In light of the current COVID-19 situation, all meetings, classes, workshops, events and lobby hours at the UF/IFAS Jefferson County Extension Office have been canceled until further notice. While it seems like most everything has been closed or canceled due to COVID-19, the good news is gardening hasn’t been and now is the perfect time to get outdoors and plant the spring garden!
If you’re starting a garden for the first time, site selection and soil preparation are two important components to any productive garden. You’ll want to choose a garden site that is well-drained and gets at least six hours of sunlight. If you’re planting your spring garden in an area that was used for a fall garden, be sure to get rid of any dead or diseased plants. Remove any weed growth and prepare the soil by tilling or plowing to a depth of six to eight inches.
Unless very large quantities of organic fertilizers are applied, most gardens will need some commercial synthetic fertilizer. If you’re unsure, you may want to have your soil re-tested to check the pH level and to determine which nutrients you may need to add. Soil pH is important because it determines how available nutrients are to plants. An ideal soil pH for most vegetables is between 5.5 and 7.0.
Using the amount of fertilizer recommended on the product or based on your soil test results, broadcast fertilizer over the entire garden plot prior to planting. During the growing season, two or three light applications of fertilizer may be applied beyond the outside leaves as needed.
Warm season vegetables such as beans, peas, tomatoes, peppers, squash and corn can be planted now. It’s important to select varieties that do well in do hot, humid climates and that can tolerate common pests and diseases in our area of Florida. UF/IFAS has several great gardening resources available online through the Extension Data Information Source (EDIS) website, including the Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide that has helpful information on choosing vegetable varieties for our area.
The Vegetable Gardening Guide can be found at the web address here: edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vh021
While our office lobby may be closed to the public, we are still encouraging clients to contact us with questions or concerns, just like normal. Only now, call or email rather than make the trip to the office. These changes aren’t permanent, as soon as it is deemed safe for our clients, faculty, and staff, we will return to regular business. To reach us, please contact our office at (850) 342-0187 or via email at dsprague@ufl.edu.
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