Florida Gardening in August

How can you go about Florida gardening in August?

Well, first of all.. you just have to remember… it’s hot out.

This is the time of year when most gardens are laid to rest here in Florida – but not ours. The first round of yard-long beans are tapering out and the second round is starting to come in… the figs are ripening intermittently and the watermelons are about ready. We’ve got lots of southern peas about to ripen, plus the mung beans are getting close to being ready. We’re also picking occasional West Indian Gherkins. They don’t seem to have any disease or pest issues, though productivity has been low thus far. The flavor is excellent – like a lemony cucumber.

Most of the beds of greens played out long ago… but we’ve got moringa, sweet potato leaves and Florida Cranberry for salads, plus comfrey and lots of herbs. We’re set on cooked greens, since I’ve got chaya planted all over the front yard food forest. I’ve also got velvet beans and Seminole pumpkins climbing up the trees.

Our beds are mostly filled with beans and sweet potatoes right now, though I’ve also got a nice bed of boniato kicking along next to the sugar cane patch.

And speaking of sugar cane, isn’t that looking good? That’s the same patch I wrote about here. Amongst my tropical plants, we’ve got naranjillas ripening right now; unfortunately, this variety was from an ornamental plant nursery and the fruit are worthlessly seedy.

We’ve also got guavas that are just starting to form.

And don’t let me forget grapes!