Garden Dirt Diary

Garden Dirt

October 12, 2026

Big Ole Miss, Woo-Hoo!

Not only were we missed by Hurricane Isaias, it hit way up north on the Florida-Bama line, we barely got any rain.  We watched the bands move through, maybe catching an edge and some sprinkles.  If you haven’t heard us describe Hurricanes before, it helps to think about them as a wheel with curved spokes, like a fancy bicycle.  The curved spokes are the rainbands extending out from the center rotating area.  Those long rainbands are the storms that move through whole states, countries and provinces, over and over as the center rotates across the waterscape.  Whoa.  

While there was flooding reported along the coast and the Keys as they caught the edge of the storm, we didn’t.  Our stormy weather came on Sunday, way after the storm made landfall, with a symphony of thunder and a nice big helping of rain which we needed.  Up north they were not so lucky.  We wish them all the best as they deal with the clean-up.  Been there.  It isn’t pleasant, especially being without power.  Our clean-up includes pummeled flower petals and some weed matting we were using as a shade cloth for the newly planted Veggies that shredded.  The sun did some damage to the mat because it just disintegrates, falls completely apart, every place we touch it.  Dang.  LOL.  The Veggies were liking the shade.  Plan B.  We just need to decide what that is going to be.  The last thing we want is disintegrating matting beating the new planties to death every time it rains.  Boo-Hiss!  

Around Our Garden

We started the week dropping more of the starter plants we’ve been growing in the nursery.  Mostly, we were disappointed that the seeds we dropped last week under cups did not sprout.  What?  Cabbage in general usually sprouts quickly, and our seeds were new.  The ones in the nursery sprouted just fine.  Must be user error.  Just not sure what error.  Luckily, the supplemental Red Cabbage in the nursery was big enough to plant.  It went into the Traditional Veggie and Herb garden area.

We also dropped replacement Celery and Bok Choy plants.  Anything dead in previously planted holes was replaced.  If you get into supplemental plantings, planting the same Veggies progressively, weeks apart, instead of a single crop, you assure a steady supply of Veggies for as long as they produce.  In most areas, you have to stop for winter.  We don’t have that problem.  We stop when plants won’t produce before the Rains start.  We usually get an 8 to 9 month chunk of growing time.  Woo-Hoo!  Good for the grocery bills.

We also did a full treatment for My Nemesis weed in all the Orchids – that’s pulling by hand only.  We fight them all the time, but the whole Orchid fence line is almost entirely clear after this time.  It’s been a lot of work.  Also a ton of work, we removed more infected Dragon Fruit Cactus sections.  We meant to treat them again with the Copper Spray, but we didn’t get to it.  So, more new sections came up sick and had to be removed.  Maybe we’ve learned our lesson and will remember to treat them this week.  Dang.  I hope we did.  LOL.  

Harvest

We were so excited last week when the Corn started throwing out new green leaves, free from the munching mess the worms were making.  You barely noticed the parts that were chewed.  Until Sunday, and we had to treat 2 of them again.  *Shaking my fist, “Damn Worms!”  LOL.  Since we left some of the non-pesticide oil pre-mixed in the pitcher, it wasn’t a huge deal to pour more into the centers, but we have more munched leaves.  And, we don’t like it.  

The Key Limes are still making our drinks taste good, falling at a rate of just a couple more than we use.  Woo-Hoo.  Sadly, we know it will not last into Jan-March like normal.  We just didn’t get the fruit this year with the drought and hard freeze.  Dang.  Enjoying them while we can.

Flowers

The Feature this week went to the Orange Cosmos.  We’re calling these part of the Fall Wildflowers.  All Summer we grew wildflower plants in several of the beds and pots.  The Orange Cosmos got too big for the pots and we kept cutting them down.  The ones in the back are topping 7-8 feet.  Yes, feet.  We thought they would be like the Marigolds we let get big and just became giant weeds with no flowers.  Nope.  We got blooms.  Lots of them all over, way up in the air, down near the ground.  The Orange Cosmos is blooming, and with its brilliant orange, it couldn’t be more appropriate for October.  Go Orange!  We love it! Try: How to Grow Wildflowers in Your Yard.

We got our 1st Yellow Marigold, a pretty button of a thing.  The Purple Water Lilies are going crazy.  We counted 7 blooms the other day.  So lovely.  The 4th round of the Flaming Torch Bromeliads came up strong, and the Pink Rain Lilies loved the sprinkling, popping flowers all over.  It’s pretty out there.  Enjoy!

October 5, 2026

Happily Growing

Despite the oppressive heat and lack of rain, during the Rainy Season.  Regardless of the 80% Starter Plant mortality rate (that means dead).  In the choking humidity.  We’re happily growing.  The month doesn’t matter.  We Grow Tropical here.  For good and bad.  There is a joy, an inner calm and satisfaction in lending your hands to something green and growing.  Creating a whole space of it to enjoy, that’s the good stuff.  Woo-Hoo!

