Plants for Florida
Tips and Tricks to help your plants flourish!
Spinach
Everyone loves spinach and it's easy to grow. You can grow 32 plants in the aeroponic garden in the Baby Greens Kit really easily.
Check out my video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOWQBf_rsEk
Picking the right variety is important! If you are in a hot climate, grow an 'all season' variety, like Kohlibri. If you're in a cool climate, grow a variety like Auroch or Bloomsdale. Look for disease resistant varieties.
The chart below if from Johnnys selected seed https://www.johnnyseeds.com/.../spinach-varieties...
SPINACH GROWING TIPS in the AEROPONIC GARDEN
Spinach plants are small, compared to lettuce. You’ll want 20+ plants for the average family. I use the Micro-Green Kit for the aeroponic garden to grow 32 plants for my family! Micro-green kit: https://towergarden.com/shop/micro_greens_ext
Spinach is a cool weather plant. Grow it in the cooler months. For me, in central Florida, that means in winter.
If your temps are greater than 70F, start your seeds in the aeroponic garden. You can create a cool environment by direct seeding straight into the aeroponic garden. The circulating water will keep the rockwool cool, to allow for better germination. Direct seeding video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSwr9WhPzHk
Spinach has a fairly poor germination rate, compared to other plants. Buy fresh seeds every year. Store your seeds in a cool, dry environment. Buy seeds from good companies, like Johnny's Selected Seeds. Pick varieties that are bolt resistant, like “Corvair” and “Seaside”. Pack your rockwool hole full of seeds when you start your plants. Seaside spinach: https://www.johnnyseeds.com/.../seaside-f1-spinach-seed...
Pick frequently ~ even daily ~ to stimulate the plant to produce heavily. Harvest leaves within a week of formation. Harvest outer leaves first. Leave the center leaves intact to continue growing.
Watch for aphids! Spinach is prone to it but ladybugs are 100% effective at eating those aphids!! Watch this video: https://youtu.be/P_q06t1iCJ8
Enjoy your spinach! Try and eat some every day, if possible! Add it to smoothies, soups, and in salads! Add it to lasagna, omelettes, and sandwiches! Try this Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup: https://therecipecritic.com/creamy-chicken-gnocchi-soup.../
Celery
Blanching your celery to get sweeter, whiter, and thicker celery!
Thank you Monica Converse for sharing this with us!
Broccoli
Here are tips for growing sprouting broccoli in the aeroponic garden:
How many seeds should I plant?
Plant 1-2 seeds per rockwool cube.
Days to Maturity: Broccoli is ready to harvest when florets are tightly closed in the center but begin to loosen slightly around the edges. (50-80 days)
Harvesting: Before flower buds open, cut center head. Harvest secondary side shoots regularly to encourage continued production. If buds begin to show a yellow color, harvest immediately.
It’s very important to harvest the little heads of broccoli just as soon as they look like broccoli. Don’t wait until they flower. If the broccoli flowers, it’s gone too far. The flowers will signal the plant to stop producing, because it’s job (to make seeds) is done!
This is a case of do as I say and not as I do, because sometimes I harvest them late. It’s OK – as long as I get this MOSTLY right the plant will still keep going. And the flowers are DELICIOUS.
The broccoli sprouts out at the spot just above a baby leaf, so keep an eye on those spots!
Happy Rich is a hybrid green created by crossing broccoli with something called gailon or Chinese kale. According to the Johnny's seed catalog (www.johnnyseeds.com), it is just 55 days to harvest and produces lots of florets that “have an excellent sweet broccoli flavor”.
Piracicaba brocolli is a sprouting broccoli that is very similar to Happy Rich and is very heat resistant. You can order Piracicaba from Whitwam Organics (use code BROOKS10 to save 10% off your order of $25 or more - one use per customer)
Peppers
Y'all know I'm not the biggest fan of the TG cage, but this is one of the best examples of it being used well! Notice that they only planted 12 pepper plants per TG. If you're growing all BIG plants, you want to leave some spots empty.
Strawberries
For those in the mid to northern part of the country, Strawberry season is upon us and questions about how strawberries are pollinated. This article explains how they get pollinated.
Basil
Basil is usually a single stemmed plant. However, you can prune it to make it grow bushy and productive! I've been doing this for about 2 years and my basil is gigantic!