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Backyard Gardeners Should Hit The Ground

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By SHERRI LONON

In The Loop

Published: March 12, 2009

Growing vegetables in Florida can be an exercise in frustration for Northerners who are used to tossing seeds in the ground and watching them sprout. Thanks to sandy soils, pests, overly hot days and different growing seasons, the ballgame is completely different here, say experts from the Pasco County Cooperative Extension.

"The seasons are probably one of the toughest things to adapt to," said B.J. Jarvis, director of the extension office. "Summer is just way too hard of a time in Florida."

Despite the obstacles, Jarvis and certified master gardener Adah Weitzel suggest people interested in backyard vegetable gardening get moving to take advantage of the spring growing season that now is in full swing.

"This is definitely the time to be thinking about warm season vegetables," Jarvis said.

Weitzel said the time to grow vegetables from seeds has passed but that seedlings still can go into the ground. She suggests gardeners who want to try growing completely from scratch keep in mind that seeds should be started about six weeks out from recommended planting times.

Since Pasco County's soils tend to lack nutrients and often are affected by nematodes - microscopic worms that can damage crops - the pair suggest would-be vegetable gardeners take steps to compensate. Two of the best ways to get around these issues and still get plants in the ground before the St. Patrick's Day planting cutoff , Jarvis said, involve container gardening or creating raised beds for the spring season. Both options involve the use of richer soils and can help growers overcome the nematode problem until more stringent steps can be taken during the summer. To avoid nematode contamination in containers, gardeners need only raise them an inch or two off the ground and provide proper drainage, Jarvis said.

Fertilizer can be important as well, Jarvis said. She often recommends the use of slow-release brands simply because they take a lot of the work and worry out of vegetable gardening.

Gardeners who do want to plant directly in the soil are urged to wait until after the summer season, Jarvis said. To prepare, they can solarize the soil in the summer by covering their intended vegetable patch with black plastic sheeting topped off with clear plastic sheeting. This enables a gardener to make sure soil cooks all summer long, she said. This might not kill off all nematodes, but it does control their numbers.

"It works great for a fall garden," she said.

As prices in the grocery store climb, Jarvis said, requests for information about vegetable gardening are increasing. There are some challenges that go along with doing it in Florida, she said, but growing vegetables can be quite rewarding and does fit in with many landscape schemes.

"You can tuck vegetable gardens into so many places," Jarvis said. For example, parsley can be used as a border in plant beds. Tomatoes can hang. And many herbs and vegetables can blend in well with a landscape without taking up a large amount of space.

For Weitzel, vegetable gardening is part of a lifelong passion for growing plants. The Zephyrhills resident is the president of the county's master gardeners association. She said her first math lesson took place in her mother's garden, where she was asked to figure out how many plants could go in a row.

Weitzel's vegetable garden takes up a small plot outside her home. She also grows a variety of plants in separate gardens, a greenhouse and open spaces. Weitzel said she enjoys vegetable gardening not only because it feeds her need to grow but also because it gives her a chance to give back. Her crops typically are shared with neighbors.

Her winter garden produced cabbage, broccoli, onions, romaine lettuce and more.

She agrees that it is time to get seedlings in the ground and recommends using raised beds and remembering that the soil here needs work and tends to benefit from heavy composting.

For the best chance of success with any kind of planting, she says, it's important to avoid putting plants in the ground when conditions are stressful: too hot, too cold, too wet or too dry.

For information, visit the extension service's Web site at pasco.ifas.ufl.edu/ or call (813) 996-7341.

'TIS THE SEASON

The Pasco County Cooperative Extension recommends backyard gardeners plant vegetables by Tuesday for warm season crops. These vegetables are recommended:

•Beans

•Peppers

•Sweet potatoes

•Cucumbers

•Tomatoes

•Squash

•Okra

•Southern peas

Crops such as eggplant, corn, pumpkin, cantaloupe and watermelon also grow well in Pasco County.

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