It’s Valentine’s Day, and that means flowers. Lots and lots of flowers. If you’d prefer to grow your own, the good news is that this month sees Florida warming up and drawing closer to our last frost dates. Flowers for Florida for gardeners means it’s time to start sowing and planting.
Purchasing Flowering Plants and Bedding Plants
If you plan to purchase plants at your local nursery or home improvement center, you can begin planting them out now in South Florida. Be aware that some of these plants have been treated with systemic pesticides. While these make it easier for the grower to present you with beautiful, undamaged plants, it can also mean they could harm your pollinators.
Be especially diligent by avoiding plants that have been treated with Neonicotinoid insecticides. These are particularly harmful to bees.
Sowing Flower Seeds
You can avoid all synthetic pesticides when you sow your own flower seeds. Florida flower gardeners are particularly lucky, as our growing season is long enough to allow some scheduling leeway for sowing from seed.
The USDA and Farmer’s Almanac say that South Florida doesn’t have a last frost date. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be careful with tender seedlings.
In February, it’s still a good idea to nurture small seedlings under cover in case of a late frost or cold snap. This winter, it seems more important than ever. We seem to be heading toward a trend of cooler winters. Last year, we had a cold snap in mid-March.
Some varieties you can plant out or start in seed trays include:
The last frost date for Zones 9a and 9b fall in mid-to-late February. While you can still plant out fully developed plants from the nursery, starting fast-growing annuals from seed right now is a great way to reduce your landscaping costs.
For flowers in February, plant out starter plants of the following varieties. You can still start seeds as well, and plant out in 4 to 6 weeks. This will ensure that none of your plants are damaged by a late cold snap.
The last frost for Zone 8 falls in mid-March. So, it may be too early to plant out most flowers for Florida. However, it’s a great time to sow annual flowers for your butterfly garden indoors or under cover where you can keep them warm.
Consider the following varieties for planting out or sowing now:
agapanthus
asters
bee balm
crinum lily bulbs
dahlia bulbs
dianthus
lavender
nigella
pansies
snapdragons
viola
Flowers for Florida in February Guaranteed
One of the best ways to ensure you’ll have flowers in February is to plant out perennial flower bushes in the previous fall. Our mild temperatures and regular fall rainfall create the perfect conditions to establish flowering bushes and trees like plumbago, duranta, and hibiscus.
It seems there is far too much to do in February for the Florida gardener, but we’re lucky. You can plant annual flower seeds nearly year-round for a regular succession of colorful blooms.
One of the reasons we can grow year-round in Florida is because most of the state sits on the border of temperate and tropical climates. So, it doesn’t take much to push the edges of your growing season. In fact, you can often push them right into the next season. It gives us more leeway to take advantage of Florida garden microclimates that can make all the difference between winter and spring.
Florida does get too cold to garden. We found that out over Christmas 2022, when temperatures reached below or near freezing for four nights in a row throughout the state.
It also gets too dang hot in the summer for most garden vegetables. And if it’s not technically too hot, it’s too humid or just too rainy.
The good news is that there are specific steps you can take to both identify and create specialized microclimates in your garden that will improve your results.
Identifying Your Own Florida Garden Microclimates
When you think about garden design, you may think of the grand landscape gardens of England or the highly restrained gardens in the Western U.S. Both design approaches create a serene and inviting garden space.
However, it’s hard to find many examples of the best way to design a garden for food production or self-sufficiency. Of course, you could take a permaculture course or hire a consultant.
I personally would love to try out David the Good’s Grocery Row Gardening system, but honestly, I just don’t have the room. My growing space has already been designed in a circular pattern, and there’s no way to put up rows of anything without tearing out a lot of already established plantings.
However, if you don’t have the time or patience — at least right now — for a full-scale re-engineering of your property, you’re probably just looking for a few ideas for a new setup or ways to tweak your current layout.
The first step is identifying the microclimates that already exist on your property and making the most of them by choosing the right plants for them.
Bananas can help create microclimates in a Florida Garden
Finding the Hot Spots
Finding a sunny spot in a Florida garden isn’t really a difficult task, usually. However, sometimes you want warmth without actually having more sun. For example, during the winter, shade-loving plants need protection from any cold snap without getting burned (ask my coffee plants, and they’ll tell you).
Heat-Loving Edible Plants for Florida
Florida gardeners plant a wide variety of heat-loving plants. But there’s a catch. Only the most heat-tolerant of these will survive our summer conditions. Many won’t make it past May or June unless they are already well-established and already in fruit.
That said, finding the warm pockets of your garden is important when you want to take advantage of our mild spring and long autumn conditions.
Some of the most common heat-loving plants we grow include:
Peppers
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Melon
Squash
Once you find those warmer microclimates, you can plant out these vegetables in late February or grow them through November and even December. Sometimes, you can grow peppers and tomatoes year-round in Florida.
Identifying Warm Microclimates
First and most obvious, look for the areas of your garden that get the most sun or the longest length of sun. It sometimes pays to spend a day off checking for the patterns of light and shade throughout the day.
You’ll also have to repeat this fact-finding mission several times a year as the angle of the sun changes. However, once you spend a year’s worth of seasons taking notes every month or three, you won’t have to repeat this unless there are drastic changes in the environment.
Other things to look for when determining your garden microclimates are:
Look for areas around your home or shed. Most cement-block houses, ubiquitous in Florida, absorb heat throughout the day and can provide a pocket of warmth throughout the night. Even the light-colored ones. I have to move everything away from the south-facing walls during the summer, or even the peppers and tomatoes fry by 4 pm.
Areas under trees and tall bushes often hold in heat and can create a warm microclimate of their own. While this may not be a great place for sun-loving plants, it’s usually superior for those shade-loving plants (i.e. coffee plants). It’s also a great place to move container plants during a cold snap for temporary protection.
Find the low-lying areas of your garden space. They’re less exposed to the wind and tend to retain heat better.
Look for dark, dense soils, as they retain both water and heat better than sandy soils. You may not have any to work with but do check to be sure.
Looking for Moisture Retention
Florida is known for its marshes and wetlands. This means we have some beautiful native plant species specially adapted to damp conditions. I’m currently cultivating scarlet mallow and looking forward to sharing these beautiful native hibiscus-type blooms with customers in a couple of months.
Moisture Loving Edible Plants for Florida
Edible plants that we commonly grow in Florida that prefer damp feet include:
Cabbages
Cauliflower
Snow and Snap peas
Arugula
Taro root
And most ironically, except for Taro, most of these are winter plants, which are the driest month of the year in Florida. While it’s far more pleasant to spend time outdoors with a garden hose when it’s 70°F rather than 95°F, it does become time-consuming and expensive. Not to mention the drain on the fresh water supply.
To save on watering costs, look for the areas of your garden space that provides the best water retention. Some things to look for are:
Areas with some mid-day shade
Low-lying areas where rainwater accumulates
Places near bushes or hedges
Heavier soils with some clay content
North-facing areas where less sunlight results in less evaporation
Other thirsty vegetables you might want to grow in low-lying areas that also offer plenty of sunlight include cucumbers, peppers, and squash. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of recognizing the angle of sunlight during the summer vs. the winter.
