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THERE'S
STILL TIME TO PLANT MANY COOL SEASON VEGETABLES Your thoughts are probably on warmer weather and warm season vegetables for your north Florida garden – so are mine. But I haven’t given up yet on a few of my cool season favorites such as broccoli and cauliflower. My experience has been that the biggest yields from these cool weather crops come from plantings made in early- to mid February. With the days still cool but growing longer, broccoli and cauliflower planted now mature more quickly than they do when planted in the fall, and they are larger at harvest time. Transplants from area gardening centers put in the garden now should be ready for harvest in about 60 days. After cropping, the garden space can be used for bush beans or another warm season vegetable. This is also a good time for a final planting of cabbage. While I regularly grow broccoli and cauliflower -- Brussels sprouts, even -- I never had the urge to use my limited garden space for cabbage. That changed in October when my wife said something about making some homemade sauerkraut. I put several Savoy cabbages in the garden Oct. 19 and then on December 13, bought some more and planted them. After harvesting, cooking and eating a small head last week, I am now making room in the garden for one more planting. So incredibly sweet and delicious! Other cool season vegetables that can be planted this month include beets, carrots, celery, collards, kohlrabi, English peas, potatoes and turnips. |
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