pineapples!

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.

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:

Hardy	Half-hardy	Tender	Very-tender
asparagus broccoli Brussels sprouts cabbage collard garlic kale kohlrabi leek mustard onion pea radish rhubarb rutabaga spinach turnip	beet carrot cauliflower celery chard Chinese cabbage globe artichoke Jerusalem artichoke lettuce parsnip potato	cowpea snap bean soybean sweet corn tomato	cucumber cantaloupe eggplant honeydew lima bean okra pepper pumpkin squash sweet potato watermelon

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!

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!
Plant Days to Harvest purple snap bean 50-67 squash 45-70 softneck garlic 90 green snap beans 50 bunching onion 50 leek 90

Author Introduction

Name: Ben Nichols Major: Horticultural Sciences; Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Hometown: Melbourne, FL A short list of my favorite... Fruits: Pineapple Strawberry Blueberry Raspberry Apple Orange/tangerine Grapefruit Banana Sweet cherries Grapes Kiwi Peach Vegetables: Onion Garlic Lettuce Watermelon Snap bean/ green bean Sweet corn Peppers Potato Tomato