WheelBarrow Homestead

06/04/2023

06/04/2023

Very good reference material

June is only 1 day away! ☀️ Things may be heating up in your garden but there’s still a number of vegetables you can grow, if you can tolerate the heat and humidity.

Here’s the June planting calendar, to help you get started (to find the printable web version, please click on the link below).

https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/plant-of-the-month/what-to-plant/what-to-plant-in-june.html

For the purposes of this planting calendar, North Florida refers to all of Florida north of State Road 40. Central Florida refers to the area between State Roads 40 and 70.

Happy gardening!

06/03/2023

It’s okra season in Central Florida! It’s so hot and humid here that not many things grow well this time of year. Okra is a good crop for this time of year and pretty easy to grow. I am picking okra everyday right now but obviously I’m not eating okra everyday! Our favorite way to eat okra is to fry it. Our favorite variety is Clemson Spineless. So this is how I put my okra up.
Okra is kind of crazy, it can be tiny one day and 4 inches long the next day. The key to okra is pick it when its about 2-3 inches long (at least this variety). If it gets much bigger it gets very tough and it’s really not good. If I have any that get this big and are tough I let them dry out and save the seeds.
I pick them and wash them. Let them dry on a towel. Once they are dry I cut the end off where it attached to the plant and continue cutting them into bite size pieces and discard the tip end as well. I put Martha White Corn Meal Mix (probably 1 cup or so) into a gallon size freezer bag. Add the cut up okra into the bag and give it a good shake to coat the okra with the flour/cornmeal mix. Let the air out of the bag and store it in the freezer. That’s it. Easy peasey. Anytime you want some fried okra grab a handful and cook it up.

05/28/2023

I have these in containers and they are beautiful!

If you’re looking for a bright pop of yellow color in your flower garden, look no further than the lovely Rudbeckia. There are actually 9 species of Rudbeckia native to Florida (Atlas of Florida Plants), but the most famous of them are the Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta). This stunning wildflower can grow to be 2-3 feet tall and mound to 1-2 feet wide. While it is considered a perennial, it is usually short-lived but reseeds itself readily so you won’t have to purchase more. This flower is so beautiful and is so attractive to pollinators that you’ll likely want to add more anyway!

Black-eyed Susans are tolerant of many soil pH ranges, and thrive in somewhat moist to very long dry areas in full sun. Honestly, the more you neglect this plant once it’s established the better it will do. For more moist soils, consider another beautiful Rudbeckia that I was recently introduced to called cutleaf coneflower (Rudbeckia lanciniata), but give it space since it can grow between 3-6 feet tall or more. Allow the spent flowers to go to seed, both so you have more plants next season and for the birds to eat, then deadhead to encourage more blooms. You can expect a lovely show of yellow from spring to fall, and indeed the Black-eyed Susans are blooming beautifully now. Just look at this beautiful cluster I found blooming in Gainesville.

To learn more about Black-eyed Susans, visit the Florida Native Plant Society, Gardening Solutions, or contact your local UF/IFAS Extension Service. Happy Gardening!

📸: Photo and article by A. Marek, UF/IFAS

04/29/2023

Last nights harvest. Expecting some heavy rain today in central Florida so I needed to get things picked. Mountaineer Half Runner green beans. First harvest
And of course some flowers!

04/16/2023

Applesauce Cake

04/12/2023

Todays harvest!
Strawberry’s are getting smaller so I’m thinking I will make some strawberry fruit vinegar with them. I can use the fruit vinegar to make vinaigrette dressing. 😋

04/10/2023

Busy season around the WheelBarrow Homestead
It’s so hot in central Florida and we need rain!

04/10/2023

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