sen2two
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Joined: Sat Sep 24, 2011 12:22 pm
Location: Orlando, Florida

growing year round in florida

I am extremely into health and nutrition and looking to grow a few things year round that are major staples in my eating. I am looking to grow blueberries, strawberries, broccoli, red bell peppers, and tomatoes to start. I live in central Florida (Orlando) and will be growing these in a green house in above ground pots and home made trophs. I plan on catching rain water to water the plants and adding regular water if it gets dry in my area. I would love to grow them organic as well...

But my main question is, will I be able to grow these fruits and veggies year round? If I need to I can add a space heater or AC unit to keep it at a temperature that will suffice for all.

Any tips here would be great thanks!

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rainbowgardener
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Location: TN/GA 7b

sen2two wrote:I am extremely into health and nutrition and looking to grow a few things year round that are major staples in my eating. I am looking to grow blueberries, strawberries, broccoli, red bell peppers, and tomatoes to start. I live in central Florida (Orlando) and will be growing these in a green house in above ground pots and home made trophs. I plan on catching rain water to water the plants and adding regular water if it gets dry in my area. I would love to grow them organic as well...

But my main question is, will I be able to grow these fruits and veggies year round? If I need to I can add a space heater or AC unit to keep it at a temperature that will suffice for all.

Any tips here would be great thanks!
You will need to study your seasons carefully. Florida seasons are different from most of the country. For example most of us grow tomatoes starting in spring and growing through summer. But tomatoes generally do not do well when temps are in the high 80's and above. So you will do better to start your tomatoes NOW (if growing from seed) and grow them through the spring/early summer. Broccoli is cold weather crop. You would probably want to plant broccoli in Aug or Sept. (the seeds can tolerate some hot weather, it just won't set heads in the heat, but started at the end of summer, it will be cool enough by the time it is ready to make heads) and grow it through the winter. It won't need heat where you are, it is frost tolerant and likes cold.

So you can be growing SOMETHING year round, but you can't grow for example broccoli year round. Different things for different seasons.

Here's a planting guide that should help you get started:

https://www.thevegetablegarden.info/resources/planting-schedules/zones-9-10-planting-schedule

I think you are probably in zone 10, you can look it up re 10a or 10b.

The blueberries depend partly on your soil, they need acid soil. Regular blueberries need a cold season, to chill in dormancy. But there are newer varieties developed for southern gardeners, called Southern Highbush Blueberries. So be sure if you are trying blueberries, you get a variety adapted to your climate.

Congratulations on getting started organic gardening!

Lovesaki1
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Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2012 6:52 pm

Thank you for the info. Looking to do the same.

Artemesia
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Joined: Fri Apr 08, 2011 9:19 pm
Location: zone 5

You should be able to grow year round in Florida without a greenhouse unless your trying to grow something like papaya and mango. A greenhouse is a whole lot of work and expense. Many of the most nutritious crops grow best in the winter without a greenhouse. I live in the upper midwest and I do not even have a greenhouse. As far as I can see, a greenhouse only makes economic sense if you are trying to grow starts for commercial sale.

gumbo2176
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Location: New Orleans

I live in New Orleans and we have similar climates year round. Like already mentioned, I have had my tomato plants in the ground for almost 3 weeks since they are dead or near dead by mid July due to heat.

Things like bell peppers, hot peppers, eggplant, summer squash, okra, cucumbers and many pole and bush beans do OK in the heat of summer. Some more so than others depending on watering. Okra is especially tolerant of heat and drought conditions and is one of my biggest summer producers.

Usually by early September I'm starting to put things in for the fall and that includes another round of tomatoes, more cucumbers, beans, and the start of the fall things like broccoli, collards, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, lettuces, spinach, swiss chard, beets, onions, garlic can go in around October/November.

We are blessed with a large variety of crops that can grow year round, but summer does take its toll on the garden and many things still produce, but slow down considerably.

