Backyard Vegetable Garden.
 

Do you have one? What can you grow successfully in the Florida Climate?

My wife loves her garden and wants to continue growing her own vegetables when we move.

Right now she grows:

Kale (2 varieties)
Swiss Chard
Squash (4 varieties)
Tomatoes (4 varieties)
Peas
Fava beans
String beans
Cucumbers
Beets
Carrots
Radishes
Onions
Lettuce (2 varieties)
Arugula
Spinach
Bell Peppers
Jalapeno peppers
A bunch of different herbs
Pumpkins
Watermelon
Strawberries
Blueberries
Figs

Will any of those make it in FL? We currently live in Western Washington. The climate is a tad different.. lol

Thanks.

IMO you’re best luck would be in Large pots 15 gallon or bigger where you can control the soil and watering using meter. Most designer property’s have very little garden space in back. CYV’s have space for pots behind walls or on you’re screened in porch. Most pots with vegetables can’t take afternoon sun do to the heat especially black pots.

Tomatoes IMO are hardest due to heat, blight, and whiteflies. Peppers seems to do good I have 4 to 6 varieties, but summer heat and white flies can destroy them if you can’t control them.

Coming from Washington you will find it lot harder down here for back yard garden IMO.

We are in Kennewick and moving in the spring. Where are you currently in WA? And when are you heading south?

We're about 50 miles north of Seattle a couple miles west of I-5 about a mile from the Sound.

We're hoping to move around the end of next year. We plan on having a house there before we list our house here though. We'll do a "modified" snowbird -lol. With just 3 days of PTO my wife can take ten days off so that will give us time to get things ready for the big move.

okay, so here's what I've found out...I plant tomatoes in September and again in January...skins are tougher than what I had up north, but the flavor is great....I plant them in pots

haven't had much success with peppers, but that was never one of my main crops...we grow a lot of herbs and the critters don't go after them

.
.
.
We've had veg gardens beside our home in The Villages for over 4 years. Tomatoes and peppers seem to do best for us - but the conditions in summer here are NOT ideal. These links should help>

Starting a Garden

ENH1189/EP450: Central Florida Gardening Calendar

Vegetable Gardening by Season - Gardening Solutions - University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
.
.

Wanted to try growing tomatoes but everyone I spoke to said soil and conditions not conducive so have not tried it yet

Two seasons, plant in September harvest December, plant in February/March harvest May/June. I highly recommend Earth Boxes.

EarthBox(R) | Successful Container Gardening Systems Using this system as directed works.

I had two jalapeño pepper plants that were 3 years old and would produce pretty much year around.

There is/was a garden mill store in Leesburg Called Simon seed.
Simon Seed Leesburg - Home | Facebook

I plant tomatoes from seed. August 1 will produce fruit in Late October through December, Plant seeds again in February and produce fruit May through July. The October fruit is better as there are fewer pests to put up with.

I had couple acres in Oklahoma where I spent 20 years. I ordered Rainer cherries trees from nursery in Washington state. Best tasting cherries I’ve ever tasted. Had yellow, yellow red, and red ones. Mmmmmmmm. I get them in store down here is season, good but not like fresh off the trees. Jalapeño peppers do good down here. That type of stock plant can take the heat better. I also have milder jalapeño called La Bomba that’s been going for three years. Had to bring pot in garage couple nights due to frost/freeze. It does get down close to freezing down here in winter, but only lasts day or two.

You can plant them in pots where you can control ph in the soil. I don’t have much luck with tomatoes, but some do.

Thank you. Good resources.

Thank you. Nice to have a local place to go for seeds and starts..

Rainier cherries and Walla Walla onions.. Two things we have to get when in season. Then of course there's the crab and salmon..

Simon seed is closed