Greetings Growers & Lovers of Green Things

The Tropical Grower welcomes you to the online version of Our Garden. Check out our What’s Bloomn’ slideshow featuring last week’s flowers, cruz the latest topics at the Blog Page for information, enjoy the Photos, or just check out what’s happening this week in Garden Dirt. While we are Growing Tropical, growing is for everyone, and we’re here to share the green.

Garden Dirt

August 31, 2026

Collective Sigh of Relief

With the return of the Rains, a ‘Collective Sigh of Relief’ could be heard both inside and outside Our Garden.  Us inside and the plants outside.  I’m not going to lie, the lack of rain, for weeks, during the rainy season, was worrisome.  It was hot, the watering became a daily chore, and it didn’t seem to affect the sticky humidity at all.  You’d think it would, but nope.  Dang.  That was better for the hot, thirsty planties, not so much for the Growers.  LOL.  The good news is it seems to be over.

Most of last week the skies opened and buckets of water were poured over everything.  Ahhhhh, relief.  Back to our end of August late evening dousing of rain.  Everything sits soaking wet all night and is still dripping in the morning.  Usually, this time of year, we’re pulling Mulch back from the base of plants and checking for Fungi, Mold, and other such destructive pests that thrive in the hot and moist.  We’re the place for that.  Dang.  Growing all year has its challenges.  LOL!  But not this year, we just started seeing the Fungi again on Sunday.

The Positive

The positive, because looking for the positive is always good, is we’ve seemed to have gotten the copper fungus on the Dragon Fruit Cactus under control with all the dry weather.  Finally.  It may have been the only nasty still growing out there.  Over the last year, we had to remove infected Cactus sections until we got all the active fungus removed.  Then, we did it more as the new stuff was quickly taken over.  We’re back to the old grow base plants, mostly.  After that, we basically did an all over spray treatment to a large portion of Our Garden.  We removed some more.  Finally, the new sections coming in seem clear of it.  Finally.  Woo-Hoo!  We’ll trim anything new infected, but it’s very promising. It’s worth it. Try your own: How to Grow Dragon Fruit.

Around Our Garden

We were free of the sprinkler and heavy hose by the end of last week.  Unfortunately, we did start the week watering.  In fact, one day I accidentally left the sprinkler on.  Totally forgot about it, won’t even admit for how long.  LOL!  Grumpy Old Man Buc Dog was exceptionally unhappy there was wet grass.  It didn’t help that it was the same day the rains pounded us.  Dang.  It’s a good thing everything was dry, dry, dry.  LOL.  Opps.

Otherwise, most of last week was dedicated to turning and adding new soil to the Raised Crop Beds.  It was time.  While we add new compost with every plant, after a few years,  Raised Beds need new, fresh, nutrient rich soil to keep the plants that live there happy.  The Brown part of compost breaks down and the plants use the nutrients.  They should be turned every year possible to keep the soil from settling, redistribute nutrients and make it easier for water and roots to move through it.  When you turn the soil, if the level has dropped significantly and/or you notice all the chunky brown stuff gone, it’s probably time to add new soil.

Turning Raised Beds

As a side note, there is nothing wrong with turning a Raised Bed from an environmental perspective.  The issue people have with turning crop land is with leaving the dirt sitting on top.  Wind and water erode it away pretty quickly if something isn’t planted or set on top to cover it.  They’re more concerned with the removing of trees and other plants in the 1st place to make crop land.  Berming the property and setting up tree or brush breaks help too.  Unless your raised bed is sitting in some major wind or you have water pouring out the top, the soil should stay trapped even if you turn it.  It’s one of the major reasons you make a Raised Bed.  It works the same with a pot.    

Since we grow food in our Raised Crop Beds, the richer the soil, the better, and we lean into adding new soil.  Food plants suck up nutrients, that’s good cause you’re eating them, but it’s hard on soil.  Refreshing the soil by turning it and adding nutrients and brown bits to hold moisture will help with the overall crop yield and health of your beds.  Yes, please.  We’d do it every year if it wasn’t so much work.  We had to turn, final chop, and bag the new stuff, 8 big bags worth from the piles on the undeveloped property.  Yup, that was some work.  We also needed 2 carts of fresh, clean yard sand.  Since we grow Root Veggies like Carrots and Turnips in a chunk-free Black Sand, and everything else in a Sandy Compost, we divide the beds with both types.  It takes forever, 3 mornings worth, one for each bed, that includes the pots, but it looks fantastic, ready to grow.  Only a Grower can look at dirt and get this excited.  LOL! Raised Beds aren’t hard to make. Try your own: How to Make Raised Beds with Recycled Pots.

Harvest

We lost the remaining Tomato plants and 3 of the Lima Beans.  The Leeks have started to look stringy.  It certainly feels like the Rainy Season.  LOL.  We only got a couple of Key Limes, here and there.  The Key Lime Tree is just as confused as we are with the lack of rain.  We do still have a Habanero Pepper plant, and there’s a pepper growing.  Woo-Hoo!  Not that anyone in our house will eat it.  It’s a gift plant, fruit only for giving away.

The sprouts in the nursery are growing along providing joy and hope for our Fall Crop.  It makes me laugh if I think about it.  Those little sprouts will grow into big Cabbages, and we will eat them.  Yum.  But I don’t want to eat the sprouts, I like them.  LOL.  Sprout your own: How to Choose Between Seeds and Starter Plants.

Pretty soon, we’ll have no room in the nursery.  It’s a good problem to have.  Planting is just around the corner, middle of Sept.  With the lack of storms, we’ll probably be planting on time.  Woo-Hoo!  We’re almost ready.

Flowers

It should be no surprise the White-Center Flare Phalaenopsis Orchid, the other new one, took the Feature.  Based on the pics, the Strawberry Swirl had the much better photo op last week.  This week, it was all about the White-Center Flare.  Both Phalaenopsis Orchids with their striking centers perfectly framed with colorful petals.  The White-Center is exactly what it sounds like, a round circle of striking white provides the perfect backdrop for the unique curves of its yellow center.  It’s just the tips that are bright purple.  LOL.  Colors, colors everywhere.

We got another full round of the Flaming Torch Bromeliads, whole beds of them.  Amazing.  In the morning, they catch the sun, and you almost feel like there are torches in the bed along the path.  LOL.  Try your own: How to Grow Bromeliads At Home. The White Dedrobium Orchids are filling the fence lines, and we got another spike of the purple ones.  Woo-Hoo!  The flowers like the rain.  So do we.  And, we finally caught one of those fuzzy Bumble Bees.  Woo-Hoo!  Enjoy!

Check out What’s Bloomn’ slideshow for more flowers or visit Garden Dirt Diary to catch up on what’s been going on around Our Garden.