Newbe

We have moved from Massachusetts to Palm Bay Florida,and very confused with what to plant and when..We have our SFG bed all ready to go.Any suggestions would be great!
Thanks
Cheri

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

I'm sure someone will be along who can answer you question. That certainly IS a big adjustment.

to the site and to Florida! You're fortunate to have moved here now, before the true heat and humidity start! I moved here during a heat wave in August, of all times. It was in the mid-90s with high humidity.

Have you read the All New Square Foot Gardening? Or have you done all this before?

The growing season here will be VERY different from what you're used to. In fact, you're late getting started...as am I, I found out to my sadness. But I'm trying anyway! The main thing you need to do is make sure you grow things that can handle the heat. It's definitely late for things like lettuce, so go straight to alternatives for your salad greens. I'm trying something called Red Malabar Spinach, which isn't a true spinach...rather, it's a leafy vine that has a spinach-like flavor but is apparently a better grower in hot climates. I've also planted some Swiss Chard.

You can probably get away with growing some carrots still, but not for much longer.

Best thing, if you can, is to get plants from a local source. The local sources will have varieties that will do better in our heat; question the employees wherever you go about what to plant.

Also, my husband's cousin, Tom MacCubbin wrote a book that might help called Month by Month Gardening in Florida: What to Do Each Month to Have a Beautiful Garden All Year. It has information on growing fruits, vegetables and decorative plants. That's a good starter book for anyone new to FL.

Im new to the SFG,its my first time but it makes sense.yes I read all about it and we just finished planting hubbard squash with the directions from the site, vertically,we did cukes the regular way a couple of weeks ago,but also vertically I just found out about SFG..Is it too late for peas?
Thx guys for any help...We just put carrots in too..good luck with the spinach
Cheri

I don't know about peas, I didn't plant them because I ran out of room. Hopefully someone else will chime in here; I'd like to know too!

From what I've read online, you can grow peas during the summer so long as you shade them.

Also, I was talking to a professor of mine earlier who grew up on a lettuce farm on Long Island. He said that there are certain varieties of lettuce that you can grow here as long as they are well shaded. He's actually growing some in a container on his back porch.

I am attempting to grow both peas and lettuce, so we shall see how they turn out. Right now my peas are doing really well, though they are still young. As far as the lettuce goes, I am still trying to find some seedlings.

I should note, however, that I am a total newbie too, so don't take my word for it when it comes to what to grow.

Well I am trying peas at the end of a box that has shade later in the day. Trial and error for my first SFG. Of course i am in Michigan but might still get too hot for them. I plan to grow them again late summer/fall

Cheri, we are glad you are here.

Do a search for your State University's Co-Operative Extension Service. They will usually have an online list of preferred veggie varieties for your state as well as monthly schedules for what to plant when. I have even heard of the Extension Service in some areas that had classes on everything from compost to harvesting.

Thank you,glad to be here...Thats a good idea will do that..

Cheri, I just saw the post by furbalsmom about the Extension Service calendar and was so intrigued by the idea that I had to look it up right away. Lo and behold, UF does indeed have such a thing! Here's a link: University of Florida Gardening Calender What a wonderful resource! I'll be studying that myself!

I'm so excited I had to come back and share again! On this page, if you scroll down a ways to Table 3, you will find a list of common veggies you can plant, what months to plant them, and some other information. It looks like we are fortunate enough to be able to grow some things during the winter months when other locations would have to use cold frames and greenhouses in order to get anything fresh out of their gardens! Not only that, but I found out I'm not nearly as late as I thought in planting some of the things I wanted to grow this summer.

I was just going to post the link to that calendar. I've used it for a long time and there's a "shortcut" to it on my computer desktop because I use it so often. Welcome to Florida!

Thanks so much for the link...Boy we are not that late.. I have to find some southern peas...and sweet potato.Im in zone 9 and thought I could plant something...thanks guys will keep you posted,love that link!!

It IS very nice to have that resource, isn't it! I'm supposed to be working on that right now...but of course I got side-tracked here...

Last summer I had my SFG going all summer long so from that little experience I can tell you that you can easily grow sweet potatoes. I started from 1 potato, put it in a bowl of water in a warm porch and 1 month later I had 6' of vine coming out of the bowl. From that I simply cut 12" lengths and put them back in the water and 3 weeks later I planted the potato and cuttings. We had our 1st freeze in December I think and we dug up about 75 lbs of potatoes and canned them for butter and pies. 2 of the potatoes were shaped like huge boots because they hit the bottom of the SFG and they each weighed 5.5 lbs.
We also grew something you probably have never heard of called Malibar spinach. It's a vine with no thorns that is extremely high in iron. It grew on verticle trellises and reseeded this year. I also cut it all down in December and canned about 14 pints for the winter. It tastes just like spinach, is extremely healthy and grows in the heat as long as it has water.
I tried to grow tomatoes and the small Gypsy tomatoes did very well but no other kind would set in the heat over 90 degrees until October when the nights cooled.
I also grew peppers all summer but I covered them with regular window fiberglass screen to hide them from the sun. I planted bush beans around the peppers but it really wasn't worth all the trouble so this year I'm growing pole beans and using corn as the stakes in 1 SFG. It really pays to have something to cover the plants with. I guess the sun is so strong, that even with a screen, they still grow and I know that's the opposite of the conditions from where you're coming from. I also water all my plants through the screen so as not to blast the dirt off the roots and it seems to help. I only use rainwater barrels so the water is warmed.
I grew strawberries all summer and we ate about 2 quarts a week from about 30 plants also covered with screen high up as they live under the clothes line.
OH, and I almost forgot, we grew huge asparagus in between our shrubs to sort of hide them from the sun. We planted them 6" down and gave them a 2.5' spacing and followed the directions and we actually ate a little this year.
So that's the word of experience, I hope it helps. Be very careful of the beautiful butterflies and moths here, they deposit larva and demolish all your food. If you can't stand the thought of having the mindset of an exterminator, you may make yourself suffer. Maybe you'll be smarter than me and find ways to avoid the Catipillars and if you do, please email me how you did it.
Keep gardening, Kitty