Sad Tomato
Finding Areas with Excellent Drainage
Some edible plants really need good drainage to thrive. Normally, they’re well suited to growing in our sandy soil. However, if you’ve ever had to watch a once-beautiful and well-established rosemary bush suffer, drown, and die after a Florida rainy season, you’ll understand why finding the dry parts of your garden can be critical.
Arid-Loving Plants for Florida Vegetable Gardens
Many edible plants commonly grown in Florida enjoy the good drainage of our sandy soil. Some will even thrive during the hottest part of the year.
Those that prefer dry conditions include:
Most Mediterranean culinary herbs
Rosemary
Sage
Thyme
Oregano
Marjoram
Chard
Eggplant
Grain amaranth
Irish potatoes
Okra
Southern peas
Sweet potatoes
Drought-Tolerant Chard
In most cases, finding the warmest spots in the garden will help create drier conditions, but also look for:
Longest hours of sun exposure (and hence, evaporation)
Light-colored, sandy soil (which is easy to find in Florida)
Elevated areas upslope that provide the best drainage during summer rainstorms
Open areas with a lower concentration of plants
Understanding Florida Garden Microclimates is a Critical Skill
With wilder weather patterns and increasing shifts and instability of seasonal conditions, Florida gardeners who are determined to grow their own food simply need to understand how microclimates work.
For example, the record-breaking freezes of Christmas 2022 truly revealed how well using the right planting location can work. I know I learned a few lessons. The heat-loving peppers I had out in the garden stood up just fine to the freezes under a light cover. That’s because they were planted near a banana circle, which provided both a warmer microclimate and protection from the wind.
In contrast, more cold-tolerant plants that were not under a tree canopy simply gave up the ghost.
When growing vegetables over winter in Florida, the wind is just as much a threat as frost during a cold snap.
Mapping Microclimates
There are ways to make your existing Florida garden microclimates more functional as well as ways to create new microclimates you may not already have. That’s a subject for a future post. To get started, note down the ones that currently exist that you can work with.
It’s a good idea to map out the existing microclimates in your garden. If you’re interested in supporting this blog and need a well-organized place to keep those maps and notes, then pick up our Florida garden planner. It has grid sheets where you can map out any of your garden beds individually or as an overall master plan.
The old adage “Right Plant, Right Place,” is a universal gardening Truth. Identifying the microclimates in your Florida garden is the first step to mastering this skill.
There’s a lot of controversy floating around about the quality of chicken feed right now. Is it tainted? Maybe it’s just poor quality. If your girls have been failing in the nest box, you may be looking for a way to improve their diet. Spring is on its way, and egg production is ramping up. Start looking for some common Florida weeds for chickens to help keep them in top condition.
When it comes down to the health of your homestead and its ability to be self-sufficient, finding ways to feed your chickens from your own land is always a good strategy.
Your ecosystem may be different, but I’ve discovered three common Florida weeds that my chickens simply adore. Best of all, they provide extra nutrition and a good solution for unwanted invaders in the garden bed.
1. Pellitory, Parietaria pensylvanica
More specifically – “Pennsylvania Pellitory” – also called Chicken’s Delight.
Pellitory grows like mad in my Zone 10a suburban garden. It’s native to North America and is usually found in lightly shaded spots, normally in the corners of garden beds and along fences. It’s an annual weed that grows vigorously in the fall and winter.
Pellitory contains a wide range of important nutrients for laying hens. A 100-gram serving of pellitory contains:
Energy: 23 kcal
Protein: 2.1 g
Total Fat: 0.3 g
Total Carbohydrate: 4.7 g
Fiber: 3.2 g
Sugar: 0.7 g
Important vitamins and minerals in Pennsylvania pellitory include:
Vitamin C: 49 mg (55% of the daily recommended value)
Vitamin A: 497 IU (10% of the daily recommended value)
Folate: 95 mcg (24% of the daily recommended value)
Calcium: 140 mg (14% of the daily recommended value)
Iron: 2.6 mg (14% of the daily recommended value)
Magnesium: 47 mg (12% of the daily recommended value)
Pennsylvania pellitory also contains small amounts of other vitamins and minerals, including vitamin K, vitamin B6, potassium, and phosphorus.
Of all the common Florida weeds for chickens, this one is my favorite. It pulls up like a dream! If you can’t free-range your birds because of local codes, or predators, or to protect your garden, you’ll find harvesting pellitory a sheer joy. It’s very satisfying to pull it up in big clumps. It just slips out of the soil with no resistance.
2. Spanish Needle, Bidens alba
There are two types of Floridians: Those who know and love Bidens alba as a beautiful native flower that nurtures and sustains wildlife year round. Then there is the other type of Floridian – the kind that hates Bidens alba with the heat of 100 burning suns. I have been both types of Floridian. Sometimes, I have been both types on the same day.
But bees love Bidens, and bunnies love Bidens, and so do chickens.
And Bidens may just love chickens right back. Some recent studies found that a closely related species, Bidens pilosa, acts as a prebiotic for them and may even help prevent or lessen the damage of coccidiosis.
Don’t kill your Bidens. If it all comes down to it, it’s nutritious for people, too. In fact, it may be the hot-weather green we’ve all been needing. I’ve read that it’s grown intentionally as a crop for humans in Africa and sauteed with a peanut sauce. I may try that, someday.
Until then, it makes a great supplement for chickens. It has an impressive nutritional profile:
Energy: 23 kcal
Protein: 2.2 g
Total Fat: 0.5 g
Total Carbohydrate: 4.7 g
Fiber: 2.6 g
Sugar: 0.6 g
It also offers plenty of vitamins and minerals:
Vitamin C: 47 mg (52% of the daily recommended value)
Vitamin A: 508 IU (10% of the daily recommended value)
Folate: 54 mcg (14% of the daily recommended value)
Calcium: 69 mg (7% of the daily recommended value)
Iron: 1.6 mg (9% of the daily recommended value)
Magnesium: 47 mg (12% of the daily recommended value)
In lesser amounts, it also offers vitamin K, vitamin B6, potassium, and phosphorus.
Purslane and Portulaca
If you’re like most Florida gardeners, you probably snicker when you pass the racks of seeds or bedding plants at big box stores and see them selling portulaca. I mean, the stuff grows as a weed here, and many lawncare neatniks spend hours trying to get rid of it.
Our state ag has a whole page for farmers on how to get rid of the stuff!
Most of the purslane or portulaca you’ll see in nurseries is a variety from India, Portulaca oleracea. The kind that pops up in most Florida lawns is pink portulaca, or Portulaca Pilosa, which is native to Florida. Both are lovely, and both are edible for chickens and humans.
3. Kiss Me Quick, Portulaca Pilosa
The chickens will have to fight me for the native variety. Not to eat! I just think they’re the cutest things. I wouldn’t mind if my whole yard was made up of them.
A 100-gram serving of Kiss-Me-Quick for chickens provides:
Energy: 17 kcal
Protein: 2.1 g
Total Fat: 0.2 g
Total Carbohydrate: 2.0 g
Fiber: 2.1 g
Sugar: 0.6 g
Essential vitamins and minerals include:
Vitamin C: 36 mg (40% of the daily recommended value)
Vitamin A: 755 IU (15% of the daily recommended value)
Folate: 81 mcg (20% of the daily recommended value)
Calcium: 132 mg (14% of the daily recommended value)
Iron: 1.9 mg (11% of the daily recommended value)
Magnesium: 39 mg (10% of the daily recommended value)
That’s a nice dose of calcium, which is required for healthy egg production. So, perhaps the chickens will win this one.
Portulaca pilosa also contains vitamin K, potassium, and phosphorus.
4. Common Purslane, Portulaca oleracea
The non-native portulaca usually comes in two varieties: purslane, which is the one with the flat leaves, and portulaca, the one with the cylindrical leaves. They’re both decorative plants or weeds, depending on your viewpoint.
Purslane seems to find its way into many Florida gardens, hopping pots from garden centers or catching a ride on wildlife. Many find it a delicious and nutritious addition to salads. The tangy flavor makes it one of those forage standbys.
For chickens, it provides:
Energy: 15 kcal
Protein: 1.6 g
Total Fat: 0.3 g
Total Carbohydrate: 2.0 g
Fiber: 1.5 g
Sugar: 0.4 g
It also has important vitamins and minerals:
Vitamin C: 16 mg (18% of the daily recommended value)
Vitamin A: 394 IU (8% of the daily recommended value)
Folate: 82 mcg (21% of the daily recommended value)
Calcium: 87 mg (9% of the daily recommended value)
Iron: 2.0 mg (11% of the daily recommended value)
Magnesium: 49 mg (12% of the daily recommended value)
Vitamin K, vitamin B6, potassium, and phosphorus also make up purslane’s nutritional label.
The Chicken Feed Debate In an Egg Shell
The cost of eggs in the grocery stores has skyrocketed. First, the Avian Flu purge, and now our own chickens are coming up short.
Some internet influencers in the homesteading arena are claiming that big feed producers are distributing poor-quality feed. There are even a few outliers that say that this is all part of some big conspiracy to deny Americans of wholesome food, making them more reliant on Big Ag and government handouts.
I’m a bit more inclined to blame corporate greed. The U.S. imports far too many agricultural products from China, including pet foods. And unscrupulous manufacturers there are known to melamine, a plastic, to pet foods and treats, to falsely boost their protein content numbers. They’ve even done it to baby food!
We may never unravel all of the true causes of the Great Egg Shortage. There may be a host of reasons that our chickens seem to be laying fewer eggs this year.
It could be poor-quality food with cheaper ingredients to make more money. It could also be no more malicious than stale, old food that sat in warehouses due to the supply chain issues.
It could be the wonky weather we’re having lately, with record-breaking heatwaves and record-breaking cold spells. Sometimes both in the same month, if you live in Florida.
It could just be that the post-pandemic world has made us more aware of the physical signs of dis-ease and more suspicious of changes in ourselves and our animals.
Add These Common Florida Weeds for Chickens for Free
In the long view, the cause doesn’t really matter. What really matters is taking care of what’s ours to nurture. Adding these four common Florida weeds for chickens to their daily diet can help.
Food loses nutritional value when it sits on the shelves. If it loses value sitting in your shed for three months, think of how much it loses when it has to cross the planet on a ship. Or even cross the country on a truck. Buy locally-produced feed whenever possible. Not only does it retain more nutritional value, it also helps support businesses in your community.
You can grow food for your chickens, like marigolds and brassicas. But why not make better use of those pesky weeds in your yard? Just remember that you’ll need to stop using herbicides and pesticides.
While they may not provide everything your chickens need, they’re a welcome dose of calories, protein, vitamins, and minerals. Times are tough, and if you’re buying commercial feed on the cheap, it may even provide critical micronutrients that don’t find their way into the budget-grade chicken formula.
Most Florida gardeners are starting to plan our fall gardens right about now. Even if it’s still way too hot to work outside. We can sit indoors in the air conditioning with a sweet tea, watching the storms, dreaming of an abundance of vegetables in just a few months. But what vegetable varieties are you planning?
If you’re wondering what vegetables to grow in Florida, the answer is all of them!
English plantswoman and gardening icon Beth Chatto taught us “Right plant, right place.”
In Florida, we get another dimension – the right time.
We’re heading for fall. We’re ready for fall. We know when. We even know where.
All we need now is to know which are the right plants.
Understanding Vegetable Varieties
Plants fall into different families, and these are separated into different genera, and then different species.
Within species, say, tomatoes, you’ll find different “varieties.” Some are natural varieties produced by mutation. Others have been cultivated by people for specific characteristics..
Plant Families
Plants in the same families share similar characteristics in their germination, growth, flowering, and fruiting habits. Some of the most common plant families in home gardening include these plant families.
Many gardeners swear by rotating every plot on their land by these plant families. Theoretically, any soil disease or pest that develops over one season is sure to damage the same type of plant in the following season.
The issue of nutrients is also a factor. Some plant families all require a great deal of nitrogen. Repeatedly growing members of these plant families in the same plot can lead to nitrogen depletion and poor results.
Common Plant Families in Gardening
While not wholly inclusive, the following represent some of the more common plant families in home gardens.
Solanaceae
Also known as the “nightshade” family, this group includes some of the most popular home garden vegetables.
Tomatoes
Peppers
Eggplants
Tomatillo
Irish Potatoes
Cucurbitaceae
We often refer to these as cucurbits, and this family (for gardening purposes) includes many vining gourds:
Cucumbers
Pumpkins
Zucchini
Butternut squash
Melons
Fabaceae
This is the legume family, which are those that harvest nitrogen from the atmosphere and store it in nodules in their roots. This includes a wide range of garden beans as well as other crops, like clover and alfalfa, which fix nitrogen into the soil in the same way.
Bush beans
Pole beans
English Peas
Snow peas
Southern peas
Brassicaceae
Commonly referred to as cole crops, the brassicas include all those wonderful winter vegetables with dark green and delicious leaves.
Broccoli
Mustard greens
Cabbages
Collards
Turnips
Radishes
Alliaceae
Even a homegrown meal would be a little dull without these members of the onion, or allium, family.
Onions
Green onions
Garlic
Shallots
Chives
Lamiaceae
Many of our culinary herbs are members of this family, often called the “mint” family.
Mint
Basil
Rosemary
Sage
Oregano
Apiaceae
These cool-season crops are all members of the parsley family, and include:
Carrots
Parsley
Cilantro
Fennel
Celery
Chenopodiaceae
We don’t normally call these by their common name, the “Goosefoot” family, but this group includes:
Beets
Chard
Spinach
Asteraceae
Although they look nothing alike, many home gardeners grow members of the “aster” family in their home gardens:
Lettuce
Artichoke
Sunflower
Vegetable Varieties and Hybrids
So, if you’re wondering which of these vegetables to grow in Florida, the answer is any of them that you want, as long as you plant in the right season for our wonky weather. However, if you want to improve your rate of success, you’ll look for varieties that have proven themselves in our climate.
