Establishing a new veggie garden!!

12 years ago

Well, we are going to try doing this for the first time in Florida. Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated. Laid out an area 11' x 15' that is in mainly full sunlight.

First issue is the present irrigation for our lawn is reclaimed water. If it sprays over the veggie plot is that dangerous?_____. We will be watering the garden with drinking water but there is the lawn spray hitting the proposed garden right now.

We are thinking of using a 3' wide aisle and dividing the planting areas on the sides and the rear into 9 plots

(6 ea 4'x 4' blocks) and (3 ea 3' x 4' blocks) Do you think we need a 3' aisle or is that wasted space? _____

The planned area now has St. Augustine grass. I was thinking of killing the grass with Round-Up. Is that ok?_________

After the grass is killed or removed while still alive, I was going to rent a tiller and till the area and then mix in natural compost from a friend's bin, add new soil and maybe some Black Cow brand manure, too. Does this make sense?________________

How deep do you suggest we till? 12"_______18"________24"_______

The veggies we want to grow are tomatoes (cherry and regular size) peppers, zucchini, cukes, radishes, Romaine, summer squash, herbs and possibly garlic. Any comments on this selection for a fall planting in Central Florida

would be greatly appreciated.___________________________

Thank you for your comments.

My former planting experience was very successful but it was in New Jersey..Not Florida. I grew peppers, tomatoes, zucchini..so, I know how to stake and keep the pests off the plants, etc.

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Comments (4)

L_in_FL
12 years ago
Chuck, you might want to post your questions in the Florida gardening forum: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/flgard/

It's very active and there are several Central Florida folks there who have nice vegetable gardens and can give you answers specific to your area.

Things are pretty different in Central FL vs. NW FL, so I don't want to lead you astray.
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
12 years ago
I was going to say the same thing.

Also wanted to mention that roundup is made by Monsanto. If, after doing your own research, you still want to patronize Monsanto, you're free to do so but many people decide it's not an entity they wish to support. In any case, I hope your veggie patch does very well and wish you luck!
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zzackey
12 years ago
I wouldn't want to eat anything grown where Roundup had been sprayed. I know it's the easy way out. Can you dig or till the grass out? Now's the time for cool weather crops, almost. 80's here. Lettuce and garlic when it cools down some. Herbs would do well now. You should go to your local Ag. Center and see what grows good for you this time of year. Mine always has alot of info! Welcome to Florida. I feel like I still live in Florida. I'm only 8 miles away.
Donna
12 years ago
I will respond to the questions that I have experience with, but I agree with the above that Florida gardening is so dramatically different from any other zone, that you really should go to that forum for specifics.

I have the type of garden you describe (Square Foot, right?), though my beds (raised) are larger. Basically, you can make them as long as you want, but 3.5 to 4 feet wide is the ideal width, so that you can stand in the paths and reach into the bed to plant, weed, and harvest.

I would strongly recommend the 3 foot paths. This is an easy width to get a wheelbarrow through, and it gives you a bit of space for plants that tend to wander, like cucumbers and squash, for instance.

Do your research on Round up, or glyphosphate, the generic, sold at WalMart for one, if you don't want to buy from Monsanto. This is truly an inflammatory topic on these forums and I don't want to go there. It's a decision you must make for yourself.

One way or the other, the grass will need to be killed, or you will fight it forever. If you lived here, I would suggest you lay down cardboard over the entire area, weight it down so that no sunlight can get to it, and wait throughout the winter for it to die.I n Florida? I don't know.

Till as deeply as you can, but not less than a foot. Add as much as you can in the way of organic amendments: Black Cow or composted manure (cheaper and effective), compost, chopped leaves, grass clippings, kitchen waste (not oily or meat), etc. Tomatoes will love you for a very deep till, like 2 feet; however, they will produce well on less.

Your list of suggested vegetables would be part summer grown and part winter grown here. I don't know about Florida. Here, we plant collards, mustard, turnips, kale, garlic, onions, carrots, mustard, spinach, brussels sprouts, and beets to eat through fall and winter. I am still picking beans, tomatoes and cucumbers, but they were planted in August for a fall crop. Once we get frost, they'll be gone. If you don't get frost in your area, it's entirely conceivable that you could grow these straight through the winter.

Check the internet for a Florida Growing guide put out by one of your agricultural universities. It may well answer any questions you have.

Good luck to you!