You would think that August would be the worst month of the year to do any gardening, especially in Florida.
It’s hot, it’s humid, the daily rains pound baby plants, and the heat index regularly hits the three digits.
Weirdly, ironically, and in a typical Floridian manner, August is one of the best months of the year to get started on your fall garden.
For the most part, I defer to the UF/IFAS Gardening Calendar, but I also find it kind of lacking. While the conservative approach would be to use this as my gardening bible, they sometimes miss a few opportunities for some of the more unusual varieties.
But you know, that’s why they’re there – to provide a slow, safe approach that any gardening newbie will find useful and accessible. It’s a fabulous resource and they go far out of their way to make Florida gardening rewarding.
bell peppers and sweet peppers
Rebel Without a Pause
I don’t have a lot of land to experiment with – it’s just a 1/10th acre suburban plot. But I do have a lot of curiosity to satisfy. And a pack of seeds is only $4 at the most. So, why not push the zone and play with the calendar?
I also have to say that I live in a somewhat nebulous space, zone-wise. Clearly, around Tampa Bay, I’m in Central Florida. However, because I live on the Gulf Coast (within walking distance), I’m in a South Florida USDA zone.
Combined with microclimates, south-facing walls, shade cloth, overhead canopy trees, and the usual independent Floridian spirit, I’ll admit that I occasionally thumb my nose at institutional planting calendars.
And let’s not even talk about the planting maps on the back of seed packets.
Seed packets lie.
August is Time to Sow Seeds
Regardless of my personal desire to buck the system, even the IFAS admits that August is a good time to start sowing seeds for the fall garden. Depending on where you live in the state and the conditions in your garden, it’s time to start everything from tomatoes and calabaza squash to broccoli and cabbages.
I’ve been looking for the most heat-tolerant and disease-resistant varieties in the last couple of years and have found a few winners. In fact, even though I’m in 10A, I’ve started my broccoli already this year using the Piracicaba seed from Whitwam Organics.
I even had some sprouting in June, until my chickens decided to escape their coop and grab some lunch!
These producers really stand up to the heat. They do need some time to get going, however, so I went ahead and started seed cells undercover to give them a head start. Once these plants start producing loose brocolette heads, it’s amazing how much they deliver.
Heat-resistant Everglades tomatoes are already growing big and strong, and now that I have my official Florida nursery registration, I’m hoping to share these with others in my Etsy shop or sell locally at farmer’s markets or Facebook marketplace. I’ve planted several out already, but I want to save room for other varieties.
Other tomato varieties in the pipeline include vining cherry types like Sweeties and Gardener’s Delight. Larger varieties started include Floradade and Marglobes. Both are determinant varieties recommended for Florida growing.
I tend to prefer determinants because they don’t need a trellis. Plus, I’m short. Most of all, I often get a more satisfying yield when they produce all their fruit in a few weeks. Indeterminants seem to struggle on forever, giving me false hope when I need to just face the facts, pull the plants, and compost the remains.
On the eggplant front, I’ve got Black Beauty, white Chinese Bride, and Japan Mizuno types in seed trays. I’ve had a lot of luck with eggplant in my location and got a serious glut of Black Beauty last year.
What to Plant Where
In North Florida, you can start cool-season crops, like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and both traditional and Asian cabbages. You can also still start warm-season vegetables, like tomatoes, eggplant, and squashes.
In Central Florida, it’s time to sow warm-season vegetables only, like tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and summer and winter squash. You can sow cool-season veg in starter trays in September.
South Floridians can start and plant out heat-loving edibles like tomatoes, tomatillos, eggplant, okra, pineapples, and sweet potatoes. September is better for cool-season starts.
Or, if you’re like me, you do you and start what you think will thrive. But hold back some seed just in case.
Weather to Direct Sow
Because August seems to be the worst for me when it comes to summer storms, I use module trays and start my vegetables undercover rather than direct sowing. Coastal living comes with some destructive weather, so I error on the side of caution. Using seed trays lets me keep seeds and seedlings protected until the weather calms down or the plants are big enough to handle the downfall.
It does mean that I spend a lot of time carrying seed trays back and forth, but I’ve seen so many early starts drowned out that it’s worth it. About two weeks ago, we got 5 inches of rain in just a few hours, and that’s just too much for my little seedlings to take.
Aside from bush and climbing beans, I prefer using starter trays. YMMV.
Gardening Goals for Fall 2021
When the weather cools down, I’ll be experimenting with Charles Dowding’s multi-sow technique for root veg. The technique advocates planting three or four turnips, rutabagas, or radishes in one cell. According to the no-dig guru, they will transplant easily and grow just fine. The goal is to twist out the largest of the clump, leaving room for the remaining roots to develop further. I’m looking forward to seeing if it really works.
August always leaves me feeling conflicted. It’s just still too stinking hot for that back-to-school, autumnal mood required. Why do they start kids in school in August? Why should we start sowing vegetables in August? The heat index of 107°F yesterday does not put me in the mood for school uniforms and cauliflower soup. So, sometimes it’s a struggle to stay on track.
But like most gardeners, I’ve got plants… I mean plans… BIG plans. Gardening plans.
What are you growing this fall in your southern garden?
Recent decades have seen an explosion in new discoveries about soil health and its impact on agriculture. On a smaller scale, home gardeners are learning how to better nurture the microbiology in their gardens for better yields. In most North American gardens, that means keeping the soil covered during fallow times. But here in the South, when gardening is a year-round affair, your best bet is to take advantage of summer cover crops.
Along the Gulf Coast, in areas like Houston, New Orleans, and all throughout Florida, winter is an excellent time for farming and gardening. Although the rainfall may be a bit scant, the pest and disease pressure drops so dramatically that it’s worth it to irrigate.
This means that many Southern gardeners may miss a chance to sow important cover crops to restore organic matter to the soil. In other areas of the country, winter is the time for keeping plots fallow or sowing cover crops like hairy vetch, sudan grass, or clover. No one wants to leave a perfectly good garden bed fallow during its most productive season. That’s where summer cover crops come in.
Summer Cover Crops Are Effortless
In the South, summer is a great time to set your garden beds to fallow mode. While you may not be able to plant cool-season cover crops like winter rye, there are great alternatives for our warmer, wetter climates. As well as restoring structure to your soil and feeding the microbiology, it’s a good time to get out of the sun and avoid heatstroke. Summer cover crops don’t need weeding or watering.
Grab a mojito or a sweet iced tea, and let the bees and bugs have their time in the sun.
Finally Got That Round Tuit
In a previous post, I wrote that I would show you how I put a garden bed to rest for the summer. Although I am running pretty late this year, I did finally start to put the beds to, well, bed.
The first step was to put The Girls to work, digging up the weeds, aerating the soil, eating some bugs, and perhaps even leaving a few nitrogen bombs behind.
Adding Amendments
After letting the chickens loose a few times on the target bed, I add a few soil conditioners and some organic matter to the bed. The first bed is particularly deficient, because it’s a new area on top of what can only be called sand, rather than soil.
Because it will be sitting fallow for about two months, I won’t be digging it in. I’m going full Lasagna mode on this one. I normally prefer a no-dig approach to vegetable gardening for several reasons.
The first is because our barren, sandy Florida soil is already sparse with worms and other organisms that I don’t want to risk them by cutting through the turf and topsoil.
The second is that our heat index is usually around 110°F and our humidity around 90%, so the less I have to do outdoors, the better.
Alfalfa Meal
I have recently discovered the many benefits of adding alfalfa to the soil. It makes a wonderful fertilizing tea. A few scoops in both potting soil or garden beds provides slow-release nutrients.
Studies have found it to be just as effective as fish emulsion and other organic fertilizers. The advantage is that alfalfa meal is a whole lot cheaper and smells a great deal better.
Alfalfa also contains a chemical called triacontanol, which acts as a growth stimulant in other plants. Studies testing triacontanol on plants found that it shortened plant dormancy and increased trunk size and bud development by 100%, and leaf and foliage production by over 200%.
