Central Florida Vegetable Planting Guides

Growing your own vegetables means fresher produce, which in turn means tastier and more nutritious foods on your table. Many people in central Florida who have never considered maintaining a vegetable garden before are looking for ways to cut costs at the grocery store. With a little careful planning, you can grow almost any vegetable you like in your central Florida garden.

Vegetables grown in Central Florida need the best growing medium possible if they are to thrive. Organic matter such as compost or manure improves the sandy condition of the soil in this area and supplies needed nutrients. Find out the pH of your soil by using a kit from any garden center or by taking a soil sample to a local extension service. The pH value tells you whether your soil is too acidic or too alkaline. Your target range is 5.8 to 6.3, according to the University of Florida Extension. Lime is used to raise the pH to make it more alkaline, while powdered sulphur lowers it. Your extension agent can advise on you how much of either you need. Fertilizers also help your garden grow, but be sure to have your soil tested to determine what it needs and in what proportions. Too much can be as bad as not enough.

Central Florida's mild weather allows for two growing seasons for warm-weather vegetables, or you can start your first planting at any time during warm weather. Cool-weather crops do well beginning in August. Expect some overlap of warm- and cool-weather crops in August and September. Warm-weather vegetables that grow well in central Florida include green beans, lima beans, corn, eggplant, cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers. Cabbage, lettuce, spinach, collards, broccoli and onions do well in cooler weather.

Irrigation is necessary to bring in the moisture that plants need for growing, but too much water will harm them. Central Florida goes through its wet season from approximately May until October, with slight variations each year. Dry season falls from October until April or so. Planting in raised beds or in ridges on the surface allows for better drainage. Your garden needs to be level, so that there are no low-lying areas of stagnant water. Young plants need frequent but spare watering, whereas older plants can be watered deeply but less often.

Planting your garden is like setting the dinner table for a host of insects. Some of the garden pests that thrive in Central Florida include aphids, corn earworms, cucumber beetles, and armyworms. These pests eat various parts of your vegetable plants, causing them to wilt or die. Natural pest control entails the use of insects such as lady bugs, spiders or wasps that feed on pests. Often, chemicals such as malathion and pyrethroids are used. Central Florida vegetable plants get hit by fungus more than viruses or bacteria. Signs that your plants are being affected by one of these include leaves that split; visible damage to leaves; tumors present on stems, roots and leaves; and spots on the vegetables. When you suspect a problem of pests or disease, take a living sample of an affected plant to your extension agent for testing.