Wow! I am so glad you asked this question, as we seem to be nearly neighbors (I live in Seminole - out near the beach). This is my first year gardening - I started in April and have learned so much already. Sounds like we're kind of in the same boat, though... I have no idea what's realistic to expect from a Florida summer. I'm really curious to see what people have to say.
I have tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, tomatillos, cantaloupe, cucumbers, pumpkins, and pole beans. The cantaloupe is by far the best looking thing in the garden. About half of my tomato plants look terrible and the other half look great (location? too much sun?) The beans are about the same - half and half. I'm really enjoying learning about this though.
I did make my first self-watering container this weekend for a determinate tomato. I think it's going to work really well.
It would be great to get in touch with a few people who garden in our area and get a sense of how things work best here!
Thanks again for the post!

Hi! I'm another FL gardener in the Tampa area. I haven't actually planted anything yet as I just finished my boxes. I found a site that told when it was good to plant certain things for FL, the Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide. And also google'd my county extension office which had some great advice. So basically I won't be planting much until August except for some sweet potatoes, and I could plant peppers from plants in June too.
I have all of my seeds ready for August though LOL. I think we'll all be learning from experience here the next few weeks :) .

Glad to find other FL SFGers. We'll all have to keep each other informed. I like to read the FL gardening forum, but I'm hoping that some of the doom and gloom won't apply with an SFG. My corn is not going to make it, maybe I'll try zuchini or yard beans. I have my seeds ready for Aug, too :)
Sarah - how did you make your self watering container? I was thinking I would get soaker hoses so I don't have to lug a watering can around with all of the mosquitos.
What does everyone like best for keeping squirrels and birds out?

Here in FL as well. I just started SFG as well and have a ton of things planted that the wisdom here says won't make it through the summer. I guess I'm just experimenting here in St. Lucie County, too. :)

I found some instructions for making your own self-watering containers - Judy's SFG blog (see link below)has instructions and I found some others just by searching (great place to look is in the GardenWeb container gardening forum). So far my tomato looks very happy in that big container, as opposed to the ones in the square feet...
I also didn't realize the difference between the determinate and the indeterminate when I started out... so I think I'll put determinates in the containers and keep the vining ones in the square foot garden.
I definitely have a squirrel or (ew, gross) maybe a rat (?)... something that likes to eat one whole leaf a night off any variety of plant. I had a decent pumpkin going and the thing ate it down to the dirt. It's gotten to my cantaloupe, but only to the level of the top of the bed. As if something likes to run across the edge/wood frame part and snack on whatever is right in front of it. Little bugger. So my smaller plants now have "cages" around them that are made of hardware cloth (metal grid stuff). I shape them in a 12x12 inch cube that is 24 inches high (only because that is the width of the hardware cloth). So it looks like a box that fits right in the square. I have a top on my little cucumbers, but not on my new pumpkin seedlings... so far so good.
I guess it might help to take some pictures... maybe I can psych myself up to that this weekend.
I've been doing a lot of reading - I am definitely going to plant some okra, I hear it does fine in the summers here. I'd also like to try some soybeans/edamame - we really like to snack on that stuff, and if I can grow it, that would be pretty awesome. I also read about a type of spinach called New Zealand Spinach, which ,supposedly, is very heat tolerant. Does that mean FL heat? I don't know, but I plan on finding out. I'm really enjoying learning all of this!
So Lissa is in St. Lucie, Cristabel is in Hillsborough and I'm in Pinellas - where are you GardenGirl?

Here is a link that might be useful: Judy's Square Foot Garden Blog and Self Watering Container Instructions

Lissa I think it is great you are experimenting. I was just saying today that due to impatience I was thinking of trying to plant some things early, just to see what happens! :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Crystabel's Garden

Hi,
Sarah - I'm in St Pete. We've probably passed each other at HD. Well, if you're in Seminole, we probably go to different HD's. Yes, please do take pics of your boxes/cages. I was just inspecting my boxes which I have plastic netting over and don't like my set up. My watermelon and cucumbers keep trying to 'grab' it. Yea, I was thinking I have a rat maybe. Gross. DH says he's seen them in the shed. I heard mint leaves keep rodents away. The guy at the nursery said to spread sulfur to keep away squirrels. I also bought 'Get Away'.
Speaking of learning ie determinate vs indeterminate, isn't it funny how much you can learn? I was just out trying to 'mate' my female and male flowers and 2 weeks ago I didn't know flowers had sexes. My friend at work said she saw a banana peel in her garbage last night and considered for a second taking it out for me and my compost bin. 2 weeks ago or so, I wouldn't have thought 'awww that was so sweet.....'
Edamame...hhmmm....I'll have to add that to my seed list.
Crystabel - I'm with you on the impatience. I know I'm setting myself up for failure, but I can't help it. I'm hoping my rookie luck will surprise me :)
Lissa - What do you have planted in yours and what seems to be doing well?

Garden Girl (and HI to all the other FL folks!),

I have yellow squash, which is already huge and setting fruit, along with Blue Lake beans (from starter plants), black beans (from seed), radishes (harvesting daily), brussell sprouts (from seed, doing okay), carrots (from seed, just starting to grow), onions (from seed, doing okay), peas (from seed, growing well), cucumbers (from seed, starting to vine), beets (from seed, leafing), several varieties of lettuce (from a mixed seed packet) and marigolds (from starter plants and doing great). That's all in my original SFG.

To prove a point to my hubby, because he was NOT on board with the SFG idea to start with, I also have (in the unused flower beds around my house) mostly planted way earlier than my SFG: tomatoes (from starter plants, producing well). I had to pull one tomato plant already because the fruit had blossom end rot. I also have cukes in that area (from a starter plant, flowering), watermelon and cantaloupe by the fence (from starter plants, not impressive but flowering), pole beans (from seed, about 18 inches tall), onions, radishes and beets (from seed, still not ready and way behind my SFG plants), potatoes (in two places-the first didn't produce anything, so now I'm doing the garbage can version), eggplant (from a starter plant, has two fruit on it), and two green pepper plants (from starter plants, setting fruit).

I also bought some thumb-sized starter plants from a guy on craigslist down here: 2 tomatoes, 1 cabbage, 2 broccoli, 3 varieties of hot peppers, and planted them in the improved (compost and soil) but unused flower beds at the back of my house. So far they are doing well, but not growing super fast. One of those flower beds is also full of corn. I have 18 plants on an interior corner flower bed, which I know I will have to hand-pollinate. I have a couple of beans and yellow squash planted in among the corn. It's already more than knee high, so I think I'm doing okay there.

Hubby just finished building me an addition to my SFG last night. It is 16 feet long by 2 feet wide and I will be filling it today. Some of the small and non-producing plants will be moved into it after I get the Mel's Mix in and watered. I also have plants to move my squash that's in my original SFG bed into the new one at the end so the squash has more room to spread out. Right now, it's shading my blue lake beans.

Oh, and all of my SFG are up on legs to make it easier for me to reach everything! It also keeps our dogs out of them and lets hubby's precious grass keep growing. LOL

I'll take some pics and see if I can open a photobucket account so I can show you what I've got going. It definitely didn't seem like so much until I started documenting it here! :)

Oh my... I went a little crazy yesterday buying some more seeds... buying online is so much more fun than Target or Lowe's - such a bigger variety!!!

On Lissa's advice, I bought some Blue Lake beans - my Kentucky Wonder are not looking so hot, though I did plant some more just to experiment! I also bought some really interesting Everglade Hybrid watermelon - it looks like a bowling ball! My husband (who grew up here) is not impressed by how different it looks - I guess because he's seen them before. But I grew up in the deserts of New Mexico and we definitely did not grow watermelon!
I also bought some more squash - a zucchini and some winter squash and I daringly ordered a raspberry plant that said it could grow up to zone 10. We'll see how that goes!

I am going to try to take some pictures still today and put them up online, but there were a few other things I wanted to mention...

A book that has been useful to me (despite how old it is): "Vegetable Gardening in Florida" by James M. Stephens. It's a UF publication, I believe. It is, of course, focused on old fashioned row gardening, but does give useful charts for spring, summer, and fall gardens. Also talks specifically about Florida problems - both insects, diseases, and other pests.

