Video: Mint for the Garden and Kitchen
Mint is an easy herb to grow in the North Florida Garden. Learn the basics of plant care and culinary uses with UF IFAS Extension Escambia County’s Garden to Table series.
Video: Growing and Using Lemongrass
Lemongrass is an easy herb to grow in the North Florida Garden. Learn the basics of plant care and ideas for use in the kitchen with UF IFAS Extension Escambia County.
It’s the Little Things in Life, like Mini Vegetable Gardening
Whether it’s the warm or cool season of the year, vegetable gardening is as popular activity as any. In writing articles, I usually discuss best management practices on a backyard garden scale. But, what if you don’t have much of a backyard?
Many Floridians live in apartments, condominiums, mobile home parks, or simply homes built on small parcel lots with little open gardening space. This doesn’t mean you can’t grow vegetables. You just have to be a bit creative and that’s when the fun starts. In addition to being an enjoyable activity, mini vegetable gardening can be practical and ornamental. Containers can fit almost anywhere in the landscape, such as porches, balconies, roof tops and that spot on your property where nothing seems to fit.
Tomato Bucket Gardening. Photo courtesy UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions.
There’s practically no limit to the kinds of containers one can use for mini vegetable gardening. Some examples are pots and pans, milk jugs, hollow concrete blocks, bushel baskets, trash cans, barrels, buckets and even plastics bags and “to go” food containers. As long as the container will hold soil and let excess water drain, you’re good to garden.
So, what can I use as a growing medium? Traditional garden soil will work fine. Mixing garden soil 1:1 with mushroom compost is also acceptable. Adding lightweight components to the soil mixture such as perlite or vermiculite will make it easier if you need move the container from time to time. This will also help with drainage. Sprinkling a handful of 6-6-6 or 8-8-8 fertilizer and gardening lime into the mixture will give plants much needed nutrients for development.
This growing medium will not require fertilizer applications very often. A small amount every two to three weeks should be adequate for most vegetable plants. Whether the fertilizer you choose is solution or dry form, be sure to use small amounts and water the product thoroughly into the root zone. A heavy application of fertilizer may cause plant burn.
So what vegetable crops grow best in containers? Most any crop will do well in containers. Some examples are tomato, pepper, eggplant, collard, cabbage, turnip, mustard, strawberry, broccoli, cauliflower and many herbs. Container gardening is a fun and rewarding hobby. You’ll enjoy both the activity and the delicious produce you’ve grown.
For more information contact your local county extension office.
Supporting information for this article was provided by Extension’s Emeritus Vegetable Specialist Jim Stephens of UF/IFAS Extension. More information can be found at this website: http://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/edibles/vegetables/growing-vegetables-in-containers.html
UF/IFAS Extension is an Equal Opportunity Institution.
Growing Lavender in the Coastal South
Escambia County Master Gardener Volunteer Carol Perryman shares information to help choose and grow lavender in the herb garden.
If you want to grow lavender in our hot & humid climate you must follow a few considerations which can be “do or die” rules. Will your lavender be an annual or a perennial? Hybridizers are always busy at work but, in the meantime:
Choose the right variety. (English lavender cannot easily be grown in our climate.)
1.Spanish Lavender- Lavandula stoechas- 18 to 24” tall, lighter scent, early bloomer & long blooming, drought & heat tolerant, good for mild winters, gray/green foliage, magenta-pink flowers with purple bract shaped like a pineapple with bunny ears.
2.’Goodwin Greek Gray’ Lavandula dentata x L. lanata – 2 to 3 feet tall & wide, silvery/gray toothed edged leaves, short spikes of deep purple to blue blooms, heat & humidity tolerant, good to 15 degrees F in winter,
3.French Lavender- Lavandula dentata -3 feet tall, lighter scent, summer bloomer & long blooming, heat tolerant (Protect from frost.), narrow gray & green leaf varieties, “dented” lavender colored flower buds that make up flower head/bract.
4. Sweet Lavender- Lavandula heterophylla – Tolerant of heat & humidity & cold tolerant to 15 degrees F. 1 1/2 to 2 feet tall, gray/green leaves &bright lavender flowers. Allow to dry between watering.
5. ‘Phenomenal’ Lavandula x intermedia – This is a newer evergreen hybrid developed for extreme heat or cold. It is disease resistant, tolerates our humidity, 24” x 32” high & wide with blue to purple blooms and gray/green leaves.
Lavender in the Escambia County Extension herb garden. Photo by Beth Bolles, UF IFAS Extension Escambia County.
Choose your site well or consider growing in pots.
