soil drench applications witha product containing imidacloprid have been limited in their effectiveness.

Loquat – An Attractive Small Tree That Bears Tasty Fruit

Loquat – An Attractive Small Tree That Bears Tasty Fruit

Loquat trees provide nice fall color with creamy yellow buds and white flowers on their long terminal panicles.  These small (20 to 35 ft. tall) evergreen trees are native to China and first appeared in Southern landscapes in the late 19th Century.  They are grown commercially in subtropical and Mediterranean areas of the world and small production acreage can be found in California.  They are cold tolerant down to temperatures of 8 degrees Fahrenheit, but they will drop their flowers or fruit if temperatures dip below 27 degrees Fahrenheit.

Loquat Tree

A beautiful loquat specimen at the UF/IFAS Extension at Santa Rosa County. Photo Credit: Matt Lollar, University of Florida/IFAS – Santa Rosa County

Leaves – The leaf configuration on loquat trees is classified as whorled.  The leaf shape is lanceolate and the color is dark green with a nice soft brown surface underneath.  These features help give the trees their tropical appearance.

Flowers – 30 to 100 flowers can be present on each terminal panicle.  Individual flowers are roughly half an inch in diameter and have white petals.

Fruit – What surprises most people is that loquats are more closely related to apples and peaches than any tropical fruit.  Fruit are classified as pomes and appear in clusters ranging from 4 to 30 depending on variety and fruit size.  They are rounded to ovate in shape and are usually between 1.5 and 3 inches in length.  Fruit are light yellow to orange in color and contain one to many seeds.

Loquat Flowers with Honey Bee

A cluster of loquat flowers/buds being pollinated by a honey bee. Photo Credit: Matt Lollar, University of Florida/IFAS – Santa Rosa County

Propagation – Loquat trees are easily propagated by seed, as you will notice as soon as your tree first bears fruit.  Seedlings pop up throughout yards containing even just one loquat tree.  It is important to note that the trees do not come true from seed and they go through a 6- to 8-year juvenile period before flowering and fruiting.  Propagation by cuttings or air layering is more difficult but rewarding, because vegitatively-propagated trees bear fruit within two years of planting.  Sometimes mature trees are top-worked (grafted at the terminal ends of branches) to produce a more desirable fruit cultivar.

Loquat trees are hardy, provide an aesthetic focal point to the landscape, and produce a tasty fruit.  For more information on growing loquats and a comprehensive list of cultivars, please visit the UF EDIS Publication: Loquat Growing in the Florida Home Landscape.

A Gorgeous and Delicious Hibiscus

A Gorgeous and Delicious Hibiscus

roselle fruit.

Attractive roselle fruit. Photo credit: Mary Salinas, UF/IFAS Extension.

Just before the recent cold weather I harvested seed pods from my roselle, Hibiscus sabdariffa, and made the most delicious and nutritious iced herbal tea.

You may have heard other names for this plant of Asian or African origin: bissap, red sorrel, Indian sorrel, Jamaica sorrel, Florida cranberry or jelly okra. Whatever name you call it, it has been grown in Florida since the late 1890’s.

Roselle leaves and fruit.

Roselle leaves and fruit. Photo credit: Mary Salinas, UF/IFAS Extension.

People around the world enjoy consuming roselle in many ways. In addition to making a beverage from the fleshy fruit, it is used to make jams, jellies, relishes, syrup and added to salads. Harvest the fruit when it is large (as in the photo) but before it gets tough. Leaves can be eaten raw in salads or cooked into dishes. Even the seeds can be made into a high protein meal or ground into a coffee substitute.

Roselle fruit showing the unripe green seedpod surrounded by the fleshy calyx

Roselle fruit showing the unripe green seedpod surrounded by the fleshy calyx. Photo credit: Mary Salinas, UF/IFAS Extension.

My lone roselle plant provided hundreds of fruits and was so easy to grow. In the spring it started as a small 3-inch seedling and by November it grew to over 4 feet tall and wide. Roselle can grow 6 to 7 feet tall. It’s not too picky on soil type if it gets plenty of sun and consistent moisture. Few pests are attracted to roselle. However, deer will eat this down to the ground, as they will any hibiscus. Since my garden is plagued by hungry deer, I placed the roselle in the back of a landscape bed with a border of plants unappetizing to the deer. Expect roselle to start blooming in mid-summer and continue through frost. Blooms only last one day before forming the equally attractive fruit.

