My favorite fruit is the pineapple. This is a perennial tropical fruit from the Bromeliaceae family which is native to Southern Brazil and Paraguay. The pineapple plant, Ananas comosus, produces a compound fruit. This fruit crop is grown in Brazil, the Philippines, Costa Rica, Thailand, and China.
Pineapple are rich in manganese, potassium, niacin, and sugars
For nutritional information, visit National Nutrient Database.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Thursday, October 11, 2012
plot update & information on transplants
Day 19 | Day 21 | Day 26 |
When planting a garden or a plot in a field the grower must choose between direct seeding or the use of transplants. In some cases the physiology of the plant will determine which method is required, as is the case with many plants in the cucurbitaceae (melon) family where direct seeding is required and transplanting will stunt the growth of these plants. Root crops are also typically not transplanted. Other crops, especially high value crops, can often be planted via transplants.
Transplants can be divided into two types: plugs and traditional transplants. Plugs are categorized as having 2-3 true leaves, not counting the cotyledon (seed) leaves. Traditional transplants have 5-6 leaves. Transplants offer many benefits to the grower including earlier harvest, as transplants can be started in a greenhouse during the last few weeks of the cool season. They can also provide more even development in the field. However, they increase the cost of planting and space must be available for the growth of these transplants. The grower must decide when the value of the crop is great enough to warrant using transplants. For the home grower the small number of plants used typically means that cost and space are not a major concern and transplants can facilitate earlier yields, as well as create a longer growing season.
what to plant? cool and warm season crops
Winter, and the cold weather that comes with it, gives growers the opportunity to plant a group of crops that can tolerate the cold weather. These crops are referred to as cool season crops. The category of cool season crops can be further divided into hardy crops which can tolerate moderate frost and half-hardy crops which can tolerate light frost. Warm season crops can be split into tender crops which are damaged during cold weather and very-tender crops which are easily damaged by light frost. With winter rapidly approaching most of the discussion will be on the cool season crops.
Below is a table of some representative examples from each category:
So how does what I have planted in my plot compare to what I should have planted in my plot? As for cool season crops I have garlic, and onion which will all do well with the cold weather. However, I also have pepper, zucchini, snap beans, and okra which could be damage by an early frost. Hopefully these crops were planted early enough to give them time to mature and produce before the first frost. Unfortunately, I do not believe the peppers will produce before the first frosts start in the beginning of November!
Below is a table of some representative examples from each category:
Hardy | Half-hardy | Tender | Very-tender |
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So how does what I have planted in my plot compare to what I should have planted in my plot? As for cool season crops I have garlic, and onion which will all do well with the cold weather. However, I also have pepper, zucchini, snap beans, and okra which could be damage by an early frost. Hopefully these crops were planted early enough to give them time to mature and produce before the first frost. Unfortunately, I do not believe the peppers will produce before the first frosts start in the beginning of November!
Friday, September 21, 2012
planting my plot & days to harvest
Day 1 | Day 10 | Day 14 | ||||||||||||||
My plot in the field has now been fully planted! From the front to the back I have planted okra, purple snap beans, garlic, green snap beans, onions, leeks, and a few peppers at the end. As the first step in planning this plot I have calculated the approximate day to harvest for each plant. Some are as short as 50 days while others as much as 90 or 100 days. I took these numbers, for the direct seeded plants, and projected the dates in a google calendar that I've attached to the bottom of the blog. It should provide a rough estimate as to when I can expect to harvest my first vegetables! |
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Thursday, September 6, 2012
Author Introduction
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