The Plantago (virginica L.) growing throughout our low-lying field has always been a great food source for our chickens and tortoise. Aside from being edible, the leaves can be smashed up and used to help heal cuts, bug bites and stings and seems like it has also been used for every other ailment too, read…
Mexican petunia (Ruellia simplex) is listed as a category 1 invasive species in Florida. If this plant is not currently in your yard, there are better plant options to choose from and it is best not to buy it. substitute plants for mexican petunia Check out some of these more beneficial native species that you…
We have been growing turmeric (Curcuma longa) in our zone 9b garden for several years. Turmeric is super easy to grow, but it does require some patience. It is best to allow the plant 2 years to spread after planting it. how to grow turmeric Turmeric is grown by rhizomes, not seeds. You can buy…
This was our first time growing watermelon in our Florida food forest, and it was a total success. The first week of April, we planted 2 four packs of watermelon transplants from Rockledge Gardens along a 50-foot section of weed cloth spread across the field. I cut holes in the cloth, every 2 feet with…
We grow the spineless variety of prickly pear cactus (Opuntia ellisiana) for our sulcata tortoise. This plant is a hybrid, bred to not have large spikes, but they still have little splinters (glochids) that will get in your skin if you aren’t careful. Edible I knew the pads, flowers, and fruit of the prickly pear…
Fleabane flowers are one of my favorite Florida native wildflowers. They spread randomly throughout my yard, and not only do the butterflies love them, but my kids also do too. I have lots of memories of my boys with big smiles and a bouquet of these in their hands. I try to leave them as…
Spurred Butterfly Pea (centrosema virginianum) is a Florida native vining perennial. These fragile fines can grow up to 6 feet long or more at a moderate growth rate and when in bloom, it has lavender/pink pea-like flowers. This Florida native grows in zones 7-10 and flowers most of the year but more so in the…
Chaya (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius) aka spinach tree is one of my favorite plants in our zone 9b food forest. For so many reasons: One of our most visited pollinator plants. Fast growing, great for chop & drop. super easy to propagate by cuttings edible when cooked. great survival plant. Chaya as a pollinator plant The flowers…
Partridge pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata) is a nitrogen-fixing, Florida native pollinator plant that feeds a wide variety of wildlife and is a host plant to many caterpillars. florida native partridge pea Partridge pea grows in hardiness zones 3-9 and can be grown simply by tossing the seeds where you want them to grow. The edible seeds…
Cowpeas are super easy to grow, they provide a lot of edible beans that you can replant back into the yard each year for a never-ending supply of bean plants. Cowpeas grow well in warm weather, so as your other bean plants are fading out in the summer, these guys will still be going strong….