For those of you who have lived in this area for a long time, it will not come as a surprise that while your northern neighbors are busy planting and harvesting flowers, trees, and vegetables, the oppressive heat and sometimes heavy rainfall we experience here in North Florida is not conducive to gardening. Most of our heavy work such as pruning, dividing, planting, etc., takes place in the cooler months. For example, the best time to plant trees is December and January. Most of our time during the summer months is taken up with weeding, mowing, and dragging hoses during dry periods.
But, vegetable gardeners take heart. If you are determined to have a summer vegetable garden, try planting crops such as black-eyed peas, okra, and sweet potatoes. Black-eyed peas ae a good choice since they are legumes and will help fix nitrogen in their roots. If you grow these as a cover crop and turn the plants into the soil before they produce peas, you will help nourish your soil with more nitrogen for the fall.
Be sure to shape azaleas no later than July, or you will cut off flower buds. You can still plant bulbs such as society garlic and gladiolus to your summer gardens. If you still have energy left from dead heading flowers and fertilizing, try planting heat-tolerant annuals in containers for a summer pick-me-up.
Now is the time to prepare your garden for hurricane season by checking trees for damaged or weak branches and to prune as needed. Be sure to contact a certified arborist to do this work as they are certified and trained to do this specialized work on trees. This will help lengthen the life of your trees and minimize the chance of property damage in the event of severe weather conditions.
Planting in a sub-tropical environment can be tricky where our relatively warm winters can turn seemingly innocent plants such as Boston ferns, English ivy, Mexican petunias, umbrella palm, spider plants, bamboo, etc., into monsters that not only invade your garden, but your neighbors as well. The rule of thumb is do your research on a plant first and plant second or learn the hard way.
But, vegetable gardeners take heart. If you are determined to have a summer vegetable garden, try planting crops such as black-eyed peas, okra, and sweet potatoes. Black-eyed peas ae a good choice since they are legumes and will help fix nitrogen in their roots. If you grow these as a cover crop and turn the plants into the soil before they produce peas, you will help nourish your soil with more nitrogen for the fall.
Be sure to shape azaleas no later than July, or you will cut off flower buds. You can still plant bulbs such as society garlic and gladiolus to your summer gardens. If you still have energy left from dead heading flowers and fertilizing, try planting heat-tolerant annuals in containers for a summer pick-me-up.
Now is the time to prepare your garden for hurricane season by checking trees for damaged or weak branches and to prune as needed. Be sure to contact a certified arborist to do this work as they are certified and trained to do this specialized work on trees. This will help lengthen the life of your trees and minimize the chance of property damage in the event of severe weather conditions.
Planting in a sub-tropical environment can be tricky where our relatively warm winters can turn seemingly innocent plants such as Boston ferns, English ivy, Mexican petunias, umbrella palm, spider plants, bamboo, etc., into monsters that not only invade your garden, but your neighbors as well. The rule of thumb is do your research on a plant first and plant second or learn the hard way.