A Cool Garden

We're supposed to have a week or so of cool weather, so I decided that this would be an ideal time to get my turnips in the ground.

Golden Ball Turnips - Planted Today

I'll mulch them after they settle in a bit.  It was disappointing to find as many pine roots in the bed as I did when I dug in the compost.  I had thought the landscaping cloth beneath the soil would have kept them out.  It's OK, I dig up the beds after each crop is pulled out, so they won't be able to take over the bed...I hope.

Turnips are traditionally planted in the South in the cooler months. They tolerate poor soil and they produce a lot of food, since you can eat the entire plant.  Here in the subtropics, it's a gamble...if they get too much heat, turnips tend to be bitter and strong-tasting.

The container garden is doing fine.  Ever since I started liquid feeding almost every day, the plants seem to be doing better.  Here's a few pics I took today.

 Pole Beans 

Asian Radishes

 Pepper Caribbean Red

 More Radishes

 Purslane, Thai Basil, Pac Choy, Oregano

 Radishes...I went in big for these.

 Onion, Chives, Oregano, Thai Basil

Eggplant aka Aubergine

Everything is planted in either 34 or 57 cm nursery containers. They're set on concrete blocks and racks made of local wood.  This protects them from animals and the frequent flooding we get here...and the fire ants, Solenopsis invicta.  They get into the pots and eat the roots.  And they're extremely unfriendly.

So that's the garden, more or less, the second week of December 2014.  I didn't take pics of the sweet potatoes, but you can see some of their leaves in the last pic.