What are Vegetable Varieties
You may have heard the term “variety” or may have seen the term “cultivar.” Many gardeners use them interchangeably, and I suppose I am one of them, although I know better.
When it comes to vegetables, however, home gardeners only need to understand the difference between a variety and a hybrid. Especially if you grow from seed.
Varieties are a type of plant that is in all important aspects just like any other member of its species. However, it has demonstrated a small difference, such as the color of the flower or the shape of the fruit.
Nature is wonderful. It’s always mutating to fill the gaps.
Gardening in Florida is one of those gaps. Trying to grow vegetables that most of us recognize and want to eat in a subtropical climate is definitely a specialized niche. A gap, as it were.
So, you may find that some naturally occurring varieties do better in our climate than others. In some cases, careful scientists from our heroic Ag Department have spent years nurturing these sports to ensure they will perform true to type.
What are Vegetable Hybrids
Then there are hybrids. Hybrid seeds are often one-offs that have been bred to perform in specific conditions.
F1 Hybrid: A combination of two distinct varieties of plants that will produce a known result.
F2 Hybrid: Seeds produced by self or open pollination in F1 plant fruits
F3 Hybrid: Seeds produced by self or open pollination F2 plants
You’ll rarely find F2 or F3 seeds for sale because the results can vary so much. You may collect them and experiment with them.
You’ll definitely find plenty of F1 Hybrid plant seeds on the market when you’re shopping for your fall garden. They have some distinct advantages and two very solid disadvantages.
Pros
Bred for a unique or particularly attractive appearance
Combines the best of two parent varieties
Generally produced to be resistant to several diseases
Cons
Usually expensive
Not a good candidate for seed saving
Choosing the Best Vegetable Varieties for Florida Gardens
Now you know a few of the basics about what constitutes a variety and a hybrid. You’re going to want to know which ones the best for your garden.
YMMV – which to me, in gardening, means, “Your Microclimate May Vary.”
I’ve collected some varieties (and hybrids) for consideration. These selections have been recommended by Florida state Ag experts or other experienced growers. Some have been solid gold winners for me.
Some are heirlooms, some are simply open-pollinated, and some are hybrids. Knowing which they are can help you decide to buy or not. This may depend on your budget and your desire to save seed for next season.
All are in alphabetical order.
Bush Beans
Annihilator
Bush Blue Lake
Cherokee Wax
Contender
Roma II
Royal burgundy
Tenderette
Tendergreen improved
Pole Beans
Blue Lake
Dixie Butterpea Lima beans
Early Thorogreen Lima beans
Foodhook 242 Lima beans
Kentucky Wonder
McCaslan
Storage / Shell Beans
Wase Adzuki
Beans, Long/Snake
Kurosanjaku
Mosaic Yardlong Beans
Red Noodle
White Seeded
You Fong Wong Yardlong Beans
Beets
Asgrow Wonder
Cylindra
Detroit Dark Red
Early Wonder
Green Top
Little Ball
Pacemaker III
Red Ace
Heading Broccoli
Early Dividend
Early Green
Green Duke
Green Goliath
Green Sprouting
Packman
Waltham
Sprouting/Flowering Broccoli
Calabrese
De Cicco
Piracicaba
Brussels Sprouts
Jade Cross
Long Island Improved
Cabbage
Bravo
Bronco
Copenhagen market
Flat Dutch
Rio Verde
Round Dutch
Savoy Red Acre
Wakefield
Asian Greens and Cabbages
Cabbage Blues
Choho Hybrid Tatsoi
Early Mizuna
Green Rocket
Green Spray Mibuna
Jung Green
Kosaitai
Okame Hybrid Spinach
Red Komatsuna Tatsoi
Shuka Flowering
Tokyo Bekana
Wakamine Green
Melons
Ambrosia Cantaloupe
Athena Cantaloupe
Charleston Grey 133 watermelon
Crimson Sweet watermelon
Florida Giant watermelon
Galia Cantaloupe
Ginkaku Korean Melon
Hakucho Charentais Cantaloupe
Hime Kansen Icebox Watermelon
Honey Rock Cantaloupe
Ichiba Kouji Honeydew
Jubilee Watermelon
Sugar Baby Watermelon
Carrots
Chantenay
Danvers
Imperator 58
Kuroda Subtropical
Lunar White
Nantes
Purple Haze
Solar Yellow
White Satin
Cauliflower
Brocoverde
Cheddar
Graffiti
Snow Crow
Snowball
Celery
Conquistador
Giant Pascal
Giant Red
Golden Pascal
Utah
Collards
Georgia
Georgia Southern
Morris Heading
Top Bunch
Vates
Corn, Sweet
Early Sunglow
How Sweet It Is
Kandy Korn
Merit
Peaches and Cream
Silver Queen
Sweet Ice
Sweet Riser
Corn, Field
Black Aztec
Bloody butcher
Blue Clarage
Hickory King
Johnson County White
Mandan Bride
Reid’s Yellow
Roy’s Calais
Seneca Red
Tennessee Red Cob
Trucker’s Favorite
Cucumber, Slicing
Ashley
Bush Slicer
Cherokee
Dasher II
General Lee
Greensleeves
Marketmore 76
Poinsett
Sooyow Nishiki
Speedway
Summer Dance
Sweet Success
Thunder
Cucumber, Pickling
Boston
Calypso
Eureka
Jackson classic
Napoleon
Royal
Transamerica
Endive
Batavian Broadleaf
Garlic
Lorz Italian
Thermadrone
Eggplant
Asian Bride
Black Beauty
Cloud Nine
Dusky Long
Florida Market
Ichiban
Mizuno Takumi
Shoyo Long
Kale
Blue Curled Scotch
Dwarf Blue
Lacinato (dinosaur)
Red Russian
Siberian
Suiho Chinese
Winterbor
Kohlrabi
Early White Vienna
Purple Vienna
Lettuce
Heading
Bibb
Buttercrunch
Ermosa
Great Lakes
Manoa
Okayama Buttercrunch
Tom Thumb
Looseleaf
Black Seeded Simpson
Oak Leaf
Red Deer Tongue
Red Fire Leaf
Red Sails
Ruby Red Leaf
Salad Bowl
Cos
Jericho Romaine
Outredgeous
Parris Island Cos
Red Romaine
Mustard Greens
Florida Broadleaf
Giant Red
Greenwave
Southern Giant Curled
Okra
Annie Oakley II
Burgundy
Cajun Delight
Clemson Spineless
Emerald
Jambalaya
Onion, Bulbing
Cippolini White
Granex
Granex Yellow
Matador Shallot
Shonan Red
Superex “Maui”
Texas Grano
Tropicana Red
White Libson
Onions, Green
Evergreen bunching
English peas
Green Arrow
Oregon Sugarpod II
Sugar Snap
Wando
Southern Peas
California Blackeye No 6
Hull
Pinkeye Purple
Pinkeye Purple Hull cowpeas
Southern Seminole
Texas Cream
Peppers, Sweet
Big Bertha
California Wonder
Chinese Big Red
Sweet Banana
Peppers, Hot
Ancho
Cayenne
Ghost pepper
Habanero
Hungarian Hot Wax
Jalapeno
Irish potatoes
French Fingerling
Red Pontiac
Yukon Gold
Pumpkins
Jack O Lantern
Seminole
Quinoa
Brightest Brilliant Rainbow
Radish
Cherry Belle
French Breakfast
Giant White Daikon
Hailtone
Karaine Daikon
Mantanghong Beauty
Scarlet Globe
Sparkler White
Rutabaga
American Purple Top
Spinach
Bloomsdale Longstanding
Viroflay
Summer Squash
Aehobak Korean
Black Beauty Zucchini
Chayote
Cocozelle Zucchini
Crookneck
Desert Zucchini hybrid
Early White Scallop
Spineless Beauty Zucchini
Teot Bat Avocado Squash
Winter Squash
