IN A HURRY? Click here. EASY VICTORY HOME GARDEN IN SOUTH/CENTRAL FLORIDA

Quick cheat sheet: 
Easy Home Gardening in South Florida
copyright ©2020
(share the link to this page to everyone but do not copy and paste)

1. Easy vegetables that grow anytime. If this is your first garden, stick with easy vegetables that your family will east and that grow anytime of the year. Multiplier onions, arugula, eggplants, hot peppers, yams, sweet potatoes, everglades/wild/cherry tomatoes, lima beans, most Chinese greens, edible luffa, yard long beans, okra, Seminole pumpkin, garlic chives, tomatillos, some Chinese melons, dwarf pigeon pea, moringa (tree).
2. Easy vegetables for late fall/winter/early spring. Short days of winter are perfect for cabbage, broccoli, kohlrabi, lettuce, rutabaga, short day onions, celery, collards, peas, kale, Swiss chard, radishes, carrots.
3. Challenging vegetables for late fall/winter/early spring. These are all very susceptible to disease and insects: cow peas, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, beets, corn, sweet peppers.
4. Summer vegetables under shade cloth. I have been semi-successful using short maturing plants under my version of shade cloth: a piece of sheet that is draped over then clothes-pinned to the top of a tomato cage. Carrots, lettuce, oak leaf lettuce, Swiss chard, Chinese greens, jalapenos.
   
5. Don't bother with these vegetables. Garlic, potatoes, shallots, brussel sprouts, parsnips, most melons and squash, artichoke, asparagus, horseradish.
6. Location. Location. Location. Find an area for your garden that gets at least 6 hours of full SUN, is close to a water source, and doesn't flood.
7. Amend your garden soil. Some vegetables grow best in the ground such as Seminole pumpkin, yard long beans, edible luffa, and yams. Any of these additives can help turn sand into soil: compost, animal/bird manure, worm castings, shredded paper, cardboard, kitchen compost, and coffee grounds.
8. Create or buy soil for pots. My soil blend for pots includes compost, peat moss, perlite, lime, slow release 10-10-10 fertilizer, and calcium.
9. Have your soil tested by the University of Florida IFAS. Check with your local UF Extension Office to see if they do free soil testing. If not, spend a few bucks and find out your soil's pH.  https://soilslab.ifas.ufl.edu/ESTL_files/SS18700.pdf  

10. Don't set your pots on the ground. Root knot nematodes move slowly into your pots and cause damage to your plant's roots. I use logs, cement blocks, and used Amazon mailer bags to keep my pots from touching the soil.
    
11. Watering regulations. Some counties restrict watering to certain times and days. My county allows hand watering anytime and prefer hand watering daily so I can keep an eye on insects and disease.  
12. Rotate vegetables; even in pots. Change vegetable locations. Insects and disease can transfer easily to the next crop if you plant the same thing over and over in the same place.
13. Fertilizer. Sorry but compost is not enough. A slow release 10-10-10 works well. Reapply every 2-4 weeks.
14. Free mulch from county collected yard waste. You get what you pay for. Lots of weed seeds. If you are okay with this, go for it. I'd rather not at this point in my life. 
15. Why tomatoes taste bad from Florida. We grow tomatoes in the winter when there is less daylight. Tomatoes need long days with lots of sun to taste good fresh.
16. Sucking insects. Hand pick, blast them off with water, or suffocate them with neem (organic) or horticultural oil.
17. Chewing caterpillars. Hand pick or death by diarrhea: Bacillus thurengiensis (organic).
18. Other chewing insects. Hand pick, vacuum, or pyrethrin (organic).
19. Diseases. Most diseases can be controlled by using Liquid Copper Fungicide spray and Garden Friendly Fungicide spray BEFORE there is a problem, only handling plants when dry so disease is not transferred by your hands, and cleaning tools with a disinfectant such as Clorox Wipes.
20. Weeds. Weeds take-up fertilizer and water meant for your vegetables. Pull weeds with flowers first. Do not compost seeds or allow seeds to drop in your garden.
21. Frost in the forecast? Water plants well the day before. Cover with cloth trying not to touch plant. Anchor cloth to ground to make a tent. The warmth from the ground will fill inside the tent and help keep the plant warm. I have lots of shrub frost covers that I use over my 4-gallon potted plants with tomato cages.
    
22. Local County Extension office. Many counties have Master Gardeners that can answer your gardening questions.