A nice soggy forecast!

This could do our gardens wonders!

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Tampa&state=FL&site=TBW&lat=27.959&lon=-82.4821

Potato Onions

If any of my blog readers order these, I'd love it if you could keep me posted as to how they perform for you long term, regardless of the climate you garden in. Thanks!

http://www.jobegardens.com/

I am SO PLEASED to see that female duck who'd live her whole life that pen now in that lush shady east bed with THREE ponds and ample vegetation to enjoy. Sheer luck I was able to grab her tail then wings yesterday....I must think of a way to safely (for me AND them) catch the rest and get them into that east bed to enhance their quality of life BIG time. The soil in that pen must be HYPER fertile.....I'd love to grow arugula and brassicas in there this winter once "Gray Street Grape" defoliates and it gets sunny in there.

What a simple yet effective innovation!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBqdyit59uw

My Talk At Sunken Gardens Tomorrow

I'm enjoying planning an effective presentation on frugal backyard chicken raising, and today am gathering up the various props. After my talk I'll have fresh eggs and framed artwork of mine for sale. I hope to see lots of folks attend!

http://www.tampabay.com/things-to-do/events/2012/8/4/keeping-chickens/74107/

I stumbled on this site while re-obsessing on what kind of odd looking onion that Mary Jo and I scavenged from the trash at the Hillsborough Avenue open air market that immediately struck me that day as not a normal onion. I planted quite a few in a baby pool garden a few days later. But this morning, for the first time, I cut one open to add to an omelet and was VERY surprised that inside of what on the outside looks to be an oval white onion about the size of an ovoid walnut were 4-5 separate onions deep inside! The flavor was mild and sweet vs. in-your-face onion. $13 for 7 ounces of starter bulbs is a lot, but it could POSSIBLY give us a new perennial onion for central Florida while supporting a small scale grower. I'm thinking this is likely a "potato onion" variant....all potato onions are forms of the shallot, although I've yet to come even close to remembering the botanical name. I just can't get my mind around it. I shared this link on Facebook in hopes that other gardeners in central Florida, especially colder inland areas, will try it even though it is perennial in Texas. The fact that he emphasizes that it does not make seeds and is NOT an Egyptian Multiplier is what piqued my interest. John

http://jobegardens.com/

Shades of 'Avatar'!

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120801132440.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Ftop_news%2Ftop_science+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Top+News+--+Top+Science%29