Florida Urban Homestead

It’s mid July and the heat is on! Highs are now in the mid to upper nineties everyday along with very high humidity. While my indeterminate tomatoes like the Beefsteak and Beefmaster are still going strong, my pour determinate tomatoes like Homestead are calling it quits having finished their growing and fruiting cycle. The cucumbers are starting to burn in the midday sun, the pumpkins are slowing to a crawl. In fact, unlike my friends to the north, a lot of the garden starts to slow down this time of year, but not me! Mid August is just weeks away, and I have to get ready because mid August starts the beginning of a brand new season here in Central Florida. With any freeze here five to six months away, if at all, there is a lot of growing time left in the year. Already I have some seeds started. In the tomato section I have heirloom Roma, Mariglobe, and Rainbow Mix. I also started some

Mariglobe Tomato

Marketmore cucumbers, Green Zucchini, Round Yellow Zucchini, and sweet peppers. I am looking to get even more seeds in the next few weeks. In September or October it’s time for Bok Choy, and radishes, sugar snap peas, carrots, collards, and more. As I pull out the old plants, it’s a good time to amend the soil. I will be adding lots of compost like I always do, plus something I will be trying for the first time, Rock Dust. As I explained in an earlier post, Rock Dust adds in trace minerals that get lost in the rainy season. I will perhaps add some bone meal to prevent blossom end rot, and Epson Salts to help prevent a magnesium deficiency later on. I will also be adding several new beds before the start of the next season, so I have to get cracking. It’s a lot of hard work perhaps, but well worth it. There is nothing like a home grown tomato, or any other vegetable for that matter, not only because it tastes better, but because I know where it’s been.

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