Vegetable Gardening | Gardening in the Panhandle

Get an Early Start on Spring Veggies

by Blake Thaxton | Jan 27, 2015

Raised bed spring vegetable garden in NW Florida – photo credit: Blake Thaxton

Growing spring vegetables in northwest Florida can be challenging! Sometimes failures seem more numerous than successes. Extreme cold events in the winter and blistering hot summer days make it tough on vegetables. One suggestion is to get the garden started earlier than usual!

The climate in northwest Florida challenges the gardener due to very high insect pest pressure and it being the perfect environment for fungal and bacterial diseases to grow. Hot and humid summers with moderate winters can be disastrous because diseases will be very active and the insects are not eliminated by extreme cold temperatures. Random cold temperatures in the spring make it hard to know when to plant the vegetable garden.

[important]Because insects and diseases become more active as it gets warmer in the spring, getting a head start may aid the success of your vegetable garden.[/important]

How can a gardener get a head start? Here are a few suggestions:

Start Vegetable Transplants Inside

Seems simple, but just getting seed started in a temperature controlled environment can help the vegetable plants get a leg up on the insect pests and diseases that are eminent. If you have a greenhouse structure, that would work perfectly. If not, consider starting your plants in a room with as much possible natural light. On warm days take the plants outside to get some sunshine.

Use Black Plastic Mulch

Tomato Plants grown with black plastic mulch – photo credit: Blake Thaxton

Black plastic mulch is commonly used in commercial vegetable production. One of its main functions is to help warm the soil to encourage root growth of the vegetable plants. Other benefits include good moisture and weed control.

Learn more from this Penn State Extension website: Plastic Mulches

Use Row Covers

Row Covers protect vegetable plants in the ground when temperatures drop lower than expected in the early spring. Row covers are transparent or semitransparent flexible materials used to cover a row of plants to help insulate the air around the plant from the colder temperatures and wind. If you can not find this kind of material you can always use black plastic nursery pots, Styrofoam cups, or other materials to protect individual small plants.

Learn more from this UF/IFAS publication: Row Covers for Growth Enhancement

High Tunnel Structures

High Tunnel with end walls and side walls removed for cooling warmer teperatures - photo credit: Blake Thaxton

A High Tunnel with end walls and side walls removed for cooling warmer temperatures – photo credit: Blake Thaxton

Another method of protecting your vegetable garden from cold early spring temperatures is to construct a high tunnel, also known as a hoop house. A high tunnel is a structure that looks very much like a greenhouse but the crops are planted in native field soil and the structure lacks an active temperature control. The temperature is passively controlled by rolling up end walls and side walls on warm days and closing the walls when cool temperatures are expected.

Learn how to build a high tunnel from this video from Utah State Extension: How to Build a High Tunnel

For more information on any of these topics please contact your local UF/IFAS Extension Agent or email Blake Thaxton: bthaxton@ufl.edu

Protect Tender Vegetables From Coming Freezing Temperatures

by Eddie Powell | Nov 17, 2014

Northwest Florida homeowners enjoy growing their own vegetables every fall, but are faced with cold weather issues, especially during the first few days of December. For example, most cole crops can be planted until November, but they must be protected from the cold weather or they will need to be replaced. A good variety of cold tolerant plants should be used in order to prevent total devastation of the garden by extremely cold weather.

Below are a few tips to assist the home gardener in growing a successful winter vegetable crop.

For tender plants, site selection should the top priority when preparing for a freeze. Vegetable plants need a site with good air drainage; not in a low area where cold air settles. Arranging tender plants along a barrier to protect them from cold winds improves the plants cold protection, especially from very hard freezes.
Poorly drained soils result in weak and shallow roots which are more susceptible to cold injury.
Plants grown with the correctly applied rate of nutrients will tolerate colder temperatures better and recover from cold injury faster than plants grown with little to no nutrients.
Watering vegetable garden plants before a freeze can help protect plants. A well watered soil will absorb more solar radiation than dry soil and will radiate heat during the night. This may increase cold tolerance by as much as 2°F.
Saturated soil conditions can damage the root systems of most plants over a few days, so make sure the ground is well-drained.
Healthy vegetable plants are more resistant to cold than vegetable plants weakened by disease, insect damage, or nematode damage. Routine inspection for pests and implementation of necessary control measures are essential.
Plastic or cloth coverings can help protect vegetable plants more from frost than from extreme cold. Covers that extend to the ground and are not in contact with the vegetable plants foliage will reduce cold injury. If the vegetable plant foliage is in contact with the cover it is often cold burned or injured because of heat transfer from the foliage to the colder cover. Some examples of excellent plant covers are cloth sheets, quilts or black plastic. If plastic covering is used, it is extremely important to remove the covering during the day to provide for ventilation of trapped heat.
Feel free to contact your local county extension office for information on cold protection, pest identification and recommended control measures.