You might be thinking at this point I’m trying to convenience myself that growing is fun.  You’d be wrong.  LOL!  We do enjoy it.  I, personally, am a sucker for new baby sprouts.  They sing of hope.  What’s better than that?  Hope can be hard to come by at times.  So, even if we had a total crop loss outside, we still wake-up to the little suckers inside.  It’s a lovely way to start the day, and obviously, improves my mood.  LOL.

I’m not going to lie, most of the optimism I possess happens in Our Garden.  My Mom jokes about it.  It’s a good thing, right.  Our Starter Plants were eaten, suffered death by sun and heat, but I’m focused on all the new planties that survived, giving them what they need and sprouting more in place.  Garden half full and half ready to plant.  LOL.

Around Our Garden

You guessed it, we sprouted seeds in place last week.  Well, in some cases, dropped seeds and are waiting.  Because the supplemental plants in the nursery were too small to survive the tropical summer with no rain to cool things down, we didn’t want to plant them.  The bigger ones didn’t survive, slim chance the smaller ones would.  However, seeds sprouted into the weather, with shade, might do better.  If not, we’re growing both . . . so.  Either way, our Broccoli will start producing late.  Dang.  Same for the Carrots, although that was a seed problem, and most of the Cabbage, especially the Red Cabbage.  

When sprouting seeds in place, we try to use the clear cup method.  You can get the little plastic clear cups pretty cheap, and we’ve been reusing ours for years.  Drop the seeds in the prepared soil, water, and cover with the cup.  We like to add mulch around the cup to help keep everything moist.  This creates a mini-greenhouse, humidity dome or cloche, the perfect environment for sprouting seeds. It also keeps the birds and critters from eating them.  Since this was a worry with the last Corn seed, we cupped it and got 2 sprouts.  Guess that 1st seed wasn’t bad, just needed a little extra something to sprout.  We’re going to need another Corn mound.  LOL!

The rest of the Corn is about 2 feet, and it got worms.  It looked really good from the path.  Up close, not so much.  Dang.  That meant it needed to be treated.  We like to use a non-pesticide on all the food because we don’t want to eat it, just water if we can.  Personal preference.  We have an organic oil treatment we mix up, if necessary.  For the Corn, we mixed some in a pitcher and poured it directly into the center of the leaves, where the worms were, instead of a spray.  The oil is really hard on leaves in the sun.  If the worms came out, we put them on a piece of wet paper towel.  The lizards came and got them.  It wasn’t intended, but we weren’t unhappy missing the squishing part.  LOL.  And, we like the little lizards.  They eat bugs.  

Unnatural Flooding

We also flooded the Florida Blue Flag Iris beds.  Well, the Bulb Garden and the other areas around Our Garden with the Blue Flags.  Since they grow in boggy areas that flood during the Rainy Season, we have to duplicate the conditions in Our Garden if we want big pretty blooms.  Usually, we get a big storm or 2, and the areas they are planted in naturally hold a little water for a short while.  Yes, we planted them there for that reason.  

This year, we got no storms and little rain.  That meant we had to run the hose a bit directly into those areas until they were super saturated.  We don’t have the raised groundwater levels, so no flooding, but lots of wet.  We’ll do it at least one more time, and hopefully, the rhizomes will be set up to bloom in the Spring.

Harvest

In a super surprise appearance, a single Barbados Cherry.  I’m not going to lie, we found it on the ground, not quite ripe.  No bite marks.  I put it in my pocket and forgot about it.  So, it got a little squished, and I went ahead and tried it.  So sour.  Inedible.  LOL.  It’s a good thing My Brother pointed out there were many more green ones on the bush.  Woo-Hoo!  We didn’t expect it the 1st year.

There were also more Key Limes from some unknown part of the tree.  LOL.  Not seeing the ones coming down.  That’s a good thing.  Better to have more than you expect.

The Veggies that lived look good.  I’m sure they are adding to my properly good grower mood.  It’s hard not to be pleased seeing the Cucumbers, Beans, and Butternut Squash climbing their fence trellises.  The little Tomato plants sprouting new sets of leaves, and the Celery standing up strong.   We also had a round of the newly dropped Carrot seeds, not the ones we collected this Spring that are apparently bad, pop up their tiny new leaves.  Woo-Hoo!  And, you can see the pretty picture that is Our Garden.  LOL.

Flowers

Up our front walk most weeks visitors and residents alike get a purple treat that is the Mexican Petunia.  We have it contained in little pots and along a small planting area because it spreads.  With its 2 foot stalks topped in Matte Purple blooms that reflect color from everything around it and a soothing glow to its center in the morning, we think it’s a winner.  

Our Wildflower bed in the back started sprouting Orange Cosmos above my head.  LOL.  The plants, not blooming all summer, grew about 6 feet tall.  We cut them down, but they kept growing back.  Now, at least 1 of them has started to bloom.  So tall.  LOL!  The Buttercup bush is getting big, attracting all kinds of pollinators, and the Purple Water Lilies are so big.  Enjoy!

