Strawberry,Sunflower,Radish Varieties for Zone 9?

[Aida]

Hi everyone!

I'm new to gardening, so please bear with me here.
I'm really interested in planting strawberries, sunflowers, radishes, and maybe tomatoes this year. I've read that strawberries and sunflowers do great here(zone 9, central florida)- there's even a huge strawberry plantation nearby, but I have no idea which varieties they are. Does it matter that much?
I'm really looking for something that will grow fairly quickly, and not be too hard for a beginner.

Last year I purchased a baggie of "sunflower mammoth" which I never even opened. Would these be good around here? What about strawberries and radishes? Is there a specific type to look for?

[Aida]

Hi Marlin!
Thanks so much for the advice. A quick google search of your radishes brought me here: https://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic- ... adish.html

I prefer red radishes to white anyways, so for me it's fine that the icicles don't work!
Anyways, the website mentions a few times that they grow better in coldish weather. Usually I guess one would just plant them earlier, since there is no frost around here anyways, but we had a really warm winter h this year. I mean, shorts and no-sleeved shirts in December and now. Would that ruin them, or should I just plant them right NOW before it gets even warmer?
Thanks a ton. :^]

[rainbowgardener]

MarlinG can say more about it, but I think for tomatoes, it is similar. You can look for heat tolerant varieties (they tend to have names like HeatMaster, Florida91, SolarFire, SummerSet, etc), but a lot of it is about timing. I grow tomatoes all summer. You want to start tomatoes about now for a spring crop and again in later summer for a fall/winter crop.

[Aida]

Okay, thank you both!

Would I find those kinds at any old Home Depot or Lowe's, or would I be better off getting them somewhere online? If it's the latter, do you have any recommendations?

[ElizabethB]

Hi Aida I live in Lafayette, LA so our growing conditions are very similar. I have 3 links for you. Very good info. You will have to be patient because I don't know how to copy more than one link at a time (I did pm Eric - I know he can tell me how) In the mean time I will have to go back and forth to copy and paste the links. The first link is a general vegetable planting guide. You will find variety recommendations towards the end.

general vegetable planting guide

Be back

Ok - this link is on strawberries. You are late planting. I was at the produce market this afternoon and Louisiana strawberries are there for sale. Planted in the fall.

https://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/crops_liv ... erries.htm

Next your radish question.

Radishes are easy to grow

Plant early varieties within the next week or 2. You do need very loose soil for the fruit to mature. IF you take care with your planting you will not need to thin. Radish seeds are hard to handle but I manage to plant 1 seed per square inch in my square foot garden. The best thing is the very quick harvest time 25 - 30 days.

As for sunflowers just go for it. I have a utility pole in the corner of the yard and love to plant sunflowers at the base. Try staggering different varieties so you have different heights and bloom times. Great for attracting birds to your garden.

Good luck. Hope the links help.

Edited to keep the links from skewing the window -applestar

[Aida]

Wow. Thank you so much Elizabeth. I downloaded the planting guide, and am reading the radish link one- there's some real helpful stuff in there. Just a minute ago, I container-planted tomatoes and spearmint- this weekend I'll be planting the sunflowers and radishes, so I'll be sure to read up on your links again before that. <3