Butterscotch Butternut
Calabaza
Spaghetti
Table Queen Acorn
Tatume
Waltham Butternut
Sweet Potatoes
Beauregard
Swiss Chard
Bright Lights
Canary
Fantasia Orange
Flamingo
Fordhook Giant
Perpetual Spinach
Pink Lipstick
Red Ruby
Determinate Tomatoes
Celebrity
Floradade
Floragold
Homestead
Maraglobe
Solar Set
Tasti-lee
Indeterminate Tomatoes
Amelia
Better Boy
Bonnie’s Best
Celebrity
Cherokee purple
Green Zebra
Heat Wave II
Mortgage Lifter
Cherry Tomatoes
Everglades
Gardener’s Delight
Sun Gold Cherry
Sweet 100
Sweetie
Paste Tomatoes
San Marzano
Turnips
Japanese Red Round
Purple Top White Globe
Seven Top
Strawberries
Camarosa
Chandler
Festival
Florida Beauty
Florida Brilliance
Florida Radiance
Oso Grande
Sweet Charlie
Sweet Sensation
Tropical Greens
Green Leaf Amaranth (callaloo)
Molokhia Egyptian Spinach
New Zealand spinach
Red Garnet Amaranth
White Leaf amaranth
Finding Seeds for the Best Vegetable Varieties to Grow in Florida
It’s not hard to find seeds many vegetable varieties for our subtropical climate. But you will need to look outside the box. Instead of shopping at the big box stores, check out smaller specialty suppliers.
In the South, it’s just too hot and humid for gardening much. We’re reduced to an hour or two of tolerable temperatures in the morning and maybe at dusk. But the good news is that we don’t have to forgo all gardening completely. There are many heat-tolerant annual flowers that thrive in the scorching sun, and many of them reach maturity pretty quickly.
Summer is when vegetable gardens in the South seem to perish in front of our very eyes. (If you’ve seen bacterial blight, then you know what I’m talking about.) Forget about summer tomatoes, much less lettuce. Our peppers will survive the summer, but don’t expect much in the way of a harvest.
So, it’s time to turn to sturdier, less fussy garden plants, and you may wonder what flowers tolerate full sun and heat?
Heat-Tolerant Annual Flowers You Can Plant Now
June 1st is when I turn my attention to ornamentals. I used to stick to perennial flowering bushes because of the low-care factor. June is a fine time to take cuttings, too.
However, once I discovered what annuals are heat tolerant and can thrive in our damp summers, I’ve found that annuals can flourish with summer neglect as well.
Best of all, most grow quickly and require little care. So, once they’ve germinated and put out true leaves, you won’t even need to stand in the blazing sun to water them.
Indian Blanket Flower, Gaillardia pulchella
Indian Blanket Flower is a quick-growing annual that just loves the heat. It’s native to the eastern and southeastern U.S., and while it’s drought-resistant, it can handle more moisture than its Western cousin, the Common Blanket Flower.
So, if you have hot, wet summers, like we do in Florida, Indian Blanket will add color to sunny areas in your garden. It will also tolerate partial shade. It reaches 1 to 2 feet high, with bright, cheerful yellow and red flowers.
It’s considered of special value to native bee populations as well. If you’re gardening for wildlife and don’t have room in your beds for flowers, it’s also one of the best heat tolerant annuals for containers.
Indian Blanket is one of the heat-tolerant annual flowers that are perennial in subtropical coastal regains. And in many areas, it will reseed prolifically.
Best of all, you’ll get flowers in only about 8 weeks!
You can purchase Indian Blanket Flower seeds here.
Coreopsis, Coreopsis tinctoria
Sometimes called tickseed and plains Coreopsis, the Florida state wildflower produces masses of happy yellow and red flowers that bees simply adore. It puts up with a lot – even a hot Southern summer. You’ll find coreopsis available in other shades, as well, with deep red being the most common.
If you have poor, sandy soil, coreopsis will love you and produce flowers in about 60 to 70 days. This Southern U.S. native wildflower requires no feeding but do like some moisture.
This wildflower ranges from 1 to 3 feet tall and flowers in about 80 to 90 days.
Purchase Coreopsis tinctoria seeds here, or Tall Red Coreopsis tinctoria seeds here.
Salvias
Salvias are often perennial in the South, which makes them a particularly good choice for summer color. When the temperatures start to rise, it’s nice to know that your future holds flowers, even if it’s too hot for gardening.
Scarlet Sage
Salvias come in a range of colors, but Scarlet Salvia is native to the southeast and provides food for hummingbirds and butterflies. Its natural range is coastal areas, from South Carolina, around Florida, and up the Gulf Coast to Texas. Best of all, it blooms nearly all year long in subtropical climates and self-seeds like a champ.
Even though it’s native to the Southwest, Blue Salvia (Salvia farinacea), or Blue Sage, also does well in the Southeast. Hummingbirds love it and in frost-free areas, it will bloom year-round.
Because it’s so drought-tolerant, it makes a fantastic water-wise flower to add to your landscaping or butterfly garden.
Zinnias are native to Mexico and Central America, and have become naturalized to the Southwest U.S. But they grow anywhere that offers heat and sunshine. They come in a wide range of colors and heights, and they’re easy to grow.
Zinnias are a no-brainer for summer color, particularly for beginning gardeners, lazy gardeners, and kids. These heat-tolerant annual flowers germinate in as little as three days in the right conditions, but no more than 7 to 10. Best of all, they flower in about 50 days, which means you can add them now and add beauty to your garden well before fall.
Celosia looks like we feel on the beach in July – like we’ve burst into flames. In fact, the name is derived from the Greek word for “burning.” It’s a dramatic addition to any garden because of the vivid colors and unique flame shape.
It likes some moisture but loves full sun. You’ll find it in a range of bright, jewel-toned colors.
There are a variety of flower shapes, however, including Celosia cristata, which is also called cockscomb. Celosia spicata resembles wheat.
They offer plenty of nectar for bees and butterflies, but also make excellent dried flowers.
Cosmos looks so delicate, but it’s tough as nails in the summer garden. This Mexican native plant loves the heat and will thrive under the sun.
Cosmos feature frothy, fernlike leaves reaching from 2 to 4 feet tall. They have small, dainty blossoms in a wide range of colors. Most are in the pink and white shades, but you’ll also find them in rich maroons and deep lavender.