Roselle flower

Roselle flower. Photo credit: Sally Menk, Florida Master Gardener Volunteer.

Roselle is a tropical plant and susceptible to frost in northwest Florida. To have seeds for next year, let some of the fruit stay on the branches to let the seed pods turn yellow/brown and ripen. There are also many online seed companies that carry seed.

 

For more information:

UF IFAS Gardening Solutions: Roselle

More on Roselle from Purdue Extension

 

Pomegranates in the Panhandle

Pomegranates in the Panhandle

Last week at the Panhandle Fruit and Vegetable Conference, Dr. Ali Sarkhosh presented on growing pomegranate in Florida.  The pomegranate (Punica granatum) is native to central Asia.  The fruit made its way to North America in the 16th century.  Given their origin, it makes sense that fruit quality is best in regions with cool winters and hot, dry summers (Mediterranean climate).  In the United States, the majority of pomegranates are grown in California.  However, the University of Florida, with the help of Dr. Sarkhosh, is conducting research trials to find out which varieties do best in our state.

In the wild, pomegranate plants are dense, bushy shrubs growing between 6-12 feet tall with thorny branches.  In the garden, they can be trained as small single trunk trees from 12-20 feet tall or as slightly shorter multi-trunk (3 to 5 trunks) trees.  Pomegranate plants have beautiful flowers and can be utilized as ornamentals that also bear fruit.  In fact, there are a number of varieties on the market for their aesthetics alone.  Pomegranate leaves are glossy, dark green, and small.  Blooms range from orange to red (about 2 inches in diameter) with crinkled petals and lots of stamens.  The fruit can be yellow, deep red, or any color in between depending on variety.  The fruit are round with a diameter from 2 to 5 inches.

 Fruit, aril, and juice characteristics of four pomegranate cultivars grown in Florida; fruit harvested in August 2018. a) ‘Vkusnyi’, b) ‘Crab’, c) ‘Mack Glass’, d) ‘Ever Sweet’.

Fruit, aril, and juice characteristics of four pomegranate cultivars grown in Florida; fruit harvested in August 2018. a) ‘Vkusnyi’, b) ‘Crab’, c) ‘Mack Glass’, d) ‘Ever Sweet’. Photo Credit: Ali Sarkhosh, University of Florida/IFAS

A common commercial variety, ‘Wonderful’, is widely grown in California but does not perform well in Florida’s hot and humid climate.  Cultivars that have performed well in Florida include: ‘Vkusnyi’; ‘Crab’; ‘Mack Glass’; and ‘Ever Sweet’.  Pomegranates are adapted to many soil types from sands to clays, however yields are lower on sandy soils and fruit color is poor on clay soils.  They produce best on well-drained soils with a pH range from 5.5 to 7.0.  The plants should be irrigated every 7 to 10 days if a significant rain event doesn’t occur.  Flavor and fruit quality are increased when irrigation is gradually reduced during fruit maturation.  Pomegranates are tolerant of some flooding, but sudden changes to irrigation amounts or timing may cause fruit to split.

Two pomegranate training systems: single trunk on the left and multi-trunk on the right.

Two pomegranate training systems: single trunk on the left and multi-trunk on the right. Photo Credit: Ali Sarkhosh, University of Florida/IFAS

Pomegranates establish best when planted in late winter or early spring (February – March).  If you plan to grow them as a hedge (shrub form), space plants 6 to 9 feet apart to allow for suckers to fill the void between plants.  If you plan to plant a single tree or a few trees then space the plants at least 15 feet apart.  If a tree form is desired, then suckers will need to be removed frequently.  Some fruit will need to be thinned each year to reduce the chances of branches breaking from heavy fruit weight.

Pomegranate fruit affected by anthracnose.

Anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum sp. to pomegranate fruit. Photo Credit: Gary Vallad, University of Florida/IFAS

Anthracnose is the most common disease of pomegranates.  Symptoms include small, circular, reddish-brown spots (0.25 inch diameter) on leaves, stems, flowers, and fruit.  Copper fungicide applications can greatly reduce disease damage.  Common insects include scales and mites.  Sulfur dust can be used for mite control and horticultural oil can be used to control scales.