Organic Methods for Vegetable Gardening in Florida: 2nd Edition

Order directly from our publisher:
University Press of Florida 

Melissa and I worked with University Press of Florida to improve, update, and reorganize our book. The photos, including many new ones, are now located throughout the book, not just in the center, which will make it much easier to read. We've explained our process in the new preface included here for your information.

Preface to the Second Edition 

Much has happened in plant science and organic gardening techniques in the almost 10 years since we began researching and writing the first edition of this book, so we agreed to spend some time to revisit and update the content for this edition. We were eager to work on this project so that Florida’s vegetable gardeners would have easy access to this new information. 

Science-based companion planting

Buy your own copy of Plant Partners
by Jessica Walliser at Amazon.

Much has been written about which plants work well together, and often the various human emotions, such as love and hate, accompany these descriptions. Extension agents, university professors, and other scientists had debunked most of the anecdotal benefits of traditional companion planting. 

But now there is new science on using various plants to:
- act as trap crops to lure pests away from crops,
- attract predatory insects that will reduce pest problems on crops,
- add diversity, which may confuse pest organisms.
- reduce weeds,
- increase pollinator populations,
- add nutrients, and more.

Jessica Walliser's new book, "Plant  Partners: Science-Based Companion Strategies for the Vegetable Garden" (published by Storey Publishing) is the winner of a 2021 The American Horticultural Society Book Award. Jessica is a rare two-time winner of this prestigious award and her book compiles this latest research on using plants to accomplish several benefits in vegetable gardens. 

Smart Gardening

Let's combat those horticultural myths with science 

This meme with a reminder to share
about male and female pepper fruits based on
 the number of lobes is total baloney!

The Internet has been a fantastic tool for sharing all of human knowledge. Social media, powered via the Internet, has made it easier to reconnect with long-lost friends and relatives and to share photos and memes with the world. It also serves as a market place, with online shopping.

But all this mostly unfiltered access to eye balls has made it ripe for spreading misleading information and blatant misinformation. Plus, this unfiltered marketplace allows for the selling of ineffective or bogus products with no chance for returns.

But, our topic is gardening and landscaping, so let's look at a few examples of bad information so widely shared that those myths have become accepted as fact.

Review: "Garden Revolution: How our landscapes can be a source of environmental change" By Larry Weaner and Thomas Christopher.

Cover Garden Revolution by Weaner & Christopher.

On my 2018 book tour presentations, I talked about some of the ideas on better meadow management that I learned from Larry Weaner in his presentation at the 2017 FNPS conference and from his Garden Revolution book. So here is my review of it for Florida gardeners:

Book Review:
"Garden Revolution: How our landscapes can be a source of environmental change"

By Larry Weaner and Thomas Christopher. Published by Timber Press in 2016.
(This review was written for & published in the Palmetto, the journal of The Florida Native Plant Society in 2017.)

I attended Larry Weaner's presentation at the 2017 Florida Native Plant Society conference and was so taken with his philosophy that I bought this beautiful book. While Thomas Christopher is listed as the coauthor, he explains that even though the point of view is Larry's, that they both worked on the organization and the actual writing of the book. For this review, I continue their scheme and refer to the ideas as if they were Weaner's alone.

#FloweredShirtTour of 2018 was a success

Wow! Thanks to all 52 of the hosting organizations on this year's book tour!

I gave presentations at events all over Florida from Sept. 6th through Dec. from Panama City to Key West! I had three different programs based on my two new books: 1) Climate-Wise Landscaping, 2) Authentic Florida Native Yards, and 3) a 3-hour workshop on Florida Native Landscaping. I spoke to Florida Native Plant Society Chapters, Audubon Chapters, Sierra Club chapters, garden clubs, Master Gardeners, libraries, a Permaculture organization, an environmental center, and a book store. Whew!!

This was my fourth book tour and each one has had more events than the previous ones. Three years ago, there were "only" 35 events in 11 weeks. What was interesting this year as opposed to previous years was how much more enthusiastic people are about the more sustainable and more climate-wise messages. I don't think that it was just that I had 2 more books, although that could have been part of the enthusiasm, I think people are more prepared to take action now. I do hope this is a trend. Our poor planet needs all the friends she can get. There is no Planet B! 

Our Blue Marble

The first Earth Day was April 22, 1970. There were many environmental problems in those days, but these problems had been building up for decades. (See this NY Times summary of our status at that time: America Before Earth Day.) Those were NOT, for many reasons, the “good old days.”

View of the whole planet changed our perspective and we started Earth Day. It was MUCH needed at that time.

