Here’s a look at my tiny crop collection this Fall. Amazingly I have a small pumpkin crop. The volunteer Seminole pumpkin vine ended up giving me four nice pumpkins.
I recognized the leaves as the plant grew up from one of my raised beds. Now, I’m happy I let it grow. This is the largest crop of pumpkins I’ve had, I think. Yes, only four, but I’ll take it!
Seminole pumpkinsPumpkin vines
Roselle Hibiscus – Adjusting to a New Landscape
Because I have limited growing space, I put Roselle seeds into the ground near the edge of the woods. They sprang up and grew so nicely. Then the landscape changed.
Roselle in bloom
The two Roselle Hibiscus I planted mostly grew next to trees and had lots of shade all summer. Then, in Fall they came and cleared the land next door. That put my two Roselle right out in the open. More sun and more wind. Branches began to break off, so I trimmed them up.
Now the Roselle calyxes are forming and I’m picking them to freeze. Instead of waiting until the end of the season and picking them all at once, I am harvesting one or two jars full at a time. The ants have to be removed, which I do by adding the pods to a jar of water. I’ve found that this is the best way to harvest roselle.
Peppers and Kale
Throughout summer I had plenty of red cayenne peppers to pick every morning. As Fall approached, I had fewer red peppers, but the banana peppers began to grow better. I can eat one every week or so.
The cherry tomatoes have stopped growing but the Tulsi basil and kale are going strong.
Sweet Potatoes
The largest crop is my sweet potatoes and they are yet to be dug. I’ve pulled up some of sweet potatoes, which were in smaller boxes. Some I have already eaten and others are drying on the porch. Most were pretty small so I decided to let them grow longer. I’ll dig them in November when the weather is cooler.
Attract and help pollinators by simply letting some Florida native “weeds” grow in the yard. Many are easy to get along with and very pretty.
Once again I am preaching about leaving weeds growing in the yard and garden. I’ve found that flowering “weeds” feed the bees best. I’ve tried to buy plants at the local nursery to feed beneficial insects. Some die, and they need attention to flourish. Deadheading, watering, weeding, and pruning are not needed for “weeds”, unless you want to keep them under control.
The most beneficial plants for pollinators are the weeds. They are lurking along the pathways, and sprout up willy nilly in the grassy areas. This is where I find the bees. Before the lot next door was cleared, it contained lots of wildflowers. The seeds would drift into my garden. I’ve decided to let some grow.
Lilac Tasselflower
Fluffy seed headsEdge of walkwayBee on flower
The Lilac Tasselflower has a cool name. The small plant reminds me of a very tiny thistle without the thorns. The flowers turn into fluffy dandelion-looking heads. And the bees are on those flowers all the time. Thanks to those fly-away seeds, this plant grows everywhere. It doesn’t bother me at all so I let it grow.
More weed flowers found in the Fall yard – not sure of the names but the red one is a red tasselflower, I think.
White Flowering Weed – Spanish Needles, or Beggarticks aka Biden’s Alba
Beggartick flowersBees love this little white flower
The Beggartick is prevalent and spreads readily – therefore it can be annoying. The plant grows tall and has many tiny white flowers that attract beneficial bees and butterflies. BUT… it has loads of sticky seeds that attach to clothing and sometimes animal fur. Those seeds create lots of new baby plants, which makes it difficult to keep this plant under control.
Now that I can recognize it, I will pull up the little plants before they get big and annoying. However, I do allow some to grow. Even the larger plants are easy to pull up. They grow year round.
Flowering Weeds in the Summer Yard
All summer long insects are all over the tiny white flowers on the creeping groundcover called Tropical Mexican Clover (center image below). This one dies back in cool months.
Name?Tropical Mexican cloverSpiderwort – big fave of beesTall weed – name?Spanish Needle / Beggartick
The Beautyberry bush is also a Florida native that may spring up in your yard if another is close by. I had bees at those flowers the entire time they bloomed. This bush grows fast and has long stems filled with flowers and then purple berries.
