Cabbage Palm – Sabal Palmetto Palm's First Bloom - Revisited

While doing some garden detailing yesterday, a new scent caught my attention.

I will have to check tomorrow morning to see if the fragrance is more pronounce.
Otherwise this evening's scent was subtle and yet it reminded me of a northerner's
familiar and favorite, the Lilac bush.












I wonder just how many Floridians have actually experienced this fragrance?

Urban Container Farming Refresh

Something spanking brand new. I think these are the new mini
San Manzano cherry tomato, which I picked out of a local
Thai BBQ's salad buffet.

Verses planting a brand new cutting from a tried and true
Turkish tomato planted along side their heir parent.

The planter on the left is the Everglade berry sized tomato. I trimmed that back
heavily about a week and a half ago and it's sprouting back quite readily.

All of these containers get a refresh with a top dressing of some fresh compost,
garden lime and some store bought Mr. Earth organic vegetable fertilizer.
Tomorrow I will give them a drench of liquid fish emulsion fertilizer mixed
with my over abundance of stored rainwater.

Trim away the old and barren and encourage renewed growth, given all the essentials.

I hope this year old Banana pepper plant can thrive through another hot and
humid season.

Tadpole's Day Twenty-Eight - Hind Legs Are Sprouting And Front Legs

There will always be a first, whether it be first spotted or to be actually
the first.

A toast to the first, in this case a piece of sprouted bread to celebrate
their next stage to their next transition to freedom.

Big Blue's - Day 86

Flowers are still in the development stage. Took this picture as it began to
rain and still managed to salvage the shot.

Tadpole's Day Twenty-Six - Hind Legs Are Sprouting

There are a about a handful of tadpoles that are developing their hind legs.

Their first meal today is some freshly sliced fresh spinach.

 

The tadpole at the bottom center of the pic was the first time

I spied their developing legs, a couple of days ago.

 

What Was IT Thinking - Tadpole Jumps Out Not Once But Twice?

 Checking up on these tadpoles after their last feeding
and only to find this foreign to the eye exhibit. Having
seen this iridescent belly on occasion when this variety
of tadpole swims belly up. Realizing that it may still
have some life, knowing they are mouth breathers.

Belly up and for the world to see. This tadpole must of
took a dare. There's got to be more than these three cups
of rainwater, frog waste and a limited diet.

Seeing it's jeweled belly I proceeded to dip my finger in
some water and placed this still life. Only to watch it
spring into locomotion. Ran indoors to get a piece of
culinary tissue, as in bathroom tissue that so happens
to be in the kitchen. Blotted it's ass up and back to whence
it came from. Not more than seconds goes by that another
decides to make a dive to an unknown destination. That
was not as easy to retrieve. That one made it back to it's
confines also. I took out some water so as not to give
the others the same idea. Because the next one or two
may not be that lucky.

Last/Late Bloom - Amryilla

Middle of June and what a pleasant shock to see one of these late winter,
early spring flowers still hanging around. I know for a fact that they
did wrap up blooming so to see this bloom throw up a flower this late
in it's season was all that more of a surprise.

Cacao Tree Update

I believe this puts it into it's fourth growing season with me. It was about
six inches tall with barely a handful of leaves. I haven't bumped it to the
next size pot and may still not until next year. A heavy trim last year just
to keep it manageable, as in getting it in and out of the house , let alone
getting it through the door without too much damage. Allows me to keep
the pot size scaled back.

I'm tempted to give it a flower boosting formula to encourage it to set
bloom this year. Time and my obsessiveness will determine that next
step.

Tadpole's Day Nineteen - Discovered Something New For Them To Eat

Besides organic Spinach leaves cut into thin strips once every morning.
Sprouted bread on occasions.Guppy food Twice a day.

Yesterday I tried some pollen and flowers from a white crape myrtle.
No interest, but I think I will try the pollen again. There was some
curiosity but not an mediate frenzied gorging that they usually
demonstrate when introducing a poetential food source in to
their habitat.

Now, take some organic raw hemp hearts. My new introduction
today. While there were still bits of spinach floating around and
four to five hours since last feeding. As soon as I dropped just
a few bits of hemp hearts in the water, that characteristic hastened
swarming that stirs up the surface water and then the snatching
of individual bits for themselves was enough indication to warrent
some more hemp hearts added and another potential food source.

I will always check back in a few to see if the new introduction has
been eaten and of course to check on them hours later to make sure
they are still alive.

