Survival Gardening Florida Zone 9a and 8b

[@Ktchnking]

As a carry over from the Taller Grass post I will share what I have learned about gardening in the panhandle after moving down here from Georgia almost a decade ago.

Like most of the people here, I am originally from a climate that supported long growing seasons of Yankee vegetables with little real effort. I still grow those vegetables here, but with a lot more effort, and in the spring and fall.

Florida is another beast. We have our seasons of the year as well as a wet and dry season.

I killed several gardens before I started to learn how to work with the climate.

Depending on where you live, you are going to want to plant what naturally occurs here (native plants) or plants that naturally occur in a similar biome (exotics.)

Over the growing season I will post what I am growing, how I start and care for the plants, and why.

If you have not gotten started with your own garden it is not to late! Start now! Free yourself, and your devalued dollars up from the grind that is food and learn to be self sufficient.
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There are 4 key principles to deciding what you are going to plant and where.

1. Season.
2. Soil.
3. Water.
4. Shade.

There is also a priority of plants that need to be planted.

1. Oh shit plants.
2. Calorie crops.
3. Seasonal vegetables.
4. Fillers and flavor crops.
5. Cover crops.

When the time comes I will also share how I preserve food so that I can enjoy my harvest year round. I can, dry, and mill plants as well as preserve meat.

Nothing is better than home made bacon.

 

[@Ktchnking]

Oh shit crops are plants you should have started already and for one reason or another you haven't.

A great example of this in my garden this year is yard long beans. These grow great on a trelis, grow quickly and produce a lot of easy to preserve food. Since regular green beans don't do well here I suggest these.

They are drought tolerant, grow in poor soil, and do not need a lot of care. I have found that I get a better yield when the beans get some afternoon sun or in an area with dappled sun.

If I started these in late March like I should have I would post a picture and directly into the ground. Instead I planted them this morning in peat pellets for transplanting.

 

[WRM]

Great start. When you can, could you supply seed source suggestions for what you are growing?

Much needed info. A lot of "food crop" just doesn't do well here in a garden, as you aptly noted. We are reaching a point where trial and error (like you put in) may not be tolerable to many. It's frustrating anyway to put in a lot of effort only to see your garden wither or just struggle along with minimal production.

 

[@Ktchnking]

A great calorie filled plant for our area is yams and sweet potatoes.

White yams grow very well and produce a lot of food. The foliage is pretty and makes a good ground cover. Add some to your flower beds.

Sweet potatoes are also great. You can add the greens to salads or a stew pot. I like to use sweet potatoes as a cover crop after my spring plants start to look poor.

Regular potatoes do ok here too. When I was a kid my dad grew potatoes in beds made of old tires. Once the potatoes foliage sticks up out of the dirt 8-12 inches, add dirt and more tires until the plant dies back in the fall. Then you knock the tires over, pick out the potatoes, and set the tires up to start over.

Yams, sweet potatoes, and regular potatoes all start well from what you get at the grocery store.

 

[@Ktchnking]

Great start. When you can, could you supply seed source suggestions for what you are growing?

That is a great point. I will add that.

I buy a lot of my seed on etsy.

For this project I'm going to build a new bed that way I can show everyone what I am doing.

I also will post when I have cuttings or seedlings that are ready to be shared, sold, or traded.

 

[@Ktchnking]

Beans are a other high calorie food. They also have protein, which makes you awesome.

Specifically, I mean beans that can be dried and then canned. Pinto beans, Lima beans, and such.

I prefer to grow any bean that I can on a trelis.

In my new bed I am going to build a trelis from scrap wood and tree branches for a total cost of $0.

I bought beans to plant from Lowes and start them from seed. Make sure if you purchase seed you look for heirloom varieties. You want to be able to harvest seed to plant next season.

 

[@Ktchnking]

Season vegetable for those of us blessed to live in paradise are your typical Yankee vegetables.

Some of those grow well in the summer, like okra, eggplant, and beans.

Most of these traditional veggies do not withstand the heat. I start seeds twice a year for these plants. February and September and I have a small harvest around December and a better one in early April.

 

[WRM]

If you want/need some screening foliage and want a constant supply of trellis material, plant some clumping (NOT running) bamboo.

 

[@Ktchnking]

Fillers and flavor crops are my favorites.
Some of the easiest to grow are garlic, ginger, and turmeric. Saturate the roots you buy at the grocery store and pick a partly shaded sandy area of your yard.

If you grow more than you can eat, start some in pots for the winter months, and dry the rest.

Another great addition are longevity spinach, moringa, katuk, and chaya.

I'll show you the ones I'm starting for the new bed.

 

[@Ktchnking]

These are cuttings of longevity spinach.

They live up to their name and produce greens almost all year long. They can get pretty large. Each plant will grow to be 5 or 6 feet tall. It also grows quickly.

What I have found works best is to grow these against a trelis and help it train itself upright.

I like these best in a salad, but they make a great addition to my "florida collards" and hold their shape decently enough when cooked.

At the end of the season the lettuce puts on seeds and will sometimes reseed itself.
Unfortunately mine did not and I'm starting over. This year I will be putting this in any open spot I can.

The best way is to grow from cuttings. Check with your neighbors to see if you can find some. I'll have cuttings ready in a few weeks. Worst case scenario you can pick up cuttings cheap on etsy.

