Have you dreamed of starting a garden but been discouraged by lack of knowledge or experience?
Please don’t be intimidated by gardening. Now is a great time to start a little garden and to see if you like it. Florida fall and winter gardens are a wonderful place to start: the temperatures are cooler and the bugs are fewer.
If you really want to just try a little garden and just have a little time; buy a pack of collard or kale transplants for a few dollars, then poke them in the ground in a sunny spot. With just a minimum of care, you can harvest the outer leaves as soon as they are large enough and enjoy multiple harvests until the heat returns.
I am still harvesting peppers from my spring garden, but am now beginning to harvest green beans from my fall garden.
Turnips and mustard have sprouted! I’m trying ‘White Egg’ turnips this year.
My collard, kale, and Bibb lettuce starts are looking great! I’m glad I decided to try Swiss chard again, I’m thinking of mixing this pretty vegetable with some snapdragons in the garden.
I am ready for beautiful salads and for my favorite kale recipe!
Many of these starts are ready to go into the garden. With the cooler temperatures, it’s the perfect time to get them adjusted and to clear off my pallet potting bench.
Are you ready to take the plunge and try a garden? Fall is a great time to garden in North Florida!
Do you have questions about starting a fall garden? Please ask, I’d love to help!
Do you have other suggestions for super-easy fall crops? Kale and collards are my top 2 easy crops, but I’d love to hear your favorites below. We can all help each other-the gardening community is so friendly!
Let’s get growing!
Coffee to Compost 
Good suggestion on kale – it’s a definite easy-to-grow crop for beginners, plus it’s delicious from the garden. Even from seed it’s really simple to grow and undemanding.
As for our gardens: yesterday I planted 36 cabbages. Today I’ll be planting a big bed of carrots. Cauliflower and broccoli is already in the ground. Next up, mangelwurzels, turnips, radishes, lettuce and onions! I love this time of year.
Yes, fall is a great time in the garden! I totally had to look up “mangelwurzel”; I had never heard of them and wondered if you had made it up to see if I actually read comments! Interesting crop-I’d like to know how they do for you.
When I lived up north in WV I thought I had a green thumb. Since moving to FL 3 years ago it seems I am just all thumbs. I have had no luck getting anything to grow except jalapeno peppers (which are for my hubby, I don’t even like them). Yesterday I bought all the supplies to build a square foot garden and will be doing that this weekend. Do you have any suggestions for some easy things to grow here in FL that will help me gain a little trust back in my gardening skills? We don’t really like kale and hubby wont touch a cabbage if his life depended on it. I also purchased 3 Earth boxes. I thought I would save those to plant tomatoes, peppers & cucumbers in come the Spring (if I could get those 3 things to grow here I would be a happy camper!) Love your blog.
Gardening in Florida is so rewarding, but it is so different than gardening up North. Timing is very important. There is a great guide here that has a chart for when to plant various vegetables in North, Central, and South Florida.
Have you thought about growing lettuce and spinach? Also, a raised bed would be a good place for carrots. These all can be grown from seeds. What about turnips or radishes? It would be fun to try a new vegetable too, maybe beets or rutabagas? You might just find a new favorite. If you have a feed store near you they may sell seeds in bulk. I typically just buy the smallest amount they offer. I still get plenty of seeds for about half the cost (or less!) of packaged seeds. I am so happy to have you here and please let me know if you have any more questions! Happy gardening!
Thanks for sharing! As a newbie I really appreciate these tips!
You’re quite welcome.