Prepping Your Fall Garden in Florida

We all know that Florida is an amazing place to grow a garden. With good weather, high humidity, and warm temperatures year-round, Floridians are lucky to be able to garden all year round. If you live in Florida, now is the time to begin thinking about your plans for your autumn garden. If you plan and execute your garden preparations right, you can grow successful crops that can handle the challenges that fall in Florida brings. 

Preparing Your Summer Soil

If you have the time to get started during the summer, solarizing your soil will yield major benefits for your fall garden. While it’s not a make-or-break step, starting about six weeks before you plant your fall garden will help yield better results. 

Solarization is an environmentally friendly agricultural practice that helps treat your soil and guard against weeds and pests. There are several steps to the task, but it’s fairly straightforward: 

• Begin by pulling and disposing of all weeds in your garden bed, then use a cultivator tool to loosen the top 4-6 inches of soil. Take this opportunity to add new dirt or compost to the area if you wish, but make sure it’s kept loose and not compact. 
• Shape your ground for good drainage (high point in the middle with a gentle slope towards the edges of the garden bed). 
• Add a good amount of water to your garden bed; this may seem counterintuitive, but the right amount of water will conduct heat into your garden and boost your solarization process. 
• The last and most important step is to lay a sheet of clear, 3mil thickness plastic over your garden. Your plastic should be about 12 inches bigger than your garden area; stretch it tightly over the soil and place stones on the corners to hold it down. Using your shovel, bury the edges of your plastic completely underground so that wind and rain won’t pull them up. 

Leave the plastic as is for at least six weeks to make the solarization process effective; the effects should last 3-4 months, the perfect length of time for your fall garden to be a success! 

Make a Plan

Decide in advance what you would like to plant and how best to plant it in the space you have. Make sure the crops you plant next to each other compliment each other instead of harming each other. Every type of crop has different growing styles and needs different arrangements to flourish; research your specific crops and make a plan in advance so you know whether you need any special equipment (trellises, etc.) and know what you’re going to do ahead of time. 

Prepare Your Tools 

The best time to get your tools ready is before you’ll need them. Take inventory of your tools and check to make sure they are in working order. Are any blades sharp and clean? Are any hinges lubricated? Are your tools decontaminated and free of debris? If you have electric or gas-powered tillers or cultivators, start them up and make sure all parts are working. Have any malfunctioning tools serviced and cleaned up now so that they are ready to work when you are. 

Get Your Soil Ready

Pull any weeds and crops from the previous season that might remain. If they are not diseased or seeding, they can be composted; otherwise, throw them away. After removing any weeds, turn over and cultivate your soil and add compost or fertilizer. Form your mounds and rows to prepare for planting. If you aren’t seeding the same day as you prepare your soil, we recommend covering your beds and prepared mounds/rows with newspaper or cardboard to help keep weeds under control until you are ready to plant. If you did solarize your beds, avoid adding anything that might have seeds in it, such as grass clippings, manure, leaf litter, or top soil. 

Seeding

There’s nothing wrong with planting your seeds early so that your plants are ready for the cooler weather. Pre-molded seed plug cells are very helpful tools that can help you track which seeds grow at which rates. You can also plant directly into the ground right now if you want - staggering your planting times is a great way to space out your harvests and give you a chance to consume them before the next batch is ready to pick. This allows you to manage your crops much more easily and cuts down on food waste, which is a struggle for so many home gardeners in Florida. 

Start Prepping Your Fall Garden Today! 

The days are about to start getting shorter and cooler - for many gardeners in Jacksonville, Lake City, and Gainesville, this is the ideal time to get their gardening started. It is more comfortable to be outside during this time - not to mention, the cooler weather and shorter days generally means fewer pests (and the damage they bring). Get started now to make the most of your Florida fall garden this year!