 

[@Ktchnking]

This is katuk.

I grow this for the edible leaves. Like the longevity spinach, they are good raw or cooked.

Propagation is very easy for this plant.

Take a cutting, trim off the bottom leaves, and stick it in the ground. 80% of the time it takes off.

They don't want a lot of water and thrive in our sandy soil. The trees will get to 20 feet tall. A good way to manage this is to crop the top of the tree at around 6 feet. They will grow out instead of up.

At the end of the season, usually around Christmas, I cut the plant off about 2 feet tall and cover it with Mulch. In spring uncover the tree and it takes off again.

 

[pete repete]

this is a great topic! some good info.

 

[@Ktchnking]

This is moringa. You may not have heard of this one but the ladies have. Moringa is in a lot of beauty creams and weightloss pills.

While it may not help me be any prettier, the leaves are full of nutrition, and protein.

They taste good and are a staple in other countries.

BUT YOU MUST COOK THEM

moringa contains cyanide and have to be cooked. They are reminiscent of collards or turnip greens, and make a great addition to those "florida collards" that I'm going to keep teasing.

Like the spinach and katuk, they grow well from cuttings. The off season care is also the same.

Im soaking these seeds to plant in pots. The ones in pots will be up for trade in about a month. It doesn't really matter when you start this stuff. It is nearly invasive.

The seeds in the small terrarium are also moringa and will be planted directly in the ground for me to keep.

 

[@Ktchnking]

The last filler plant I think I'll write about for now is Chaya. After this I need to do some actual work in my garden instead of talking about it.

Chaya is also called a spinach tree. It grows tall and fast. The leaves are large and hold their shape when cooked.

Like moringa, this plant MUST BE COOKED. The amount of cyanide is small, but if you eat this stuff raw everyday it supposedly will make you sick. I've tasted it raw, and honestly I like it better cooked anyway.

Care and planting is the same as moringa and katuk. Crop the plant at 6 feet, propagate with cuttings, don't over water, and cover it with Mulch at the end of the season.

My favorite way to eat this is to make a big pot of "florida collards." Stew chaya, moringa, and longevity just like you would collards. The biggest difference is you don't have to season this stuff nearly as much. They taste better.

Most importantly, a large family will never starve with this stuff in the yard.

 

[@Ktchnking]

Before I get back at it there are two other plants in the filler category that deserve mention.

I'm growing one of these for the first time this year. I ordered seed from etsy.

First is Everglades Tomato. Supposedly these are a wild vine that will withstand the summer and produce from late spring to late fall and a pest free. I'll show them off when the seed shows up. I may have missed my window with this one. If they live up to they hype I'll be happy. They look like mini romas.

Next is amaranth. The flowers produce an edible seed and will reseed themselves. The leaves are good on a salad. I have grown amaranth and it did well. The seeds can be eaten like quinoa or milled into flour.

 

[@Ktchnking]

Fruit also grows well here.

Oranges produce fruit around Christmas.
Limes and lemons do well.

Passion fruit is invasive. I planted some 5 years ago and now it pops up all over the yard. The fruit is tasty and plentiful. The blooms are impressively beautiful and attract pollinators.
Unfortunately they also attract caterpillars and other pests. Don't let them grow near your veggies.

Loquat also does well and will seed itself. You can see all the naturally occurring seedlings growing. I get a ton of fruit in the spring. Loquat makes great jam, if there are any left after the kids, birds, and squirrels.

Blueberries do great with afternoon shade. If you plant them try to get more than one variety.

 

[Viking1204]

So I don't like sweet potatoes but I've read online that Yams aren't sweet. Problem is there's a lot of confusion and a lot of what is called Yams is actually sweet potatoes. How does one make sure they are getting seeds to grow real Yams?

 

[Viking1204]

Oh shit crops are plants you should have started already and for one reason or another you haven't.

A great example of this in my garden this year is yard long beans. These grow great on a trelis, grow quickly and produce a lot of easy to preserve food. Since regular green beans don't do well here I suggest these.

They are drought tolerant, grow in poor soil, and do not need a lot of care. I have found that I get a better yield when the beans get some afternoon sun or in an area with dappled sun.

If I started these in late March like I should have I would post a picture and directly into the ground. Instead I planted them this morning in peat pellets for transplanting.

How do the yard long beans compare to the taste of a green bean?

 

[@Ktchnking]

How do the yard long beans compare to the tast of a green bean?

They taste the same. The big difference between the two plants is the yardlongs aren't as bushy and full of leaves. Other than that they taste and look the same.

 

[@Ktchnking]

How does one make sure they are getting seeds to grow real Yams?

I'm not a huge fan of sweet potatoes either but I like the greens. The rest of the family like the potatoes though.

We don't eat the yam greens and the yams have to be cooked. Raw yams will make you sick.
Look for a white variety and they are real similar to golden potatoes.

The best way to grow yams, sweet potatoes, or other potatoes is to start with a potato, sweet potato or yam. Leave them in an area out of direct sunlight until eyes form. Once you have eyes (roots) plant them under 6 inches of soil.

When the plant makes its way out of the dirt, add more dirt. You can grow in piles of dirt or buckets or tires. Anything to make adding dirt easy. My dad's tire trick is my favorite if you can source some used tires.