Start preparing now so your fall garden will be full of dark leafy greens, multi-colored lettuces, and root vegetables of all shapes and sizes. Photo by Molly Jameson.
August is a double-edged sword. The oppressive heat is at its pinnacle – where even the thought of spending time in the garden makes you break into a sweat – but it is also the time of year that visions of fall start coming into focus, and you can’t help but peek at the weekly forecast for signs of declining temperatures.
If your garden looks anything like mine, there are sweet potato vines weaving in and out of every corner of sunlight they can find. The sweet peppers you let fully ripen are bright red and sweeter than ever. You may have already reaped the reward of your watermelons, but you’re still hoping you can get the harvest timing right for the late season bloomers. Your okra is as tall as you – maybe even taller – and you’re grateful, for their big oblong heart-shaped leaves are shading out at least some of those warm-season weeds.
Fall is the time to start growing kale, lettuce, onions, parsley, mustard greens, and much more. Photo by Molly Jameson.
But the seasons are-a-changing, and soon you’ll be pulling up the last of your summer garden to make room for dark leafy greens, a cornucopia of roots, and a rainbow of lettuce varieties.
If this is making you want to rush to your nearest plant nursery and unearth all your half-used fall seed packets, then come on down to the Leon County Extension Office in Tallahassee to join us for our annual Fall Backyard Gardening Series!
This is a two-part series, running from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on September 4 and 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on September 11, 2018, at 615 Paul Russell Road. I, along with Extension Agents Mark Tancig and Trevor Hylton, will discuss garden site selection, soil and fertilization, and fall planting and gardening techniques. As a bonus, you’ll leave with freshly planted vegetable seeds to take home to later transplant into your garden.
Please register on Eventbrite. The cost for both evenings is $10, and light refreshments will be provided. For more information, contact Molly Jameson at mjameson@ufl.edu or by phone at 850-606-5219.
And if you’re not in the Tallahassee area, check with your local extension office to see what fall gardening events they may have available. Tending a fall garden in Florida can be one of the most rewarding outdoor endeavors you can experience!
Are you interested in growing squash in your garden? Do you know the difference between summer squash and winter squash? Check out this very informative instructional video on growing squash in your home garden by Walton County Agriculture Agent Evan Anderson.
Mrs. Henry C. Mills in 1966 with her African violets at the North Florida Fair flower show. Photo by Dan Stainer/State Archives of Florida.
Growing up, as soon as I entered the fair gates, I always headed straight for the rides. If I was lucky, I was able to get an unlimited pass strapped around my wrist and didn’t need to worry about rationing any tickets. Although I usually didn’t remember the names of particular rides – they were clear in my imagination. The spaceship, the circular mini roller coaster, the alien arms… and of course, the Ferris wheel. It wasn’t until I was about a dozen rides in – and starting to feel a little queasy – that the fun houses and win-a-goldfish-by-throwing-a-ring or shoot-a-basketball-for-a-giant-stuffed-tiger games drew my attention. After that, I was ready for funnel cake. Maybe even a corn dog and an assortment of fried cheese, pickles, and the like. Inevitably, I would eat too much and be out of commission for any more rides I was hoping to squeeze in – or squeeze into! This is when I might finally make my rounds through one or two of the giant warehouse-looking buildings that lined the way to the exits, where I knew there was at least a llama or a goat to be fed at the petting zoo.
Instead of simply attending the North Florida Fair this year, submit your garden’s best for competition. Photo by North Florida Fair.
But when I started volunteering at the Leon County Animal Shelter as part of the 4-H Pet Partners at age 12, I was introduced to these buildings in a whole new light. We were assigned the task of creating papier-mâché cats and dogs to display at the fair to help build awareness of pet overpopulation. I remember my dog well – he was beagle-like, with long droopy paper ears and stiff pointy legs that I struggled to keep balanced. The day we went to set up our display, my adrenaline soared, as I knew our creations were to be judged and ribbons to be bestowed. Ever since, I no longer view the fair buildings as a last stop – rather, I relish my stroll through each of them, as they contain so many handmade treasures, many of which are adorned with blue rosettes of triumph.
The tradition of displaying and competing for the best quality handiworks at the fair goes all the way back to the Middle Ages and Renaissance, where merchants sold and traded agricultural goods that had been grown over the summer and freshly harvested in the fall. Naturally, competitions arose during these times, as they strove for the finest products.
Today, fairs reflect the personality of an area, and nearly universally include judges who inspect home grown fruits and vegetables, flowers, preserved foods, and baked goods entered into competition by the community. The North Florida Fair awards about $80,000 in cash prizes to citizens who create and grow various items. Anyone living within the 24 counties that comprise North Florida – from the Suwannee, west to the Alabama line – is eligible to enter as many of the exhibit categories as they would like.
A youth showcasing his prize winning chicken at the North Florida Fair. Photo by Aly Donovan.