July berry stem on BeautyberryMay flowers on the Beautyberry bush
Keep it Simple and Native
If money is tight, there is no need to buy all kinds of plants for the beneficials. It’s okay to do that, but those plants usually require attention to grow well. I’ll just say, that if you let things grow on their own, the bees will be happy. I’ve seen the purple spiderwort for sale at local stores! It grows randomly in the yard and springs up everywhere.
Maybe as a homeowner, you might find a small area of the yard and let the weeds live.
I’m also in the (long) process of trying to fill my yard with native milkweed. The two-day freeze last winter set me back a bit, but I have new plants growing.
I know that I am asking a lot here. Many Florida homeowners have their yards sprayed with (weed and feed) fertilizer and bug killers to keep the lawn looking perfect. Lawn spraying trucks are in my neighborhood all the time.
I understand having short grass because we do have a lot of creatures that would like to hide in it. Snakes would probably love to live in an untamed yard that resembles a field – although I rarely see snakes these days.
The poisons people put all over their grass is not something I can understand. With all the over-crowding and loss of habitat, Floridians especially, should consider being more nature friendly.
A little quiz: Which landscape do you prefer and which House Would You Live In?
This is far from Florida (not sure where), and so beautiful!
Planting a few Scarlet Runner beans this Fall to see how they do in my Florida garden.
My Scarlet Runner bean seeds arrived today and now I need to learn how to grow them. This will be my first time growing pole beans. I didn’t want to bother trying to put up a trellis. I don’t have any wire, or a fence for them to climb.
I was under the impression that Scarlet Runner beans liked the heat of Florida, but I guess not. I’ve read conflicting advice. The Contender bush beans do not do well in heat and these must be similar.
My favorite green beans are Contender bush beans. I’ve been growing them for a few years now. They do very well in my yard in cooler weather, and are delicious.
I’ve always been intrigued by those long beans and finally decided to try some. Scarlet Runner beans will get long, therefore I won’t need to grow many to have plenty to eat. Here is a page full of good “long bean” information at IFAS – Gardening Solutions.
How I’ll Trellis My Beans
Bush beans are my favorite because they are easy. No trellising needed.
I know that a trellis, or wire to use as a trellis, can be purchased. I’ve seen photos online of those arching wire trellises that go from one raised be to another, forming a beautiful overhang of lovely vegetables. I am betting that a man set those up. Many women gardeners have a husband to do the heavy lifting and constructing, or at least they have the help. I don’t.
I also have no extra money to spend. That means I will make do and use what I have. Over winter my Passionflower vine died back and it has continued to decline. I’m not sure why, because Passionflower vines do grow here. Instead, I plan to use that obelisk to hold up my pole beans.
Is it Still Too Hot for Planting?
I planted a few Scarlet Runner beans into the fabric pot on 9/24 (7 days ago). Only one seed came up, so I replanted a few more. Now I have two plants growing. They are not growing like I expected, and that may be because it is still too hot.
Temps are close to 90 each day, with the horrible humidity that comes too. I have to water every morning because rainfall is minimal. I’ve lost the shade that came from the lot next door – because all the trees have been wiped out.
I’m going to save the remainder of the seeds (you don’t get a whole lot in a packet because they are big seeds) for planting in Spring.
In the meantime I will see what these do, and hope for cooler weather soon. I’ve had enough of the heat, thank you.
I’m very excited to plant some new vegetable seeds from a local – central Florida – farm. If I can get these peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers to grow, I will be very happy.
My new seeds have arrived from Cody Cove Farms. Now I need to know a little about when to plant and grow the veggies. I’ve already learned that “normal” veggies don’t like to grow in my Florida yard. It can be hard to find food I want to eat that does grow here.
The Cody Cove Farms product pages (follow the links below) have a lot of information with each item they sell. This is a farm based in central Florida, and I am thinking that if they can grow it, I can grow it. Shipping was fast, and I like that each packet has the date it was packaged.
It will be easy to find out what to do with these four seed types I bought. Follow the links I provide to their product page and see photos and read all about these vegetables.