This is one of my fallow beds with the alfalfa pellets.
I use pelleted alfalfa, sold for cattle and horses, at my local feed store. I like the Standlee brand in either organic or non-organic. The upside is that we can also feed it to our rabbits. For smaller areas and container plants, Down to Earth and Espomo both deliver quality organic products.
Do check around and find a feed store near you to source alfalfa meal or pellets for gardening. You’ll spend half as much and most likely you’ll be supporting a small business in your community.
Kitty Litter
Yes, kitty litter — basically, clay.
If you live in an area with heavy, cloying, clay soil, you definitely don’t want to add more. However, I live about a mile off Tampa Bay, and our sandy soil drains quickly. Many thirsty plants can’t drink deep enough before it filters through.
I started adding plain, scentless kitty litter to the soil last spring and the results were truly remarkable. I found that I didn’t have to water every single day just to keep things from wilting.
I also added a small dose of Epsoma Bio-Tone Starter. While there is plenty of organic matter going into this bed, Bio-Tone contains beneficial fungi and bacteria to assist in plant growth.
Because it’s the rainy season, and because bacteria and fungi grow pretty prolifically on their own in this climate, I just added a small bit to innoculate the soil and get it started.
Compost
Over the last three years, composting has become something of a sacred mission in our house. Family members come to me with food scraps and ask me where to place their offerings.
Then, we got a paper shredder! Saturday nights are a blast now!
Composting is the single most effective way to feed your garden and reduce your carbon footprint.
My Summer Cover Crops
Yep, a cheap bag of black-eyed peas from Publix!
Last year, I planted Cowpeas that I got from the garden center in a Ferry Morris or Burpee package. They cost me about $5 and I only had enough for a small area of my garden. They grew well. The aphids LOVED them. I did not.
So, this year, I spent $1.50 on a bag of black-eyed peas from the grocery store. That way, I won’t have to feel guilty if don’t eat any of them.
More Compost, Plus Biochar
There is no such thing as too much compost.
This layer of compost also includes some biochar I made that has been charging for about two months.
Hay There!
I watered everything in well and dropped a light covering of hay to keep the soil cool, retain moisture, and try to fool the squirrels.
There has been a lot of controversy about the use of hay and straw in the garden. More specifically, gardeners are finding that some of the hay they’re sourcing has been sprayed with the herbicide Grazon or aminopyralid.
Apparently, there is no killing this stuff! If you put it on your garden as a mulch, it will kill everything you grow there for years.
If you buy manure from horses or cows that have eaten hay sprayed with aminopyralid, it too will kill everything you use it on for years.
I’ve been lucky so far. But, I’ve also been careful.
According to No-Dig Guru, Charles Dowding, you can test for this contaminant in any hay, straw, manure, or compost you buy before destroying your garden:
Time to Chill
From now until I plant out starts in September, I don’t have to think about that garden bed. No watering, no weeding, no cares, no worries. I’ve finally learned to stop worrying and love the summer.
According to experts at the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, other good summer cover crops for Florida and other Gulf Coast areas include legumes like Indian jointvetch, cowpeas, hairy indigo, sun hemp, and velvet beans. You can also use grain plants like sorghum and sudangrass, if you’re also looking for a huge amount of biomass at the end.
Whichever way you choose to chill this summer, feel free to give your garden a summer vacation without guilt. After all, unlike most of the U.S., we can garden all the way through the other months of the year.
Nature has such a sense of humor! In my last post, I said (confidently) not to bother with a vegetable garden in June in any part of Florida. It’s too hot, too humid… too buggy! So, I had no idea what I could advise to plant in June in Florida, since I’ve found it to be a futile endeavor.
So, what else should happen than to be blessed with a surprise crop of oncoming cucumbers — a vegetable, I must add, that I have rarely grown successfully.
This variety is a complete beast! They’re called Sweet Success, and as long as you can trellis them, they will certainly perform.
With that admission, it’s also important to note that I didn’t plant them in June. I planted this in late March and this is their second cropping after suffering a dry spell.
You may have quite a few fruits and vegetables to harvest in June if you’ve taken care of your garden or simply been lucky. But there are still very few things to plant out.
It may be that you’re finally reaping the rewards of planting three months ago — or even three years. Our bananas are getting fat, and our Barbados cherry tree is dripping with fruit.
But if you don’t have a harvest, is there anything you can plant in June in Florida?
Some Unfamiliar Names
In almost all zones in Florida, you can plant a few exotic varieties of fruits and vegetables, even in the high heat of summer. Look for Southeast Asian and Central American edible plants to expand the variety you grow and eat.
I’ve tried quite a few of them, and if I’m completely honest, there are many I don’t like. There are also quite a few that I don’t like enough to fuss over during days when the heat index is 105°F and the humidity is 98%.
Fruits and Vegetables to Plant in June in Florida
One of the reasons I don’t think about planting some of the unfamiliar vegetables I do like in the summer is because I often plant them in late spring. However, there are a few you can start in June, and even July.
And the advantage is that our summer rainy season should help get them started. So, you won’t have to stand outside in our dry April, coaxing them to life with a garden hose.
Yard Long Beans
These are one of my favorites to grow in the summer heat. They start out a bit slow, which is why I plant them in April. However, you can pretty much plant them any time of year in Central or South Florida.
Note that you WILL need a trellis and you will need one a lot taller than you could possibly imagine. You’ll be rewarded with a constant flow of delicious meaty-textured beans until December for your trouble.
Sweet Potatoes
This is another one that I generally plant long before June, so I never think of it as a “summer vegetable.” Especially considering that it takes four to five months to harvest. I usually grow my own slips from store-bought organic varieties. It takes about two to three months to get healthy slips.
I usually plant to get slips started in late winter so I can start planting in March. This way, I can plant out the slips in succession, which gives me a harvest of sweet potatoes starting in July thorugh December.
However, if you can get your hands on some slips, you still have time to plant them out for harvest in November or December. The summer heat won’t faze them if you get regular rainfall.
This Caribbean veggie is remiscient of pumpkin, but can take the heat. This is the first summer I’m growing it, so the jury is still out. I planted mine out in May, but my sources tell me you can still plant it in June. It looks delicious, and I sure hope mine proves to be.
Alternatives to Plant in June in Florida
June might also be a great time to plant something other than edibles. Add some important companion plants to your garden, or draw in pollinators and other beneficial insects with herbs and flowers.
Marigolds
Tagetes patula, or French marigolds (which are actually Mexican marigolds) work in several ways to improve your garden. They’re not just cheerful and easy to grow.
Marigolds have been known to help deter root knot nematodes — something most Florida gardeners battle regularly. Planting a swath of French marigolds in your future fall tomato bed is a smart idea for summer.
They also attract bees, which is usually a good enough reason for me.
The skies over the gardens of Florida are filled with happy, frisky Monarch butterflies, looking to make more happy, frisky Monarch butterflies. What they’re looking for are milkweed plants, the singular host of their caterpillar.
There’s a lot of controversy about the use of Tropical Milkweed, since it isn’t native to the U.S., but is to Mexico and Central America. One of the key issues is that it tends to increase the chance of them getting a parasite called “OE” (Ophryocystis elektroscirrha).
This parasite is not a good thing and can result in deformed wings in adult butterflies that is nothing less the fatal. Tropical milkweed, because it doesn’t die back here in Florida, can increase the chance of them contracting this condition.
The problem is compounded by the fact that much of Central Florida and all of South Florida enjoys a year-round population of Monarchs that do not migrate to Mexico with their fellow butterflies. It’s warm enough for them to winter over here.
The advantage to Tropical Milkweed (Asclepias Curassavica) is that it germinates well and grows quickly in our subtropical climate. This means you’ll have plenty of monarch food in time for hungry catepillars. Other milkweed species — even Florida native milkweed — can be difficult to germinate and grow too slow for the current year’s brood.