Thinning Vegetable Seedlings

by Beth Bolles | Sep 30, 2014

Some vegetables and herbs like lettuce, carrots, collards, basil, and radish have very small seeds. It is difficult to plant these seeds so there is space between emerging plants for proper development. These plants will often need thinning after they mature. Thinning allows for adequate space for leaf and root development during the growing season. Crowded vegetables will compete with each other for water, nutrients, and sunlight and never produce quality plants. Here are the tips for thinning seedlings:

When plants are about 1 to 2 inches tall or have two sets of ‘true’ leaves’, it is time to thin out any crowded plants.
Look up the proper spacing between plants and thin out appropriately. Use the chart in the Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide to determine spacing for specific fruits and vegetables.
You may pull out seedlings with your hands or forceps to make space or use small scissors to cut off seedlings at the ground level.

Using scissors to cut unwanted seedlings prevents you from dislodging the root system of plants that will be left to mature. Photo by Beth Bolles, Escambia County Extension UF/IFAS

It will initially look like you have lots of room in the garden but realize plants will quickly grow to utilize available space. Some young seedlings like those of radish or lettuce can added to dishes and eaten as sprouts.

Preparing Your Vegetable Garden

by Roy Carter | Sep 23, 2014

Healthful outdoor exercise, a feeling of accomplishment, and potential saving on the family food bill are good reasons why more and more Floridians are turning to home vegetable gardening.

Image Credit: FAMU

Usually, the most physically challenging part of a vegetable gardening project is to get the soil ready for planting. However, whatever you do, don’t give in to the temptation to cut corners on this phase of the operation. If you do a poor job of preparing the soil, you can expect poor results from your garden, even if you work hard on planting and cultivation. If you’re planning a large garden, you may want to rent a rototiller or even a small tractor and plow, to use in preparing the soil. But, for a small backyard garden, you can do the work with a spade or shovel.

The time to begin soil preparation depends to some extent on what’s growing on your garden site now. If you have heavy weeds, or a cover crop, you intend to turn under; you should start a month to six weeks before planting. This also is the time to add lime, if needed.

If you’ve kept the garden site fallow, or you plan to remove all vegetation and no lime is required, you could prepare the soil and plant within two or three days. However, if you plan to work extra organic matter into the soil before planting, you should start two or three weeks ahead of time.

To prepare the soil, dig down six to eight inches, and turn each shovelful completely over. If you’re turning in weeds, or a cover crop, you should remove all the woody plant material as it won’t decompose very well.

After the soil is turned, break clods and level with a rake. Do this as soon as you can, to prevent excess drying of the soil, and to keep good soil texture. This is important, because a finely pulverized soil surface will make planting easier, give you better seed germination and help insure a more even stand of vegetables. It’s especially important to have fine textured soil when planting small-seeded crops, like carrots.

In some soil, it’s also necessary to add some kind of liming material well before planting at the same time you turn the soil. Lime reduces soil acidity. Without going into a chemistry lesion, lime adds calcium to the soil and makes minor elements move available to plants. The most commonly used form of lime is dolomite. Besides calcium, dolomite provides magnesium another important plant nutrient. [important]You should add lime only when a soil test indicates the need for it. Too much can be as bad as too little. [/important]

If a soil test indicates your soil is too sweet, or alkaline, you may need a special fertilizer program. The best thing to do before liming or adding sulfur to reduce soil pH is consult your local County Extension Office.

To summarize briefly, to have a good garden, you need to prepare the soil properly. Be sure to start far enough ahead of planting to allow organic matter to decompose fairly well. Turn the soil to a depth of six or eight inches. Make sure you have a level, finely textured surface before planting. If a soil test indicates lime is needed to give your garden plot the right acid level, it should be applied when your turn the soil.

For more information on garden plot preparation:

Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide

Soil Preparation and Liming for Vegetable Gardens

Growing a Fall Garden in Escambia County

by Beth Bolles | Sep 2, 2014

A bountiful harvest

A hands-on workshop will be offered for novice gardeners to learn the basics of Fall and Winter vegetable gardening. The entire class will be outside utilizing raised beds and in ground planting areas. Participants will be learning about soil preparation, seeding and transplanting techniques, vegetable thinning, and general care until harvest. Class size is limited to 20 people. Pre registration is required before September 17 by calling 475-5230 or emailing bbolles@ufl.edu

The session will be at Escambia County Extension, 3740 Stefani Road on Saturday, September 20 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Dress for outside weather.

Fall into Vegetable Gardening Series

by Mary Salinas | Sep 2, 2014

Need some advice to get started with a fall garden? The horticulture agents of the Northwest Extension District are pleased to present an interactive video series for the beginning gardener.

Broccoli, a popular winter vegetable. Photo by Mary Derrick, UF IFAS

The schedule is as follows:

September 9th – Starting a Home Vegetable Garden: Expectations, planning and site preparation

September 16th – Starting a Home Vegetable Garden: Tips to use whether you are starting with seeds or transplants

September 23rd – Tops and Bottoms for the Cool Season Garden: Cool season crops such as lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, chard, strawberries, onions, potatoes and carrots

Consult the list of Participating counties for the location nearest to you. The cost is $30 for an individual and $45 for a couple and covers all three sessions and informative handouts. All classes are held 6-7:30 p.m. Central time.

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Get an Early Start on Spring Veggies

Start Vegetable Transplants Inside

Use Black Plastic Mulch

Use Row Covers

High Tunnel Structures