Florida gardeners!

[TulsiLeaf]

Hello everyone! I am in St Petersburg, Fl and I want to start a garden. We dabbled last year, but it was disastrous. Planted to late and by the time everything was almost ready it got to hot.


So, share your ideas here, what you are planting, when, how.


Thanks!

[FullMetalMom]

Hello fellow Floridian!

I'm way down here in the Ft. Lauderdale area, but I'm determined to grow something. We're in a new rental house, but I have a decent amount of space in the backyard, so I'm slowly but surely fixing it up to grow stuff. I have a 4 month old and a 2 year old, so I'm working here and there when I get time.

I have recently gotten into waterponds and I also want to get some native Florida plants. My foodstuffs thus far consist mostly of herbs. I just got my deydrator out and want to make some tea blends. I am trying to figure out what veggies I can grow, I'm thinking tomatoes, peppers and I want to try onions too. My DH wants to plant some Suriname cherries, they grow like weeds here and he loves them!

[TulsiLeaf]

Originally Posted by FullMetalMom

Hello fellow Floridian!

I'm way down here in the Ft. Lauderdale area, but I'm determined to grow something. We're in a new rental house, but I have a decent amount of space in the backyard, so I'm slowly but surely fixing it up to grow stuff. I have a 4 month old and a 2 year old, so I'm working here and there when I get time.

I have recently gotten into waterponds and I also want to get some native Florida plants. My foodstuffs thus far consist mostly of herbs. I just got my deydrator out and want to make some tea blends. I am trying to figure out what veggies I can grow, I'm thinking tomatoes, peppers and I want to try onions too. My DH wants to plant some Suriname cherries, they grow like weeds here and he loves them!

You can grow cherries?

[wholewheatchick]

Hi! I'm just a bit north of you near Clearwater. The biggest problems around here for gardening are 1. nematodes 2. sand, sand, sand! 3. very alkaline soils. I solved those 3 problems for my herbs by constructing a big planter box/bin, as a lady from the extension office explained to me. Unfortuneately, I have a notorious black thumb, and DH was really reluctant to spend money on plants and materials for the bins until I learn more, so I am hoping to go to the class on June 22 and grow something more than oregano! lol

Check out the extension website: http://pinellas.ifas.ufl.edu/

And June 22, from 2 - ? pm, there is this free class in St. Pete, which they want you to register for on the website.


Florida Vegetable Gardening
Location: West St. Petersburg Community Librara, 6605 Fifth Ave. No., St. Petersburg, Fl.

Details:
Cost: Free

Summer is the perfect time to start planning and preparing for your fall vegetable gardening. This Grant-Funded and Master Gardner-led program covers the basics from how to prepare your beds to what to plant and when, as well as the proper time to start your seeds. Master Gardener, Michaele Adams, will guide you through these interesting topics. Please note this program is on a Tuesday.

[TulsiLeaf]

Originally Posted by wholewheatchick

Hi! I'm just a bit north of you near Clearwater. The biggest problems around here for gardening are 1. nematodes 2. sand, sand, sand! 3. very alkaline soils. I solved those 3 problems for my herbs by constructing a big planter box/bin, as a lady from the extension office explained to me. Unfortuneately, I have a notorious black thumb, and DH was really reluctant to spend money on plants and materials for the bins until I learn more, so I am hoping to go to the class on June 22 and grow something more than oregano! lol

Check out the extension website: http://pinellas.ifas.ufl.edu/

And June 22, from 2 - ? pm, there is this free class in St. Pete, which they want you to register for on the website.


Florida Vegetable Gardening
Location: West St. Petersburg Community Librara, 6605 Fifth Ave. No., St. Petersburg, Fl.

Details:
Cost: Free

Summer is the perfect time to start planning and preparing for your fall vegetable gardening. This Grant-Funded and Master Gardner-led program covers the basics from how to prepare your beds to what to plant and when, as well as the proper time to start your seeds. Master Gardener, Michaele Adams, will guide you through these interesting topics. Please note this program is on a Tuesday.

I was reading about nematodes and found something about getting rid of them
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vh021

Here is what they say about Nematodes. I think I am going to start this in a few weeks

Reduce nematode populations temporarily by "soil solarization" – a technique which uses the sun's energy to heat the soil and kill soil-borne pests. To "solarize" soil, first remove vegetation, then break up and wet the soil to activate the nematodes. Cover the soil with sturdy, clear-plastic film. Weight down the edges with additional soil to keep the plastic in place. Soil solarization should be done during the warmest six weeks of summer. High temperatures (above 130°F) must be maintained for best results.

[FullMetalMom]

Originally Posted by TulsiLeaf

You can grow cherries?

Suriname (sp?) cherries aren't really cherries, I'm pretty sure they're not. They look like a little red fruit, taste like a cross between an orange and a tomato. I got some seeds from a neighbor's bush, will see if they grow. They are fun to eat, but not practical and have high concentration of Vit. C. I want to grow some pineapples, too, we get them in our organic coop box, so I will use the tops from them!

I just put the watergarden pond in the ground this afternoon! Excited to get it looking nice and put some water plants and a couple goldfish in there.

[TulsiLeaf]

I am looking forward to starting some seedlings, but i am unsure of when to start things for the fall.

Do you all know of anything I can start now?

[FullMetalMom]

Where did my Florida ladies go?

I'm excited, I just ordered some stuff to make some raised beds in the backyard here. Some brackets and a 3' x 6' recycled prefab bed. Will need to get some wood at the store to make other beds, hopefully I can find some untreated Cedar. I wanted to use stones to make the beds, but my DH says the soil will just wash out through the cracks, so. . . .

I'm very excited about my new pond. Finally got all the rocks, the waterfall and most of the plants in place and it looks awesome! It is the center piece of the yard. The frogs have been here the past few nights and have left frog spawn. My carnivorous plants are doing well

Now I have to figure out what veggies/fruits I can plant in my beds!

[sapientia]

I'm in central fl here-got some lovely raised stone beds that have had a great yield so far. I've gotten a ton of cucumbers, lotsa tomatoes(beefsteak, plum, cherry and yellow cherry). I've got okra that's got some little tiny okras on it-zucchini and yellow squash, and a row of pumpkins along the fence.
In regards to herbs: lavender, oregano, thyme, rosemary, mint.
I've grown all this in a relatively small backyard in a lovely little neighborhood.

[eloise24]

Another Central-FL"ian" here . . . just moved into a new house- have three tomato plants and three eggplants in the ground. Mint growing. Whole pile of seeds on my counter waiting to be planted- cilantro (I have a terrible time with this but would use it almost daily if I could get it to grow well), thyme (for my garden walkway), sunflowers, rosemary, hot Thai peppers, morning glories and a few other random things.

I bought some great seeds last year for my fall garden and then ended up pregnant . . . I'm looking forward to August to start seeds for my first FALL weather garden!