Re: gardening in Florida

[Guest guest]

Carolyn,

There are some flowers that will bloom now, such as zinnias, cosmos,

rudbeckia, and crepe myrtles should be blooming now, too. But for

planting anything from seed, now isn't the time, it's too hot for them

to do anything. Those flowers were started from seed months ago to be

blooming now. I planted cosmos in Feb, and should have started zinnias

then, too. Tomatoes need to be started in July or August for fall, and

in November for spring. It's too late now for them to do anything. They

don't grow well when it's hot, and don't set fruit when it's 90 or

above. I don't think peppers or eggplant will, either. Protecting them

from the afternoon sun is good, but it's the temperatures that do them

in. The tomatoes you see in nurseries for planting fall and springs

were started in November and July or August in greenhouses. The

strawberries probably won't do anything else, either, because of the

temperatures. Winter is a much better growing season in the South than

the summer is. Most of my garden is empty right now, though I have

Swiss chard and sorrel and basil still going. I don't try to keep

tomatoes, peppers or eggplant through the summer to produce again in the

fall because it's a waste of water. The high water bill isn't

cost-effective, it's cheaper to start over in the fall.

H.

Temperatures here are about 80-100 and many places in the north it is

about there, isn't it? I know that the planting charts here put it in

fall for planting. Yet we usually have some kind of flowers of all

year.I wanted to try for it a bit. We have had a lot of rain and I

thought that might be more of a problem here. EW out in So. CA grows

veggies all year round. I was trying to put veggies in partial shade to

keep it from being too hot. Might now work but I wanted to try it a

bit. Probably is a waste. I got one strawberry off the strawberry

plants and don't know if they will put out anything more. My tomatoes

are too small right now. I put some outside and they are about 3-4 "

tall. I got some lights and may try some inside. My lettuces inside in

the Aerogardn are going crazy and I really have to cut leaves off

tomorrow so it doesn't get too thin. I may have enough for one meal.

i'll try again in the fall when it is the time here. I'll be trying to

see what I can get grown now. It doesn't make sense to me why things

like tomatoes won't grow year round. They like full sun up north. They

like a lot of water. I am not putting them at the hottest spot. Ones I

put out in the winter didn't even seem like they did that well.

Carolyn Wilkerson