Yay, we are halfway through with August and our summer is winding down! This is the perfect time to start prepping for that fall garden. Growing a productive fall vegetable garden requires thoughtful planning and good cultural practices. This process consists of selecting a site, planning the garden, preparing the soil, choosing the seeds and plants, planting a crop, and nurturing the plants until harvest time. In the Florida Panhandle it can be a challenge to get cool season crops started; there is a balance in starting them early enough to allow them to mature (50-60 days) before a hard frost and getting them through the end of a hot summer.
August and September are the main planting times for a fall garden. There are several cool-season crops and a final crop of warm-season vegetables that can be planted. Some good warm season crops are lima beans, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes. Going into September it will be a good time to establish strawberry plants. Some good vegetables to start growing just around the corner are broccoli, carrots, cabbage, collards, mustard, and Swiss chard. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/NorthFloridaGardeningCalendar Herbs that do well are cilantro, parsley, and lemongrass. Mint, oregano, and thyme should be planted in containers as they tend to spread. Mexican tarragon, mint, rosemary, and basil will also do well in September. See Herbs: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_herbs
Transplants from the local garden center will get the garden off to a fast start while seeds will offer more varieties to choose from. It is also important to think about your location. A vegetable garden can be in the ground, a raised bed, or even grown in containers. Your plants will need more than just a place to grow. They will also need sunlight, water, air, soil, fertilizer, and care. Most vegetables require at least 8 hours of sunlight. Keep an eye out for pest problems such as insects, diseases and weeds because they will continue to flourish in warm temperatures and high humidity. To help conserve soil moisture a layer of newspaper and mulch can be placed between the rows. Mulch also aids in weed control.
Raised beds are an excellent way to get started with gardening. Photo by Molly Jameson.
The result of a beautiful, successful vegetable garden is fresh produce to eat, share with neighbors, family, and friends and even the possibility to sell your harvest. With patience and practice your gardening skills will improve every year! Follow the above few tips and you will be well on your way to a great harvest! For more information about starting a fall garden or any other horticultural or agricultural topic, contact your local UF/IFAS County Extension Office. Happy Gardening
Multi-cropping at a Gainesville, FL organic garden.
As we go into the winter here in the Panhandle the following herbs will do well: cilantro, parsley, fennel, thyme, chives, oregano, sage and dill. Basil is a popular herb but will need to be inside by a kitchen window this time of year. It will drop leaves below 40 degrees F.
Cilantro: Needs full to partial sun, excellent soil drainage, and can be sued at 6 inches in height. The dry seeds are used to make the spice Coriander.
Parsley: Loves the cool weather and will bloom in the spring. Parsley likes afternoon shade. The seeds do take longer to germinate so do not give up on this plant. The root has a strong flavor and is used in holiday dishes. Parsley is beneficial to your health and contain vitamins A, C, K and is also high in calcium and iron.
Fennel: Needs full sun and moist soil. Fennel should not be planted near dill or cilantro because it will cross pollinate and reduce seed production. Fennel is good for digestive health and the shoots, leaves, and seeds are all useful in cooking. This plant also is host to the black swallowtail caterpillar.
Thyme: Needs full sun, well-drained soil and is extremely drought tolerant. Thyme does very well in a windowsill. This plant is highly attractive to bees and creates a delicious honey.
Chives: Prefers sunlight and well drained soil. This can be used for an onion or garlic flavor to your dish. It will need to be divided every couple of years since it grows so well here. Also, very good mixed into butter or cream cheese as a spread.
Oregano: This is the most widely used culinary and medicinal herb. It has tiny purple flowers that bloom all summer. It needs full sun and well-drained soil. Its best flavor is when you harvest the leaves as the flower buds form. The stems can be cut and dried and used in the cooking as well.
Sage: This herb needs full sun and very well drained soil. It is a small silvery leaf plant that is a very popular seasoning during Thanksgiving for turkey. It is also good on other poultry.
Sage. UF/IFAS Photo: Josh Wickham.
Dill: This herb likes full sun as well and serves as a host plant to the Black Swallowtail Butterfly. It is a very aromatic herb used both for its leaves and the seeds.
When harvesting herbs look for leaves that are young and tender with good color. Wash your herbs and pick them as you need them for best flavor, unless you plan to store them. When storing fresh herbs, it is important to know that they lose their flavor over time. They will store in the refrigerator from 1-3 weeks, freezer, and if dried can last up to 3 years.
Herbs are often underutilized in our cooking. There are many benefits of growing and using herbs. They add flavor to foods and beverages and reduce the need for salt, fat, and sugar. Herbs are also easy to grow at home and low maintenance!
Herbs can be used fresh, dried, and frozen. There are several tips of how to use herbs in your kitchen. You will need to adjust recipes depending on how the herb is prepared. For example, 1 tablespoon of finely cut fresh herbs equals 1 teaspoon of dried herbs and is equivalent to 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of ground dried herbs. It is always best to start with small amounts and add more to taste. Dried ground herbs can be used on meat, soups, sauces, and vegetables to name a few.
In hot dishes fresh herbs should be added near the end of the cooking time. If they are delicate herbs, you could do it in the last 1 to 2 minutes and less delicate herbs in the last 20 minutes of cooking. In cold dishes, herbs should be added several hours before serving or overnight. Each herb has its own flavor profile, so experiment and see which you like best! Some common herb and food combinations are basil and tomato products, rosemary and meats, sage and poultry, and mint and desserts. Have fun trying different combination of herbs and food and remember to start with little and add as needed for the desired taste!
