IFAS agent shares spring gardening tips for North Florida.
As spring planting season begins across North Florida, gardeners eager to get vegetables and flowers into the ground should focus first on preparing their soil, according to a local University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension agent.
Joshua Criss, a UF/IFAS Extension agent serving the region, said the foundation of any successful garden begins well before the first seed or plant goes into the ground.
“Right now, it’s going to be all soil prep,” Criss said. “You’re going to want to get your soil testing done. You’re going to want to get any compost you want mixed in.”
But Criss said many gardeners make the mistake of assuming more nutrients always mean healthier plants. In reality, overloading soil with compost or manure can create imbalances that make it harder for plants to absorb nutrients.
“Do not use too much compost or too much manure,” Criss said. “What people will do is they’ll throw a bunch of manure in because they’ve always heard manure is good for gardens. The problem with that is it comes with a lot of phosphorus, and phosphorus tanks a lot of other nutrients. It interrupts their availability.”
Instead, he recommends adding compost sparingly, roughly half an inch mixed into the soil, and relying on soil testing to determine what nutrients may be needed.
Criss compared the process to baking a cake, saying gardeners should know what is already in their soil before adding additional ingredients.
“As one of my master gardeners likes to say, if you walk into a kitchen and everything to make a cake is on the counter, and then there’s a bowl with some powder in it, don’t you want to know what’s in the powder before you put the other stuff in?” Criss said. “So you need to know what’s in the powder.”
Residents can have soil tested through their local extension office. Criss said the office can conduct basic pH tests locally, while more comprehensive soil analyses can be sent to the University of Florida’s soil testing laboratory.
“They’re going to tell you what your pH is, how to adjust your pH, and then give you a fertilizer plan,” Criss said.
The more detailed soil analysis typically costs about $10 plus shipping, while basic pH testing through the extension office is free.
Once soil conditions are right, spring provides ideal growing conditions for many vegetables commonly grown in backyard gardens across North Florida.
“You’re going to want to be doing tomatoes right now,” Criss said. “Anything that has flowers will do well in the spring and summer. That’s going to be all of your melons, tomatoes, cucumbers.”
Peas and beans can also perform well in early spring, though Criss said gardeners should keep an eye on the approaching summer heat.
“They won’t once we get into the real heavy summer, but right now they’ll do okay,” he said.
For gardeners unsure about what to plant and when, Criss recommends using the North Florida gardening calendar published by UF/IFAS. The calendar provides month-by-month guidance on planting schedules and garden maintenance.
“It goes month by month and will tell you in January these are the garden tasks you need to be accomplishing and this is what you should be planting,” Criss said.
Beyond vegetables, Criss said many flowering plants also thrive in the region with relatively little maintenance if planted in the proper conditions.
Black-eyed Susans, coneflowers and Stokes asters are among the flowers that tend to do particularly well in North Florida landscapes.
“They’re going to multiply like crazy,” Criss said of Black-eyed Susans. “We have them in this garden that pop up everywhere.”
Despite their resilience, Criss said many gardeners unknowingly harm plants by giving them too much attention rather than too little.
“Most people are way overwatering and way over fertilizing,” he said. “If you can avoid doing those things, some things will grow like crazy.”
Criss said local extension offices remain an important resource for residents who want to learn more about gardening, landscaping and sustainable growing practices. Extension agents and master gardeners regularly provide soil testing, educational programs and gardening demonstrations to help residents succeed.
For those just getting started, Criss said patience and preparation are key to building a productive garden.
“Start with the soil,” he said. “If the soil is right, everything else gets a lot easier.”