It's not everyday that tadpoles become captives and with good
intentions of witnessing their development into their next lives.

Tadpole's Day Seventeen - Nibbling At Some Spinach

Large pebbles at the bottom makes for a challenge for these
bottom feeders. What with three square meals a day. One floating,
thinly sliced organic spinach leaves, as shown above and two
sinking. Some super small pellet sized guppy food that floats
for a second then drops to the service and crevices, which the
tadpoles will go out of their way to mine what they can get to.

I've tried cooked spaghetti squash, quinoa and banana. Of those
three the quinoa seemed to be the favorite of the three but again,
the quinoa would sink down into the crevices and in time if not
eaten will ferment and muck up what little water is available. 

What ever algae accumulates on the pebbles and the sides of glass
helps. Multiple water changes through out the week, whether they
need it or not. That just comes from my keeping goldfish and
tropical fish as a kid. Lots of fresh rain water , well as fresh
as rain water can be. Besides it doesn't take long for this three
to four cups of water to start smelling like a swamp. Thes
mouth breathers probably don't mind but I don't want to take
the risk.

They are growing and will be looking for signs of their next
tell tale stage of metamorphic proportions.

Big Blue Gets The Book Marker Treatment

Or the tall Greetings from FLORIDA postcard treatment.

Yesterday, First Fig OF The Season - Ficus carica 'Brown Turkey'

I don't know why this variety has been picked to be
most suitable for this area. I know that this specimen
needs better conditions than I could ever provide.

The only reason this specimen is even in existence is
because this remnant of the original that had been
growing in my grandma's garden.

I shall leave it for the birds to feast on while I tend
to my recent cuttings of an unknown variety of
fig that is as I type, loaded down with fruit.

Two of the three fig cuttings have their characteristic fig leaf saluting the
afternoon sun with their first leaf.

I did a drive by this past Saturday to see if said fruit are ripening at this
now vacant commercial property. The fruit as best as I can assess is still
as green as it's leaves.

This specimen's trunk is at least eight inches and it's base is close to the
building's foundation. A foundation that goes back to the nineteen twenties
and whose base is no doubt extruding lime into the soil which helps figs
thrive. That and a ground cover of stones which I'm sure helps with keeping
that PH low. That and plenty of sunshine.

So, what can I do to insure that these cuttings and my existing fig tree get
similar conditions, you might ask? Trial and error, that's that game we
constant gardeners play. I can start by adding some lime to my potted
fig and move it to some spots in the yard that get more sun. This sun
chasing will have to abide by the seasons, of course.

Let the games begin.

Big Blue's - Day 72 - Looks To Have Reached Maximum Height

Even Tadpoles Eat Their Greens

Thinly sliced fresh spinach leaves came in handy to add variety in these
'Lucky' tad's diet.

The Polly Creative - Day 8 GoArt!

Brought the kids in
for a big change of
water.

They get to how the
other half lives.

Took a photo Op
with the GoArt
app.

One More Potted Specimen Interned - Kalanchoe thyrsiflora - Flapjacks

The top picture's scale is deceiving. Here they are the night before as a reminder
to put them to rest, outdoors.

Day Three - Polly's

In just three days there already appears a substantial amount of growth
in these captives.

First thing that comes to mind is having to make an exchange of water.
Will probably draw down a third and replace it some new rainwater,
now that our rainy season has kicked off. Rainwater is no longer in
short supply.

Supposedly the top dogs will secrete hormones that inhibits others
to develop. So in this small artificially man made environment,
it's the least I do.

Idle Hands Put To Work, Again - Update 6 - The Rings Go Dark

We Got Poppies

This Prickly Poppy may just be opening but already a
host to many.

Pollen grains smudged against the walls revealed a previous
visit, by what who knows.

We Got Pollys ...

 A floating buffet of eggs, queens and a raft of dead army ant/spider like
bugs. I even gave out some Guppy food that I had left over from last year
that the Polly wogs ate it up as if it was their last meal. After they have
to eat like there's no tomorrow.

Day two. From ditch to vessel their odds have only increased but a smidge.

Lottery Winners After Four Days Of Standing Water

After a two night's chorus/orgy of frogs. Here are said winners.

As I filled this, what I thought was a dried out, lifeless vessel
that will shortly be home to some water nymphs. Some insects
float to the top, wondering what happened to their desert
environment, now a watery world.

In this eat or eaten world the poly wogs get a celebrate feast.
I hope they are hungry.

Today's Vitamin T

  That T stands for Turkish tomato from the garden.