The exhibits are arranged into various departments, such as Home Agriculture, Capital City Garden Club Flower Show, Poultry, Baked Goods, and Fine Arts and Crafts. Within each department, there are various classes that are split into certain age divisions (i.e., youth only) or experience levels (i.e., amateur vs. professional). Under the Home Agriculture department there are 42 classes, including 13 classes covering fresh vegetables. The Capital City Garden Club Flower Show department has 13 classes, including annuals, perennials, hanging baskets, fruiting shrubs, trees, and vines, succulents, and much more. If you would like to submit something you’ve grown, now is the time to begin planning, as this year’s fair is set for November 8-18.
All of the details for each department and class can be found on the North Florida Fair website (http://northfloridafair.com/), under the Exhibitors tab. Pay close attention to the application and submittal deadlines for each specific category, as most items are due for judging the week prior to the fair opening.
So, let nostalgia win you over as you prepare your home-grown vegetables and flowers for submittal to the North Florida Fair. You might just earn a blue ribbon to be displayed for all fair attendees to admire, either as they walk off a full stomach in preparation for more rides, on their way to the exits, or just as they get started creating their own fond fair memories.
There is one tough annual plant that thrives in the summer garden and provides bright color in our sun and heat. Portulaca or moss rose (Portulaca grandiflora) is strong performer, even growing well when reseeding in sidewalk cracks and stone walkways. Of course it will be most attractive when used in containers or well drained landscape beds in bright sunshine.
Containers of portulaca brighten an entrance to the herb garden at Escambia County Extension Demonstration Gardens. Photo by Beth Bolles, UF IFAS Extension Escambia County
The thicker, flattened leaves of portulaca make is adaptable to drier conditions. The plants are only about 6 inches tall but branches will spread out a foot or so from the center. The attractive flowers extend just above attractive green foliage in colors of yellow, pinks, and oranges. Portulaca is extremely versatile, making it a good filler in a container or at the edges of flower beds along hardscape areas.
Bright flowers of portulaca reach for the sun. Photo by Beth Bolles, UF IFAS Extension Escambia County
Portulaca will not perform the best when soils remain too moist or days stay overcast for extended periods. Flowering will also be reduced if water is totally lacking. Maintain a balance by providing a quality soil that drains well.
Although many gardeners prefer perennials to annuals, portulaca can provide a big impact in the summer garden for a small investment.
Are you interested in growing lettuce and other leafy greens? Are you looking for tips on extending the growing season for your leafy green crop? If so, then check out this very informative instructional video by Washington County Horticulture Agent Matthew Orwat.
This late winter has been alternating between warm and cool extremes. One thing is for certain and that’s that it’s time to start planning your sweet potato crop.
Sweet potatoes are generally planted March through June in the Florida Panhandle. The most common method of planting is with sweet potato slips. Sweet potato slips are simply six to eight inch cuttings of a sweet potato vine with the majority of the leaves pulled off. You can purchase sweet potato slips from a local garden center or a seed catalog. Make sure you only purchase certified, disease free slips. You can also easily start your own sweet potato slips from a store-bought sweet potato.
Sweet Potato Slip Production
Pre-sprout Your Tubers – Place sweet potato tubers in a warm place (75 to 85 degrees) with high humidity (90%), such as in your garage, for two to four weeks. It is important that you put the tubers in a well-ventilated container. Allow the tubers to stay in the pre-sprout area until sprouts are roughly 1/4-inch in length.
Bedding – Sweet potatoes are placed in “beds” to produce slips. A sweet potato bed can be made out of the same materials as you’d use for a raised bed garden. You can simply build a frame out of 2″x12″ lumber. Plastic is placed in the bottom of the beds before a layer of bedding material is put down. The bedding media can be a peat-based potting mix or a more economical substrate would be wood chips or sawdust. Sprouted sweet potatoes should then be placed in a single layer 8″ to 12″ inches apart and covered with two additional inches of bedding material. Then top dress the bed with a general purpose, granular fertilizer, water the bed, and cover with clear or black plastic. Poke holes in the cover plastic to aerate the soil and prevent carbon dioxide and temperature buildup. You may need to water the bed periodically, but do not completely saturate. Sweet potato slips can also be produced in the garden if you have a sandy, well-drained soil such as the field pictured below.
Sweet potato slip production in the field. Photo Credit: Evan Anderson, University of Florida/IFAS Extension.
Cut Slips – Slips will be ready to cut in seven to ten weeks. Cut slips 1″ above the bed surface and trim to 10″ to 12″ in length. Strip all but the top one or two leaves from each slip. If you are unable to plant your slips at the time of cutting, then store them in a cool, dry area to prevent them from rotting.
Sweet potato slips can be planted March through June in the Florida Panhandle. Plant the slips at least three nodes (leaf stubs) deep at 12″ by 36″ spacing. Fertilize based on soil test recommendations. Sweet potatoes are ready to harvest generally between 100 to 120 days after planting slips. After harvest, you will need store your sweet potatoes in a warm (80 to 85 degrees), humid (80 to 90%) place for one to two weeks to allow them to “cure”. After the curing period, you can store your sweet potatoes in a cool area (55 to 60 degrees) until you are ready to eat them.
Sweet potato storage on a commercial farm. Photo Credit: Evan Anderson, University of Florida/IFAS Extension.