What had happened the previous year, was that we had seen pictures of our beautiful planet from the moon. The Apollo Astronauts called it a "Blue Marble." That name and that vantage point from afar provided a perspective of how beautiful and fragile our only planet was. Politicians of every stripe worked at every level to put regulations in place to reverse the rampant pollution of our air, water, and land. The regulations have been amazingly effective and air, water and soil pollution has been drastically reduced. Those regulations are still needed today—maybe  more than ever because there are billions more humans all competing our planet’s resources. It is unconscionable that right-leaning politicians, at all levels of government, have been working in many ways to undo environmental regulations that have been put in place during the last two decades to clean the air and the water. 

Review: The Water-Saving Garden

Buy a copy on Amazon

When Pan Penick asked me to review her new book, I was somewhat reluctant knowing that it was written for gardeners in the whole country and not just Florida. But once I received her gorgeous book, I was entranced by all her cool water-saving ideas and innovative designs.

Florida is NOT a desert!

First let me say that since Florida averages 50 to 60 inches of rainfall annually, it is not a desert and so we cannot have xeriscapes. The stone-scaping that works so well in arid climates, doesn't work that well here. Our climate and rainfall ensures that any bed of stone will be filled with weeds before too long. On the other hand, we do have a 7-month dry season which can make us feel like we live in a desert. So we DO need water-saving ideas.

A greener 2016 and into the future

Outdoor activities should be a regular part of a kid's upbringing.

Reflection on 2015

As the year comes to an end, many people look back to see what went well and what could have gone better. Spending some time with my 13-month-old granddaughter this past week has caused more reflection than normal.

Why do I do it?

When I was on my 35-event, 11-week-long book tour this fall, a couple of people asked me why I worked so hard when I'm supposed to be retired. My husband sometimes asks the same thing. The quick answer is that I think my Florida gardening books, other writing projects, and outreach help people be more successful in creating more eco-friendly landscapes or to help them grow vegetables successfully. All of this is good for the environment.

After the #FloweredShirtTour

I was leaving for a multi-day trip
at sunrise with my 3 flowered shirts.

"The Art of  Maintaining a
Florida Native Landscape"

I named my latest 11-week book tour (Sept. 1 to Nov. 10) the #FloweredShirtTour. My third book, "The Art of Maintaining a Florida Native Landscape," was published by University Press of Florida in September. Back in May I was a speaker at the Florida Native Plant Society (FNPS) conference and at the end of my talk, I held up my calendar and asked the audience to fill up my dance card. Did they ever!

I sent emails to the contacts on all the chapters' websites and had also arranged to hold an all-day workshop of the chapters on outreach in September. In addition I'd contacted other groups that hold events in the fall and asked to be on their programs. All in all, I ended up with 35 events in 11 weeks. I've documented most of the events on my Appearances Page.

Ramping up for fall

Ginny event poster

Book tour

This fall can be best described as frenetic. I now have 29 public events and 5 private ones from Sept. 1 through Nov. 10th.  Can you believe that I'm working a arranging a couple more? I'll have 4 or 5 different presentations. Check out my Appearances Page to see the updated list.

This poster was created by the Cocoplum Florida Native Plant Society Chapter for the 3-hour native plant workshop that they organized and that I'll be leading on Oct. 10th in Stuart, FL.

New book, book tour, and more

The Art of Maintaining a Florida Native Landscape

The Art of Maintaining a 

Florida Native Landscape 

Yay! My new book is now available for preorder from Amazon. I've covered a wide array of topics, which I think have not been covered sufficiently in other books and online resources.

List of Chapters

1. Introduction to Natives and Their Ecosystems
2. Planning Native Plant Projects
3. Invasive Exotics
4. Site Preparation and Landscape Editing
5. Selecting, Planting, and Caring for Natives
6. Propagation Techniques
7. Minding Your Edges
8. Managing Freedom Lawns, Lawn Replacements, and Meadows
9. Creating and Maintaining Groves, Hedgerows, and Fencerows
10. Landscaping in Moist Habitats
11. Beyond Your Yard
Appendix I. Suggested Native Plant List
Appendix II. Types of Mulch
Glossary
Resources

A wish for a greener 2015

I wish you and yours a wonderful and bountiful New Year!!

A frosty reddish leaf lettuce.

Winter vegetables

Here in Florida, even here in North Florida where we receive several killing frosts each winter, we can grow most cool weather crops right through the winter. In most of the country, gardeners spend winter wishing they could garden, while we enjoying our "Salad Days."

One of the main reasons we wrote "Organic Methods for Vegetable Gardening in Florida" was to alleviate frustration of gardeners new to Florida trying to use their old, general garden books written for Anywhere, U.S.A. They just don't work here.