They’ll grow anytime the weather is warm and bloom in only two months. So, it’s not too late to grow a cottage-garden style annual flower, even in June.
And a dwarf variety here that only reaches about 1 foot tall.
French Marigolds
These sunny, yellow flowers just seem built for hot summer gardens. French marigolds are usually just called “marigolds” in the U.S., but it distinguishes them from Calendula, which are commonly called “marigolds” in the UK and EU.
French marigolds are members of the Tagetes genus and native to Mexico and Central America.
French marigolds are long-lived annuals with a wide range of colors, heights, and growth habits. Some reach as tall as 3 feet, while other works as a compact ground cover. Because of their compact growth, they’re one of the best heat tolerant annuals for containers.
As well as being easy to grow, they’re also easy to propagate. You can take cuttings at nearly any time during the active season, so if you can preserve your favorite bloom color indefinitely.
They grow quickly and mature in about 45 to 50 days, tolerating heat and drought once established.
If you like height and drama during the hot summer days, consider adding Tithonia to your flower garden. It isn’t a fast-growing annual, like others on this list, but in areas of the country with mild or late winters, it will bloom beautifully throughout the fall until the first frost of winter
Tithonia delivers heights up to 6 feet tall and can grow up to 3 feet wide. It features soft, spade-shaped foliage and vivid orange flowers with red centers.
It prefers poor, well-draining soil and can be sown directly or into large cells for transplanting.
Heat Tolerant Annual Flowers Add Sunshine During the Rainy Season
Depending on where you live in the South, summer can really be the gloomiest time of the year. Much of the Gulf Coast and Atlantic Coast enjoy a rainy season, with regular storm watches. Some years, it seems that most of the color is in the cocktails we concoct for Hurricane Parties.
But I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be that way.
Sure, your spring tomatoes are all dead. The squash has been quashed by pests. The latest storm blew over your pole beans.
Even the bananas, who should be able to stand up to all this, seem sad and beaten.
It’s not too late to add a little color to your Southern garden with some fast-growing annuals.
With our mild winters and subtropical climate, many gardeners assume we can grow tomatoes all year round in Florida. The fact is that we can’t, but it’s not what you’d expect. Summer is a horrible time for anything but the semi-native, naturalized Everglades tomato variety. And sometimes it’s even too miserable for them.
Can you grow tomatoes in Florida in the winter? You sure can, if you approach it with some thoughtfulness. If you’ve never gardened before or you’re one of the many transplants from “up north,” it may seem like it’s hard to grow tomatoes at all in Florida.
But I remember growing up in the late 70s and hearing about the famous “Ruskin tomatoes.” They were a big deal in the Ohio suburbs, and since I was just a kid at the time, I can only speculate why. Before mass import of fresh produce became commonplace, Ruskin (Gulf Coast region, zone 9b-10a) was probably the first place to deliver fresh tomatoes in the spring in the Eastern U.S. So, obviously, you must be able to grow tomatoes in Florida in the winter, right?
If you look at some of the planting schedules published online for Florida, including our Florida Gardening Planner, you’ll note that for Central and South Florida, experts recommend starting tomato seeds for fall planting in August. My experience is that late July or any time in August is fine, and they’ll be ready for planting out in mid to late September.
This last year (2021) remained pretty hot and muggy well into October, so I felt comfortable planting out the remaining starter plants that month. In Central Florida, it currently stays pretty warm and mild throughout December, and we normally don’t get any real lows until January. That said, it’s pretty usual to have healthy, full-grown, and still-producing tomato plants on New Year’s Day.
But what about those cold snaps? How do you ensure that your tomatoes make it through the night? What’s the best way to grow tomatoes in the winter in Florida? How do you manage winter gardening in Florida when it’s impossible to predict the next cold snap?
Plan Early for Winter Growing
Getting your tomato seeds started in time is key to growing tomatoes over the winter in Florida. For zones 9 and 10, that means having starter plants ready to establish in the garden well before any temperature drops. Tomatoes should have at least 8 to 12 weeks in their final homes before cold nights hit to develop strong and healthy root systems.
Plant for Optimal Sun Exposure
Placement is also key to growing tomatoes in a Florida winter. Just because it’s 80 degrees doesn’t mean the days are any longer. Plant your tomatoes with southern exposure, ensuring they receive as much full sun as possible. You may have to water them more frequently but setting them up for success with plenty of sunlight will create more resilient plants.
This isn’t a technique recommended for growing tomatoes in the spring, when a little protection from the midday sun may be beneficial. For winter tomatoes, full sun is required.
Protect Against the Elements
Depending on where you live in Florida, winter winds can cause havoc. Coastal areas are particularly beaten by high winds. Plant your tomatoes where buildings or larger shrubs or trees can protect them from harsh gusts.
Reflect on This
A south-facing wall can help collect heat and reflect warmth back onto your plants during the night. So, whether you grow in containers or garden beds, take advantage of any light-colored walls that can help keep your tomato plants toasty warm.
Mindfulness
Paying attention to the weather forecast is a must for gardeners in any location. Take note of the forecast so you can prepare. The good news is that even when it drops below 50 degrees, or even 40 degrees, it rarely drops that low for long enough to completely kill your tomato plants.
Tomatoes don’t produce well with temperatures below 50 degrees F, but they can survive down to freezing temperatures. A short blast of cold can damage leaves and stunt growth, and extensive frost can kill your plants, whether it’s 40 degrees or 30. But you can provide protection overnight to give them their best chance.
Prepping your Tomatoes for Cold Snaps
Part of planning ahead for winter gardening in Florida includes planting your tomatoes where they can be easily covered. This may be in containers that can be moved, in a greenhouse or polytunnel, or even against a trellis or arbor that offers support for frost covers.
Another key factor when planning ahead is choosing the right tomato variety for winter growing. Tomatoes are either determinate or indeterminate. Determinate tomatoes only grow to a specified height — about 3 to 4 feet. Indeterminate varieties continue to grow and vine up to 6, 8, even 10 feet long. Covering a relatively short tomato plant for a cold snap is infinitely easier than a tall, vining variety. So, if you’re planning on growing your winter tomatoes outdoors rather than in a greenhouse or tunnel, you may want to stick to the determinate varieties.
Improving Resilience
Another way to help your tomatoes make it through cold spells is to ensure that it’s as healthy a plant as possible. A healthy tomato plant is far more likely to recover from any cold damage.
Watering
You may have noticed the specific weather pattern that often precedes a cold snap in Florida — a heavy rainfall. Winter and spring are some of our drier months in Central Florida, but we frequently get a good rainfall before a cold front hits. Take this as a clue from nature. Make sure to water your tomato plants deeply the day before the cold snap. Water keeps the individual cells of the foliage plump and strong, while moist soil stays warmer than dry soil.
In the case of tomatoes, it’s still a good idea to avoid getting the foliage wet, so water the ground, not the leaves.
Covering
There are a number of commercial products you can buy to cover your tomato plants during a cold snap, from lightweight fleece sheets to insulating blankets. In warmer areas of Florida, an old sheet or blanket will do. We’ve also repurposed a number of old beach towels. If you don’t have any leftover bedding, check your local thrift store and save yourself a small fortune.
Many is the time we’ve had an “all hands on deck” to dig through linen chests and closets to find old sheets. The whole family works together to cover the tomato plants, and it’s funny to see the old kids’ cartoon character sheets flapping in the breeze.
Sometimes it’s not hoarding, it’s being prepared.
All fabric covering should be dry before covering the plant. Drape the plant as completely as possible, from the top to the ground, ensuring the edge touches the ground and is well anchored to keep in the heat. Make sure that no branches will carry more weight than they can manage.
Don’t use plastic unless you can guarantee it will never touch the leaves. Frankly, it may not be worth using at all unless, of course, you have a polytunnel.
After Care
Helping your tomato plants recover from a cold snap is just as important as preparing for it. Make sure you remove any covering as soon as you can after the sunrise. If condensation has collected on the covers, you should remove them ASAP.
With our wacky winter temperature swings, it’s not impossible that the day after a cold dip will get up into the 80s and be blazing hot and dry. Check your weather forecast, and if it looks like you’re in for one of those days, you should go ahead and water your tomatoes again to help them recover from the stress.
Observe your tomato plants over the next few days. You may see some cold damage on the tips of the leaves. These can be trimmed off, but I normally leave them as they are.
If you have any casualties, you can remove any unripened fruits and place them on a warm kitchen counter. They should continue to ripen and be quite edible in a few days. (You can also do this before the cold snap hits if you have time.) Compost the remaining vegetation.
Your Own Resilience
Gardening isn’t just a production line, it’s a process. It’s a way of nurturing yourself by growing healthy food for yourself. It’s a way to connect with your land and interact with the (somewhat) natural world. Don’t be too hard on yourself if your winter tomatoes don’t make it. Winter gardening in Florida can be very rewarding, but there are risks.
Cultivate your own resilience by accepting gardening losses with a big dose of humor and by working for more diversity in your garden, rather than “results.”
And, after all, it’s time to sow your spring tomato starts. So, it won’t be long until you have a whole new collection of tomato plants to fuss over.
The rest of the country seems to be getting ready for winter. They’re unpacking their woolies and scarves and swooning over pumpkin spice lattes. But here in Florida, we’re still sweltering in the high 80s. And with Florida’s upside-down gardening schedule, you may be wondering what to plant in October.
Other Southern garden regions have the same dilemma. If you garden in New Orleans, Biloxi, or along coastal Texas, you know the gardening season has just really gotten underway.
That doesn’t mean it won’t get cold along the Gulf. It definitely will. But it usually doesn’t get cold enough to matter until late December or early January.
Last year threw us some curveballs. Temperatures dropped in Central Florida in late November, and it got REALLY cold in early December. Cold enough to matter. Cold enough to cover.
So, right now, in early October, the race is on to get roots in the ground and vegetables well established enough to survive any surprise cold snaps.
Knowing What to Plant in October
I’ve drawn data from several sources, especially the University of UF/IFAS website. But I’ve also been collecting data from other sources, including experienced gardeners and nurseries that include expanded selections far outside the limited one provided by UF.
There exists a plethora of exotic edibles from far-flung regions with the same climate and similar conditions. Why not take advantage of those resources?
Other regions that seem to mirror our unique gardening environment include parts of Southeast Asia, Central America, South America, and coastal areas in Australia.
I’ve drawn planting suggestions from gardeners and farmers in these regions as well, for those like me who like to experiment with new and interesting vegetable varieties.
North Florida
October begins the limits on planting out in North Florida, unless you have a greenhouse or a nurturing microclimate on the coast and a south-facing wall.
Cold-weather vegetables should do well, but be prepared to cover anything tender you planted out last month:
arugula
Asian cabbages
beets
broad beans
broccoli
cabbage
carrots
cauliflower
celery
chicory
chives
collards
English peas
fennel
French tarragon
green onions
kale
kohlrabi
lettuce
mizuna
mustard onion
sets
parsley
radish
rapini
rutabaga
salsify
shallots
spinach
strawberry crowns
turnips
Central Florida
The weather is still fine in Central Florida, and still warm enough to sneak in a few warm-season crops like tomatoes, summer squash, and melons.
Thankfully, it also gets cool enough for those plants to begin fruiting, as well. It’s also cool enough to consider planting herbs, peas, and lettuces.
arugula
Asian cabbages
beans, bush
beans, climbing
beets
broad beans
broccoli
cabbage
carrots
cauliflower
celery
chives
collards
cucumbers
daikon
English peas
fennel
French tarragon
green onions
horseradish crowns
kale
kohlrabi
lettuce
mizuna
mustard
onion sets
parsley
potatoes
pumpkins
radish
rapini
rosemary
salsify
shallots
snap peas
snow peas
spinach
strawberry crowns
summer squash
thyme
tomatoes
turnips
watermelons
South Florida
Summer vegetables are still a go-to for October gardening in South Florida. With few, if any, frosts, risk-taking gardeners can continue to plant out nearly anything their heart desires.
It’s still too warm for cold-loving plants like snap peas and some brassicas, but you can start these undercover to plant out next month if you like.
Asian cabbages
beans, climbing
beets
broccoli
Brussels sprouts
cabbage
carrots
cauliflower
celery
chili peppers
chives
collards
corn
cucumbers
eggplant
English peas
fennel
green onions
kale
kohlrabi
leeks
lettuce
mizuna
mustard
onion sets
parsley
peppers
potatoes
radish
rapini
rosemary
sage
shallots
southern peas
spinach
strawberry crowns
summer squash
thyme
tomatoes
tropical spinach
turnips
What to Plant in Florida Month-by-Month
For planning ahead for the Florida growing schedule, please check out my Florida Gardening Planner on Amazon. It provides a month-by-month list of edibles to plant out for every month of the year for the three regions of Florida (Zones 8, 9, 10), plus handy planning and garden design tools to help you move step by step for a productive gardening year.
Gardening is hard work, with all the soil toil and heat and the lugging around of pots. But you don’t really think about throwing in the towel until you realize that you keep making the same dumb garden mistakes over and over.
That’s when you start to second-guess yourself.
As age catches up with me, I find my dexterity less than optimal. Put simply, over the weekend, I was beginning to think my unique gardening talent lie in knocking over multiple pots of expensively rich potting soil.
But that’s just clumsy, that’s not a stupidpower.
A gardening stupidpower is when you find yourself repeating the same dumb garden mistake over and over. Gardening stupidpowers are EPIC!
The kind where you should know better. The kind you have told yourself over and over NOT to repeat.
Gardening is fun, even with all the hard work, but when you’re growing for real production, to put food on the table, garden mistakes can cost you real money.
Common Garden Mistakes
Some of the most common garden mistakes are the result of inexperience. Planting at the wrong time of year is a pretty common one, and it’s one that most new gardeners make. In fact, it’s pretty common for experienced gardeners as well, especially as climate change seems to wreak havoc with our annual growing conditions and timings.
