PermaSolarPotter

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PermaSolarPotter
🛡️ permasolarpotter_at_mastodon.green@momostr.pink
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Second account for @potterybyosa where I discuss #gardening, #nativeplants, #composting, #permaculture, etc. Zone 10a.
Interested in African & Global Indigenous knowledge, building relationship with the Earth.
Solar powered home & pottery studio 🌞 + native/edible landscape 🌱 
PFP: Closeup of Thai red roselle blossoms
Header: My front yard with a green, bushy, native/edible landscape in the foreground, a veggie garden in the middle ground and my house in the background. Bright blue sky above.
The roselle harvest continues! What a gorgeous plant. The calyxes are maturing more quickly than we can get to them. I’ve been wanting to try making roselle jam but haven’t yet. This year, besides making tea, we’ve begun adding them to salads. The crispy texture, tart flavor and vibrant color are a great addition. And of course, we dry them so we can gift the tea to friends and enjoy it for months to come. #zone10 #tropical @Gardening
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The rainy season ended as abruptly as it began. It hasn’t rained heavily in weeks and we just used the last of the water in our rain tank ☹️ This is when #gardening becomes a challenge. The extreme of going from almost daily torrential downpours to no rain at all is really tough to adjust to.
The #Equinox made me consider the imbalance in my #gardening practice. We neglected our garden about a year ago and it took us a long time to spring back from that. So I think I’ve overcorrected by succession planting ad infinitum because my goal is to always have something to eat in the garden. But rest is important. Fallow periods are important. In temperate climates, ppl rest in the winter. Here, the summer is a time when gardeners take a break. I need to find a middle ground. #Balance
I just bought an ivy gourd plant (perennial cucumber). I haven’t heard of other #Florida gardeners growing it and I’m not sure if it’s because it’s uncommon or bc it has the potential to be invasive. I’m growing it in a pot to curb its invasive tendencies. I also bought some rainbow pigeon pea seeds from a FL gardener whose focus seems to be cultivating a diverse perennial garden. He grows about six or seven varieties of cassava alone. Diversity = resilience! #gardening #zone10
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Long beans round two! I planted some back in late spring and liked them so much I planted them again. These are two different varieties but I can’t remember their names anymore. One was a black seed and the other brown. A few years back, I planted some yard-long beans which are (obviously) way longer and I thought that’s what these were, but I was wrong. Anyway, a nice tropical bean that is delicious fresh or cooked. #gardening #zone10 image
It’s the 5th anniversary of the day that @Joey O’Mahoney and I closed on our house. I felt hesitant about homeownership because of the responsibility and because I’d never taken a loan from a bank before. Now, I see it as an enormous privilege and an opportunity to create a microcosm of the world we’d like to see. #EdibleLandscape #NativePlants #Pollinators #RainwaterCollection #Solar #ChipDrop #KillYourLawn #gardening image
I took the opportunity of a relatively cool, overcast day to feed the plantain tree. I gave it some chicken manure pellets and compost. Between the semi-regular rainfall and the olla, I haven’t had to hand water at all. I planted this guild of plantains, sweet potatoes and Thai red roselle in March. The largest plantain pup had two leaves on it at the time. I hope to see it flower by the end of the year. #zone10 #gardening #OllasByOsa #Subtropical #Florida #pottery
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It’s still super hot but the plants sense that it’s late summer and have begun to flower again. I love all mallow family plants and was given permission to collect seed from native cotton at the community garden the last time I volunteered. This is the first blossom from one of two plants I propagated—a fluffy cotton ball to follow. #NativePlants #gardening #Zone10 #Florida image
I planted some seeds this morning and then it finally decided to rain heavily for the first time in many days. Hallelujah! Here’s what I started. I’m #zone10 and this is an awkward time to start seeds—high heat and pest stress—so I have to be selective: Seminole pumpkin (round two!) Whippoorwill cowpeas Rosita eggplant Everglades tomatoes Globe amaranth Pigeon peas I’m jealous of everyone’s cucumbers & big tomatoes. We have to wait until mid fall for that. #subtropical #gardening