Newsletter July 7 2015

CLICK HERE for our calendar of events. Upcoming July 16th Meeting Hydroponics for the home gardener Timothy Kenaga and Astrid Hartleb are the founders of GreenView Aquaponics Family Farm & Apiary, a 10-acre local farm in Cape Coral that was founded in May of 2013. Their love for aquaponics has taken them from what was supposed to be a small backyard system to a full-fledged farm allowing them to explore multiple facets of farming, including growing lots of veggies, herbs and fruits using aquaponics, beekeeping, composting with worms and black soldier flies and egg-laying hens with pastured poultry on the horizon. Tim and Astrid will be presenting the UF hydroponics model (raft system), along with some alternatives in materials used and nutrients. Additionally, they will be bringing a small NFT system (nutrient film technique) and a small hybrid aquaponics system with a media bed, fish tank and raft. These two systems will be assembled in class plus an explanation of how to make them from supplies at a big box store and how to use them. Bring your questions! The meeting will be on Thursday, July 16th at 6:30pm inside North Fort Myers Community Center located at 2000 North Recreation Park Way, North Fort Myers. Arrive at 5:30pm for an open and informal chat on edible topics. Consider bringing something to share with other gardeners. The membership fee for monthly meetings through September is $10. In addition, a $10 Lee Parks and Rec lifetime membership of is required. For more information, contact Karen Harty at 610.530.8883. If you are unable to afford this program, see how to apply for a scholarship. Grow A Gardener does not offer scholarships for the $10 Lee Parks and Rec lifetime membership, however it will cover the membership fee for monthly meetings. CLICK HERE for Local Edible Events Windex and Fire Ants Windex and Fire Ants One last note about fire ants. Trish of ECHO enlightened me: the Windex® (ammonia) is supposed to aid in the PAIN inflicted on the stings, not to repel them. Have not tried this yet!   Plant Chat Plant Chat: Ceylon Spinach (Talinum triangulare) AKA Philippine spinach AKA Waterleaf This plant is for EVERY edible gardener in South Florida. It was gifted to John and me by the Fruit & Spice Park in Homestead Florida. This plant will grow anywhere as long as it has water/irrigation and HEAT. It generously self sows even in poorest soil. We allow it to self sow everywhere then pull it when we no longer want it growing in that location (and eat it that day). Weeding for food, we call it. The above photo is today's "weeding for food". Ceylon spinach grows year round in just about any soil (yes, even in our awful sandy "soil") in Florida but it does prefer our Southern hot, rainy summers. Frost will kill it to the ground, however it will most likely come up again. Talinum roots are prone to root knot nematodes, but this does not appear to affect the plant much if you grow it as you would a head of lettuce instead of a perennial plant. Grown in both full sun and full shade, we cannot tell the difference in quality of the leaves. Ceylon spinach self pollinates and can be propagated from either its tiny seeds or from cuttings. Its petite pink flowers close at night and open in the morning. This plant is used as an annual bedding plant in the Philippines and we hope to see more of this in SW Florida plantings! We enjoy Ceylon spinach in raw salads and stir fry. It is not suitable to cook beyond stir frying because it breaks apart and becomes mushy. Talinum contains protein, fiber, iron, calcium, vitamin B, niacin, and vitamin C. The negatives: it has high oxalate content which inhibits calcium and iodine absorption. (FYI: Most greens have oxalate content.) If you are interested in growing this plant, I often have rooted cuttings available for $3 each. Email me. References: personal experience and the Philippine Department of Agriculture's publication http://cagayandeoro.da.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/TALINUM.pdf   Gardener Spotlight  Gardener Spotlight: Sunn Hemp Thanks to Jim Fliss for his photo of Sunn Hemp growing happily in his garden. Email your garden photo for the next gardener spotlight.   Local Business Spotlight  MW Horticulture opens second location  Denise has supported all my groups from the Signature Grow a Gardener program to the 4-H. Consider supporting her by purchasing compost from her. Mention Karen sent you. NORTH FT MYERS 17610 East St, North Ft Myers 239.332.1188 www.mwhorticulturerecycling.com   4-H Casino Night The next time you houseclean... 4-H is looking for NEW items that are gathering dust at your house... such as a gift card or something new that we would be able to re-gift in our "goodie" bags. Contact VegHeads 4-H Leader Karen at 610.530.8883 or email to have them picked up.   "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." Edible gardening question? Call/text Karen at 610.530.8883 or reply to this email. CLICK HERE to download the VegHeads' 4-H  summer seed order form. FREE to all Lee and Hendry County residents. CLICK HERE to LIKE us on FaceBook. Amazon.com Do you shop on Amazon.com? You can support teaching others about edible gardening by bookmarking and using this link whenever you make a purchase. Doing this will fund scholarships to workshops, meetings, and lectures. THIS COST YOU NOTHING. And Amazon "gifts" us up to 2% of your purchase towards teaching others how to grow their own food.   CLICK HERE to SEARCH our website.

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