Florida Gardening Resources

Florida is Unique

When you are looking for garden info online or in stores, you’re likely getting advice for northern gardeners. Florida is unique – we have our own climate and gardening seasons and challenges.

We have developed resources specifically for Florida gardeners to help you figure out what to plant when, plant spacing, and how to determine your sun exposure as our seasons change. These lists cover many common vegetables but don’t include every kind imaginable. Keep in mind that there are If you don’t see what you’re looking for, reach out. We’re happy to help!

Tiered GreenStalk Vertical Planter

Click to Find One

I’ve been absolutely over the moon about our new vertical garden. They’ve always fascinated me because of their impressive appearance and space-saving abilities. Honestly, I was intimidated by them. Something that neat had to be complex -right? Wrong! The one we trialed is actually really easy to use. It’s a GreenStalk Vertical Garden. Click on my link to save $10 on every tower you buy. If you have questions about setup, I’d be happy to help you out.

How to Determine Your Sun Exposure as the Seasons Change

We are lucky to have 12 months of garden growing seasons in Florida. But, all seasons are not equal as far as sun exposure goes. You might think that the Florida sun is too strong and plants should have some shade. That may be true in the hot months of the summer, but September-May, your garden needs all the sun’s rays it can get.

As the seasons change, the days become shorter, sunlight hours decrease and the angle of the sun changes, causing the full sun areas in your garden to shift too. A fall, winter, and spring garden want at least 6 hours of direct sun to be considered “full sun”. If you have at least 3 hours of sun, you can consider that “part sun.” Less than that, I call it “bright shade”.

Follow these simple guides to help you figure out your gardens’ sun exposures.

The orange line is at approximately 45 degrees. To figure this out, I stand facing south, then put my arm at about a 45 degree angle where there are any obstructions to sunlight – trees, fences, structures – to see where the shadows will fall. If you realize you have less than full sun, don’t worry!

Hidden Full Sun Spaces

We LOVE container gardening because it allows us to “chase the sun”. We have a lot of big trees in our yard, so we need to be creative with our veggie gardens. Knowing how to find the angle of the sun to know where it’ll create shade is particularly important in the fall and winter.

For example, we have a mature oak tree in our yard. It creates a lovely summer shade. But as the sun angle changes, we have this special “hidden” full sun location to put a few large containers with our tomatoes and peppers. Check out your yards for these spaces. You might be surprised!