Growing some of your vegetables is good for you and your family, plus it helps to make Mother Earth a little greener.

Gardeners know when to "fold"

Gardeners are gamblers

We plant seeds or seedlings and we bet that we'll end up with a bountiful harvest, but it doesn't always happen that way. So when a crop is in distress, we need to yank it out and move on to something else. Case in point: our fall cucumber crop that I talked about last time. We had a pretty good harvest of 20 or so crispy cukes, but the vines got hit with a blight, so it was time to pull them out even though there were small fruits coming along and frost will not come until late December. The vines would not be able to overcome this fungus, and the longer you leave an ailing plant in the garden, the more likely it is to leave tainted soil behind. So I pulled the vines, gathered all the fallen leaves, and put them out with the yard trash. I never put diseased plants in the compost. We have to know when to fold, just like the old gambler...

"You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em
"Know when to walk away and know when to run..."

Even though there were more cukes coming, I ripped them out.

Fall blight...

A field trip, a Florida native plant hero, & pasta salad

I traveled over to Gainesville on May Day to meet with my editor at University Press of Florida and Marjorie Shropshire who will be illustrating my third book, "The Art of Maintaining a Native Landscape." It was a productive meeting and good progress is being made on the book--it's currently out for review. We discussed likely photos for the book and looked at Marjorie's drawings so far. (Marjorie also did the illustrations for "Organic Methods for Vegetable Gardening in Florida.")

Marjorie and I had more work to do on the drawings, so the plan was that she would come back to my house and spend the night before she headed back to south Florida. On the way back to my house we stopped to talk to David Chiappini in Putnam County, but were interrupted by this gorgeous wildflower meadow.

Wow what a great-looking roadside wildflower field.

 

Spring is in the air!

Some trees and shrubs are already producing their spring growth.

Spring is beginning to show itself with new growth on some of the plants and the extreme busyness of the little birds. It's too early to plant the tender crops because we are still likely to experience more frosty weather, but the rest of our native landscape will be fine with our hot spells in the middle of winter.

People who try to push the envelope on tropical plants in northern Florida make a lot of extra work for themselves. And many of them cover their tender plants and then leave them covered right through hot spells. It's likely that the plants that are being protected from the frost will die from the heat under their protective tarps and blankets. It's been in the 80s here for several days in a row.

Florida's Arbor Day

Hard-working native trees are also beautiful
and add value to your property.

While most of the country celebrates Arbor Day in April, both Florida and Louisiana celebrate on the third Friday in January. It’s a much better time to plant a tree because deciduous trees are dormant and others are less active, so they can withstand the shock of transplanting better.

One thing to keep in mind is that January is right in the middle of Florida's 7-month dry season and extra irrigation will be needed at least until the wet season starts in June, and if the tree is large, it will require extra attention for even longer. 

I've covered the details of planting trees in my article Trees & Shrubs: the Bones of your Landscape.

The holidays in Florida

Sugar snap peas are delish right from the vine.

Starting from the point of the knife: oregano, curly parsley, garlic chives, purple & orange carrots, sugar snap peas.

 

One week only: signed books offer

From November 10th to the 17th, I am taking online orders for my books. See the Gift Book Offer page. Maybe you know an avid gardener who would love one of my books for a Christmas present. If so, let me know and I will hold off mailing it until the middle of December and include a Christmas card saying the book is a present from you.  But this is the only week I'll be taking orders, so don't wait until then.

Organic Methods for Vegetable
Gardening in Florida

Sustainable Gardening
for Florida

Thanks for your support!

Green Gardening Matters,
Ginny Stibolt

Only two public events left on the book tour

Talking to people at the Wildflower Festival in Deland
about my vegetables and my books. A fun event.

The "Flowered Shirt" Book Tour

June is upon us and that means that this whirlwind book tour is almost over, and of the six or seven dates left, only one is public.

June 10th I'll be speaking to the Cuplet Fern Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society in Sanford, FL at 7pm at 200 Fairmont Ave. 32773. My presentation is Ecosystem Gardening and it's open to the public. I will, of course, also be signing books afterwards.

 

#1 in Southern Garden Books

Tuesday morning, this happened!

While the "Organic Methods..." book has been hovering in the top ten for Southern Garden Books on Amazon, this is the only time I caught it at the #1 spot.  Yay!  Thanks to everyone who is buying our book.

I'm having a great time talking to people about organic and sustainable gardening on my tour. This weekend, I'll be in St. Augustine and next weekend I'll be in St. Petersburg. It all ends in June.

Green Gardening Matters!
Ginny