[NFBF-Tampa] Blind Gardening Hack
David Andrews
dandrews920 at comcast.net
Fri May 10 12:12:23 UTC 2024
What is this "harvest" stuff. We had our last frost a week and a half ago! LOL.
Dave
At 08:46 AM 5/9/2024, you wrote:
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>Dear All,
>
>
>
> We suspect we will harvest more
> than we are able to eat or preserve. We would
> rather pay them forward rather than compost
> them! There is an adage in the field of
> Harvest early; harvest often! The earlier you
> begin harvesting the more the plant is
> encouraged to produce. Sometimes unripe fruit
> is picked resulting in a larger harvest. As we
> harvest our crops and begin giving them away,
> let us know and we will bring fresh picked
> produce to share. You can it forward by giving
> what you feel its value is to the chapter!
> Heres where we are right now with our garden.
>
>
> * We have begun harvesting yellow squash and
> our crop of them seem to be pretty prolific. We
> have five plants and each will likely produce about ten squash.
> * Of the two acorn squash, only one has
> survived but it is very healthy. We are not
> expecting many this season but have the
> experience for a larger yield next season.
> * I have three cantaloupes but I am not sure
> how many we will get from them as they
> struggled a bit in the beginning. Gardening
> teaches life lessons like learning through your
> challenges and being patient with the process.
> * Of all the squash, I am most excited about
> our butternut! As a winter squash characterized
> by its thick outer layer, winter squash is
> so-called for its ability to stay fresh through
> winter. Not only is butternut squash great for
> soups, casseroles, and pies, slicing one in
> half, seasoning it with a bit of seasoned salt,
> pepper, and olive oil, it is an excellent side
> dish! They also make great decorations during the fall!
> * In the near future, we will have an
> abundance of garlic. Merry has lost count of
> how many we have but Ill bet it numbers near triple digits!
> * Our Florida peach tree is loaded with
> small fuzzy fruit which appeared after the
> 1-year-old tree now about 12-feet in height was
> covered with fragrant pink flowers.I believe
> peaches will be on the give-away table.
> * We have about 20 Kentucky Wonder string
> beans on a 4-foot fence and you can almost see
> them (well, feel them) growing they are doing
> so quickly. This is another very prolific producer, so count on string beans!
> * I am going to be selfish with our first
> harvest of blueberries, as their first harvests
> are not very plentiful. Next year at this time
> will be a very different story, I hope!
> * Beefsteak tomatoes, anyone? I do have more
> tomatoes than I know what to do with! These
> tomatoes sell for nearly $6.00/pound in the
> grocery store. They are very large and
> star-shaped. The plant would be 10-feet tall if
> it were able to be supported but its growing
> over the fence and the neighbors will likely
> have a few tomatoes, as well. Its also
> encroaching into another bed, so its presence
> is short-lived, as tomato plants are!
> * Coming soon! This weekend we will start
> snap peas and another variety of pea I dont
> remember. In June we will begin our sweet
> potato box and July will have us establishing a
> pumpkin patch. These will be Somerset pumpkins
> which are sweet edible gords. I am seriously
> considering a patch for jack-o-lanterns but not
> sure where I can find that much room! Merry is
> not in favor of my idea of a giant pumpkin
> (400-pound) patch in the front yard, though!
> Though Merry and I have the room for these
> gardens and the energy to care for them, it is
> possible to garden on your patio if you only
> live in an apartment. Food we get from our
> garden tastes very different than what you
> generally get in the produce market unless you
> are shopping at a local farmer. Most of us know
> the difference between the strawberries from
> Mexico we were buying in October and the ones
> that we may have had over the past three months
> from Plant City! BTW, you can find locally
> grown blueberries this time of year, as well
> and blueberries are great container plants!
>
> Im going to get my day
> started after I turn off the microirrigation
> system! Keep planting seeds, growing your own
> harvest, and sharing the fruits of your labor with others!
>
> Fraternally yours,
> Marion
>
> We are hoping to have a gathering when our
> lives settle down a bit definitely in the fall
> *
> *
> * From: NFBF-Tampa
> <nfbf-tampa-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Louise Peyton via NFBF-Tampa
> * Sent: Wednesday, May 8, 2024 6:58 PM
> * To: NFB of Florida Tampa Chapter List <nfbf-tampa at nfbnet.org>
> * Cc: Louise Peyton <lp2473 at hotmail.com>
> * Subject: Re: [NFBF-Tampa] Blind Gardening Hack
>
>
>
>Would like to buy some veggies from you.
>
>
>
>From: NFBF-Tampa
><<mailto:nfbf-tampa-bounces at nfbnet.org>nfbf-tampa-bounces at nfbnet.org>
>On Behalf Of Marion Gwizdala via NFBF-Tampa
>Sent: Wednesday, May 8, 2024 4:51 PM
>To: 'NFB of Florida Tampa Chapter List'
><<mailto:nfbf-tampa at nfbnet.org>nfbf-tampa at nfbnet.org>;
>'NFB of Florida Internet Mailing List'
><<mailto:nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
>Cc: <mailto:marion.gwizdala at verizon.net>marion.gwizdala at verizon.net
>Subject: [NFBF-Tampa] Blind Gardening Hack
>
>
>
>Dear All,
>
>
>
> Some of you may know Merry and
> I are urban gardeners. We have recently begun
> xeriscaping our front yard and planted
> fifty-four Asiatic Jasmine over ten yards of
> potting soil. Unfortunately, grass has begun
> poking up through the soil and the Jasmine are
> not yet able to choke out the grass.
>
>
>
>I contacted the University of Floridas
>Institute for Food and Agricultural Sciences
>(IFAS) which has offices around Florida and
>spoke to their master gardener. Not knowing I
>was blind, he shared a gardening hack his father
>taught him and it is a great adaptation for
>those of us who are blind! Here is the hack.
>
>
> * Mix Roundup in a bucket as you would
> normally do so (1/2 cup of Roundup to 1 gallon water)
> * Put a rubber glove on one hand and cover
> it with a cotton gardening or other work glove;
> * Touch the plant you want to avoid with the
> Roundup with the ungloved hand;
> * Dip your hand in the solution and rub the
> product on the ground over the grass being
> careful to not get the product on the leaves of the plant;
>
>Roundup is absorbed through the leaves of the
>plant and it will not harm the plant roots but
>you want to avoid getting too close to the stem of the plant.
>
>
>
> BTW, we are also growing
> hibiscus, gardenia, spearmint, sweet mint,
> lavender, thyme, Frangiapani, and rosemary. In
> our vegetable garden, I just harvested our
> fourth yellow squash. We also are growing
> butternut squash, acorn squash, canteloup,
> garlic, onion, Florida peaches, ruby red
> grapefruit, Bearss lemons, tangerines, and
> pineapple. We get our meat from the store! (smile)
>
>
>
> If anyone would like to chat
> gardening, please write to me off-list at
>
>
>
><mailto:Marion.Gwizdala at verizon.net>Marion.Gwizdala at verizon.net
>
>
>
>Fraternally yours,
>
>Marion
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