Picking Time!!

It seems that just a few days ago- I began to write this blog, actually it was December 2, the trees were looking great and the crews were picking the oranges, this was a good thing since just a couple of weeks later we would be hit with some of the coldest temperatures on record in my area of North Central Florida. This is April and winter seems like far away, everything looks good and most everybody have recuperated from the hard winter days. There were many loses, but for the most part, Florida farmers have survived. A series of strong fronts crossing the area of North and Central Florida made the past winter one of the coldest ever. According to the weather service, Deland and Fort Pierce experienced the coldest season on record. Hard freezes threatened all of the agricultural crops in Florida. Of these, the citrus farmers faced another year of high fuel prices and the possibility of losing not only the year's crop, but the precious trees as well. Oranges are Florida’s most important agricultural crop, and it is the number one producer of orange juice in the United States and the second in the world. Florida together with Brazil which is the number one producer of citrus in the world dominate about 85 percent of the world's market. Brazil exports almost its entire production of orange juice, approximately 99%. In Florida, 90% of the fruit produced is consumed in the United States.

Growing Peppers

Had a bumper crop of peppers last year, also an early freeze in December, but it was fun growing them. For those of you that have asked me, peppers are easy to grow. I grow most of my peppers in containers. Containers offer portability, creativity and can be used where space is limited. The only drawback is that they need to be watered frequently. I try to keep a large shallow dish or container under the pots to make sure that they don’t dry out. Good drainage is the most important issue to consider. Always use good potting soil amended with compost and vermiculite. Do not use soil that you have digged from the garden; they could contain any number of undesirable insects. Any type of pot is good, just make sure that they have not been used for the storage of toxic materials. Always remember the most important factors that are essential for good plant development: Light, nutrition, water, soil and temperature. If you observe these simple requirements, you will be rewarded with a bountiful harvest! In North Central Florida this is a good time to get started, however it is a little late for seeds. Last year I was running late and not able to start my seeds early enough. I bought my plants from Cross Country Nurseries; their plants were healthy and arrived in excellent condition. I’m using them again this year, because lately running out of time has become the story of my life!  Scroll down for more pictures of chile plants

  Their website is:

 http://www.chileplants.com/