OrganicJim
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Joined: Tue Mar 24, 2009 1:15 pm
Location: Central Florida

I also live in Central Florida and do grow vegies year around. You have to learn what in the various seasons. As far as eatable trees and bushes there is a very wide group that can be grown here with great results. There are many new varieties of things like mangos that have been put on dwarf root stock for growing in pots that fruit when they are four foot tall or less. easy to grow and easy to protect in the winter if it gets cold.
I have just started to grow the maringa tree that is suppost to be one of the plants that almost everything on it is eatable.
Learn your yard and you will find several micoclimates that will allow you to grow things that you would not think would grow here.
There are many plant societies here in this area and many of them meet at Lue Gardens. Go to there web site and find what suites you. They also have many classes on growing.

Todd Central Fl
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Joined: Sun Oct 23, 2016 4:16 pm

There are two crops that can grow year round in central Florida that I grow. One is sweet potato the other is Everglade Tomato.
They both will keep growing year round tho they may slow in colder weather. Sweet potatoes seem to be sweater after a cold snap and everglade tomatoes love the Florida heat and will self seed in a weeded bed.
If you put them in raised beds they do better. It is better with sweet potatoes not to let them grow to large or they get tough plus you can eat the sweet potato leaves as well.
--The everglade tomato does NOT make good pasta sauce when cooked as I have tried it but they have the best taste then any other tomato I have eaten off the vine. The winter short freezes do damaging them but they usually snap back.
I do have the Moringa trees growing in my yard as well and they do NOT tolerate hard freezes but luckily we do not get that much here in Central Florida.
If I find any more plants to grow I will be happy to post it here later.

imafan26
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Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

I live further south than you, but the florida extension service has a good garden calendar you can use as a guide for what to grow in the different regions of Florida.

https://solutionsforyourlife.ufl.edu/law ... n/calendar
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vh021

Usually in southern climates you can grow most of the year. Orlando can still get cold enough for a night freeze so you may have to protect some plants from freezing.

Year round plants
kale, beets, radish, collards, green onions
Year round plants with frost protection or bring inside tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, banana, citrus
Blueberries require a very acidic soil and they do not fruit year round
Everbearing strawberries can fruit twice a year but not year round

Summer crops
corn, okra, roselle (edible hibiscus), beans, peppers, eggplant, heat tolerant tomatoes,( other fruit crops) , chayote, most herbs, shiso , squash, melons,

Fall crops/Spring
tomatoes, eggplant, peppers (not frost tolerant so need to be brought in or protected from frost), kale, Asian greens, radish, daikon, turnips, cabbage, lettuce, arugula, peas, fava beans, nasturtiums (likes cool and dry), most herbs, mizuna, burdock, bush beans, beans,shingiku, parsley family, carrots, beets (other root and leaf crops), onions(October) , garlic (October), potatoes, broccoli, kohlrabi, some varieties of corn (Jan-Mar), spinach, garlic,ginger, turmeric, and bunching onions.

Some plant like kale, broccoli, coolards, carrots will stand a light frost so can be grown outside. Some plants like the herbs take well to pots and can be left out, but brought in when the weather gets too cold or hot. Some plants like tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, artichokes are frost sensitive and need to be in a green house or in pots so they can be brought indoors or to a heated greenhouse when temperatures drop. Green house growing requires you to control the environment and it can be crowded unless it is big enough. You have to be able to control, watering, temperature, light, and air movement in a greenhouse or indoors.
If you haven't grown these things before or are new to gardening, I suggest you limit your plantings to the plants that will be easiest to grow at the time you are planting. When you have mastered those, you can add a few more or rotate some plants. Tomatoes, eggplant, peppers can take up a lot of space and they are not that easy to grow so it is better to grow them at the best time of the year for them and to use varieties that are suitable for your climate. In summer you will need to grow heat resistant tomatoes but you can grow other varieties in the fall/winter only if the temperature is > 50 degrees. They are not frost tolerant. In summer you can mitigate the heat by heavy mulching, shading, and midday misting.



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