Iquitos Sweet Pepper
According to the information for the Iquitos pepper at Cody Cove, this pepper is well suited to Florida. It comes from the rain forests of Peru. They are sweet peppers, without heat, and are very productive.
They grow well in summer.
I will plant them in pots now (Fall) and see what happens. I’m hoping for some good tasting peppers that grow without much issue. I already have cayennes, so I don’t need more hot peppers. I need flavorful peppers I can use with most everything I cook.
Peppers should grow well here, but I have a hard time. I’ve tried many varieties, and even grew a few green bell peppers, but plants don’t live long and I get very few peppers.
Cap 455 Pepper
Here is what Cody Cove Farm says about this pepper: “This pepper is one hundred percent free of heat and has thick, sweet flesh. Eating this pepper approaches the experience of eating a small bell pepper.” YES! Sounds perfect.
Grow this pepper from spring into summer. They possibly don’t like the extreme heat.
I will plant seeds now (September) in pots, to put out in spring.
Zambian Cucumber
I can’t wait to grow this Zambian cucumber. It is such a crazy looking thing, with spikes on little round balls. It comes from Zambia, Africa and is a little known food item. It intrigues me!
This is a Spring and Fall vegetable.
I’ve had no luck growing cucumbers but maybe this variety will work for me. And hopefully I will like eating it. They say, “it tastes like a high quality cucumber”.
I need to get going and plant this one!
ESA Tomato
The ESA tomato seeds are for yellow, cherry size tomatoes.
Typical of tomatoes, these need to grow in spring.
Tomatoes don’t like Florida heat – although I have one Everglades cherry tomato plant that is still hanging on. I get about 2 red tomatoes a week!
The ESA grows tall and sprawls – similar to Everglades it sounds like.
Seed Planting Strategy
All except the cucumber seeds need to go into small pots to get started. Since the cucumbers will grow in Fall, I will have to find a location outdoors for the seeds.
I’ve just had a complete overhaul of my yard due to the clearing of land right next door. It has thrown me off my gardening game. I no longer have any shade – as they took down every tree. It’s disgusting, but I need to adjust.
Possibly, I will dig the sweet potatoes from one of the raised beds and plant cucumbers in there. I have some work to do, but it is so hot out there.
Waiting for my new vegetable seeds to arrive so I can get planting.
I’m always happy to find a new source to buy seeds. Now that I know which seeds I will not bother to plant again, I want some new things to grow in my Florida yard.
I am not a big fan of some popular “southern” food – like okra. I’ve had trouble with growing alternatives to bell peppers. My space is small, so I can’t afford to take up valuable growing areas with things I don’t want to eat, or end up not growing.
Our central Florida climate makes growing food a struggle, unless you know what will work (trial and error). After a few years of growing, I am still trying to find good vegetable swaps for things I’d like to have available.
How to Find Vegetable Seeds to Grow in Our Zone
If you are just beginning to grow your own vegetables here in Florida, I suggest you search (YouTube) and blogs, where actual gardeners are growing what you would love to grow. Gardening in Florida is not easy. We deal with heat and humidity that you won’t find elsewhere in the US. We have torrential rains and baking heat. No wonder vegetables don’t want to grow!
Sometimes when you find a local grower who has success they are growing some very bizarre sounding foods. All we can do is try new things and hope we find something yummy that works.
After watching a video by Elise Pickett from The Urban Harvest where Cody Cove Farm was featured, I checked out the website. Both places are located in the central Florida area, so I tend to believe them when they have success with growing vegetables.
Embrace The Newness
So, I can’t have big round juicy “Big Boy” tomatoes, but I can have little cherry tomatoes. If I get good at it, and can find the space, I might have access to little tomatoes year round! It is the good thing about a climate like this.
Not everything will do well year round, but many vegetable plants last for years – this includes tomatoes, eggplant, and kale – to name a few.
If I want to eat closely to what I am used to, I must embrace the new foods.
New – Cucumbers
I gave up after year two when my cucumbers failed. I first planted the Suyo Long cucumbers and got one, or two, to eat. That was the year I covered the cucumbers every night and picked worms off the next morning. I had read that the moth that causes the worms does not move from the south into central Florida until later in the spring season. So, the following year I planted normal “Ashley” cukes, and they never grew. After that, I gave up.
Suyo Long cucumber
Guess what? I am trying once again to grow cucumbers in my yard. These are not normal cucumbers, but “taste like” cucumbers. They are from Africa. *Ordered: Cody Cove Farm sells a few odd types of cucumber and I decided to order some Zambian cucumber seeds.
Growing Tomatoes Successfully – New ESA Seeds
Is it possible to grow tomatoes successfully for an extended period of time? I had Everglades cherry tomatoes for a while, but then they suddenly died. Fortunately they seem to grow from volunteers easily.
*Ordered: ESA tomato seeds. These are yellow, cherry tomatoes. The “ESA” stands for Early Ssubakus Aliana and originates in China. What I like about Cody Cove Farm is that each selection of seeds contains long paragraphs about how they grew on the farm and what to expect. Since this farm is in Central Florida, just a bit southwest of where I am, I would hope to have a similar outcome.
In general, tomatoes grow best in early spring.
New Peppers to Try
Peppers are the one vegetable I can use for nearly every meal. I love the flavor of peppers, whether hot and spicy, or mild and sweet. I add them to my omelettes, cook them with onions and flavor meat and fish. I like peppers cooked or raw.
Recently all I have for peppers to eat from the yard are Cayenne and a few banana peppers. They are delicious, but I’d love a normal sweet pepper. Unfortunately bell peppers don’t grow well here.
So….
*Ordered: Iquitos Sweet Pepper (Grows through the heat of summer) and Cap 455 Pepper Seeds. (Grow in Spring, into early summer.). Both are sweet and not hot varieties.
I’ve never even heard of these peppers, but I am hopeful that they will grow well for me.
No Guarantees
So many things will affect whether or not crops will grow and do well. My soil may not be as great as what they have on these farms. My rainfall will be different and I have less experience with growing in Florida. It’s all an experiment, but I look forward to it.
Two Moringa trees are growing in my backyard. I’m in Central Florida and the trees grow great all summer, but slow down the remainder of the year. Hurricanes, or strong wind, will knock these trees over. I had to cut mine last year because it fell over the garden. New stalks have grown and I…
Fall planting time is nearly here for those of us growing food in Florida.
We are closing out the summer heat here in Florida. It’s been hot, as it’s been for so many people all over the country. It will still be hot for a few more months, but occasional cooler evenings may show up.
I’m looking forward to planting Fall seeds and harvesting my Roselle and sweet potatoes. Fingers crossed I might have a few Seminole pumpkins too!
Roselle plant – August 2026
This past spring I planted a few Roselle Hibiscus seeds in the grassy area of the yard and they have grown very well. No buds have begun to grow yet, but I look forward to harvesting some in a month or so. I lost my frozen roselle pods this year when the refrigerator broke down. It’s been an expensive year.
I have sweet potatoes to dig soon too. I think I will give them another month at least. It will be a job but I hope to have a decent haul.
I never knew that kale would last in the heat, but it has. I will pick the leaves and chop them to add to an array of foods.
My little bulb onions have been used up and the harvest was small this year. I think a lot of that had to do with the very cold spell we had.
Planting Plans
This fall I plan to plant bulb onions, carrots, and bush beans. I no longer experiment with veggies that don’t produce well, or that I do not want to eat. This leaves more space for the good things I want a lot of.
I feel pretty confident in what I am planning to grow. I always have good luck with Contender bush beans – no soaking, no innoculent – I just push them into the dirt and cover them. Nearly every single bean grows. I stagger the planting and have beans all during the cooler season here in Florida.
I’d love to grow some long beans as I’ve heard many good things about them. The Scarlet Runner bean interests me because it has red flowers the hummingbirds like. However, long beans need a trellis or something, and that means I would have to somehow make such a thing. I think they grow in summer months, so we’ll see. I’m not sure I am up to it.
