Gardening in South Florida - Coming up with a plan
Here we were in July of 2023, and making our first attempt at home gardening in Florida. My youngest daughter and I had spent the past few months researching the different types of fruits & veggies that supposedly do well in our growing zone, as well as when certain things should be planted.
Living in zone 10A, the variety of fruits and vegetables that can be produced here seems endless, but despite the year-round possibilities, there were still seasonal limits to consider.
Deciding upon the garden plot itself was another matter. We had just finished building hubby's mondo garage, which is a story within itself. Since the build was recently completed, there hadn’t been a lot of growth around the pad, and due to the different levels of dirt, we decided upon raised beds. This was certainly more cost effective than hauling in multiple truckloads of soil, and, since we are newbies to the whole gardening thing, we thought it would be more manageable.
Considerations
Now, Hubby is not a fruit and veggie guy, and really has no interest in maintaining a garden, but he is a master when it comes to putting things together, and he certainly doesn’t cut any corners when it comes to a project. Since we were going the raised bed route and were planning to eventually start a chicken coop down the road, we knew there were some things that had to be considered.
- Water runoff
- Soil conditions
- Sun vs. shade
- Local wildlife
- Rabbits, birds, rodents
- Predators
- Bobcats, alligators, snakes, coyotes, hawks
The Build
We are fortunate in that our neighborhood consists of 1 plus acre properties, with a variety of homes. There are horses, chickens, goats, and even a dog training facility a few blocks away. The neighborhood itself backs up to a wildlife preserve, so it’s not unusual to encounter deer, iguanas, otters, and an assortment of other creatures from time to time.
As much as we enjoy seeing these animals in their natural habitat, we knew we needed a way to protect the garden from hungry invaders. My original idea was to build 3-4 2’x4’ beds and cover them with screening. Hubby, or course, being the brilliant guy that he is, found a couple of layouts that he really liked online, and decided to build this incredible structure.
Specs:
The entire garden area is 12’ x 16’. The bed itself is “U” shaped with 3’ x 6’ on both sides of the “U” and 4’ x 12’ across the back. The framing was done with non-pressure treated wood and coated with a garden sealer to protect it from the elements. The walls of the bed were made of galvanized aluminum. The floor was covered with 1/4” vinyl coated mesh steel, which we spread out across a 12’ x 16’ foot area. This was to prevent burrowing critters from coming up underneath the beds and helping themselves to a feast.
We added cardboard, wood, and any organic material we had laying around the yard to the bottom of the beds, and then filled them to the top with potting soil, per the suggestion of the local nursey. We also added 10 bags of compost/manure to the top layer and mixed everything in.
Hubby then started to work on building the framing for the cage. After getting a good deal on used railroad ties, he framed out the flooring for the remainder of the garden. From there came the walls, the roof, and removable panels for the back part of the bed. Once everything was framed out, the entire area was covered with ¼” galvanized stainless steel mesh (hardware fabric).
We then laid down weed barrier and covered the entire area with rocks. The door was built 4’ wide, so it was easy to use a garden cart to haul items back and forth, which was great for filling up and hauling in the 25 grow bags for additional plants. All in all, it took about 4 weeks to build from start to finish, with the help, of course, from a couple of family members.
Deciding upon what to Plant
Living in zone 10A, we had to be mindful of what we put in the ground this time of year. Some vegetables prefer cooler months, where others do well at any time.
My daughter decided to start with a variety of peppers (scotch bonnets, bell peppers, cayenne, banana peppers and jalapenos), cherry and beefsteak tomatoes, as well as a variety of herbs. Her experiment took a stab at indoor germination using a seed starter kit with ultraviolet light.
Trial and Error
For my first attempt, I decided to start with bell peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, spaghetti squash, cantaloupe, and dill. I started with seeds using a seed starter kit out on the back patio and was honestly stunned with how quickly things began to sprout.
When comparing the two approaches, the seedlings did much better with natural light vs. artificial.
I, of course, couldn’t wait to get my sprouts in the ground. They had already outgrown the seed starter pack on the patio, and really needed more room. The spaghetti squash looked great, as did the cantaloupes, but the cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers weren’t all too happy about the move out from under the lanai. The Dill seemed to go into shock as soon as it was put in the ground, but the lettuce didn’t seem to change at all.
Much of this I’ll attribute to the heat. 2023 was an exceptionally hot summer, even for Florida, but most of it was just due to lack of experience. You can read books and research until the cows come home, but nothing beats firsthand experience.
Peppers, which are supposed to love the sun apparently don’t like the intensity of the Florida sun in the summer. Tomatoes will actually get sunburn, and cucumbers, which are supposed to thrive in sunny weather just don’t do so well in the heat. Dill, which root system doesn’t hold up so well when transplanting from seedlings, does much better when sowed directly in soil. My cantaloupes seemed to thrive, regardless of how hot it was, as did the squash, until we decided to trellis them. I found that squash loves to crawl across the ground and apparently goes into shock when moved to a trellis position. Fortunately, it was only for a short time, and they recovered quite nicely.
I’ve since replanted cucumbers as well as the dill, and the tomatoes are starting to get happy again. The peppers are still looking sad, but my research suggests that they could use a good shot of fertilizer, so that’s one of my next steps. I’ve also expanded by adding carrots and asparagus in separate grow bags and have started to experiment with store bought yams and red potatoes. There’s been no signs of life from the yams, but the red potatoes have started to sprout. I’ve also attempted to plant lavender seeds, but thus far, nothing has sprung to life.
We’ve since acquired two banana trees that look incredibly healthy and are growing new pineapple plants from sprouts that emerged from our prior plant.
UPDATE: 02/05/24: Check out this post for some of our recent garden woes.
My daughter had a much different experience with her garden. She had to replant some seeds due to the original use of artificial light. Now, using peat pots to hold her plants, the dill is growing shockingly well. Her tomatoes and peppers are growing “like weeds” and developing extremely strong root systems. All with using peat pots, starting seed soil and attempting to take a more holistic approach. Her plans are to use things like crushed egg shells and coffee grinds to control the pH and fertilization of the soil as well as home composting. While her seeds are growing a bit slower than mine have, it seems the difference is more in available light than in a difference of technique.
I must admit, it’s a pretty good feeling trying to grow your own food and being more self-sufficient. I’ve purchased a garden log to track progress, as well as a few good books on growing fruits and veggies in South Florida. As we continue to learn from the experience, we’ll be sure to share updates and tidbits along the way, so please be sure to check back often, or better yet, sign up as a subscriber.