Time to begin fall/winter vegetable garden in north Florida | LARRY WILLIAMS

The hot weather may not indicate it, but it’s time to begin a fall vegetable garden.

Cool-season vegetables include leafy-green vegetables such as cabbage, collards and spinach. A few other cool-season vegetables include radish, beets and carrots.

Broccoli is an excellent winter crop. Cultural practices are similar to cabbage. Broccoli and cabbage should be planted during August or the first of September.

Collards will withstand wide ranges of temperatures if properly conditioned. They may be direct seeded and thinned to cabbage spacing or plants may be set. Plant collards August through the first of September.

Onions are generally grown from sets or plants. Sets and plants will require about six to eight weeks to reach eating size. Bulbing onions will not be ready to harvest until spring. Sets and plants should be spaced about two inches apart. Plant onions September through December.

Radish should be ready to harvest 25 to 30 days after planting. Plant radish seed September through mid-October.

Other cool season vegetables to try include: Beets, plant Aug. 1-Sept. 20; carrots, plant Aug. 20-Sept. 15; cauliflower, plant Aug. 15-Oct. 15; kale, plant Aug. 15-Oct. 15; lettuce, plant Sept. 1-Oct. 1; mustard, plant Aug. 20-Sept. 10; spinach, plant October-November; turnips plant Aug. 10-Oct. 1.

Fall into Vegetable Gardening course at Extension Office

Fall is a great time to plant a winter garden. But not all vegetables can be successfully grown during our cooler fall and winter months.

To learn more about planting a winter garden, attend a 3-week series titled “Fall into Vegetable Gardening.” This workshop series will be held on Tuesday evenings from 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. starting September 9th and concluding on September 23th. The cost is $30 per person or $45 per couple and includes numerous handouts.

UF/IFAS Extension Agents will provide the following topics during this series:

• September 9^th – Starting a Home Vegetable Garden: Expectations, Planning and Site Preparation
• September 16^th – Starting a Home Vegetable Garden: Tips to Use Whether Your are Starting with Seeds or Transplants
• September 23^rd – Tops and Bottoms for the Cool Season Garden: Cool Season Crops such as lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, chard, strawberries, onions, potatoes and carrots

Classes will be held at the UF/IFAS Extension Office in Okaloosa County. The office is located at 3098 Airport Road in Crestview.

To register for the Fall into Vegetable Gardening series or for more information, please call the Okaloosa County Extension Office at (850) 689-5850. Space is limited.

Larry Williams, UF/IFAS Extension Agent, Okaloosa County, September 4, 2014