Gardening in Central FL? (apartment, moving to, buy)

[ang08]

We may be moving back to Central FL from the Pacific NW - we lived there 10 years ago but were in an apartment. How is gardening down there? Vegetables, fruit trees, etc? I imagine would be good but have never looked into it. How is the soil? Are there any "seasons" or can you garden year round? Thanks for any info.

[DailyJournalist]

The cold fronts in the winter cause alot of damage to vegetables and fruit trees every year. You may consider moving to South Florida if you want year-round gardening without all the freezes.

[Alphaman]

Originally Posted by ang08

We may be moving back to Central FL from the Pacific NW - we lived there 10 years ago but were in an apartment. How is gardening down there? Vegetables, fruit trees, etc? I imagine would be good but have never looked into it. How is the soil? Are there any "seasons" or can you garden year round? Thanks for any info.

You can garden here year round, certain vegetables do better in the hotter months and others the cooler months.

Tomatoes are best planted in the spring or fall(march or October) hot peppers in the summer. there are plenty of gardening in Florida forums.

The soil is sandy so you need to mix some compost or good soil in with it or your veggies wont grow very well and if you grow tomatoes get disease resistant varieties.

Good luck

[pianogal]

Check out the gardening forums. I garden year round here in Central Florida. You just have to know what grows in certain seasons. A lot of our plants bloom almost year round...i.e. plumbago, lantana, knock out roses, and many more. Many plants that are annuals other places are perennials here. I have huge pots of begonias and geraniums that I've had for years on my pool deck. They bloom year round.

December through March is our 'winter' when we can plant cooler weather plants like "pansies" etc.

[ang08]

Thanks for the input. It sounds like it's possible to have a decent garden down there so I'm happy. How do I find the gardening forums?

[cmj_fla]

You can find the Gardening Forum by going to the city-data.com forum main page (look at the top of this page under the banner to the left then click on "city-data forum") then look down to the General Forum section and look for Gardening. Or just click here: http://www.city-data.com/forum/garden/

Have fun!

[rholborn]

I love being able to garden all year round. I buy soil, and mix it with our sandy soil which is great for drainage! I did some gardening in Maine, so it was a change switching to our Zone 9 is which is what central florida is. you will have lots of luck with perinneals too! Happy gardening!

[ang08]

Thanks so much. I'm always sad when summer ends up here (technically I could garden year-round but I'm a wimp) so that sounds fabulous. I'll check out the forum!

[Alphaman]

Originally Posted by ang08

Thanks so much. I'm always sad when summer ends up here (technically I could garden year-round but I'm a wimp) so that sounds fabulous. I'll check out the forum!

I don`t blame you. I couldn't garden in the cold, the heat can be tough but I rather heat then cold any day just my opinion.

Just so you know the summer season here you will be weeding about every few days, with all the rain we get they grow like crazy.

Once you get out of the rainy season gardening is easier as far a weeding goes. I prepare my bed for summer around April just before it gets hot(it`s easier to do hard labor in the cooler weather) then maintain them during the rainy season.

[pianogal]

Originally Posted by Alphaman

I don`t blame you. I couldn't garden in the cold, the heat can be tough but I rather heat then cold any day just my opinion.

Just so you know the summer season here you will be weeding about every few days, with all the rain we get they grow like crazy.

Once you get out of the rainy season gardening is easier as far a weeding goes. I prepare my bed for summer around April just before it gets hot(it`s easier to do hard labor in the cooler weather) then maintain them during the rainy season.

Prepare the ground properly and use landscape fabric and at least 3 inches of mulch or rock (groundcover). It won't cut out all weeding, but will greatly diminish it.