The longan tree is one of the few fruit trees producing a crop in August, so the small brown fruit are a welcome seasonal taste treat. A family member of the lychee, the longan tree is an attractive evergreen all by itself – the fruit ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes
Are all pineapples edible? Technically, I suppose so, but in reality, there is a whole line of pineapples grown just for their looks – ornamental pineapples! Like all pineapples, they are a type of bromeliad like Spanish moss, ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes
The first jackfruit I ever saw and tasted was in St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the West Indies. The attractive tree was evergreen and maybe thirty feet tall. The fruit was most amazing – a giant monstrous greenish-yellow ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes
I remember trying what is called Malabar spinach once years ago, and was not impressed with it – the texture or something? It seemed a bit too gelatinous for me. However, I tried it again last year and really enjoyed it this time. Perhaps ... READ MORE
Category: Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes
When you picture corn, what do you think of? Yellow corn on the cob or crunchy popcorn? Corn also called maize, provides us with many items including cornstarch, cooking oil, sweeteners, cereal, beverages and over 4,000 other products that we ... READ MORE
Category: 4-H & Youth, Crops, Fruits & Vegetables, Health & Nutrition
It looks to be a good year for mangoes. Locally, many mango trees are loaded with fruit promising a sweet June and July harvest. There is hardly any other tropical fruit that almost everybody likes. While mangoes are not suitable for everywhere, ... READ MORE
Category: Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Horticulture
What do you call the vegetable known as the yard-long bean? Do you call it asparagus bean, Chinese long bean, long-podded cowpea, long bean, bora, bodi, pea bean, or snake bean? Whatever name you know this legume by, I am picking it in my ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes
Summer vegetable gardening is not for everybody as the pest pressure, heat and humidity are at their peak. Most of our fall/early winter vegetables cannot take the heat, but others like okra, southern peas, sweet potatoes and hot peppers ... READ MORE
Category: Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes
By Kristie Popa – UF/IFAS Charlotte County 4-H Agent Can you imagine the wonderful smell of the orange blossoms or the vivid orange fruit dangling off of the limbs of a citrus trees? As you drive through various parts of Charlotte County, ... READ MORE
Category: 4-H & Youth, Agriculture, Fruits & Vegetables, Health & Nutrition, Horticulture
By Ralph E. Mitchell You would think from their image that pineapples originated in Hawaii. The pineapple, which is a type of bromeliad like Spanish moss, actually originated in the tropical Americas and the Caribbean. Explorers moved the ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes