Growing Well, So Far, In Florida Garden

Just a quick note about what’s working (so far) in my Florida garden, and what isn’t.

First off, I have largely unimproved Florida Sand. A.K.A. Myakka. It is basically sand, with a tiny bit of humus in it. Washed by dramatic summer rains, it drains to near desert dry in winter. I’ve bolded a few bits in the quote below:

https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/care/planting/florida-soil.html

Good, nutritious soil is the basis for any plant’s success. To the frustration of many gardeners, Florida’s “soil” is mostly sand.

This gray, fine soil is called Myakka, (pronounced My-yakah), an Indian word for “big waters.” Only found in Florida, Myakka covers the majority of the state—more than 1½ million acres—and is actually our official state soil.

While the majority of the state is covered in Myakka, soil properties can vary widely. The soils of North and Central Florida are typically very sandy, while in the panhandle, the soil can contain substantial amounts of clay. Clay soils compact more easily and drain slower than sandy soils.

So on my “things to do for the future” list are:

1) Add some clay or similar water retaining minerals.

2) Bulk up the humus. This will be a combination of compost (both home made and bags) along with bags of “garden soil” from the hardware store and some kind of top dressing “mulch”. Stuff that will get turned under and rot to humus over time.

3) Get some worms going and happy in a worm bed on the edge of the garden area; so that they can do the incorporation of the organic matter for me ;-)

That will tramatically improve the soil over time and a lot more “stuff” will then be happy to grow.

But what about now? What have I learned so far?

Weeds

Well, oddly, one is that Florida produces some of the most hardy and vigorous weeds I’ve ever dealt with. You wouldn’t think sand would support them so well, but it does. I don’t know what most of them are, but they are persistent. Turn the “soil” over so it’s just sand on top, and the organic bits a foot under. Come back in a month or two and it’s all green weeds again. California weeds could be eliminated by just a soil turn or two, then some stragglers pulled out. Here not so much. So, OK, I need to be more vigorous in my weeding and mulching and much more particular about what I plant in a single bed so that I know what’s a weed. I’ve tended to interplant several things in a “square foot gardening” kind of way. That complicates weeding as some of the weeds here look a lot like young crop seedlings… So more “Collards Bed Only” and less interplanting.

Soil

Where I have improved the soil, things grow better. OK, need to do a LOT more of that. So far it’s about a 3 x 3 foot square that got improved.

Where I have not improved the soil, things that like sand do better (well, duh…) I’ve got Pineapples doing OK in it, and some cabbage family plants seem to like it. (IIRC the collards family is from the beach areas of Europe, originally). Similarly, Lima beans that fix their own nitrogen are doing OK.

I’ve been using Miracle Grow to make up for the poor soil nutrient levels. It helps a lot in the short run. Longer term I need a better composting solution. Probably one of those barrel things that composts in a few weeks (and that can be put in the shed during high wind periods). Like this thing:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/FCMP-Outdoor-Compost-Accelerant/1001843596

Naturals Down South

Most successful so far have been things associated with the South. Florida Speckled Lima Beans. Collards. Bananas. I’m planning to do a more complete search for Florida Specific crops and varieties. So, note to self and anyone else changing locations: It works best to grow what is traditional in the place and accustomed to it.

I have one “cowpea” that I’ve grown before, who’s flavor I liked, so it is up for trial. Unfortunately, most of the “black eyed peas” I’ve tried have a “dirt like” flavor that I don’t like… so some searching will be needed. I’m hoping that more “usual” legumes will do well too, but I’ve not got any going yet. The “green beans” I tried didn’t survive the Attack Of The Weeds & Mold, nor did the northern type summer squash that just turned white and died…

I have a couple of Chayote that are sulking in a shaded spot and one growing gangbusters in a very sunny spot. These were planted toward the start of winter, so likely not the best time. Clearly “shade planting” doesn’t work well for them. We’ll see if that improves as the summer sun arrives. These make large climbing vines, so the ones in the shade can, eventually, run down the fence to collect sun out from under the tree… Since one chayote can make up to 400 “fruits” in a year, and folks get tired of that much squash after a while; I’ll likely do just fine with the one in high sun. These are kind of like a perennial summer squash. Being from the tropics, they seem to be entirely mold / mildew resistant too.

Any other suggestions from folks who do grow things here will be appreciated.

We did visit a local garden and they had successfully grown large blocks of kale, Asian mustard greens, Chard, cabbages / collards, lettuce and various herbs; so I’ll be taking notes from them. They also had very dramatically improved their soil. Basically, they had pallets of bagged soil they used to make raised areas where they set out plants. So, OK, that’s a clue… Their’s were already adult / harvest size when I started planting my kale and collards, so clearly my calendar needs fixing up too ;-)

Food Forest

This has great promise longer term, but trees are slow to get to maturity. I have 3 banana shrubs planted. All from the Cavendish type. One dwarf, one Grand Nain (semi-dwarf) and one full sized. They ALL had trouble with the mid-winter freeze and only survived IMHO due to some use of a cloche. The neighbors bananas had no such issue, so either these toughen up with establishment, or they are a different type.

Going forward, I’ll be looking into some more cold resistant types to plant, and may even investigate Plantain cooking ;-) I did get 2 plantain at the grocery store and did manage to make something edible, but more skill and practice needed…

The two avocado trees are doing well and didn’t even notice the frost nights. They are both about 2-3 feet tall and are making what I think are flowers already. Since these are grafted, no need to wait 7 years to start producing. These ought to be a very good long term supply in a year or three. One is “Bacon” type, known for cold hardiness, and a good pollinator for the other kind, a Hass. Avocados come in 2 major types, and each needs the other for best pollination and production. I have one of each, and they neighbor has some kind of small avocado tree too.

The Papaya were likely planted out at the worst time. Just as winter was coming (and the nursery was ending their stock…) They both survived the cold and are now adding leaves. One had the very top growth die off about an inch, so is now sprouting from the stem in several places. I don’t know if the cold got it, or the cardboard box “cloche” pressed on the top too much. But whatever… Papaya grow fast and live short, so I suspect I’ll have several different kinds to trial over time. They can be cooked green as a vegetable, or ripened to a sweet fruit. A staple of the tropics.

I have a “volunteer” Guava that sprouted from a seed I had in the compost pile. As it takes about 7+ years to start making fruit, and makes a decent sized tree, I’m trying to decide what to do with it. For now, it stays in a pot to 5 gallon pail.

Over time, I intend to expand the Food Forest part of the garden. This can give year round food with very low work level. I’ve identified a few potential trees, and when I find those notes I’ll comment on them. I figure about 2 trees a year until I’m out of dirt for them ;-)

Doing OK

I have planted out a dozen or so potatoes that started to sprout in the bag. Both russet and reds. They are doing OK here in the winter / spring. They did complain about low water until I figured out that Florida can be a desert in winter… I think they would also like more fertilizer. But they are surviving and growing. How well TBD at harvest time. I planted in about December, a bit before the nursery started advertising seed potatoes in about January.

Sweet Potatoes were planted out of sequence too. These did really well until the frost killed off the top growth. My goal was to get some plants established, not harvest roots, so I’m OK with that. I need to get a proper calendar going for production, though. I do now have a large stock of “starts”. These will be planted out now that it’s warmer and a long season is ahead. Also, some “critter” cleared the tops off of one whole section… so “something” likes the greens ;-) Not too worried, I like having some herbivores around in an emergency ;-) We have seen a local bunny or two, working over the neighbors yard, and I’m OK with them having a snack here if they need one.

Garlic, Elephant Garlic, and some onion starts have been doing OK in pots. I’ve set them out in the “soil” and we’ll see how they do. Sensitive to dry soil, I’ll need to make sure the water gets to them regularly.

I’ve also planted out some Russian Kale grown from seeds. They seem to be going fine so far. Probably planted out too late as they love it cold and will grow under snow. We’ll see how they do with Florida Spring and 85 F days.

The Failures

As noted above, the Zucchini like summer squash I set out in the middle of summer just didn’t thrive. Some mold got them. Plus the weeds were growing like, well, weeds; and I wasn’t doing enough tending. I’ve planted some pumpkins during winter that are doing OK, but also have some white on them. These from a Halloween pumpkin just as a quick test. There is a native Florida pumpkin, the Seminole IIRC, that I expect will do better.

The “green beans” that I also planted in the same bed with the squash made a couple of pods, despite complete neglect. I suspect that with better weeding, a dedicated bed, and some soil amendments, I can get a decent bean crop going.

My Rosemary is surviving, but needs frequent weed removal so it doesn’t get smothered (at least until it reaches bush size). However my attempts at thyme, parsley, and basil have all done badly. I’ll likely just grow them indoors in pots. Between drying out and then weed smother, they just don’t make it outside. IF I put enough tending into them, they would; but I don’t. They did great indoors in pots, though. Until I planted them out and they didn’t get tended enough.

In Conclusion

Well, that’s the summary to date. If I think of something else, I’ll add it in comments.

Mostly I’ve learned that the soil is sucky and winter is dry, while summer is full of rain and things mold. Also that I need to pay more attention to the calendar than was needed in California.

Secondarily, things already adapted to Florida and / or tropics do better. Kind of obvious, but worth stating.

So my next round of garden work will focus more on soil improvements, calendar making, variety selection for the area, and more trials of interesting things. Also a very slow expansion of the Food Forest area.

I figure that by this time next year, I’ll be moving more into “production” gardening and doing less “explore and trial”.

Also, given how well the collards are doing, I think I need to learn better ways to prepare them ;-) I’m hoping things like Napa Cabbage will do well, along with other Choy types, but that’s in the “we’ll see” category at present.

I’ve also found my cabbage / kale / collards cross seeds, so need to get them going while there’s still hope for viability. (Green Glaze collards, crossed with Dinosaur Kale, and a purple cabbage from the grocery store that sprouted roots while forgotten in the bottom of the fridge… I figured that kind of determination and tenacity needed to be rewarded.)

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