Sally Scalera

Brevard County Horticulture Extension Agent
3695 Lake Drive -- Cocoa FL 32926 -- 321-633-1702

Edible gardening

Sept. 16, 2006

There are many people who feel that if a plant doesn’t produce something edible then there’s no reason to have it in their yard. It is possible to design an entire landscape with edible plants since there are trees, shrubs, vines and ground covers that produce edible fruits, foliage, etc.

If this topic interests you then you may be interested in a class that I am preparing to teach in October throughout the county on what else, but Edible Landscaping. The class will cost $5, but there will be a handout provided listing every plant by its common and scientific name plus a lot of information covered during the two hours.

Many people already grow avocados, bananas, blueberries, figs, grapes, loquats, mangos, papayas and of course, many types of citrus. There are many tropical fruits though, that are being grown in our county too. I have already begun planning the outline for the class and getting the information together for a CD ROM that will be available for those interested in purchasing it.

This topic is huge even if you just look at the list of plants that can be grown here in Brevard County. Because we still get cold weather in the winter there are a number of cultivars of some of the deciduous fruits like apples, peaches, plums and pears that we can grow. But, we are also warm enough in other areas that we can grow tropical fruits also.

And don’t forget about vegetables which, though not as simple as it is up north, it is still possible to grow vegetables here if you know the right time of year to plant the different crops. There are also a number of tropical vegetable crops we can grow so our list of potential vegetables we can grow is quite large. Oh, and don’t forget about herbs since there is quite a large list of culinary herbs and edible flowers that we can grow.

The general layout of the class will begin with a discussion concerning general information such as; the right plant for the right spot (where we discuss pH, light conditions, soil moisture, hardiness zones and the mature height and spread of the plant), amending the soil (not a big surprise for anyone who has dug a hole in their yard and knows that we just have sand), mulching, watering, fertilizing and of course pest control.

I have then divided all of the edible crops into the following categories; deciduous fruits, evergreen fruits, tropical fruits, vegetables, additional vegetables, herbs, edible flowers and miscellaneous edibles.

The CD that is created will cover all of the categories mentioned as well as an index by common name, and index by scientific name and the Edible Landscaping Powerpoint that I will be using in the class. Though a CD will be available for an additional cost the handout material can be used, along with a computer with internet, to access the majority of the information that will be on the CD. The CD will make it easy to access the information, but other than the index by scientific name and the Edible Landscaping Power point, all of the other information can be obtained using the handout and a computer with internet access.

The University of Florida has a large list of bulletins that cover deciduous fruits, pruning of deciduous fruits as well as the bulletins on the individual crops so there is a lot of information available.

Just to give you an idea of the number of deciduous fruits that we can grow in Brevard County here is a list: apple, pear, oriental persimmon, fig, pecan, blackberries, blueberries, grapes, chestnuts, plum, peach, raspberries (not easy), nectarines, red mulberry, Chinese jujube, pomegranate, dwarf pomegranate and miracle fruit.

Then there is the list of subtropical fruits like atemoya, sugar apple, citrus, avocado, logan, loquat, lychee, mamey sapote, mango, sapodilla, pineapple guava, and natal plum. For tropical fruits we can grow the following: banana, Barbados cherry, carambola, coconut palm, jackfruit, jaboticaba, macadamia, papaya, passion fruit, pineapple, spondias, Cherry of the Rio Grand, grumichama and pitomba.

The there is a large list of both vegetables and additional vegetables such as Malabar spinach, New Zealand spinach, Jerusalem artichoke, jicama, chayote and the list goes on. The number of culinary herbs is large as is the number of edible flowers. So far, my list of miscellaneous edibles only includes sugar cane, monstera and vanilla (yep, the orchid) but who knows, by the time October comes I may have thought of a few more.

I will be teaching this class at six libraries (Mims/Scottsmoor, Titusville, Central Reference, Cocoa Beach, Satellite Beach and W. Melbourne Library) during the first two weeks in October. If you are interested in attending the class just give us a call at 633-1702.