The solution is very simple — cut back your Tropical milkweed to about 2 inches tall in October or November. This will cause the die-off of the parasites and reduce the infection. Also, make sure you have other nectar flowers on hand for them over winter.
But Tropical Milkweed is certainly a beneficial flower to plant in June in Florida and will bring color to your garden.
The Florida Garden Summer Lull
The gardening bug can often turn into an obsession. If you’re relatively new to gardening, you may feel compelled to keep planting through the summer. The COVID-19 lockdowns and subsequent panic over food supplies has meant a lot of new backyard growers in Florida, the U.S., and world-wide.
If you’re a long-time gardener but new to the state, you may find it weird that hardly anyone is planting corn and tomatoes and taking advantage of all this sunshine. That’s because we’ve learned to avoid heat exhaustion and sun stroke.
You may feel like you’re missing an opportunity if you don’t find something you can plant in June in Florida. There are a few things to keep you busy, but preparing for the main even in fall may be more productive.
See all the grass you’re cutting? Compost it! Rest the soil under some cooling mulch. Sharpen your tools, order your vegetable seeds, order your flower seeds, and plan your next season. If it helps, you can even start sowing starter tomatoes next month.
It’s been a tough year for Florida gardeners. Despite some perfect weather, 2020 lockdowns made it impossible to venture out to get gardening supplies. Now, with lockdowns easing and access to vaccines for all, we aren’t allowed to get them, thanks to the Florida fertilizer ban in place.
Then came winter – one of the longest and coldest winters that I can remember since I started gardening. My “winter” garden is usually bountiful because temperatures rarely dip down long enough to leave a flush of frost. Not the winter of ’20/’21, though, when it dipped below 40°F not just once or twice, but repeatedly, from early December through March, and for hours on end.
Then came the drought. While spring in Florida always brings dry weather, it seemed particularly egregious this year after watching my tropical plants frozen to the roots time and time again.
After a harsh winter and a parched spring, every Florida garden seems to need a good feed right now. However, if you didn’t manage to squeak it in during the one time it rained in May, you may find you won’t be able to feed your lawn or garden until October. So, how do you get around the Florida fertilizer ban? How do you bring your lawn back to its former glory?
Why We Have a Florida Fertilizer Ban
In the last decade, the State of Florida has encouraged residents to refrain from using fertilizers containing nitrogen and phosphorus during our annual rainy summer season. The frequent appearance of red tides, algae blooms, fish die-offs, and decimated aquatic habitats has led to restrictions.
Excess nitrogen and phosphorus have no trouble finding their way into our many waterways. These excess nutrients can lead to eutrophication, the explosive growth of free-floating algae. This excess growth blocks necessary sunlight, killing other plants, and depriving freshwater wildlife of oxygen.
Then, once the nutrients run out, the algae die off, increasing the levels of bacteria in the water, and further depleting oxygen. This creates “dead zones” in the water that can last for years.
Not only are these algae blooms bad for wildlife, they can also make our fresh water supply toxic to humans and pets. When fertilizer runoff causes large blue-green algae blooms, it can result in large levels of cyanotoxins, which can cause organ damage in humans.
It’s gotten so severe that low-lying coastal areas, like Pinellas County, are cautioning residents to not even allow grass clippings to fall into stormwater drains.
Between toxic phosphate factories causing evacuations and a record number of dead manatees, it has not been a good year for Florida waterways.
And it’s only the middle of June.
So, How to Get Around the Florida Fertilizer Ban?
I had completely forgotten about the fertilizer ban until I saw a message in one of my local gardening Facebook groups about it. I normally don’t use lawn fertilizer, but this year I decided to get some 6-6-6 to help my beloved St. Augustine Seville turf recover from the hard winter. I hadn’t gotten around to applying it since the weather warmed up, though.
Several individuals on the group were relaying where an unscrupulous person could still buy fertilizer, which counties were less restrictive, and where it could be had online.
But the truth is, you don’t get around Florida fertilizer ban.
And the good news is that you don’t really need to.
Let’s Get the Lecture Over With
Successful gardening is all about planning and patience.
(At least, that’s what I’m told by my favorite horticulturist and garden designer.)
A healthy and sustainable garden requires forward-thinking and patience with the natural processes of the garden. You just don’t rush Mother Nature. And you won’t get the best from her unless you plan ahead to meet her somewhat unpredictable nature.
So, next year, plan to buy a slow-release fertilizer and apply it in May.
Then, be patient for October.
The Upside to the Florida Fertilizer Ban
With all this rain and all these thunderstorms, your lawn isn’t likely to need any fertilizer anyway. Especially if you’ve been taking care of the soil the rest of the year.
And if you’re worried about your summer vegetable garden, all I can ask is which turnip truck you fell off of when you landed in Florida.
Because there is no such thing as a “summer vegetable garden” in Florida.
Oh, there may still be a few stoic specimens alive from the spring planting, but the only vegetables you can plant in the summer in Florida are some legumes, and they don’t need your stinking nitrogen. Almost everything you can grow in the summer here should have been planted last month.
Instead, it’s time to give the veg patch a break. Toss in some cowpeas or grow a green manure, and give it a rest.
I’m going to put a couple of my veg beds on a well-earned “bed rest” when I can find a few cool hours of the day. I’ll write about it here, and you can see how I do it and whether it makes a difference come September.
So, take a break, stay out of that heat, and let nature do its Summer Thang™.
Societal Pressures vs. Sustainable Practices
If you just have to have an emerald-green lawn because you’re hosting the family reunion barbecue or have an HOA breathing down your neck, there are a few alternatives to standard fertilizers.
1. While most lawns aren’t deficient in magnesium, a well-worn tip to green up a lawn fast is to use Epsom salts, magnesium sulfate, in a sprayer. It can improve the uptake of nutrients that are already in your soil, so you won’t have to add more.
2. Buy fertilizer without nitrogen and phosphorus. You can still do your landscape a lot of good by providing potassium (which is not restricted) and key micronutrients like iron and manganese.
3. Instead of worrying about buying fertilizer, make your own by mowing your lawn frequently and using a mulching blade. All those clippings you can’t hose down the storm drain are better used for composting in place in your soil. Frequent mowing means shorter cuts, which break down more easily in the soil.
4. Take up fishing! Who needs expensive fish emulsion fertilizer when you have over 8,000 miles of coastline to play with! Fish guts, bones, scales, and seaweed all make excellent fertilizer for your garden.
Last … and Certainly Least
If you just can’t stand the idea of going the whole summer without fertilizing your prized plumeria, well, you can always pee on it.
That’s right – even the State of Florida can’t tell you that you’re not allowed to take a tinkle in the bushes. Urine is full of nitrogen, and if you add some wood ash from your summer bonfire, you’ll have perfect tomato food, according to Scientific American.
After all – it’s organic. Just make sure you dilute it with at least 10 parts water first, and please, watch your aim. You still need to make sure it doesn’t end up in the watershed.
There’s an App for That!
So, if you’re sure you live in Florida but not sure you’re in a county or city with a Florida fertilizer ban in force, you can check the University of Florida web app. Along with an easy-to-use map of ordinances and restrictions, they also have very cool apps for finding the right plants for your zip code, designing and creating a butterfly garden, and a guide to toxic plants.
While it may seem unfair and inconvenient, the Florida fertilizer ban might just lead you to more sustainable gardening practices — like obsessive composting. It could even lead to a new hobby! (Fishing, not peeing in bushes!) If you’re out fishing, you won’t be fussing over tomatoes that won’t make it to the Fourth of July.
The unseasonably warm winter we’re having may be fooling us into thinking that spring has officially arrived. And some of us are already looking for a southern lawn care schedule. As if our lawns weren’t still all brown and dormant.
And no one can blame us. It seems that as soon as the winter solstice passes, and the holidays wrap up, the days grow longer so much quicker, that we can feel it in our gardener’s bones.
We can feel the sun return and the lengthening of the days.
And 80-degree highs during the day aren’t helping matters.