September 29, 2026

Sprout Murderer

Fall was definitely listening last week when we said Hello.  Most of the week we woke to cool mornings and no rain.  In fact, we even got the lovely 80-60 split.  60s in the morning, just barely, climbing into the 80s.  If I didn’t know better, I’d say it was Spring.  LOL.  The only dark spot in the days, we need the rain.  It’s the Rainy Season and we’re in the tropical zones.  More, intense sunlight.  Yeah, we need the rain.  And, luckily, it’s in the forecast.  If you believe in that sort of thing.  LOL.  Ours feels like a really bad psychic.  Lots of pretty props and no real information.  Chuckling.

With the nice weather, we dropped starter Veggie plants.  Woo-Hoo!  The sun was still a bit too intense for a few, and we began adding individual shade to the babies just starting their new growth.  In case you missed that, we lost a few.  Not only those, we also had a Sprout Murderer enter the Lanai (screened porch) by dead of night and chomp the Broccoli, Roma Tomato, and Flame Tomato starter plants while they were adjusting to outside temps.  There were only a couple of tiny stems left.  Boo-Hiss!  The Sprout Murderer also took a whole Habanero Pepper.  So . . . there’s that.  LOL.

Around Our Garden

Yup, it was a planting frenzy.  Starter plants from the nursery were set outside, in the shade, at the planting spots.  We learned our lesson after we lost the 1st set of pots ready to plant.  I’m not going to lie, it was frustrating.  And why did it break into the Lanai, but not touch anything in the planting areas.  It’s all a mystery.

More Celery, Sweet Peas and Tomatoes went into the Traditional Veggie and Herb garden.  For the Tomatoes, we started with 2 Beefsteaks, a Yellow Stuffer, and a Yellow Pear in the TV&H area, and we dropped 2 Roma plants in the Raised Crop Beds.  We’re sprouting more to replace the murdered ones.  We also dropped 11 more Celery in the TV&H area in addition to the ones already planted in the Raised Crop Beds.  My Mom always requests as much Celery as we can grow.  LOL.  We’ll start working it into the beds next.

The 1st round of Cabbage and Turnips joined the other sprouts and starter plants in the Raised Crop Beds.  Woo-Hoo!  As mentioned, it’s supposed to rain all week.  We hope the little planties are big enough to survive the pounding.  We did end up covering them a bit to provide some shade.  It should provide a bit of coverage.  If not, we’ll start again.  Our weather is always wild this time of year.  Usually Hurricanes, and we practice supplemental planting, meaning we don’t plant every space at once.  Steady plantings means a steady harvest.  We’re always sprouting in the nursery as things go out.  Woo-Hoo!  We love baby sprouts.

We also dropped 2 small Broccoli in the Raised Crop Beds and 2 in the Raised Hibiscus Bed where we are growing the Corn.  While these are not normally good planting mates, meaning they provide no benefit to each other and compete for nutrients, we hope they are far enough apart to grow nicely.  They’re pretty small as the bigger ones were eaten.  The Corn may be Harvested before it’s an issue.  Hopefully.

While planting seems like it should have taken up all our time and it was a ton, we also had basic maintenance to do.  Weeding, weeding, and more weeding.  It never ends.  The kids also came and got a bunch of the plants we’d been potting for them.  The outside nursery looks a little empty.  Time to start propagating, again.  LOL!

Harvest

More lovely Key Limes made their way into the fridge.  More than we expected.  We’re not seeing them on the tree, but they’re falling.  Maybe it isn’t as bad of a Harvest as we thought.  Woo-Hoo!  We like it when that happens.

The rest of the Veggies are growing along.  We have Watermelon, Cantaloupe, and Butternut Squash sprouts.  The additional Beans we planted came up alongside a few of the ones we were trying to replace.  LOL.  Opps.  Got a little overexcited.  That means we have a full set of Bean plants, and we even had to move a few to their own spots.  The Cucumbers are starting to climb the fencing, and the Corn is coming up on 2 feet.  Things are looking promising.  Woo-Hoo!

Flowers

The Rangoon Creeper or Philippine Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow vine took the Feature this week.  Yes, this is a vivacious grower that will take over wherever you plant it.  So, Caution.  It’s taking over the Pepper Bush on the undeveloped portion of Our Garden.  The small flowers come in clusters opening at night in the lightest of pinks.  So light they shine white in the moonlight.  As the flowers mature, they turn a bright pink before settling into a vivid deep red-pink.  Best of all, their sweet musky scent wisps  through Our Garden attracting the Butterflies.  Woo-Hoo!

The 3rd round of Flaming Torch Bromeliads came up strong, if not overly abundant.  The beds were more dotted instead of filled.  Doesn’t make each giant bloom any less amazing.  We’re just spoiled.  The Purple Queen is growing and blooming like crazy, attracting all the Bees.  Another round of the Pickerelweed is popping, and the new Zinnias are coming in strong.  Enjoy!

Check out the What’s Bloomn’ slideshow for more flowers or visit Garden Dirt for the latest around Our Garden.