1. LIGHT – Full sun.
2. DRAINAGE – Focus on drainage. MUST be well-draining site or pot or modified to be so.
3. SOIL – Loose almost neutral soil.
4. AIRFLOW – Focus on air circulation which will help dry off the leaves after rain. Space appropriately.
5. WATER – Focus on water source. Lavender does not like to be watered overhead. A dripline
is best or water by hand around roots, not on leaves. Check water requirements for your chosen variety.
6. MULCH- Whether in the ground or in pots, use light-colored gravel or small rocks as mulch
to help reflect sunlight & heat to help keep foliage dry. Heat & light reflected off a nearby brick, stone, or stucco wall, help keep foliage dry too.
7. ACCESS- Must be able to deadhead & prune. Lavender only blooms on new growth. In our climate it should be pruned back about 1/3 of it’s height & shaped to keep the mound-like shape in early January unless we have an extremely cold winter. If so, then early spring. You can prune lightly after deadheading spent blooms to promote new growth throughout bloom season. Add 1 inch of composted materials around plant each spring or lightly fertilize with slow time-release fertilizer. Do not over fertilize. Lavender doesn’t need much fertilizer.
Lavender may grow best for you in a container. Photo by Beth Bolles, UF IFAS Extension Escambia County.
If you are new at growing lavender, try pots. You could try several varieties in different locations to better understand which conditions & locations will work best in your garden. The beauty of pots is their portability. If one location doesn’t work, you can move the pot.
All lavender is edible. You can use the leaves or flowers, fresh or dried. Fragrant lavender is a wonderful addition to your garden although in our climate, most lavenders are not going to be long lived. If you have found “the spot” in your own little microclimate & your lavender thrives year after year, consider yourself lucky.
Try Growing Microgreens
Are you a patient gardener? If not, try you hand at growing microgreens. Why wait for at least a month or so for a harvest when you can enjoy fresh greens in as little as 7 days.
Microgreens are the tender seedlings of your favorite vegetable or herb. They are grown in containers or flats and harvested when the first seed leaves are fully emerged. You may also wait until you see the first true leaf. Unlike sprouts, microgreens require light and are cut when harvesting to only include the stem and leaves. Depending on the seeds you start, you may enjoy mild or spicy greens, or refreshing lemony flavors of a young herb.
Microgreens can offer beautiful colors for your dish. Photo by Beth Bolles, UF IFAS Extension Escambia County.
Here are the basic steps to get started growing microgreens.
- Get a commercial tray or recycled container and sterilize it in a 10% bleach solution. Make sure your recycled containers have drainage holes.
- Choose a good seed starting potting mix that is more fine textured. Many seeds you will start are small and a mix with a lot of bark may affect seedling germination. Add one to 1.5 inches of the soil in your container. You don’t need more depth of soil since you will be harvesting in a week to 20 days.
- Decide which types of greens you like. Consider arugula, radish, mizuna, or mustard for some spice. Swiss chard and purple cabbage will give you color, while collards, broccoli, and kale will offer mild flavors. Don’t forget about herbs like dill, cilantro, or basil for good flavors too.
- Once you have chosen your seed, beginners should seed one selection per container. As you learn the growth rate of your favorite selection, you may can combine different varieties in a flat.
- Make sure your soil is moistened (but not soaking) and spread seed on top of the soil. You will be adding about 12 seeds per square inch of soil for small seeds and about 7 seeds per square inch for larger seeds.
- Sprinkle vermiculite over the seeds and then use a spray bottle or nozzle mister to moisten the vermiculite.
Vermiculite allows moisture to get to seeds and may reduce seedling disease pressures. Photo by Beth Bolles, UF IFAS Extension Escambia County
- Place containers in a greenhouse, window sill, or indoor growing tray. As soon as the seeds germinate, make sure they are receiving bright light. If growing indoors, the fluorescent or plant lights need to be a few inches above seedlings. Move the lights higher as your seedlings grow.
New seedlings need bright light. Indoor lights that are 2-3 inches from seedlings prevent thin, spindly stems. Photo by Beth Bolles, UF IFAS Extension Escambia County
- Maintain a room temperature of about 70 degrees F. Temperatures above 75 degrees F can lead to disease issues
- It is also best to water from the bottom to prevent disease issues. If this is not possible, carefully water seedlings so not to injure delicate plants.
- Radish and kale will be ready for harvest in about 7 days. Swiss chard, basils, and cilantro may take 20 days.
Microgreens are ready to harvest. Photo by Beth Bolles, UF IFAS Extension Escambia County
- Use clean scissors to cut stems, careful not to pull up any soil. Remaining soil and roots can be composted.
- When you are ready to use in a salad, sandwich or in juicing, place microgreens in a bowl of water to wash. Let them air dry on a paper towel.
The good news about growing microgreens, is if you find they are not to your liking or too much trouble, you it has only been a couple of weeks of effort.