It’s out with the old and in with the new for our fall vegetable gardens. Fall is the time to clean out any surviving summer vegetable plants that have been baked by the sun and soaked by the rain. Any plants that are still looking good right now are extremely heat-tolerant like Malabar spinach, okra, and winged beans. Hot peppers and eggplants are still hanging in there, too. It’s time to get rid of all of those scraggly dry plants and start fresh for the new season.
We have a unique fall season in Central Florida compared with the rest of the country. Fall gardening can last for a five- to six-month grow season. Gardeners in other regions could be packing up their gardens after the first frost, and we’re doing our round two planting. We don’t have to worry about the extended frosts or a hard freeze followed by snow. There aren’t a lot of vegetables that can withstand those conditions.
Planting a vegetable garden in Florida for the fall means we can continue to grow tomatoes and peppers through most, if not all, of the season. Then, when we do get a frost or a hard freeze, we just protect our more delicate plants by covering them overnight with a garden frost cloth. We can also plant the typical cold-loving fall vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, beets, and carrots. Keep in mind our cold, hardy veggies are going to love a little cold snap to make the beets and carrots even sweeter than if it had been too warm for them. Also, it may be better to plant those fall vegetables closer to mid-September when the heat tapers back some.
If you have limited space but still want to get the best yield out of your fall vegetable garden, be sure to use the principles of “Square Foot Gardening” and “Companion Planting.” It is important that every vegetable plant in the garden gets the appropriate amount of nutrients needed by that plant. When using fertilizers, be sure to take care of our planet and read all of the instructions. There can be a runoff of natural elements like nitrogen from using too much fertilizer in the soil. Each plant also needs to have enough room for its roots to grow freely and not be compacted by other plants. I typically add to the recommended space allowed for each plant in Square Foot Gardening. For example, I will give my tomato plants at least three square feet of gardening space and broccoli four square feet.
Companion Planting rules will help to plan the placement of each plant in your garden. These are the guidelines that state what plants should and should not be located next to each other in the garden. Companion Planting is very important because plants can compete for the nutrients in the soil when too many alike plants are too close together. Some plants can also expel gas or nutrients that can cause a neighboring plant to not grow or produce properly. Then, in other cases, the companion plant enhances the flavor of the vegetable, like putting basil next to a tomato plant.
As responsible gardeners, let’s get into the fall season with a happy focus on growing our own fresh, delicious vegetables. Make sure you are utilizing smart watering and fertilizing practices. Enjoy the fact that your garden is a natural attractor for pollinators like butterflies and bees. Conscious gardening will help to take care of our environment while getting the greatest yield and best-tasting vegetables out of a small space.
Amber Harmon is the owner of My Nona’s Garden, where they sell and service low-maintenance, elevated, organic vegetable gardens. Our mission is to bring health, promote growth and provide vegetable gardening education to local communities, one garden at a time.
Visit www.MyNonasGarden.com for more information.
“We make organic vegetable gardening easy!”
