Here in South Florida the temperature is becoming more and more comfortable. It is now tolerable to be outside longer than it takes to dash from one air-conditioned venue to another. I love going to Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden this time of year. Last Saturday, I attended the Edible Garden Festival at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden with my mother, aunt, cousin, and 14 month old daughter.
Fairchild holds several festivals each year and my favorites are the upcoming Ramble (11/12-11/14) and the International Chocolate Festival in January.
This past weekend, I was on a mission. I headed straight for the organic heirloom tomato starts from Bee Heaven Farm. They had 66 varieties for sale.
I've never grown tomatoes before, but I knew I wanted to try. If you have any tips, suggestions, or words of encouragement please share. They are most definitely welcome because there are now some tomato plants resting comfortably in my very first square foot garden.
I also left Fairchild with a few things from Redland Herb Farm. Herbs I can grow. Usually, my herbs live happily on my covered terrace in pots. This year, some will reside in my square foot garden. At least I'll be certain something will grow in there and my efforts won't be a total failure.
Giveaway Winner!
There were 144 comments on my Stovetop Espresso Maker & Cuban Coffee Giveaway post. Thank you everyone for entering. I enjoyed sharing one of my favorite things and am looking forward to sharing another giveaway soon.
Random.org selected the number corresponding to MM's comment. Congratulations MM!!! The winner has been confirmed and the goodies are on their way. I am holding MM to her promise of making espresso brownies and blogging about them over at Ms. enPlace.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone and Happy Halloween! Tomorrow my father-in-law is building me the support my baby tomato plants will one day need. He is the best father-in-law ever and I am very lucky indeed. Sunday, we'll be enjoying Halloween with friends. What are your weekend plans?
I love Redland Herb Farms. They produce some wonderful stuff. I don't know, I just came back from lunch and I was sweating my ass off. It is still so hot here. Brutal.
ReplyDeleteHave a good weekend.
I don't have much advice regarding the tomatoes, but good luck! Ours grew really well this year, but they didn't ripen very well. Lots of green tomatoes!
ReplyDeleteGrowing tomatoes is so much fun. My husband used to grow them every year before we moved to Arizona. Haven't had much luck here since everything dies from the ungodly heat LOL
ReplyDeleteHave a Happy Halloween :o)
That looks like a great place! I'm jealous of all of the fresh stuff!
ReplyDeleteI think I would love the Edible Garden Festival. I just put in a few herbs (moved into this house too late for a Spring garden and had to wait until temps cooled down). Good luck with your tomatoes. Don't let the green hornworms get to them!
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting the giveaway and I will absolutely make those brownies! Hard to find espresso or espresso powder (which is what the recipe actually calls for) in my small town. So I usually resort to...are you ready for this?...dissolved folgers instant (gasp) or leftover brewed coffee. Can't wait to find out how much better these little treats will be!
Good luck with your tomatoes! I would love to have a garden at my house but A. there are too many trees where we live now and B. I kill every plant a touch.
ReplyDeletebe sure to blog about their progress and then cook something amazing for us once they get ripe! Enjoy your Halloween weekend!
Congrats to MM!
ReplyDeleteTomatoes, hooray!! I'm in Colorado and our growing season is totally different than everyone else on the planet. In my bizzaro world pruning is crucial. And fertilizing them weekly, very important. They are heavy feeders (meaning they suck all the goodness out of the soil) so make sure you get a good tomato fertilizer and feed weekly. Good luck, nothing tastes as good as a tomato from your own garden :)
Congrats on your first garden! You will enjoy picking tomatoes right from your backyard! I still get a little thrill every time I pluck some of the vine. The only advice I have is to get some stakes or tomato cages to support them and make them grow straight.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a great gardener, but I usually try to grow a tomato or two. The heirlooms are my favorites!
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