Category: Fruits & Vegetables

Join the 42nd annual Master Gardener Volunteer training class in 2025.

by Paul Schumaker
December 4, 2024

By Ralph E. Mitchell Are you a candidate for the Charlotte County Master Gardener Volunteer Program? Do you enjoy meeting and talking with people? Do you like searching for answers to gardening questions that you or others have? If so, ... READ MORE

Colorful tapioca

by Ralph Mitchell
September 23, 2024

In some landscapes in Charlotte County, you may find a shrub-like plant called cassava or yuca which is the source of tapioca and other starch products. Once somewhat common in Florida backyard gardens, this plant produces swollen, edible ... READ MORE

Category: Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes
Tags: Cassava, Shrub, Tapioca, Variegated Cassava, Yuca

Why cabbage?

by Ralph Mitchell
September 13, 2024

Why would I encourage you to grow cabbage in your backyard garden when it is one of the most affordable green vegetables you could pick up at the grocery store? Well, cabbage is perhaps the easiest fall vegetable to grow in our area. ... READ MORE

Category: Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes,
Tags: Cabbage, Florida Vegetable Gardening, Garden, Vegetable Gardening

Something very different – the finger lime

by Ralph Mitchell
August 7, 2024

Of all the citrus varieties to choose from, a new type called the Australian finger lime is indeed different - a curiosity worth exploring. Not only is its fruit very different from any citrus you have seen and/or grown, but it is also ... READ MORE

Category: Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes
Tags: Australian Finger Lime, Citrus, Fruit

A passion

by Ralph Mitchell
May 1, 2024

Passion fruit is an ingredient in many products we use every day – especially fruit juices. The exotic flavor of this vining plant from tropical America is unrivaled as a refreshing and tasty cool drink. The first time I can remember ... READ MORE

Category: Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes
Tags: Exotic Flavor, Passion Fruit, Tropical, Vining Plan

Go subtropical!

by Ralph Mitchell
May 1, 2024

One really great subtropical fruit related to apples, pears, and peaches that grows well in our area is the loquat. Not to be mistaken for kumquats (a type of citrus) I see the tempting orange loquat fruit displayed at this time of year ... READ MORE

Category: Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes
Tags: Fruit, Japanese Plum, Loquat

A bold oregano – ornamental and edible

by Ralph Mitchell
May 1, 2024

Dual purpose plants are a boon to landscapes where gardeners are looking for vegetation that provides both edible and ornamental features. A plant called Cuban oregano is one of those plants that checks both boxes. I first encountered ... READ MORE

Category: Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes
Tags: Cuban Oregano, Edible, Ornamental

Alternative fruit – the longan

by Ralph Mitchell
April 30, 2024

While many homeowners have the usual backyard fruits such as citrus, and maybe even some more exotic types such as mangos or lychees, one fruit tree not often seen is the longan. A relative to the lychee, the longan is becoming more popular ... READ MORE

Category: Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes
Tags: Backyard Fruits, Longan

Fruit tales – my papaya

by Ralph Mitchell
March 19, 2024

A papaya is not a true tree, but a tree-like or arborescent plant. This large herbaceous plant is relatively short-lived but can be a great producer of high-quality fruit. I have grown them for years with successes and failures along the ... READ MORE

Category: Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes
Tags: Fruit, Papaya

Broccoli in the landscape – an edible ornamental

by Ralph Mitchell
September 13, 2023

If you like broccoli as I do, you should keep in mind that it is a very easy-to-grow vegetable that needs to go into your garden at this time of year. I have already started my seeds for the coming season and am preparing the soil for ... READ MORE

Category: Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes
Tags: Broccoli, Cool Season Crop, Edible, Ornamental, Vegetable Garden

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