It is another windy, overcast day in South Florida. We seem to be attracting cold fronts every Friday night, they pass through with rain or not, then leave clouds and wind in their wake. The fruits and vegetables in the garden are ambling along towards creating edibles, just not quite fast enough for me.
Mexican Papayas grown from seed harvested from fruit I bought. These are almost big enough to transplant into the garden. I have three because Papayas can be male, female or hermaphrodite. Obviously, you hope for hermaphrodite. I have no idea what variety the fruit was, and I don’t think Papayas are true to seed. We shall soon see. Papayas don’t live long and are considered herbs rather than trees. They are known to produce fruit within 9 months of planting. I think the last one I had produced fruit for 2 or 3 years.
Cherry tomatoes taunting me. I think these are the Lost Marbles variety as they look pretty stripey. I never label vegetables as the labels tend to fail and I only grow cherry tomatoes.
Red Bell Peppers just setting fruit. These are the classic thick walled Bell Peppers. I had thin walled heirloom peppers last year, good but weird. I am looking forward to these.
Tiny mangoes have formed on the Glenn and Nam Doc Mai Mango trees. Supposedly it takes 100 days from formation to harvest. I hope these make it. I have been cutting powdery mildew infested flowers off the Glenn and that will ruin the flowers and fruit.
My favorite, Genovese Basil, grown from seed. I am trying not to eat too much of this.
Another herb I love, Giant of Italy Parsley. It has an intense parsley flavor and lasts for two years here. I grow it from seed every two years or when necessary, sometimes the Swallowtail butterflies eat it. My favorite use of this is a Marcella Hazan inspired celery salad with fresh celery, Parmesan strips, olive oil and pepper. Mmmm.
Thanks to Jim at gardenruminations.uk.co for hosting SOS. Follow the link to see what is going on in gardens from the world over.
Happy Gardening!!
The Shrub Queen 
Nice overview of the fruits and vegetables in your garden. 3 of my papayas are in the bathroom waiting for warmer days. They are twice the size of yours so I should plant them outside this summer.
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Thanks, Fred. Are you going to leave the Papayas outside? I meant to tell you – if you remember I chopped the other Papaya down and it resprouted? I found out too late you are supposed to root the sprouts to get another tree.
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no, it will only be planted outside for the season and I will lift it up around October for overwintering. My winters are too cold and too risky.
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I would think so. I am probably near the northern limit for Papayas. I hope you get some fruit. I like the Hawaiian types better but they are hard to find.
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Love all your fruit and veggies. The salad recipe sounds delicious too. Fingers crossed for the mangoes.
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Thank you, I had one mango last year and the squirrels ate it!
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I put in some raspberry canes yesterday and have been thinking about protecting them from the birds when they fruit.
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I try to put netting over the ripening mangoes, the squirrels eat them for their seeds which adds insult to injury.
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Mangoes grow in Los Angeles, but I have never noticed their trees in nurseries. I intend to get one eventually, although they do not perform here.
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You are going to have a mad cool garden someday.
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Yes, but for now, it is frustrating to not tend to a permanent garden yet. So much material is spread out on so many different properties, with some at the farm, some here, some on vacant parcels nearby, and some even in the Los Angeles region! Even when things settle down, some plants will stay where they are, just because they are happy there, or they are in better situations there. My primary garden may remain on a larger property a few miles from my primary residence.
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Sounds like you have lots of gardens..
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Yes, and they are all over the place!
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I love atulfa mangoes. The season is upon us, hurrah! I hope yours do well.
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Thanks, Eliza. Try some Thai Dessert Mangoes if you ever see any. They are similar but have a coconut flavor and the thin seeds.
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Sounds delish! I hope I can find some.
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Just looked them up and they seem to be only available in FL, where they’ve been grown since 1973. Rats!
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I have never seen any for sale here! The only reason I have had it is I grew it. No clue what possessed me to buy the tree. I think Tropical Acres farms in West Palm Beach will ship it but it’s expensive.
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It might be worth the splurge!
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If you are a mango fan. Just avoid Tommy’s.
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👍🏼
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Rats, no shipping… 😦
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Your garden, Looks like it is a similar season to mine. We must share a similar climate (I’m in South Australia). So many edible delights, well done! Enjoy!
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Probably, I am on the east coast of Florida. Average low temperature is 40F.
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You have lots of good food to look forward to. We have gone from 33 two nights ago to 80 plus starting Monday. I am tired of moving plants to avoid frost.
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hopefully, never count your mangoes, etc… I did find a lot more tomatoes today, so yay! That is a huge temperature swing. The plants are going to be confused.
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Lovely to see your tomatoes and basil… a reminder of what’s to come this summer. 😃 I always grow loads of basil (literally – several large containers) and re-sow at intervals so we can eat pesto non-stop through the summer. I dried some and contrary to what people say, homegrown basil retains its flavour very well when dried. I also froze both basil leaves and pesto last autumn and it kept really well.
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I am also a basil lover..though if I concentrate I can grow it year round. I dried thyme last year (a little) and was astonished at how good it was. Thyme won’t make it through the summer here.
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How exciting! You’ve got quite an ambitious crop coming along and I can’t wait to see the papayas develop. I’ve never been crazy about the flavor, but the plants just look cool, especially when they’re loaded with fruit.
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Thanks, I have developed an affection for Papayas, though the fruit is hard to get rid of if I can’t eat it all I have learned to freeze the puree and bake with it.
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