Forcing Spring Bulbs Indoors in Florida
Forcing spring bulbs indoors works in Florida, but not the way it works in Vermont or Minnesota.
Gardening in Florida
Everything we have worked out for Florida: what to plant and when, which varieties finish in time, the pests that actually turn up here, and the jobs that pay off month by month. We also cover the rest of the property, from lawns and soil to home care and energy, because a garden rarely stops at the vegetable bed.
The numbers first, because everything else follows from them. Measured at the weather station in Jacksonville, the last spring freeze runs February 16 to March 7 and the first fall freeze runs November 26 to December 13, USDA zones 8b-11b, 7,000 growing degree days in the year.
Heat, not frost, is what shortens the season here: above 86 °F tomato pollen goes sterile, so growers run a spring crop and an autumn one rather than a single long season. Garlic is the awkward one: only 0 weeks below 40 °F, where it needs six to split into cloves. Chill the cloves before planting, or grow a softneck type.
Elsewhere on the property in Florida: the pests that turn up here.
Figures from NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals. A state is not one climate: elevation, a large lake or the coast can move these dates by two weeks either way, so check your own county with the extension service before you spend money.
Growing Spring Bulbs in Containers in Florida
Spring bulbs like tulips and daffodils need weeks of real cold to bloom, and Florida winters rarely deliver enough of it.
Watering a Garden in Florida: How Much, How Often, and the Local Rules
Florida’s answer depends on where you stand: Jacksonville sees a real winter with frost, while central and south Florida stay frost-free and flip the…
Growing Potatoes in Florida: Dates, Varieties and Summer Heat
Florida doesn’t run on one potato calendar, it runs on two. In Jacksonville and points north, gardeners plant a single spring crop and race to dig it…
Canning at Altitude in Florida: What Your Elevation Changes
For most home canners in Florida, altitude adjustment is not something to worry about.
Florida Soil: What You Are Digging Into, and How to Improve It
Florida’s official state soil is the Myakka series, a sandy, acid, poorly drained Spodosol that sits under pine flatwoods across much of the peninsula.
Flowers That Actually Thrive in Florida, and the Ones That Struggle
Florida’s zones run 8b to 11b, and Jacksonville’s NOAA climate normals show heat load, not winter cold, decides which flowers survive.
Planting Spring Bulbs in Florida: What Will Come Back, and What Will Not
Florida sits mostly outside the cold that spring bulbs need to flower, and that single fact decides more than any planting date.
When to Plant Onions in Florida
Plant short-day onions in North Florida between mid-October and early December, not in spring.
The Best Onion Varieties for Florida
Florida gardeners need short-day onions, full stop. At 30.48°N, the reference station used for these figures sees just 13 hours and 58 minutes of…