On the other hand, it never hurts to be prepared. Setting up
a do-it-yourself lawn care schedule before the question even arises is an
effective way to plan a great gardening year. And a month by month lawn care
schedule can ensure your lawn looks great this year and into the coming years.
When to Fertilize a Lawn in Spring in the South
Most lawns in the south are made up of what they call warm-season grasses. Warm-season grasses go dormant in the winter, turning brown and giving us at least a short break from constant mowing. Even during the wet winter we’ve been having.
Your southern lawn care schedule needs to be flexible to
accommodate erratic weather patterns.
Warm Season Grass Varieties
Some common types of warm-season grasses used in Zones 8 to 11 include:
Bahiagrass
Bermuda grass
Centipede grass
St. Augustine grass
Zoysia grass
In the southeast, Bahia and St. Augustine are both popular
choices. Bermuda and Zoysia are excellent choices in areas of the South that
gets winter weather.
Centipede grass is great for those who want to cut back on
lawn maintenance and spend less time on their southern lawn care
schedule.
Your Southern Lawn Care Schedule and Dormancy
While our winter weather may seem warmer than usual, it may
still not be consistently warm enough to return our southern grasses from
dormancy. They prefer soil temperatures above 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and nighttime
temperatures can have a huge impact.
While the highs may hit the high 70s and even the 80s during the day, nighttime temps below 65 mean that our grass remains dormant. This may be perfect for growing tomatoes and lettuce, but St. Augustine is still sleeping and waiting for true spring.
It’s important not to fertilize before nighttime temperatures rise above 65 on a regular basis – unless you want to just fertilize your weeds. And feeding your lawn too early can mean severe damage if you get an unexpected cold snap.
That’s why it’s so important to plan ahead. If you really want a green lawn over the winter, consider overseeding with a cool-season ryegrass. Note, however, that you’ll run into problems when you overseed St. Augustine. You may find that the damage you need to do to your turf with scarifying isn’t worth the trouble. And without it, you may not get much growth from your seed.
Southern Lawn Care Schedule: When to Fertilize
If you haven’t overseeded with a cool-season grass, you’ll
want to wait to fertilize until nighttime temperatures remain mostly above 65
degrees to prevent feeding your weeds.
Many experts will recommend fertilizing as soon as your last
frost dates passes, but that may be too early unless you’re using a weed and
feed with an herbicide. And frankly, herbicides are so often overused and are
unnecessary. Unless you have an HOA breathing down your neck about every sprout
of dollar weed, avoid them when possible.
Regardless of pressures from yard-police and gardening peers, weed and feed combinations can prove less than effective. In fact, you’re better off applying pre-emergent herbicides after the last frost date, in February or March, and then waiting a month or two before adding fertilizer. It’s more work, but it’s also more effective. If you haven’t noticed, weeds are pretty hardy little lifeforms. They’ll germinate at lower temperatures than grass will tolerant and will thrive with much less water. You want the Best fertilizer for Green Grass, not green weeds.
Fertilizing in the fall before dormancy is usually more than
adequate to feed your lawn in preparation for the first flush of spring.
Keep tabs on your temperature trends and then add fertilizer
when it warms up consistently. In fact, depending on your location, the biggest
challenge during the spring may be rainfall, not your lawn fertilizer schedule
Here in Florida, March lawn care means watering. Spring can
be extremely dry, which can cause challenges for warm-season grasses trying to
green up for spring. Your southern lawn care schedule may include weekly or
twice-weekly watering but make sure your local watering regulations permit it.
The Lawn Controversy
Some people hate lawns and think they shouldn’t
exist. I don’t know how many signs I’ve seen that say “Grow Food, Not Lawns”
all over the internet. While I’m keen on sustainable landscaping and gardening
and I love veggie gardening, I honestly think that these statements come from a
position of ignorance.
Grasses are an important part of any ecosystem, and in the natural world, they cover up to a third of arable land on the planet. At least that’s the figure I recall. They feed a vast number of Bovidae: gazelle and bison, wildebeest, and buffalo. Which then go on to feed a vast number of predators.
Bovids eat the grass to nourish them and then
return the favor by feeding it with their waste. They tend to migrate, spreading
the love and allowing the grasses a chance to grow back.
In fact, grasslands are a better and more reliable carbon sink than forests, because they store most of it underground. Grasslands also prevent soil erosion and over time, improve soil quality with their ability to keep the soil aerated with their deep running roots.
Grasses and lawns are unfairly maligned. Keeping a green swatch of grass that isn’t overly treated is far better for the environment in the long run than mulching everything in favor of raised food beds. Mulch doesn’t retain as much moisture as a healthy lawn, nor does it prevent soil erosion as well.
While I’m a vegetable grower at heart, even I don’t want a front lawn full of corn stalks.
Lawns aren’t the problem. Your southern lawn
care schedule isn’t the problem.
Our quest for the impossibly perfect lawn is
the problem. While there’s nothing wrong with curb appeal, there’s just as much
on offer with a mixed blend of grasses or a properly tended organic patch.
But grasses are hungry plants and use up a
lot of nutrients when they’re actively growing. While using a mulching mower can
add nutrients back into the soil, it may not be enough if hot and humid south. So,
your southern lawn care schedule may include a dose or two of fertilizer
every year during the active season.
Why You Need to Understand
Your Fertilizer
To look its best and remain resistant to disease and pests, your grass lawn needs a few basic nutrients. The main components of lawn food are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Most companies refer to this as the “NPK,” because those are their atomic symbols. You’ll also see a few minerals, like iron, manganese, calcium, and others.
Like any other
plant, grasses need different balances of these nutrients depending on their
stage of growth and the time of the year. This can make choosing the best fertilizer
for your Southern lawn pretty complicated.
The best
fertilizer for grass in spring tends to rely on nitrogen, while summer feeding
may include potassium for disease and pest resistance. Phosphorus may only be
needed for newly seeded lawns or occasionally for a fall feeding before winter
depending on how well you kept to your southern lawn care schedule in previous
seasons.
Lawn Fertilizer Components
One way to determine
which is the best lawn fertilizer ratio for your lawn and the season is to understand how the common nutrients
affect the growth of your grasses. It also helps to understand how these nutrients
are balanced in most commercial formulas.
For example, you may see the “NPK” listed a series
of three numbers. These numbers express the balance of nitrogen, phosphorus,
and potassium in any given fertilizer. So, if you see a fertilizer labeled 13-1-2,
that means it has 13 percent nitrogen, 1 percent phosphorus, and 2 percent
potassium. You might also see other nutrients like iron, magnesium, or sulfur
on the label.
Nitrogen (N)
Nitrogen is what all
plants need for vegetative growth. Grasses produce a great deal of “green”
biomass, so they tend to need lots of nitrogen. Most lawn fertilizers will
feature a higher percentage of nitrogen than any other nutrient. And the Best
lawn fertilizer for Spring may feature nothing but nitrogen.
Phosphorus (P)
In plants, phosphorus drives root development. Strong roots help plants, particularly grasses, remain drought resistant with strong, deep roots. Phosphorus is also important for flowering plants.
However, for lawns, your southern lawn
care schedule shouldn’t include high levels of phosphorus, especially during
your rainy season.
Potassium (K)
Potassium can boost the overall health of
your grass and help it remain resistant to diseases and pests.
Which is the Best Lawn Fertilizer for Southern Warm-Season
Grasses
You can find a broad range of excellent fertilizers for your
Southern Lawn. Because you’ll probably need to fertilize three times a year, it’s
a good idea to alternate between high-nitrogen and balanced fertilizers.
The best fertilizer to green up a lawn in spring is a high-nitrogen formula. You can also apply high-nitrogen blends again in the summer, to give them a bit of a boost. If you have wet, rainy summers, another boost of fertilizer can help replenish the soil, if necessary. I tend to only fertilize once in the spring, but my goals for my lawn are pretty low-key.
But if you’re looking for that amazing lawn, save the balanced
formula for the fall, when you’re prepping your lawn for whatever amount of
cold weather you’ll get. These help feed roots and improve disease resistance
moving into the winter months.
Types of Fertilizers for Your Southern Lawn Care Schedule
Slow-release fertilizers, organic or synthetic, may not provide that exciting rush of instant greening, but then they don’t tend to kill fish or cause algae blooms. For all of our learning and science, nature does have a system in place for feeding grasses and other plants. While we sometimes have to improve on that process, if it’s not necessary, don’t spend the money or stress that system.
Organic Fertilizers
Organic fertilizer is made from natural plant and animal materials like feathers, bones, manure or seaweed. Fish emulsion, made from fish scraps, is one of the most popular.
Organic fertilizers are becoming more popular, especially the slow-release variety that doesn’t’ result in a deluge of nutrients entering the environment and causing trouble in the local ecosphere.
Along with being better for the environment, organic
fertilizers can be safer for your lawn, as well as your pets and kids.
Synthetic Fertilizers
I’ve been known to use synthetic fertilizers,
if not pesticides, because they provide a lot of bang for your buck and they
work quickly. Because they’re synthetic and somewhat bare forms of the basic
element, plants can uptake them quickly and put them to work.
They’re also a lot cheaper.
They do come with some downsides, unfortunately. Because they’re concentrated, they can also burn your lawn and ornamental landscaping.
They can also leach into the water table very easily and can contaminate lakes, streams, and coastlines. Note that some areas have regular fertilizer bans during the rainy season.
And finally, while they’re quick to green up
your lawn, they won’t improve the quality of your soil over time. Organic
material doesn’t just feed your plants, it also feeds the microbes and insects
that support the health of your plants. Earthworms and fungi like organic
debris, not “MiracleGro.”
Forms of Fertilizers for
your Lawn
Whether you chose organic or synthetic, you can find the best lawn fertilizers in several different forms for your convenience. Note that the form will affect how quickly it works and how long the benefits last.
Liquid Lawn Food
Your grass absorbs liquid fertilizers quickly
and readily. But it’s important to make sure to use liquid lawn food when the
grass is thirsty and hopefully when no rain is predicted.
Unfortunately, the effects don’t last very long. While liquid fertilizers are pretty good for greening up your grass early in the year or right before a big party, you’ll need to reapply it again after a couple of weeks.
Slow-Release Lawn Food
Granular fertilizers
provide a slow-release feed that generally lasts serval months. You apply it to
your lawn with a drop or rotary spreader after mowing. You may have to water it
in, or at least apply it right before it rains. With slow-release formulas –
the best time to fertilize a lawn is before or after rain. But check the
instructions, since some formulas may vary.
The benefit of these slow-release fertilizers
is that you only have to apply them every couple of months to maintain a green
lawn. However, the downside is that they don’t work very quickly.
You can, however, use both liquid and slow-release
fertilizers, especially if you use organic formulas that won’t burn your grass.
The Best Lawn Fertilizer for Your Southern Lawn
Now that you know more about lawn fertilizers, you can choose from some established and innovative new brands on the market.
1. The Andersons PGF Complete 16-4-8 Fertilizer
This all-in-one formula features a slow-release action and host of vital micronutrients like iron, manganese, sulfur, copper, and zinc. And it won’t leave your soil quality wanting, as it includes a combination of humic acid and fulvic acid, which increase nutrient absorptions in your lawn grasses by stimulating important beneficial microorganisms.
This granular formula is easy to apply and is more finely milled than other brands so that you get improved coverage.
Specifications
NPK: 16-4-8
Form: Granular
Delivery: Spreader
Season: All season
2. Grow More 5705 Water Soluble Fertilizer
While this formula is high in nitrogen, it also provides a good balance of phosphorus and potassium for overall plant health. https://amzn.to/2tcTkY3
Grow More 5705 also features micronutrients such as copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, and zinc. This formula for athletic fields is a big hit with homeowners.
This all-purpose natural liquid fertilizer features a high-nitrogen blend along with micronutrients for overall health. It’s specially formulated for Southern lawns and recommended for St. Augustine, Bermuda, Bahia, Zoysia, Centipede, and Palmetto grass
No harsh chemicals and includes seaweed and
kelp for improved soil.
Specifications
NPK: 16-4-8
Form: Liquid
Delivery: Sprayer
Season: Any
4. Urban Farm Fertilizers Liquid Lawn Fertilizer
This concentrated formula offers a broad spectrum of complete nutrition for your lawn, as well as including important mycorrhizae and enzymes for healthier soil. Your grass will readily absorb this liquid formula and you can apply it easily with a hose-end sprayer.
With humic acid and beneficial fungi, this natural fertilizer makes use of bat guano, worm casts, and kelp for a healthy lawn that safe for your family and favorite wildlife.
Specifications
NPK: 3-1-2
Form: Liquid
Delivery: Sprayer
Season: Any
5. GreenView Fairway Formula Lawn Fertilizer
Need fast greening and long-term fertilizing? GreenView offers an immediate boost of nitrogen for quick spring greening. Then, the slow-release food kicks in to last up to 12 weeks of steadying feeding. It also features a boost of sulfur to help your grass take up nutrients faster and more efficiently.
So, save time and money while still getting
the best of both liquid and slow-release fertilizers.
Specifications
NPK: 27-0-5
Form: Granular
Delivery: Spreader
Season: All-season
6. Ferti-lome Centipede Grass Fertilizer
For Southern lawns, this formula is just right for Centipede, St. Augustine, Bermuda and other warm-season grasses in the Southern lawn. The high nitrogen 15-0-15 formula keeps your lawn green and improves resistance in established lawns.
It also includes micronutrients like copper, manganese,
boron, and zinc.
Specifications
NPK: 15-0-15
Form: Granular
Delivery: Spreader
Season: Spring and Summer
7. Milorganite 0636 Organic Nitrogen Fertilizer
This organic formula releases slowly and naturally to provide extra nitrogen and potassium to your lawn safely. One special bonus is its supplemental iron content, which greens up your lawn without causing excess growth. So, you get a green lawn without any extra mowing, which means less work for you and a lowered impact on the environment.
It also contains calcium to improve acid levels in Southern gardens.
Specifications
NPK: 6-4-0
Form: Granular
Delivery: Spreader
Season: All season
Finding the Best Lawn Fertilizer for Your Southern Lawn Care Schedule
Knowing what type of grasses you have in your
lawn and how it reacts according to seasonal changes empowers you to make good
choices about your southern lawn care schedule.
And knowing what nutrients it needs – and when – makes choosing the best lawn fertilizer much simpler. You may want a quick green-up or long-term improvement. The good news is, you can achieve both if you follow your lawn’s cues.
What types of fertilizer have you found work best on your warm-season grasses? Feel free to share your favorite lawn feeding tips and tricks with our readers.
Grow tomatoes, they said. It’ll be fun, they said. Growing tomatoes in Florida seems like it’d be a natural, right? After all, it’s sunny nearly all the time and rains quite a bit. Tomatoes love sunshine and water.
Florida is also the home of “Ruskin” tomatoes, named for a small rural town not far from where I live. They’re world-famous, yet somehow, I struggle at growing tomatoes in Florida.
It’s Not the Yield, It’s the Mileage
When I say that I struggle with tomatoes, what I mean is that they’re crazy-making. I get tomatoes. Boy, do I get tomatoes. In fact, last year I got so many tomatoes that my freezer is still filled with ones I failed to find some way to consume.
Here’s the thing: When you’re growing tomatoes in Florida, you can’t count on anything going to plan.
It’s a constant juggling act, filled with an exhausting spraying schedule and fertilizing plan. If you’re not standing in the blistering sun to cover them with shade cloth, you’re standing outside in the cold night air to cover them with fleece.
Between tying and pruning and feeding and spraying, it’s a
wonder that I find time to care for my family much less myself. It’s probably a
good thing that I waited until my children were grown before I seriously took
on growing tomatoes in Florida.
Best Time to Plant Tomatoes
One of the trickiest parts of growing tomatoes in Florida is getting the timing right. Experts say to plant them between August and September for a fall crop – but I’ve found that the heat destroys them when you plant that early. I’ve always ended up nursing them through fungal diseases and plagues of leaf-footed nymphs until a decent drop in the temperature finally saves the day.
At that point, even with the cooler nights that November
brings, they’re so ravaged that they don’t recover until well into January
before finally producing some tomatoes.
Starting seedlings for another round in November and December means you can plant them out in February – which is another time frame recommended by experts. Many say you should never plant them after February.
The problem is, even in Zone 10a, we still get the occasional cold snap in January and February. Even December can pose a risk. So, be prepared to cover your plants with fleece or some other cloth for those three months.
Growing Tomatoes in Containers
Until recently, I’ve always grown my tomatoes in containers. The nematode problem in Florida is near legendary. So, rather than risk it, I’ve purchased loads of rich potting soil and stuck to pots.
Last year, however, I risked planting Everglades tomatoes in the ground. These tiny berry tomatoes are well-known here in the South for producing in even the worst heat and humidity. They conquered a sunny spot in the backyard and took over until the leaf-footed nymphs invaded and sucked the juice out of each and every tiny tomato.
In a fit of pique, I pulled out every single plant to stop
the slaughter once and for all.
The Obvious Contempt of Tomatoes
But this is also where my love-hate relationship with tomatoes
truly becomes epic.
This fall, I dutifully planted several varieties into pots with fresh (and expensive) potting soil. I nurtured and fed them. I pruned them weekly. I watered them daily. I kept their little leaves dry and aired.
I planted four separate varieties in pots: Homestead, Beefsteak,
San Marzano, and Boomer Cherry.
The damn things became sick from the get-go. Some horrible
disease that twisted leaf and stem. Some plague that shriveled their meager
fruits. Some microbial bug that stunted their growth.
My pampered but sickly tomatoes
Meanwhile, thirty feet away, volunteers that escaped from
our compost tumblers grew lush, wild, tall, strong, and healthy. Without a hint
of fusarium wilt. Without a blemish.
Happy volunteers
And then to add insult to injury, the three “spare” Homestead seedlings I plunked into a bare spot in a neglected vegetable bed did the same.
The Everglades I planted out in my most productive beds also took off without a hitch and began producing first.
Not, of course, ANY of the ones I carefully planted in pots, exactly per extension office recommendations, and fussed over daily.
Volunteer cherry tomatoes
Renewed Dedication
Even with the wet winter we’ve been having, I became complacent. In the interest of keeping organic, I neglected my spraying schedule. After all, my plants were covered in predators like assassin bugs and ladybugs. Wasps buzzed, patrolling for caterpillars.
But no more. A recent declaration of war has put me back on
alert.
This means war!
Best Varieties for Growing Tomatoes in Florida
Every year, I look for lists of resistant varieties for planting. What is the best tomato to grow in Florida? But the problem is, I’m pretty cheap. I grow from seeds. I dropped a significant amount of money on seed starting trays and cell cubes. I enjoy planting from seed, and I’m generally pretty good at it. After all, my tomato seedlings grow lush and healthy — at least until I plant them out.
Most of the resistant varieties seem to be hybrids produced by local nurseries, and I’m too cheap to drop $6 on a plant that will surely die within weeks. Especially when I usually grow about 25 to 30 tomato plants.
And most of the stores I frequent don’t carry a wide range of seed types. It’s almost as though growing tomatoes in Florida doesn’t really happen. We get seeds for locations like Ohio or Missouri, and that’s what I’ve been buying. And probably the reason for my love-hate relationship with tomatoes.
I took a risk on some Patio tomato starters and gave two to my mom and kept two for myself. Guess who has gorgeous, healthy, robust Patio tomatoes? It ain’t me.
Many Southern gardeners in Florida are plagued by nematodes, and a lot of research has gone into preventing nematode damage.
My French marigold program seems to have prevented nematode damage, so fungal infections – blight, mosaic virus, and yellow leaf curl seem to be my bane.
In the future, I may simply have to adjust which cultivars I choose when growing tomatoes in Florida. While the Beefsteak tomatoes look delicious in the picture on the seed packet, I may simply have to invest in Cherokee Purple and Brandywine seeds. I’m not sure how well strange-colored tomatoes will go over with the family, but I do know that what I’m doing now isn’t working – at least not when it’s supposed to work.
The state ag offers a list of recommended varieties. They’re the best tomato to grow in Florida, according to experts. But I can’t verify how well they’ll do in a Florida vegetable garden.
Top Cherry Tomatoes
Luckily, cherry tomatoes are pretty heat-tolerant and will grow well through the hot southern summers. A few good disease-resistant varieties to try are:
Also called “grape tomatoes,” depending on the size, berry tomatoes do quite well in Florida with good disease resistance and a better tolerance for higher temps. My experience says they’re the best tomato to grow in Florida. If you can find them, try:
Amai
Jolly Girls
Sweet Hearts
And of course, there are Everglades. Everglades grow beautifully with very little effort. Of course, you can’t cut them up and put them on a sandwich — a fact that the spouse points out repeatedly. These tiny tomatoes are cute and full of flavor, but they’re the size of your pinky fingernail.
It’s also difficult to find the seeds commercially. Most Florida gardeners give them away or swap them. The tomatoes themselves are commercially unviable. They burst easily and have no shelf life to speak of. The best way to use Everglades tomatoes is to pick just before adding them to a salad.
Everglades tomatoes ready to pick
Good Round Tomatoes for a Southern Garden
If you prefer slicing tomatoes, like the spouse does, look for heirloom varieties like:
Another factor in selecting the right variety when growing
tomatoes in Florida is deciding whether to grow determinate or indeterminate
tomatoes.
Every gardener on the planet must have seen the picture of the guy standing on a ladder next to his ginormous tomato plant.
And maybe we were a bit envious, and maybe we also felt a
bit sorry for him, too. After all, we’re simply slaves to our tomatoes. Cutting,
pruning, feeding, tending, worrying. It’s worse than having teenagers.
That’s what you can get with indeterminate tomatoes, though.
Those suckers will grow as tall as they can, sprawling and climbing over
everything until the first frost puts them down.
So, while the idea of a season of endless tomatoes sounds great in theory, they can eventually exhaust you and themselves. I’ve always struggled with providing a tall enough support for them, and I’ve literally had the spouse tie them to the sides of the house (I’m too short to reach) so they could wind themselves around makeshift supports.
If it gets cold relatively early, you can count on Mother Nature to put them out of your misery eventually. Here in my Southern garden, I’ve found that the heat of summer finally does the job. I plant in the fall, and by the following May or June, the heat and blistering sun have given me enough excuse to top them.
Topping is when you cut off the tops of your indeterminate
tomato plant. This forces any existing tomatoes on the plant to rush to ripen
and stops any future growth.
But until frost or topping, indeterminate tomatoes will bloom
and fruit continuously, giving you a whole season of oncoming tomatoes.
In contrast, determinate tomatoes feature a bushy structure with less top growth. Don’t let this fool you though, because even if the seed packet promises no more than four feet of height, they still need plenty of support. Especially once they start producing tomatoes.
The downside is that they only produce once before dying off. You’ll only get tomatoes once from your determinate varieties before you’ll need to pull them.
Choose Your Go-To Tomatoes
One of the reasons I decided to grow Homestead tomatoes this
year was because they’re determinate. I’ve tried several trellis methods for
indeterminate tomatoes, and they’re kind of exhausting to keep up with.
The larger the tomato, the more time and effort they need to grow. Large indeterminate tomatoes can mean a lot of work in the garden. So, I decided to try a determinate variety for my large tomatoes. So far, so good, with the Homesteads. I think they’re a keeper — a “go-to” tomato — for me.
Choosing successful cultivars and staying loyal is one way
to manage growing tomatoes in Florida. Although the weather can vary somewhat throughout
the year, finding a proven winner that works in your climate is gardening gold.
Everglades, although indeterminate, are another go-to tomato
for me. Although their size limits their usefulness somewhat, they grow and
fruit in the chillier days of winter and the jungle heat of summer equally
well.
So, do some experimenting to find the perfect go-to tomatoes
for your Southern garden. Once you find those true-blue winners, you can experiment
with other varieties without risking your whole food supply.
Homestead tomatoes doing well in the ground
Prepared for the Glut
It’s January now. This means that I’ll spend the next two months catering to tomato plants. I’ll get tons of fruit that I will then need to rush to harvest green in the face of every threatened cold snap.
We’ll have piles of half-green tomatoes all over the kitchen counter. Then, after my good intentions to puree, cook, strain, and freeze them become broken promises, I’ll chuck them into the freezer in plastic bags to deal with later.
But I’m ready. After all, there has to be some reward after all these months. Perhaps instead of saying I have a “love-hate” relationship with tomatoes, I should turn that around. I have a hate-love relationship with tomatoes. Because the hate really comes first.
I hate standing in the hot sun through September and October to prune them. I hate the constant and seemingly futile spraying of fungal preventatives only to be met by a plague of insects instead. I hate standing out in the bitter wind at midnight after a last-minute frost warning, trying to save them with old sheets. Especially when, comes the hour, the temperature turns out to be 10 degrees warmer than predicted.
With our erratic weather and poor soil, some gardeners in the South have all but given up on growing their own vegetables. But whether you live where the soil is red clay or soft sand, you can always focus on container gardening.
In fact, for years after moving to Florida I refused to try to grow anything outside of container gardening. Between poor soil and nematodes, I just couldn’t take the heartbreak of watching as my tomato plants fell one by one, stricken by fusarium wilt or malnutrition.
And even though I have now cultivated some nutrient-rich
garden beds over the last couple of years, I still turn to containers every
growing season.
If you’re one of the many that have resigned in disgust because of heat,
humidity, bugs, or crummy soil, container gardening with vegetables may just be
what you need to get your gardening mojo back.
Advantages to Container Gardening
Vegetables can be some of the most challenging plants to grow. Unlike flowers or decorative foliage, gardeners need to stay alert through every stage of a vegetable plant’s development. It would be so much easier if we just needed to get them to grow beautiful leaves or pretty flowers.
Most vegetables require a bit more. Many of them are pretty picky when it comes to the soil quality or moisture levels. Others are magnets for voracious insects that will strip month\’s worth of growth overnight.
Luckily, some of these challenges because so much easier to overcome when you’re growing vegetables in pots on a balcony or back porch.
Improved Soil Quality
The most significant advantage to container gardening is improved soil quality. Many gardeners have struggled for years trying to create the perfect loam in their garden beds. They add compost, manure, and mulch. They encourage earthworms and assemble massive irrigation systems.
But containers are easy. You can buy the perfect soil for any vegetable plant and control what goes in your planters. And best of all, you can grow a wide variety of edible plants that require diverse types of soil when you’re using containers.
Sunlight and Temperature Control
While some vegetable plants need plenty of sun to thrive, others need a bit of shade to do well. With container gardening, you can move your vegetable plants around to take advantage of changing light patterns in your yard.
It’s a terrific way to keep cool-weather plants – like lettuce and spinach – protected from the hot sun and extend your growing season. I grow my lettuce in containers so I can start them early in the fall while it\’s still ab it hot and grow them into May just by moving them into the shade.
Longer Harvest
If you live in an area of the South that gets the occasional frost or even freeze, you can bring your container vegetables indoors to protect them. There’s no reason to let your tomatoes freeze when you can place them in a garage or enclosed porch overnight.
Gardening in a Small Space
Last, and certainly not least, if you have
very little room, container gardening lets you grow more. Small yards aren’t a problem
when you can stack planters vertically to add space for herbs, greens, and
strawberries.
Even if all you have is a balcony or tiny patio, container gardening allows you
to grow a wide range of vegetables and fruits.
Planning Your Container Garden
If you’re ready to get started growing your own fruits and vegetables in planters and pots, the first thing you need to do is devise a plan.
Container vegetable gardening 101 requires that you start
keeping track of the conditions around your gardening space. Once you know how
much rain and sunlight you have available in your outdoor space, you’ll want to
create a container vegetable garden layout.
Container Vegetable Garden Layout.
Pick out the space you want to place your containers and spend a day off seeing where the light falls in the space. You’ll need at least six hours of sunlight a day to grow most vegetables. You may even want to sketch out your space the sunniest spots highlighted so you can position your plants for optimal production.
Also, get an idea of what kind of rainfall you can expect. Are there lots of trees blocking your container gardening space? What above overhangs? Make sure you have easy access to an outdoor hose bibb, in any case.
You’ll also need some outdoor storage space
for your gardening supplies. Whatever your good intentions, it’s far easy to
leave tools and products laying around. Unfortunately, this leaves them vulnerable
to rust and degradation.
Make sure you have a watertight shed or cabinet for storing your tools and supplies.
DIMENSIONS: 44. 9 in. W x 19. 4 in. D x 29. 8 in. H
Best Vegetables for Container Gardening
Once you have your space picked out, you’ll
want to decide what kinds of plants you want to grow. Make sure the plants you
choose are suitable for container gardening. But don’t be too surprised by the
variety you can still grow in a pot.
For example, it never occurred to me to start growing snap peas in pots until I watched a little-known gardening show from Ireland that proved that they can do better in containers than in the ground.
Container gardening lettuce is also an easy-peasy solution for fresh salad greens. I grow my lettuce in shallow containers, planting a fresh one every week until I have about 12 growing at any given time. I use the cut and come again method, starting at the most mature. By the time I get through the last one, the first one has grown back enough to harvest again.
Container gardening herbs is one of the easiest steps for new gardeners, and many choose a large container to grow a number of different herbs together. However, make sure that you don’t mix herbs with different growing needs. Mediterranean herbs, like oregano, rosemary, and thyme, all need drier conditions than fast-growing herbs with high demands like basil, tarragon, and mints.
One excellent method to approach container gardening is to choose compact varieties of your favorite plants. For example, if you want to grow tomatoes, consider patio tomatoes or even Tiny Tim or Tumbling Tom varieties.
If you’re keen on beans, then consider bush beans instead of pole varieties, which need 6 feet of trellis and can run amok.
If you’re brand new to gardening, pick a
handful of basic vegetable plants that you know you’ll enjoy eating. Check with
your local extension office to find out what’s growing best this season.
Simple Container Garden Ideas
And
if you just want to dip your toe into container gardening, consider the
following themes for one or two planters to get started:
Salad in a Planter
In a large planter, add Tiny Tim tomatoes, Mesclun mix lettuce, a few radishes, and maybe a fast-maturing bush variety of cucumber. EarthBoxes and other self-watering containers are perfect for “Salad in a Planter” setup
Mixed Herb Container Gardens
Another great container gardening idea for beginners is mixed herb container gardens. Depending on the varieties you want to grow, you may need two or three large containers. For most culinary herbs like oregano, rosemary, thyme, and marjoram, you’ll need one large container with low-nutrient soil with good drainage. For lusher herbs, like basil, tarragon, parsley, and cilantro, add another container with richer potting soil and even a self-watering reservoir.
Best Soil for Container Vegetables
The best soil for container gardens really depends on what you’re planning to grow. Most vegetables have optimal conditions depending on their origins. Most do well with potting soil mixes that contain organic material and soil lighteners, for loose potting soil.
Check the label on your potting soil and look for things like peat moss, coconut coir, tree bark, vermiculite, and perlite.
It’s possible to use plain garden soil from your yard, but you’ll need to amend it drastically if you have poor soil, like I do. However, British horticultural hero, Monty Don, recommends putting a shovelful of garden soil in containers to add natural bacteria and micro-organisms. So, don’t worry if you accidentally used garden soil in pots for container gardening.
