As winter will be coming to a close soon.... at least here in Florida, (our growing seasons are short) I thought I would post a few pictures of what our winter gardens looked like before they get taken down.
Broccoli, amazing, effortless, and multi- functional. These are like the pocket knife of plants
Everyone knows you eat the florets
But did you know you can eat the leaves? I juice them but they are like any other green. Think Collards or Kale.
The flowers! Great for attracting beneficial insects like bees. But you can also pick the flowers and eat them. We put them in salads and they are a little peppery - delicious!
Those green sticks you see everywhere, those are seed pods. They will be collected and saved for next years planting.
I should also note that yesterday I found a cluster of aphids on one of my broccoli plants. They are on one of the flowering sections but I am not going to kill them or even worry about them, in fact I am going to appreciate they they are there. Why?! Because lots of beneficial insects eat aphids and this is my way of saying to those insects like ladybugs and the like " Welcome, the buffet is open" If there is food they will come. When all of that is over whatever is left of the plants will be composted and used to feed future generations of plants.
Spinach. Not the biggest plants but it appears that the more you harvest, the faster they produce. They also happen to be incredibly different when you grow them and eat them fresh out of the ground than when you buy them in the store. These are crunchy and have loads of texture!
Some loose leaf lettuce... I have yet to taste these. I am not sure what I am waiting for?!
This is one of my favorites... when it is not sideways... for the life of me I can not figure out why it keeps flipping to the side! Oh well! Oh it's a pea sprouting
The peas all grown up, they will be producing for a while
Up close
Same thing taken in a different way
The tops of Brussels Sprouts... no brussels to eat yet, they are still tiny
Pretty little visitor
Seminole Pumpkins. Native and require no work at all. Put the seed in the ground and wait to harvest...seriously! Multiple stages below...
Eat them green or when they turn orange, delicious both ways. Very much like a butternut squash.
Strawberries!
Yum!
Just a pretty rose
Echeveria
Well, that is a wrap! I have more plants but those are Tower Garden plants, and that is a whole other post.
To be continued....
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