Another common garden mistake is buying the wrong varieties for your microclimate, just because the seeds are cheap and plentiful in your area. (Yeah, I’m looking at YOU, Marketmore cucumber!)
Another bad habit I have found myself falling into is heeding the watering advice of pro gardeners from temperate zones. In fact, I could even classify that as a gardening stupidpower, except I finally learned THAT lesson.
A lot of temperate zone garden gurus say you should water deep, not often, for best results. They say it results in stronger plants.
Honestly, in Florida, along the Gulf Coast, in sandy soil, playing tough love with your annual vegetable plants through the heat of midday does not result in them digging in deep for moisture.
In my experience, it mainly results in a lot of dead plants.
My Personal Gardening Stupidpower
I must be a water-type Pokemon, because all my gardening stupidpowers involve H2O:
Overwatering
Watering at night
Watering extensively when rain is forecast
Forgetting to water entire sections of the garden … for days…
But my really, truly epic gardening stupidpower is attempting to lay out soaker hoses AFTER putting in starts. By myself.
I’ve crushed, stomped, choked, and lassoed to death more poor innocent vegetable starts than I want to admit to. All because I’m so anxious to get their little green heads into the garden.
Hoses are bad, ‘mkay?
Garden hoses all seem to have a personal vendetta against humanity and its agriculture.
I have often wondered if hoses want nothing more than to lay in the shed, rolled up comfortably, undisturbed. I wonder if they resent being dragged into the sunlight. Perhaps they’re in pain? Does watering hurt them?
Because they will seemingly do as much damage as possible to any and every plant they come near, no matter how careful you are. If there’s any way for a garden hose to take out your flowers, herbs, or vegetable plants, it will find that way.
Soaker hoses aren’t much better, but at least you should (conceivably) only have to place them once. I don’t really like using irrigation hoses. I like to hand water — it’s meditative. So, I often decide not to bother with putting down my soaker hoses and just start adding in my little plants as they grow big enough.
And inevitably, three weeks later, I decide that I really need to put down the soakers because I’m just flat out tired of dragging the hose around every morning or even just tired of the time it takes.
And yet again, this year, this last weekend, I made the mistake of trying to wrestle them into a reasonably even distribution across the garden beds after I had already planted a few of my fall starts.
Anyway, this year, there will be far fewer summer squash than originally anticipated.
What’s Your Gardening Stupidpower?
Many philosophers say that you’ll keep repeating the same mistakes until you finally learn the lesson they’re meant to teach you.
So, how are you educating yourself in the garden this year?
September heralds the beginning of the main gardening season in the South — at least for Florida. The temperature finally tapers off enough that cool-weather plants can survive the heat of midday. And bonus points: it’s still fine enough for warm-season crops. Fall gardening is the prime reason Floridians can garden at all.
What to Plant in September in the Southern Garden
If you’re wondering what to plant this September, don’t tarry when it comes to sowing summer vegetables. It’s still not too late to start tomatoes, eggplant, summer squashes, and tropical spinaches, like Okinawa spinach.
Depending on your zone, if you can get these warm-season vegetables well established before your first cold snap, you can usually overwinter them by covering them whenever nights drop below 35°F.
With night temperatures in the 70s, you can also start planting those brassicas, which is a relief. Some, like broccoli and cauliflower, take quite a long time to grow, so the earlier you start them, the better.
I’ve found a lot of success with the Piracicaba broccoli, which is a heat-tolerant, non-heading variety. I’ve grown it as late as May, here in 10a, and unless you really feel the need for big broccoli heads, the flavor and quality are superb. Best of all, these guys really deliver! They can take some time to start producing, but once they do, you’ll get tiny little broccoli heads for months and months and months.
Speaking of Strawberries
Halfway through September is when you should decide whether or not to grow strawberries this year. Summer has not been kind to last spring’s plants, and I only have myself to blame.
I’m normally a lot more attendant on helping my strawberry plants get through the Florida summer. I use organic fungicides and relocate them to keep them from scorching. But this year, with the addition of the nursery and the chickens, they fell to the bottom of the priority list.
Many nurseries will have bare roots on sale, and some will even have starter plants as well. Check back later in October, as I’m sure I’ll have some on offer this year. And if I don’t, there are many local nurseries near you that can assist.
Grow ALL the Veg!
A quick list of veggies you can start in September includes cabbages, both the Asian cabbages like bok choi and Napa, and the boring old round-head types.
You can also start some of the sturdier leafy greens, like mustards, arugula, kale, and chard. Depending on your zone and microclimate, it may still be a tad too hot for lettuces, except for those bred specifically for hot climates, like the Hawai’ian Manoa and Israeli Jericho Romaine.
It may be worth the risk if your family eats a lot of lettuce, as mine does. Especially if you do loose-leaf types with a cut-and-come-again approach, including succession sowing.
Fall Gardening in Florida Offers So Much
Along with both cool and warm-season vegetables, the fall gardening season is also an amazing time to plant flowers.
Why flowers?
They’re pretty, they add color, they offer charm and beauty.
They’re also a critical boost to local wildlife, likes bees and butterflies, wasps and other beneficial insects.
I’m really pretty dreadful at garden planning. I’ve tried — but I always forget to write things down, or I can’t find my notepad, or I’m covered in dirt and can’t find a pen.
Usually the latter.
This year, I made it impossible NOT to plan by creating a Florida Garden Planner and publishing it on Amazon. This, I figured, would mean no more excuses for NOT planning ahead.
I’ve been gardening in Florida for several years now, and I can tell you that a successful harvest requires a few key paradigm shifts:
Be willing to try new fruits and vegetables that are not currently familiar to you.
Learn the right season to plant each of the vegetables you enjoy.
Take advantage of the year-long growing season by planning ahead for succession planting.
My hope is that this garden planner helps you do all three of these things.
From extensive research and my own experience, I’ve provided a list of various edibles you can plant out each month.
As you can see, September is a pretty busy planting month for Florida.
Inside the Garden Planning Journal
I’ve also added some record sheets so you can track each of the varieties you grow to see which ones do best in your garden. I love cherry tomatoes, but this year I’m trialing Sweeties vs. Gardener’s Delights to see which ones I prefer.
I’ll log their germination time, requirements, days to maturity, and the weight of the harvest.
The biggest stumbling block for me right now is that I was trained by very strict teachers. They told me NOT TO WRITE IN BOOKS. So, I’m STILL struggling with putting things down.
Should you decide to purchase one of these garden planning logs, you can find a link on the right hand of this post.
Feedback Please
If you have any suggestions or requests for other elements you’d like to see or use, please let me know. I’m always happy to get suggestions.
This garden planning journal includes grid sheets for bed layout, calendars for coordinating with other scheduled projects, and a week-by-week calendar for sowing, planting, and other garden projects you’d like to accomplish.
It starts in August 2021, because every Florida gardener knows that the planting year starts in August/September. It runs to December 2022, so there’s plenty of room for all your veggie garden planning for several seasons.
As for me, I’m ready to pre-order my strawberry crowns for planting in October.
What are you going to be planting in your fall garden?
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