Tips for Choosing Containers for Gardening
Now that you know how much space you have and
what you’ll be growing, it’s time to choose containers. For safe container gardening,
make sure you use natural materials or at least food-safe plastics.
That said, you can find many cheap containers to grow vegetables by using a little
imagination and by recycling and upcycling old materials. Some gardeners – like
myself – have been reusing the same free landscape pots from other plants for
years and years.
Safe materials
While you want your container garden to look
attractive, you also want to be sure you use materials that work well for your
vegetable plants. For example, terra cotta is a classic beauty, but here in Florida,
they dry out far too quickly to sustain demanding veggies like tomatoes and
eggplant. I only use them for culinary herbs and arid-loving ornamentals.
If you’re planning to move your vegetable plants
often, you may want to stick to plastic containers. Some are quite decorative
and best of all, easy to move.
The color of your containers can also impact your vegetable plants. Here in the South, dark containers can kill delicate vegetable plants in a single summer day. They\’ll absorb heat from the sun and send the temps in the soil skyrocketing. I only use these in the winter or in partial shade. The rest of the time and in very sunny spaces, I stick to light-colored pots.
Size counts
While many gardeners start seeds in small starter trays and move them to larger pots later, you don’t want to have to transplant your vegetable plants too often.
Transplanting is sure to cause a little
shock, and since vegetables need to grow and flower and fruit so quickly, you
don’t want to set them back any more than you must.
So, make sure you have large enough pots for
your container gardening, depending on the mature size of your plants.
Some common container sizes and the plants they accommodate are:
Half Gallon Pots
Bush Beans
Herbs
Salad greens
One Gallon Pots
Cabbages
Cucumber
Green beans
Leaf lettuce
Spinach
Chard
Cherry tomatoes
Patio Tomatoes
Three Gallon Pots
Eggplant
Sweet and hot pepper
Determinate tomatoes
Broccoli
Five Gallon Pots
Indeterminate tomatoes
Squash
Zucchini
Seven- or Ten-Gallon Pots
Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Blueberries
You can also grow a number of different
vegetables in larger pots and planters, such as planting 12 to 14 peas in a three-gallon
pot, etc.
DIY Garden Containers
You can even try your hand at getting
creative by making your own garden containers. Many gardeners swear by
five-gallon buckets from their favorite home improvement stores or local
bakeries.
One year, I was enthralled by the idea of
grow bags, but I didn’t want to spend the money to buy the 40 or more I needed.
So, I just purchased some landscape fabric from the fall clearance section and
sewed my own.
You can aim for practical or whimsical, but either
way, before you take out the recycle bin, do some shopping around inside to see
if you can convert anything to a growing container.
Container Gardening Tips
Now that you’re ready to start growing your healthy veg the easy and convenient way, here are a few pro tips to ensure a good crop.
You may wonder how often water container plants. The bad news is that containers can dry out very quickly, especially in the summer months. You may need to water up to twice a day. Consider self-watering containers or adding trays for a water reservoir under your containers.
Fertilize often and early. You can add organic matter or slow-release fertilizers, but since the resources your container plants have available is pretty limited, you may want to use liquid fertilizer. You can choose fish emulsion for an organic option or simple Miracle-Gro tomato food.
For the most bang for your buck, plant your vegetables sequentially. If your bush beans mature fully in 60 days, make sure you have something ready to go in starter trays to replace them for the rest of the season. Mix in a little composted manure after harvesting your beans and then add seeds you’ve already started for squash or cucumbers.
Get Growing
As winters grow increasingly mild in the South, the time to
start container gardening with vegetables can be all year round. Here in Zone
10a, we’re enjoying 76 to 80-degree sunny days with mild nights that are perfect
for fall and winter vegetables.
The best part is that if we get a cold snap, I can move my container gardening onto a warm, covered porch or even indoors. They’re also easier to cover with fleece when they’re in containers because I can huddle them together for warmth and cover more than one at a time. When the temps rise the next day, they can go back into their sunny slots in the yard.
Ready to grow your own? What are your favorite vegetables for container gardening?
“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a Florida gardener in possession of a good fortune in October, must be in want of bare strawberry plant roots. ” ~ Plants and Prejudice
Fall and winter are the strawberry growing seasons here in Florida. But Florida gardeners do it differently than they do up North.
Despite the fact that I’ve lived in the South for over 26 years, I’m still a bit confused about it. Apparently, in Florida, strawberries are annuals.
That’s right. Come May (or June, or whenever), Florida growers and home gardeners pull and compost millions of strawberry plants.
Back in the summer of 2018, I preordered a big batch of strawberry plant roots — Radiance variety. In October, I planted my bare root crowns and watered and fertilized them diligently.
Like many home gardeners,
I potted them in shallow containers in rich potting soil rather than in the
ground. (I’m partial to Jungle Growth brand.)
I got just a few fruits in December, but then they went kind
of dormant, despite the mild winter.
I stuffed them with a high potassium tomato food and got some flowers in late January. Strawberries duly appeared in February and March and continued until May.
At that point, all of my gardening mentors suggest that I
remove and compost them.
They’re no good anymore, they told me. They won’t produce again, they advised sagely. Burn ‘em.
But, rebel that I am, I refused to pull and dispose of perfectly good strawberry plants.
I continued to water them and feed them throughout the hot, wet
summer. Then in September, I pretended I still lived in Ohio and repotted them
in fresh potting soil.
Just in case, I also picked up some beautiful strawberry starts from a local feed store. I chose Sweet Charlies this year – mainly because that’s what they had. Sweet Charlies are early-season “June-bearing strawberries,” that, in Florida, produce from November to March.
That just shows you how messed up growing strawberries in Florida
can be.
Growing Strawberry Plants Can Be Confusing
If you starting planning to grow them, you’ll see that there are three different types, all depending on their fruiting habit. There are four, if you include wild strawberries.
Frankly, I’m still in denial that I will likely never taste a wild strawberry again in my life. Growing up in northern Ohio, we used to pick and eat them covered in milk. It was heaven, really.
But as to varieties you can buy, you can choose from June-bearing, ever-bearing, or day-neutral types.
June-bearing strawberries seem to be the favorites in most of the country. They produce fat, bright-red berries that are simply irresistible to home gardeners.
Ever-bearing types give you two solid harvests during the growing season — one in spring and another in fall.
Day-neutral varieties produce continuously as long as the temperatures
stay between 35 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
Growing Strawberries in a Southern Garden
While I can only speak of growing strawberries in Florida -– and argue against the “annual” approach — there are plenty of excellent resources for growing them in other regions of the South.
Can you grow strawberries year round in Florida? Experts say no. While your strawberry plants may not die off in the summer, they won’t produce either. It’s just too hot!
StrawberryPlants.com has an excellent resource for finding the right variety of strawberries for your region.
My Strawberry Experiment
As I said, I couldn’t bear the idea of just tossing a bunch
of strawberry plants.
I simply watered them and took care of them like any outdoor potted plant. I fed them once a month or so with a balanced fertilizer.
When the rainy season came, I applied my usual organic, copper-based anti-fungal. The bugs left them alone since they had no fruit. (My spring tomatoes were too much of a distraction.)
In the fall, I refreshed the soil, added a fat layer of hay
on top, and began watering and feeding for production.
Low and behold, my 2018 Festivals started to deliver.
December 13, 2019
I’m not an expert in growing anything, but I’m a passionate gardener who loves to experiment. I can’t guarantee that every gardener in Florida (especially in the southern zones) will be able to “over-summer” strawberries.
I can’t even guarantee that I’ll be able to do it again.
What I can say is that I’ve heard of one other gardener in
my area that tried it successfully. And I can say that it’s worth trying.
Do you grow strawberries in your home garden? What zone are you in, and what varieties do you plant? I’d love to hear how other gardeners in the South approach strawberry growing.
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