Down here in South Florida, this is our prime gardening season since, aside from Sweet Potatoes, there's not much that withstands the hot summers (exceptions made for things like New Zealand, Okinawa, & Malibar Spinach and some other tropicals).

And, it was such a nice day today, I decided to snap a few (OK...more than a few!) pics and I thought I'd share of some of the things I have going on.

You'll notice I grow just about everything in containers!

Here's my square foot garden, which consists of three 4'x4' beds.  The Sugar Snaps growing up the trellis on the right are about done and I'm letting the rest go to seed for next year, although, I could have gotten away with a second planting of them if I was more motivated!:



Off to the right of the SFG there's some of the fruit trees in the "collection" with a few more off to the right out of the picture:

 
Off to the left of the SFG are more fruit trees.  I didn't take a wide shot, but they include TR Hovey Papaya (I just got done dehydrating some this morning!):

 

And, an LSU Purple fig "bush" just breaking dormancy:

 
Bed #1 on the SFG has mostly Swiss Chard, with some Oak Leaf lettuce recently started, Onion Chives, Dill, and some Cucumbers growing in the cages. 

 
The middle bed has Yummy Snacking Peppers in the first row, Purple Beauty peppers in the second row, Jalapenos in the third row, and two rows of corn in back.

 
Bed #3 (not pictured) has some more lettuce along with New Mexico Red Chilli peppers growing in addition to what's left of the Sugar Snaps.

Here are two of the UCR 291-4 cuttings started in April:

 

 

Panachee started in April:

 

Parfiankia Pomegranate that still hasn't fruited.  I'm thinking too much Nitrogen, but have been adding Bone Meal and it hasn't helped yet:

 

I just harvested a total of 42 bananas from one of my Williams Hybrid and here's a bunch ripening on one of the Dwarf Cavendish:

 

VdB started in April.  I left the fruit on this one:

 

Here's another VdB started at the same time.  I let this one grow to over 4' and then cut it back:

 

UCR 143-36 (a/k/a "Emerald Strawberry) started in April and just breaking dormancy:

 

Cajun Gold also just breaking dormancy and just had the right branch pruned to get cuttings to a good F4F member:

 

Some Ancho Chllis.  The three in the front just got topped:

 
Here are 25 Yellow Granex (only called "Vidalia" when grown in Vidalia, GA!) in a 1/2 whiskey barrel:

I can't eat the collard greens fast enough!  This is about a 5' wide and the leaves are HUGE!:

 

Unfortunately, both the Black Madeira and the Calverts have proven very difficult and are very slow going compared to everything else started at the same time.

The BM basically lost all of its leaves (I assume going dormant) and has three buds swelling now, so looks like it's about to break, but right now, it doesn't look like much more than the original cutting (although, taller than when it started!):

 

And, here's that bunch of Williams Hybrid bananas I harvested a few days ago:

 

I'm hoping some of the Pineapple Guavas start fruiting soon - I've been waiting a long time for those!

Looks great!  Thanks for showing us around.

Now that is a great project, I would grow okra and black eye peas maybe a few eggplants and sometimes New Zealand spinach during the hot summers of South Florida.

Looks great:)  How is the Papaya dehydrated?  Just planted Solo, hope it is good.

Nice, looks good.  Why do you grow in pots - nematodes? 

Where are you at in Florida?

It also allows me to re-position the plants at-will.  So, if I think one needs more or less sun, I can just move it to another location.

Also, dealing with the limited space, I'm trying to maintain small trees and, when possible, have mostly dwarf varieties.  The containers also allow me to more easily control the size of the plants, including root pruning, than I'd be able to if they were in-ground.

I hope that helps!

Figaro-great stuff, I admire your efforts. You should plant a container mango, I see some of those in Florida too.

Nice pictures. All that growth in January is pretty awesome.

I forgot about the nematodes you guys can have down there so containers with a highly organic mix would do the trick.

Have you thought about digging a hole and filling it full of organic mix or maybe "pot in pot" like many nurseries do?

Thanks for sharing Figaro. Everything looks amazing !

Two questions:
1. When you dehydrate papayas does that get rid of the pukey smell they have when fresh?  I have always disliked some aspect of the flavor and smell of fresh papayas.  Or do they still taste pretty much the same?
2. In order to avoid the nematode and poor soil issue, could you just import a bunch of top soil or compost or mix?  I have terrible clay soil where I am for similar reason.  Home is 5 years old and it's basically a combination of fill dirt, rocks and subsoil.  Developer did not put in any real topsoil.  My plan is to just get a landscape company to deliver 20 yards of topsoil/compost mix and plant in that.  Everything that has been planted in the clay just seems to be in suspended animation and won't grow at all.  I would think that those pots would dry out so quickly in the Florida heat. 

Thank you Figaro for all the photos and info.  I have a good friend that lives in Manatee Co. and seeing the fruit and vegetables that you grow will help me advise her on some of the things that she can grow.   I am surprised that you didn't have any tomatoes.  She has some limitations because of RA so whatever growing options I suggest I have to take that into consideration. 

Once the everything gets a little more mature, I'll likely start a landscaping project where I transform my backyard into some sort of "Garden of Eden" and put a bunch of stuff in-ground.

Great pics! I'm currently in Orlando for a few days and the 77 degree days have been a real treat.

Growing in containers, you can place the pots on a table or something elevated which would potentially help with here RA.  I've even seen elevated raised beds!

As for tomatoes...I'm just not a fan of raw tomatoes.  I used to grow them, but then would rarely harvest them simply because I prefer to eat just about anything else.  Now, I try to stick to growing the things I like to eat! :)

FYI...here's some info on growing Figs in FL:

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg214

Figaro, have you ever heard of the "Back to Eden Garden" movement? It is a way of improving your soil.                  http://www.backtoedenfilm.com/

Figaro, I appreciate the link.  The info was complete and easy for me to understand.  I am curious if you planted the dill and collards back in Sept.  She likes kale and fresh herbs.  I am sending her an envelope of seeds and I thought it still isn't too late to plant greens and maybe pole beans.  She planted Helda beans(planted in ground) that I sent her last fall and got some for a few pickings.  I believe her problem is lack of organic matter in the sand that goes below 4 inches.  I keep encouraging more humus and rotted manure and bushel size pots as opposed to 2 gallon pots.

How do you find out what cuttings/bulbs can be sent to FLA?