Morning Glories: Spring 2011 - What's blooming in your garden? Part 3, 0 by beckygardener

beckygardener wrote:
I've had quite the success this year doing veggies. I now know some plants that I can grow here and those that don't do well.

A lot of folks here in Florida aren't buying flower seeds. I've been watching the seed displays at the Big Box stores and the veggie and fruit seeds went pretty quickly. There are still plenty of flower seed packets on the display shelf. I even overheard the neighbor behind me hollering over to his neighbor across the street that he hoped to have tomatoes in 6 weeks! LOL! Everyone I know has a veggie garden now. It's all the rage here! We talk gardening at work, but it's about veggie gardening, not flowers at all. No one seems to be interested in flowers these days. The economy is making mini-farmers out of a lot of folks. Many folks never did much gardening before now. It's actually pretty cool! But probably bad for the flower seed business.

I've learned to grow both flowers and edibles together to make a lovely display! But it seems that most gardeners (newbies or seasoned gardeners) are putting their money and effort into edible gardens these days. I think the sticker shock price at the super market for fresh veggies and fruit has forced a lot of folks to grow their own food. Everyone I talk to thinks that this economy is going to stay pretty flat for the next decade. If that is so, maybe veggie prices will come down if everyone is growing their own. Or edible plant seed prices are going to go up! I've bought seeds from some well known and reputable online seed companies and all of them have said that their profits have jumped up for veggie and fruit seeds. They give complimentary flower seed packets with their customer's orders! LOL! Isn't that a 360 from a few years ago?! Amazing ... and pretty cool, too! I also heard that the book Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew has sold off the shelves! A sign of the times. I have farmer's blood in me, so I am really getting a kick out of all of this!

The bell peppers were so easy to grow in the 5 gallon containers. The onions are grown in a small pot. I actually thought they were chive seeds, but instead appear to be yellow sweet onions. Yum! And my tomatoes are still going strong too along with the eggplant which is loaded with veggies and the cuke vines! My dh is amazed at all the food I've been growing this year! Me, too! Everyone is talking about growing their own food at my work place! We all exchange ideas, seeds, and advice! And even share food. It's really neat! Before, no one really did any gardening. Now it seems everyone is! I think once you grow something successfully, it gets you excited to try more new plants/edible food. And it's relaxing! A stress buster! Two things everyone needs in their lives ... food and relaxation! :-) :-) :-)

Here's my eggplant showing the some of the veggies hanging off it. It is loaded with developing eggplant veggies!