florida panhandle gardening | Florida Panhandle Gardening

Florida panhandle gardening. A brief context to set expectations.

Florida panhandle gardening: Quick notes

This is good insight on the difficulties gardening in the Florida Panhandle:

“I’ve been gardening on the Northern Gulf Coast (Mobile, Pensacola) for about 50 years.

Florida’s Great Northwest is not Florida. It’s Lower Alabama. It’s a completely different environment from anything south of Gainesville.

I currently have about 250 sq ft of raised beds and about 300 gallons of containers.

First, most people miss the season. They think spring starts in April, but if I’m not starting tomatoes and peppers in December/January, I’m behind the curve. The problem is that it’s still freezing here in January.

Last year (2024) we got 12 inches of snow in January, so you have to have a heated greenhouse or start seeds indoors. Tomatoes need to be in the ground by mid-February, at the latest, even though the last frost is toward the end of March. By July, it’s 100 degrees and over 90% humidity. Oh, did I mention we can get 100 inches of rain a year, with averages around 60-70 inches? Like split tomatoes?

By July your tomatoes have quit producing if they’re not dead already. Fungus killed your cucumbers a month ago. Nothing except okra and field peas will germinate in your soil, which is now over 90 degrees.

The gardening season here is really several smaller seasons. Tomatoes, Peppers, Cucumbers, etc. — February to Juneish.

Okra, field peas, beans, etc. — June to Septemberish. Brassicas, Onions, Lettuce, Greens, Peas, etc — September to Januaryish.

Garlic is November/December to Aprilish (but only after vernalization in the refrigerator for the month of October).

Every environment has its own challenges, but those in Northwest Florida are unique.”

That was left in the comment section of this video:

It’s a different world here. It’s so close to being tropical sometimes… and then you get bizarre weather like this: