South Florida Gardening

Fall Planting Time Begins!

by , on
Oct 20, 2020

Every year we post about the excitement of fall planting time, and this year is no exception. With the temperature beginning to drop a bit now, we do tend to get over-enthusiastic, we can’t help it. Not just because we’ve had enough of the heat, but also because we can start putting some of our favored crops in the ground without killing them. continue reading »

Preparing for the Fall Garden

by , on
Sep 20, 2019
3 pages of seed inventory

Fall 2019

August and September – hereafter referred to as summer months – are sooo hot in South Florida, and in our garden there is very little growing to harvest and cook (besides some okra and a few herbs). The remainder of the spring vegetables have finally given their last breath (would you believe we harvested a few leeks and some chard in August?!); the sunflowers are wilted and gone; the herbs are either bid farewell to or hanging tough through the summer heat depending on their durability. We said goodbye to the sorrel, basil and tomatillo plants recently, sad to say, they just gave out. continue reading »

Fall Gardening – Action!

by , on
Nov 6, 2018
Young brassica family plants in pots

It’s early November here in South Florida, prime time for planting our organic garden for the new season. We have just gotten a real break in the weather, with some cooler mornings last week (not quite cool enough for us South Floridians to get our boots and scarves out, though it’s tempting, right?) This cooling does make us enthused about being outside and getting our garden going! So, to give a rundown on how we’ve started with either seedlings or direct plantings, here goes: continue reading »

Spring Harvest: A Garden Bursting with Pride – and Veggies!

by , on
Feb 28, 2018
Basket of ripe tomatoes

I keep talking about “the most exciting time” in our organic garden, from ordering seeds for the new season, to planting our fall crops and seeing those first seedlings sprout up, to the beginning of our harvest – but NOW, it’s just beyond exciting – when our crops are flourishing and there is so much to harvest and cook with that we can barely keep up! So I think I will have to concede – Spring harvest tops them all! continue reading »

Transplanting Seedlings: Our “Winter” Crops

by , on
Jan 7, 2018
Chinese cabbage seedlings

Our fall and winter crops here in South Florida are basically the same. Most of the things that we start in the earlier part of the growing season (fall), we can start another rotation of in December or January. Much of our work is planning what seeds need to be started when. We will either direct seed some of our crops, such as carrots and beans directly into the beds. Or, with many other crops, we will be getting them going in flats, and then transplanting seedlings as they mature into four inch pots and/or directly into the beds, and then watching them grow! For a list of what we can grow in the fall/winter here, please see our post http://www.soflagardening.com/fall-planting-beds/ continue reading »

Okra & Tomato Stew – Sublime, No Slime!

by , on
Jul 13, 2017
okra stew

Summertime in Miami, if you’re an avid gardener, means dusting off the variety of okra recipes collected over the years and making some choices. This okra stew recipe has always been my go-to favorite, my “okra comfort food,” if you will. It is simple to make, delicious, and slime-free. continue reading »