Dwarf Blue Scotch Kale
At the farmers market, I’m often asked, “What’s the easiest thing to plant?”. This is usually from someone who is new to gardening, new to gardening in Florida, or hasn’t had much gardening success. If you want to get started in gardening and are asking the same thing, you’re not alone.
Living in Florida, I love to recommend that new gardeners start in the fall. Planting the right crops in the right season will increase your success rate exponentially and once you have a few growing achievements behind you, you’re more likely to keep at it. Fall is a great time to garden because the weather turns cooler as the season progresses. Bugs and diseases become less of an issue.
The other great thing about fall is the type of crops that can be grown. Most gardeners want to grow tomatoes, peppers, and squash, but the easiest crops to grow are greens. You’re basically eating greens once they pop out of the ground. No waiting for the fruit that can be susceptible to attack by all manner of diseases and critters. Greens grow best in cooler weather. In fact, they thrive when the temperature starts to drop. And although we all love our summer ripened heirloom tomatoes, greens are super nutritious and something we all could eat more often.
Try planting kale, arugula, mustard, lettuce, and Swiss chard. I start from seeds because these are easy to grow and it’s not always easy to find starts this time of year. Greens can be planted successively over the next couple of months. Sow a few seeds now, then again in a week, then the next week, and so forth. This will give you a nice steady supply going into the winter months. These crops are also easy to grow in containers, if you have limited space. You’ll need to keep seeds and soil moist until they have germinated and also keep in mind that the days are getting shorter. Be sure to plant your seeds in a sunny spot.
Get those seeds started now and you’ll be eating your own delicious greens in just a few weeks.
What are you planting this fall?
Moonlight Micro-Farm 