At least for a while, the super-hot afternoons have gone away. So I'm thinking of my cool-season crops. Those are best grown in the ground, where the soil is cooler. They tend to wilt badly in the black containers, where the soil gets very warm. That's assuming you mulch, which is a necessity in hot climates.
So I've been grubbing out weeds and roots, and getting ready to plant some kale and pac choy at the very least...eventually I hope, a lot more than that.
I have a fine big stand of Crotalaria spectabilis, a plant from India that's used to purge the soil of root-knot nematodes. It's taller than I am...I should take some pics. I'll leave it grow until I get the first two planting beds ready, then the plants will have to go. I always save seeds of that plant, which just showed up in my garden without being invited.
I also have ground cherries out there, but I'm too sensitive to nightshades to eat them. They do taste delicious, sort of a cross between peach and pineapple. For the time being, I'm giving up eating all the nightshades...potato, eggplant, tomato, pepper. The ground cherries are in that same family, the Solanaceae. I have Physalis longifolia in my garden...which also showed up without an invitation...so tasty and so not on my menu.
The Malpighia did well this year, I had lots of fruit for a change. It's just in a pot, I never did build up a mound of soil to plant it on. It's too wet here for most fruit trees. They are one of my favorite things to eat, and they have far more vitamin C than citrus fruit. Nurserymen sell them as Barbados Cherry or Acerola Cherry.
I know, photos...I'll get to that soon. Right now I'm moving soil around, pulling out weeds and tree roots, and mixing compost with the soil. It keeps me busy.
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