Also, I did a lot of research when mulching and decided on something called Florimulch - it's made from Melaluca which is apparently a very invasive plant here in Florida. Environmentalists recommend it because it doesn't support the cutting down of the cypress trees. I try to make eco-friendly choices like that when I can. Florimulch has a website if you Google it and it will give you a list of stores in your area. I found mine at a little garden shop a few miles away from my house for $3.49 for 2 cubic feet.

On the subject of eco-friendly - what do you all use to spray your plants? Naively, I had this perception that I would be able to grow a garden and not need "any of that junk" to spray on them. But I've lost several tomatoes to spider mites... I'm holding ground with some aphids (orange aphids?) that are on my carrots and I've just found whiteflies on my remaining tomatoes! Most of the reason I started a garden was to have organic produce, so I want to be really careful, but I also don't want to waste money buying stuff that doesn't work and I definitely don't want to loose my plants to bugs!
Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Sarah I ordered those same watermelon! My son is going to grow them in his garden :) . They come with sugar baby to pollinate. He can't wait to plant them.

I will check out the Florimulch - never heard of it.

Do most of you buy your seeds from the local store, or order online? I did a little of both. I ordered a ton of stuff from Park Seeds and a few things from Gurney. I had gone to Johnny & someplace else (can't recall right now), but they were out of what I wanted. I like to be able to sit and read up on the item, and to read any reviews people have made about it.

Lissa - putting your beds on legs was smart! The dog has already been in mine and I had to fence it off now.

Sarah, My blue lake beans look pretty good. They're about 18 inches tall now and flowering really well, which (I hope) means I'll get tons of beans off them. My black beans, at the other end of that bed, aren't looking as good, but they are from seed and are behind a bit.

Crystabel, I haven't ordered any seed packets, although I've been hitting Lo*we's and HD regularly. I found some seed packs at wally world the other night that were ten cents each and bought a few. I'm keeping track of my seed/plant costs to do a comparison to just buying the produce, although I think it's really fun to grow my own! I didn't count the costs of building my raised beds in there, since that cost will be minimal in future years.

One more question for CRYSTABEL...are you a nurse? I know a nurse with that name and, since it's such an unusual name, I wondered if I might know you IRL. :)

I'm a nurse... but I know that question wasn't directed toward me. It would be funny if there was more than one nurse on this vegetable gardening thread!

Nope, I'm not a nurse :) .

Sarah, My best friend is a nurse and I met her when we both worked in a prison. I'm a paralegal/notary and work for myself. It's a good thing, since gardening is taking up all my time! :)

Newbee and full of questions!!!!!!!
Thanks Sarah for directing me here,i was lost in another zone.
I am currently building several beds 2 10x4 1 4x4 and
i have space and material for a 20x4 (i would like to grow corn and pole beans and cukes in.
I am really new to gardening,but i love being outside and working with my hands and i love getting dirty
I am really not sure when or what to plant, seems like mid Sept is ist crop.do i need to start everything from seed,my three year old would like that.will corn grow well?
beans?how do i grow cukes on trellis? do I start everything
at once? So many questions....
Is anyone growing Black, Blue or Raspberries?Grapes?
i heard they would grow given i get the right kind.
if anyone is into fruit or exotics i found a great website
this morning Just fruits.com very informative and personable.
thanks to all for the great info Hope i'll have successful stories in the fall or is it our spring hmmmmmm?
Any thoughts or comments will be very helpful.
Thanks again
kirk

Kirk-
I think we are all kind of new on this tread - hence the inquiry about what can grow in Florida! I found it so discouraging that all the gardening books don't really address the question of "what do I do if I practically live in the swamp?" LOL... but at least I never have to worry about a freeze since I'm two miles from the Gulf!

So, being fairly inexperienced, I'm treating this first year mostly like a big experiment. I am still planting seeds in the ground right now - I don't care what the books (that aren't geared toward FL growing in the first place) say! With the exception of my Kentucky Wonder pole beans, I've had a good success of everything I have started from seed - even in the last few weeks. This includes cucumbers, pumpkins, and tomatillos. My zucchini sprouted today - and I just planted that on Friday!

Probably the best piece of advice I can give you is not to bother with starting seeds indoors. I don't know if it's because I was *such* a novice or because I'm a little bit of a control freak or because I'd bought all this stuff to grow seeds indoors - but what a waste! Everything died. Some seeds I'm put directly in the ground and others I'm starting in the little cups/containers and transplanting - but everything outside, because then they are already adapted to the climate.

The transplants I've bought have been fairly disappointing. Only one of the tomatoes - a Sweet 100 that I bought at Home Depot - is really looking and growing like I would expect a tomato plant. Also, the cantaloupe that we bought from Lowe's or Home Depot in April is by far the happiest looking thing in my garden. So far it has 3 cantaloupes growing and tons of flowers. It looks really impressive, too - I have to say, my garden would look pretty discouraging if it weren't there!

I posted a few days ago about a Florida vegetable gardening book that has been somewhat useful to me. Here is what it says are the "warm weather crops" here:
Bush Beans
Pole Beans
Lima Beans
Cantaloupes
Sweet Corn
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Okra
Southern Peas
Peppers
Sweet Potatoes
Pumpkins
Squash (summer and winter)
Tomatoes
Watermelon

It recommends planting dates on a lot of those through May (or April) depending on where you live - North, Central, or South Florida. Most say you can start planting again in August. But really - what's the difference between June and August that would be more conducive to starting a plant then instead of now? I'm not sure, so I'm doing it anyway! Maybe I will regret it, but at least I'll know for sure!

I'm envious of how much space it sounds like you have. I think I ended up with the smallest backyard in the neighborhood - it was the trade-off for a big(ish) house, I guess.

Also, I did order some raspberry plants from Park Seed. It said they would grow up to Zone 10, so I'm gonna give it a shot. I'm not going to put it in with the rest of my stuff, though - I've read that they're fairly invasive and the thorns are kind of nasty.

Anyway... look forward to hearing about your successes!

Sarah

Hello!
I haven't had my SFG's long enough to advise what works. Like Sarah said, I think we're all learning together. I'll try to chronicle what exactly I am growing (incl names)with pictures this weekend. I've been buying all of my seeds online...from Seeds of Change, Seed Savers Exchange and I just bought many packets from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. I like that site best so far as it has things specifically for southern states. I bought TOMATO, Tropic VFN which were created by UF and 2 peppers - PEPPER, BELL (SWEET), Charleston Belle and PEPPER, BELL (SWEET), Carolina Wonder which are both nematode resistant. I bought rattlesnake pole beans b/c the FL forum was singing its praises. I'll let everyone know how they work out along with anything else that produces well.
Florimulch sounds like a good idea. I used coconut fiber mulch. I bought it at a hydroponic/garden store on 49th St and Park Blvd in Pinellas Park. I like it because it can be tilled into the soil but I have no idea what it does to the ph or anything.
To be honest, I could probably buy fresh veggies everyday and still have spent less total than on my gardening *obsession*. It started out as a 'sustenance' 'cost saving' etc etc venture, but I've found a way to turn gardening into an expensive hobby. I am so enjoying it though.
Kirk - What part of FL are you in? Do you have the book? It gives pretty good instructions on the trellis. I followed the book except couldn't find nylon trellis locally so I used a plastic 'chicken coup' netting from Lowe's. My cucumbers and ice box watermelon are growing on it well.
My 5 year old LOVES to 'help' in the SFG. It's soo cute...he has his own watering can, he picked out some adirondack borders for the boxes (hopefully you'll see in the pics I take), and saves things for the *kompohst*. It cracks me up when he says it.
Anyway, we'll all keep truckin'...hee hee :) :)

I ended up using plastic chicken coup netting too - mine is silver and I think the mesh has 1 inch holes. I'm not in love with it, though and decided I wanted some of the nylon stuff, so I ordered some over the weekend with all my other stuff from Park Seed Company.
Then... on Sunday when we went to Home Depot, there it was - nylon trellis netting - right by the check out stand! It was a pretty decent size and maybe $3. But I know they didn't have that stuff when I did my trellis at the end of April. I was asking for it every time I went and they all looked at me like I just landed from outer-space. Oh well. Seems like all the stores are a little different, too - which is a little bit annoying.
The Home Depot on Park Blvd, right near Seminole Lake, had HUGE bags of vermiculite. Clarify - one huge bag that I bought. But we didn't find it at the Home Depot on Ulmerton across from Largo Mall - they only had perlite. And Lowe's only had tiny bags. Anyway... it would be nice if there was some consistency in the stores at least.
Garden Girl - the next time you're up in this neck of the woods, you should go to Wilcox nursery. They are pretty awesome - really nice guys, great selection of composts and fertilizers and organic pest controls. They're on Indian Rocks Rd just north of Walsingham. Definitely one of my favorite places. Nerdy, I know... I've turned this into an expensive hobby, too. But I figure it's going to be much more expensive in the first year than in the following years. At least that's what I tell myself... hehehe...

How is the Neem Oil working for you? Have any bad insects?

Here is a link that might be useful: Wilcox Nursery

Sarah,

I bought the Neem oil for my squash bugs....they drank it like it was ambrosia! So, I'm no longer an organic gardener, because I went back for the Sevin dust and used that! No more squash bugs! YAY!!!!!!!! They were doing a number on my squash and it looked really sad for a few days, but now it's recovering nicely. :)

Kirk, I have corn growing in an unused flower bed and it seems to be doing quite well. I have tassels forming at the top and the corn itself is over 5 feet tall. My cantaloupe, on the other hand, is just a tiny little plant right now. It's got flowers, but doesn't seem to be getting much bigger very quickly. Of course, the cantaloupe isn't in my SFG since I planted it before I built my beds.

Thanks everyone for the great info.
I'm gonna start growing in Sept i think,still building.
I got the blocks done friday on my first bed yeah.
its 15x5x1 a little bigger than i wanted but it looks good,level and solid..I start the 12x4x1 tomorrow.
Garden girl i'm in englewood south of Venice North of
Fort myers about 45 min.What Book?
Any body try worms in there compost piles? I'm ordering
some from uncle Jims worms he said they will do fine...
Super red wigglers. I hope they don't die...
Well happy gardening all
thanks again....

Kirk, I looked into ordering worms from Un*cle Jim, too, but decided against paying $40 for something I can get locally (worms, that is). I advertised on Craig List, but didn't get any responses, so I bought my Red Wigglers from the local bait shop by special order. Still cheaper than the $40 and seems to be working well. I've been "officially" vermicomposting for about six weeks now.

I just planted my third leg of my SFG tonight. As always, I'm basically ignoring the naysayers and planting what I think will grow. So far, everything is doing well EXCEPT for my stevia, it bolted already.

I also compost the "normal" way, in a garbage can beside my beds and I've got taters growing in another garbage can. So far, both of those projects are going fairly slow.

My corn, in a regular flower bed, is still doing well and my cantaloupe is still tiny. My sugar-baby watermelon (not in SFG) has one wee tiny watermelon growing, probably about the size of a quarter. I also planted a sugar-baby in my SFG about 2 weeks ago and it's already growing faster. :)

Keep in mind that I'm still conducting an experiment for my hubby's benefit. Which one works better...so far SFG is winning hands down!

Sounds like you all are having great success so far with your planting and box building! I have a few plants going right now and they are very healthy - Peppers, tomato, some radishes. At this point I'm still waiting until August to plant most of my seeds. I say that today, LOL. Tomorrow I might get out there and start putting seeds in hahaha.
I did get my trellis put up this weekend, so that makes it even more tempting to plant! :) I'm encouraged by what is growing in your gardens though. It is great to see real info about FL gardens - so hard to go by the books.
My husband got a worm bin and is doing the vermicomposting and it seems to be going well also - more good compost to add!

Here is a link that might be useful: Crystabel's Garden Blog

Hi Everyone! Well, this is the first time I am posting pictures. The only things worth showing are the Japanese eggplant and the Sugary Baby watermelon. They have baby fruits that I hope make it.
My two boxes
{{gwi:1278314}}
Tiny Sugar Baby watermelon - I hope the 'lil guy makes it.
{{gwi:1278317}}
Japanese eggplant - I took this picture on Sat and I think it has grown an inch.
{{gwi:1278320}}
I've seen Crystabel's on her blog, but not Sarah's or Lissa's....and Kirk....you'll have to post pics when you're done building :)

Looks good garden girl,
I was getting a little discouraged reading and
listening to people's stories about failures..
You have given new inspiration.
I did start the second bed last night,the ground is
so uneven its going to require alot of diggin.
Thats okay i like the work.

