Friday Farm Day Belated

Good morning/Evening/Afternoon Everyone!

I hope you're having a good day! I apologize for being late, it was a tough week for my back.

As a reminder, I garden, organically (no pesticides only organic fertilizer), in Zone 9B year-round. Though my work has been slowed by back issues, I continue to grow almost all the produce we eat. I started gardening late in life, only beginning three years ago. I learned everything I know through Youtube, websites, and some gardening friends I have made along the way.

Starting in the front yard, one of my closest blog friend's favorite flowers in my garden has bloomed, Plumbago, which is native to tropical climates. Our subtropical weather suits it just fine. Now that we're well over the eighties during the day, it's a happy camper.

The lilies are getting ready to bloom.

The bananas are hanging in there. As a reminder, this is a dwarf Cavendish banana plant.

It's the same kind of bananas you buy in the store, only smaller.

As difficult as it may be to believe, another of our bananas in the front has flowered and brought more bananas

And....another one. We're gonna have a lot of bananas, that's for sure!

The other day Nick, my partner, said to me,

"I think we're going to have to trim back the Mulberry"

The look on my face said it all as my jaw dropped and my eyes blinked.

"We will not be trimming it back before the season is over" was my response because I do see his point.

But it's difficult to let go when it's producing like this (I really need to get to picking)

Moving to the backyard, you'll see the blackberries are ripening. I ate one the other day that was so darkly sweet it was downright delectable.

A couple of my other blog friends will be happy to know that the sunflowers are getting close to blooming.

The potato plant has bloomed which means we're close to the end of their growing season! Harvest time is right around the corner!

We got our first female cucumber flower! You know what this means, cucumber season is quickly encroaching upon us!

The dinosaur kale is really picking up growth as well.

Dinosaur kale is a dark green leafy vegetable. Popular in Italian food, it's also called Tuscan kale or cavolo nero. The leaves are so hearty that, even when well cooked, they retain a wonderful firm texture, making it a great choice for braising or adding to stews. It's also sweeter and less bitter than other types of kale and packed with healthy nutrients.

The passion fruit is blooming again. :) They're such gorgeous flowers.

Finally, the "PROBLEM". A few weeks back, you may remember that I showed you how I planted some potatoes in the ground with my volunteer Everglades tomatoes. Well, guess what? I got root knot nematodes and it wiped out my entire crop.

Root-knot nematodes are plant-parasitic nematodes from the genus Meloidogyne. They exist in soil in areas with hot climates or short winters. About 2000 plants worldwide are susceptible to infection by root-knot nematodes and they cause approximately 5% of global crop loss.[1] Root-knot nematode larvae infect plant roots, causing the development of root-knot galls that drain the plant's photosynthate and nutrients. Infection of young plants may be lethal, while infection of mature plants causes decreased yield.

There are a few ways to deal with this, I'm researching now for the best organic way to do so.

Thank you for joining me on this tour of our gardens.

Happy Belated Friday Farm Day