Source: Minton, Emily and Maddox, Martha. 2018. “Cooking with Fresh Herbs.” UF/IFAS Extension. FCS8932/FY1209: Cooking with Fresh Herbs (ufl.edu)
As October gets by us and November quickly approaches, I would like to include the preparation on What to Plant? And What to Do? Some great annual plant choices are digitalis (foxglove), petunias, and Shasta daisy. There are many daffodil bulb varieties for North Florida including the following: Carlton, Fortune, Silver Charms, Thalia, and Sweetness. We will be getting into more of the cooler days, so this is a good time to start bulb onions and salad crops such as arugula, lettuce, and spinach. Dill, fennel, oregano, and sage are all herbs that can be planted throughout the fall months.
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.
In lawns there are a few key things that can be done in October. It is possible to control winter weeds before they appear. This is the time to use preemergent herbicides when nighttime temperatures are between 55-60 degrees Fahrenheit for four to five days in a row. If a green lawn is desired, you can overseed with annual ryegrass when the daytime temperatures are in the low 70s. Remember, the lawn will still need to be watered and mowed to maintain a healthy ryegrass. Watch for fungus like brown patch and large patch disease. This can become active when the soil temperature is between 65-75 degrees Fahrenheit.
Hollies also attract bees to the landscape. Credit: Beth Bolles, UF IFAS Extension Escambia County
And last but not least as you prepare for winter around the corner you can plant evergreen hollies that will make it through the cold and provide a splash of color with red berries. Gather pine needles that are dropping and use as a natural mulch, and this is the last month that strawberry plants can be established in a bed or a large container.
Cayenne Peppers growing this summer. Image Credit Matthew Orwat UF / IFAS Extension Washington County
As fall begins we often begin to think about the successes and failures of our vegetable gardens. Two of my successes this past summer have been pepper and basil.
A variety of peppers work great as transplants in mid to late spring. This spring a large variety of peppers were planted including Cayenne, Bell, Cubanelle, Habanero, Poblano, Anaheim, Cajun Belle, Havasau, Serrano, Jalapeno, and Banana. A loose, rich media was used containing coconut coir and composted organic humus to provide an excellent well-drained location which also retained moisture. Finding this delicate balance is difficult but can be achieved by using coconut coir and organic matter based garden soil mixtures. After the peppers were planted, they were side-dressed twice with a standard bagged 8-8-8 fertilizer blend containing micronutrients and once with an organic fertilizer. During the heat of the summer it was important to water the peppers at least every other day. Need for watering decreased as the fall weather approached, but was still necessary.
Bountiful Pepper Harvest. Image Credit Matthew Orwat UF / IFAS Extension Washington County
Sage and Basil Image Credit Matthew Orwat UF / IFAS Extension Washington County
In fall, many gardeners think it might be a good time to remove their peppers plants, but they can be encouraged to produce peppers until frost and maybe a little later with protection. Oftentimes it is more practical to start or transplant new pepper plants the following spring, but it is possible to pot up and overwinter peppers in a sheltered area or greenhouse.
In addition to peppers, basil was especially bountiful this year. To save my basil bounty for the winter I have options to dry, blanch or make pesto. This should be done before the first frost, since basil is very sensitive to freezing temperatures. Other herbs that will usually overwinter well in the garden include thyme, chives and rosemary. They will need little to no protection. Additionally, sage might come back the following year if it is in a protected area. Herbs such as cilantro and parsley will thrive in our North Florida winters and should be planted now.
To preserve the bounty of your harvest for later use, you may can, pickle, or freeze peppers. Follow these USDA-approved guidelines from the National Center for Home Food Preservation:
Credit : National Center for Home Food Preservation
Yes, that’s right! We made it through the hottest part of the year and we are looking ahead to fall just around the corner! I am excited to be discussing September and what we can do to prepare for fall in the garden. As the nighttime temperatures start to cool down, we are given many more options.
For annual color plantings in September, try Ageratum, Celosia, Zinnias, and Wax Begonia to add fall color to your landscape. Bulbs will also add color, texture, and pattern to a bed. If you have some extra space, a variety of elephant ears could really accent a bed or you could always go with the classic calla, narcissus or zephyr lily. Popular vegetables to plant in North Florida in September are broccoli, carrot, cabbage, and collards. See Vegetable Gardening in Florida This is also the time of year to establish strawberry plants. Some great herbs to get started are Mexican tarragon, mint, rosemary, and basil.
Image Credit: Matthew Orwat UF/IFAS Extension Washington County
There are many things that can be done in your lawn during September. Monitoring your lawn for its health and potential insect pests is important this time of year. Common insects to scout for are fall armyworms, chinch bugs, mole crickets, and sod webworms. The last fertilizer application should be done by the middle to end of September. Make sure you choose a fertilizer with little to no phosphorus unless a soil test shows differently. To maintain a healthy lawn, avoid weed and feed products and only apply herbicides in areas with high infestations of weeds. Weed and feed products are not recommended because the timing of when to fertilize and the timing of the weed killer is not always the same. The best management practice is to use a separate treatment for weeds and when possible spot treat weeds.
If you already have bulbs in your landscape from previous growing seasons, this is the time to divide and replant those that are big. You can also add organic matter to new planting areas. Continue working on your vegetable plants and prepare them for either transplants for a fast start, or plants seeds for more variety. Throughout your landscape, it is important that plants are getting the right amount of water as we go in and out of wet and dry weather this time of year.
October will be here before we know it in just a couple of weeks. Look out for the next article to come. We will be getting into the cooler nights and more options for planting vegetables and herbs!