I ordered worms from uncle jim's I couldnt get them any cheaper, around here they are 3.50 a dozen Jims are .86 cents with shipping..

I am tempted to start growing in my first bed but that will
throw me off schedule,Being the perfectionist i am i can't
have that.
Though i am learning to lighten up a bit,it's Hard!!!!!

Any ways Happy gardening all

Kirk, I planted radishes early on, just to get a small success out of gardening this year. :) I'm really glad I did, mostly because I'm just now starting to see any real produce from my garden. Dinner tonight was eggplant parm (homegrown eggplant, green pepper and tomatos)! YUM!

Okay... turns out I'm not as smart as I look - how the heck do you post pictures on here???
You all inspired me to take some photos tonight - I got them into my snapfish account, but I have no idea how to post them here.
I'm pretty proud of my cantaloupe which is about the size of a grapefruit now! Also, I think my peppers are recovering - they seem to have lots of new growth that looks fairly healthy, and tons of little blossom buds everywhere! I also planted another round of my Kentucky Wonder Pole beans, as the first batch did not fare well - only 2 of the 8 plants survived, so I planted a few more in the square, and the seem to be taking off as well *fingers crossed*
I was talking to one of my patients today - an older man who has gardened his whole life. He said he missed his garden in New Jersey, but he does enjoy being able to grow year round here. He said he just put some transplants in the ground in the last week - he said everything grows fine in the summer here - it just might need a little extra shade. He suggested an umbrella or even weed cloth on a little frame. He said he is growing bell peppers, eggplant, beans, and tomatoes, among other things, without any problem right now. Gives me a little hope :)

Hi! I think I am going to wait until Sept to really give this a go. I pulled my cucumbers and peppers. They were being devoured by bugs. Sarah, to your question about the neem, I started using it immediately with my SFG's and have pests eating everything. If neem works, I would hate to see what happens when you don't use it.
Sarah - Posting pics was confusing at first, but after reading a couple other threads, it seems Photobucket may be more user friendly. That's what I used and I posted the link from another thread on instructions. Hope it helps. Would love to see pics.
Lissa - Is Sevin bad for you? Or is there a secret to using it on veggies so it is not bad for you?
Crystabel and Kirk - How is the vermicomposting going? I would like to try it. It seems so great as fertilizer. I bought a small bag of castings and it was $7.
My new obsession is bananas. It makes a nice addition near the SFG's (to keep on topic). Does anyone grow bananas?
Have a good week!

Here is a link that might be useful: Photo instructions from the FL forum

Hey gardengirl, I have three banana plants, all mail order. I have a Grand Nain, Ice Cream, & Misi Luki. They all came with either no leaves or very few, but are growing well now (bought in April). We eat a ton of bananas and thought it would be a fun plant to grow. I suppose it will be next year sometime before we have any bananas.
This pic is from June 13th - it has 2 more leaves already, and came in the mail with two tiny ones. I think it is growing great!

Great pics of your garden btw! Looks good. :)

Great! Thank you. Let me give it a shot!

As for bananas - we have three. My husband and I bought them in the first few months after we met - either at the USF Spring Plant Sale or the Green Thumb Festival, I can't remember. Anyway... they're huge (for dwarf sized) and put out babies like crazy. Luckily, we've had them in containers, so we got to bring them with us when we moved last summer. They haven't put out any fruit, but we haven't fertilized them either. I'm sure at this point, they would be happy in a bigger container or the ground. Seems like a great addition to the home grown food, though.

I'm pretty happy around here because, despite all the rain this weekend, I still managed to get some boxes made. I made 1' x 2' boxes - only 4 of them, but I did it all (mostly) without my husbands help. I'm kind of trying to keep things somewhat portable, because our backyard is definitely going to have some work done. I figure smaller boxes are easily moved and as long as I use the SFG concepts, it should be okay. But I am doing some self-watering containers, as well. Kind of integrating the two.

I guess I'm going to try to hold off planting much more during July and wait til Aug/Sept, too. So far, though, everything seems to be going pretty well. Weekly spraying of the insecticidal soap seems to be keeping pests at a manageable level. That is to say, they're around, but not doing much damage. I aggressively cut off every leaf infected by the leaf miners and they seem to be gone for now. Whiteflies are still around, but seem to be lessened in numbers. I was disappointed to find mites on the new growth of almost every plant yesterday morning, but sprayed and then it rained a ton... sprayed again today... and more rain. Hopefully they're gone because I really hate those guys!

Gardengirl, Sevin has warnings on the label that give the time (up to 21 days) one must wait after applying the Sevin before one harvests the fruits of specific plants.

Sarah, where are you in Florida? Your description of rain, etc. sounds like you're near me. I'm in St. Lucie County near the northern county line. I love the self-watering container idea!

Oh, my stevia and basil have bolted, but my other "cool weather" crops seem to still be doing well. My lettuce is in my SFG, while I have broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower growing in the flowerbeds around the house. They get less sunshine because the eaves of the house protect them somewhat. My corn is making silks now, too! I'm working on hand-pollinating them based on instructions I found in the Vegetables forum here.

Lissa-
I live in Seminole, about 20 miles north of St. Pete in Pinellas county... about 2 miles from the Gulf.
It's just rained and rained here almost every day for two weeks. It's wonderful not having to water from the hose, though. I've heard too much water can make pepper plants drop their flowers, so I hope that's not true!
I'm dying to get some lettuce started - I wonder if it would just be a waste of time right now. I have a small self-watering container I would put them in.
I'm so glad everything is doing so well for you! I gotta get some beans and corn started, as well. Sounds yummy!

Sarah, That's a beautiful area! I've got shade cloth to make little shade covers for my lettuce if they start looking burnt, but so far they are doing well. Mostly I'm growing leaf lettuce rather than heads, though. I bought a few packs of mesclun lettuce seed mixes at HD and the packs said they were more heat tolerant, so that my help explain why mine are still okay.

I think the lettuce would do especially well in a self-watering container since that would give the roots a steady stream of water to keep them cooler. Of course, like everyone else on this thread, I'm a novice gardener. :)

Well, the sugar baby in my pic turned brown, but there are three more babies on the vine so still hopeful. I'm glad because I was about to put it out of its misery and pull it up. Lissa, oooohhh lettuce...nice! I have a couple of seed packets ready for Sept. Sarah, I saw your pics and your cucumbers look so nice and uneaten by bugs. Next time, maybe I'll try insecticidal soap. I hear about this BT stuff (I dunno) maybe I'll go sevin. Crystabel, is that a pic of the grand nain? :)

I think I have flea beetles? They're super tiny little things that are everywhere but they jump like fleas. Dang... I just can't get ahead of these bugs! LOL... I'm starting to think it's the bugs and not the heat that keep people from gardening in Florida.

I know Lissa reads the Florida gardening forum... I wonder if they have some good ideas about pest management. I'd really like to stay as organic as possible. I think I will start reading the organic forum to see what I can find!

We're getting good rains here too - so nice!

Yes gardengirl it is the grand nain. It is growing so well. But the Ice Cream and the Misi Luki are coming along now too :)

Sarah, The only real information I've picked up on organic pest management is this: Use dish soap in a spray bottle for aphids and other stuff (maybe try it on the fleas?) but be careful to use it in the early morning or late afternoon so the plant's leaves don't burn. Use Neem or diatamacious (spelling?) earth for things the soap won't handle.

Personally, after feeding the bugs Neem..and having the bugs drink it up and ask for more...I'm now using Sevin on my squash and cukes in my SFG. Amazingly enough, nothing has touched the cukes or squash planted in the flower beds around my house.

Hello everyone,
i have been so busy have not had time to write.
I finally finished the second bed,and spent the
weekend looking for different types of compost.
I only found three,all the rest are basically the same
in Florida at least around here.
I did find one Blueberry bush ,YEAH ,seems healthy...
I changed the soil and transplanted to a bigger pot
I have it in the morning sun and afternoon shade we will
see.
I planted some watermelon in 2 of the block cells
as an experiment they are growing quick and seem happy..
I planted some tomatoes in containers and have them next
to the blueberries.I also planted an herb garden in 2
containers i had for awhile they contain,
Rosemary,basil,parsley,thyme,oregano,also some
spearmint and peppermint.

Within 2 days the Bugs have located and began thier
attack,whiteflies and mites i belive.....
i have been holding them off with palmolive and water.
A friend told me ivory soap 2 tblespoons mixed in 1 quart warm water or liquid castile soap same mix,works well
I'll try it....

I have to get the soil in the beds this weekend and finish
mulching around the beds...I kickin around with idea of
micro sprinkler sytem on a timer.They are fairly
inexpensive and would work well with my goofy schedule.
I have not recieved my worms yet but the compost pile seems to be doing well.Guess i'll have to call uncle Jim's
and see what the delay is..
Almost forgot i ordered my muscadine grapes they will be
here in Oct,along time to wait but i need to prepare the
soil anyway so it worrks out well..
Glad i got the time to share and be part of your gardens
Good luck to all and Happy Gardening...

Kirk, I only found three sources of compost when I first started as well: cow, mushroom and homemade. I'm still looking for more on my trips out and about, but I'm so happy playing in my garden that I don't go out unless I absolutely have to go somewhere.

I'd love to see pics of your garden, if you care to share. :)

I agree, the different compost is hard to find - or very expensive if you do find something off the normal mushroom/cow track. I found some hen compost at Worm's Way on 56th St in Tampa. And on craigslist I found worm castings in Brandon (also got some worms from him to start our bin). So I ended up with Cow, Hen, Worm & mushroom, with the majority being cow and mushroom. And I tried to buy some different brands of cow just for "some" variety LOL. I'm making some compost now in tumblers and we have the worm bin going so it should be ready when I need to replant in the winter....hopefully LOL. It is all trial and error for me right now :) .

Hello Everyone!
Just wanted to introduce myself, i plan on starting my garden in September but have the beds built. Also having trouble finding different varieties of compost. I started a worm bin this weekend hoping to get a little compost by then to add to the garden. I've learned a lot reading about all of your experiences. Thank You.

OMG... so I went to Just Fruits and Exotics this weekend and WOW!!!
Really expanded my edible garden at that place. Of course, none of it will go in the SFG I guess. But I got some figs, muscadines, a blood orange, pineapple guavas, and... something else. Too much to remember!
Anyway, it was well worth the 5 hour trip to visit this nursery. I advise it!
Sadly, I returned home to see the caterpillars have seized more ground over the last 4 days. My pumpkin and cucumber vines are all over the place - growing great, but FULL of holes. I assume this makes them more susceptible to diseases and other issues, no?
Anyone else having these problems? I haven't seen any beetles, and don't seem to have any other diseases, but the darn caterpillars are going crazy in my garden! Any suggestions?
Hope everyone's garden is going well. Also, I picked my cantaloupe (only after the neighborhood rodent took a few bites for himself - GRRR), but it sure was delicious! Almost makes all this hard work worthwhile!

Hello to all,
Sara,
i envy you going to just fruits and exotics..I am planning a trip in the fall I'll have to make a weekend of it since its around twelve hours driving to and fro.
I have not seen any caterpillers yet but do have white fly
and some kind of little hoppy thing.I shoe the white fly away they stay gone for a day or 2 then return no damage as i can tell.Have a few small tomatoes on my potted plants.
I tried the polmolive soap thing almost killed everything
so i just pick stuff off and hope for the best.
Watermelons growing well,I have a few papayas starting.
I bought a bananna tree yesterday and a surnam cherry bush
we'll see how these do.Both beds are ready for planting i have one trellis set up ,hoping to finish the other this weekend and get micro irragation system set up by mid Aug.
Almost forgot My south american flamboyant trees have started to sprout i am excited to see the growth.Sun flowers have not sprouted yet.Hope to hear from all soon
Happy Gardening.