Many vegetables thrive best when planted from transplants in an indoor greenhouse and then placed outside in the garden. Beans, squash, cucumbers, corn and many other herbs all benefit from being started indoors before being transplanted outside into a garden bed.
Tender vegetables such as courgettes, pumpkins and French beans must first be exposed to outdoor temperatures before planting out; this process is known as hardening off. Consult the seed packet for guidance as to when this needs to happen.
Spring
No matter if you’re an experienced gardener or just starting out, planting at the right time is key to its success. Too early and you risk frost damage; too late and your vegetables could perish!
Successful gardening depends on understanding each crop’s individual requirements, including ideal growing conditions and sowing seeds at just the right time. A vegetable planting calendar can help keep track of this process; but be mindful of each plant’s lead time (the amount of time required for its seed or transplant to germinate depending on outdoor temperatures and air temperatures).
Florida typically experiences its last spring frost between February 1 and March 1, making this the optimal window to sow a range of cool-season vegetables like cabbage, kale, cauliflower, broccoli, onions, leeks, endive, escarole spinach and lettuce indoors or directly sowing peas beans and radishes outdoors.
By mid to late April, the risk of frost has usually passed and it’s safe to sow outdoor seed of okra, zucchini, basil and eggplant directly. You can also start hardening off indoor-grown tomato, peppers, squash and snap beans seedlings that will be transplanted later on during April.
To harvest fresh salad greens, start sowing butterhead and romaine lettuce seeds early to mid April (protected from cold) directly into the ground or sow arugula directly. You may also plant spinach, Swiss chard, parsnips and rutabagas in early or mid May or June respectively and wait until late May/June before sowing sweet corn or warm-season vegetables like cucumbers/melons for harvest come autumn. Having your soil tested prior to sowing will allow you to know what nutrients your soil requires in order for optimal results to occur – be it sows fresh green or wait – and wait – before sowing any crops! To ensure optimal results from your planting efforts, be sure you know which nutrients your soil requires in order for best results and best results possible.
Summer
Many gardeners abandon their vegetable gardens once the spring planting window closes, but your vegetable garden doesn’t need to stop producing vegetables just because the temperature rises. Heat-loving veggies such as tomatoes, peppers, summer squash, eggplant and okra still need nurturing as summer progresses – be sure to sow seeds of black-eyed peas and winter leeks as early as April or May before transplanting them in June/July into their final positions; for cool-season greens regularly sow new seed every few weeks for fresh salads throughout summer’s heat wave – keep up watering to keep soil moisture levels consistent as your plants expands as you watch out for weeds as these growing out of control before it grows out of space!
As your radishes, spinach and cilantro start to falter midsummer, plant heat-tolerant greens such as mizuna or kale to continue enjoying summer harvests. Sowing new crops every 3 – 5 weeks depending on the size of your garden space ensures there will always be enough for yourself and friends.
As spring progresses, it provides the ideal opportunity to plant some of your garden’s fastest-growing veggies such as carrots or radishes. Sow these along with quick-growing herbs like parsley or chervil and you will soon have an abundant garden salad for all to enjoy this summer!
No summer garden would be complete without some fruits like cantaloupes and watermelons! They’re easy to direct sow and can even be trained up trellises or cattle panels for added visual interest. Make sure that watering, weeding and providing enough sunlight are followed for larger fruit production; don’t forget to pick your ripe melons before they grow too large so you can enjoy their sweet, juicy flavor!
Fall
Cool season vegetables such as kale, carrots, beets and radishes can be easily grown in the fall with ease. Their roots thrive in cool temperatures, continuing their development even into winter if protected with mulch. Timing is key; to maximize success it’s best to start planting your vegetable garden between late summer and early fall.
Start with a well-prepared bed or patch of soil. Remove any weeds, till or spade the area, loosen it with a garden hoe or rototiller as necessary, and add a light layer of organic compost before sowing seeds for fall vegetables from seeds – this will give the seeds an additional boost and ensure rapid growth! If planting from seeds directly, make sure to add an organic fertilizer like manure into the topsoil as this will give them an extra boost and accelerate their development quickly!
Plant your crops 10 weeks in advance of the expected date of first frost to give your crop time to mature before being exposed to frost, and also allow ample harvesting opportunities.
Fall weather typically causes plants to grow at a slower rate, so you may need to add another week or so of growth time before their maturity has been achieved.
Broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cabbage grow best when exposed to cool temperatures with light frosts; typically taking 70 to 90 days from seedling to harvest. Leafy greens such as arugula and spinach also thrive well during this cool-season crop that can be grown during fall season.
Peas enjoy cool temperatures and are typically ready to harvest within 50-60 days of sowing them in cool soil. If you are an admirer of lettuce, fall planting may also be worth your while; though it takes longer for establishment, succession planting allows fresh salads all season long! One fast-growing variety such as the Bibb variety that stands up well against pests and diseases is ideal.
Winter
Once the summer harvest is underway and your garden is filled with juicy tomatoes, zucchini and peppers, planting winter veggies may not be top of mind. But late summer and autumn are actually ideal times to plant winter-ready greens, root veggies and brassicas that will thrive under warmer soil temperatures and quickly.
By August in cool climates, it is recommended that seeds or transplants of cold-hardy vegetables should be planted. This includes broccoli, kale, chard, cabbage, beets and carrots as well as radishes turnips and spinach seeded for autumn harvest and winter storage; in many locations these crops will survive frost without damage if protected with straw mulch or floating row cover.
For optimal results, cultivate soil that drains well. Combine organic matter such as compost or manure with blood meal (rich in nitrogen with an NPK ratio of 11-0-0), bone meal (higher phosphate content with NPK ratio 6-2-1) and kelp meal (slightly alkaline with pH balance between 6-7) in your planting beds to provide ample soil nutrition and water. Be sure to irrigate these materials during sowing or planting and for at least the first couple weeks until veg begins growing vigorously!
Once your seedlings and transplants are firmly established, keep up the fertilization regime by spraying liquid fish emulsion or fish oil onto their foliage every other week – this practice should continue through fall harvest time.
Winter crops require special care in terms of protection. You should invest in floating row covers and some form of fencing or netting in areas where large predatory animals roam freely, along with adding layers of wood shavings onto the soil surface for extra worm castings, coffee grounds or wood shavings as mulch to shield their roots from direct light exposure that could cause rotting of vegetables. As temperatures begin to cool and darken further still, you should ensure your vegetables remain covered with either tarps or blankets to minimize light penetration which could potentially cause rotting from sunlight directly onto their roots – particularly as temperatures get darker yet again!