There are a lot of edibles that can be planted in April. It is too late to plant cool season crops now, but we can still plant some warm season crops, as well as many tropical crops.
Note: You can use this interactive map to find your last average frost date to determine when it is safe to start planting tropical crops outdoors (most of us are already past the danger of frost in April, but parts of North Florida can still have late frosts): https://www.plantmaps.com/interactive-florida-last-frost-date-map.php
Note: Insect activity really starts increasing in April. It’s a good idea to start monitoring your plants for insect damage and hand pick damaging pests whenever possible. For major pest infestations the following can be used:
Organic Pest Control Methods I use:
1) Spray Insecticidal Soap directly on the the bugs (I do this late in the day and rinse off the next morning so the sun doesn’t burn the plants). Do repeated treatments every few weeks until they are gone. For a homemade soapy water spray, I mix up some castile soap with water and neem oil (I do 1 tsp of Dr. Bronner Soap + 1 tsp Neem Oil to a quart of water in a spray bottle, per the instructions on the neem oil bottle, but there are many recipes online for homemade insecticidal soap that would probably work just as well). Alternately, you could buy a pre-mixed Insecticidal Soap. These are the brands I have used, but I’m sure there are plenty of other good ones:
Pre-mixed Insecticidal Soap: https://amzn.to/36YZPBq
Dr. Bronner’s Soap: https://amzn.to/3JOD3uq
Neem Oil: https://amzn.to/36VG1P1
2) For Caterpillars I use “Bt” (Bacillus Thuringiensis) and/or Spinosad. I only use them for severe infestations that can’t be controlled by routine hand picking. I spray it in the evening when bees are not active and only spray it on the affected plants. These are the ones I have used, but there are other brands that would also work (Note that these are concentrates, meant to be mixed with water following the instructions on the label):
Spinosad: https://amzn.to/3IOmzRw
Bt: https://amzn.to/3uI9uV4
14 Comments
Yayyyy
I'm in Zone 9B too! What do you use as fertilizer for your soil? I am anewbie!
Good luck on your growing season š
Snails are eating my marigolds!!! Ate all the leaves
Wooow my friend FLORIDA VEGETABLE GARDENING!!! But must admit that the quality of your video is TOP, it's a pure delight to watch your new video releases, as they are very informative, and your channel is one of the best in this field, thank you for your kindness to share this knowledge you have in gardening, happy gardeniiiiiing!!!
Im on the treasure coast zone 10a. I actually just went and put a cover crop in my raised beds today. I realized this season im just gonna let what i have left growing finish out its life as the cover crop is growing, eventually pulling it out all together. I noticed that around now is when i start seeing signs of stink bugs and other pests so instead of fighting them Im just gonna leave my beds be for a few months grow some things in pots and recently ive gotten a interest in growing mircogreens and sprouts. The only thing im kinda worried about is my timing. I usually grow my okra eggplants ect around aug sep. And this sunn hemp cover crop is new to me. I know it adds tons of nitrogen to the garden so i dont know if i screwed up and am gonna have some really pretty okra plants with green leaves no fruit or itll fair out fine after allowing the cover crop to sit for a month before planting.
Thank you so much for the planting guidance. Making the adjustment from zone 5b to 9b has been quite the experience. lol
Hi! I love the format of your videos – it makes it easy to just find the month and look at when and where and how to do the planting, but Iām curious – I want to start some pineapple like you, but I donāt see them starting from seeds. All the advice online is to start them using the top of another fresh pineapple, so is this the months to get that fresh pineappleās roots started so you can get it in the ground in a few weeks? Iām in Southwest Floridaā¦ thank you so much for any advice and tips you can offer and I look forward to seeing the same format of video throughout the year so that I can plant new things. Iām a new gardener so wish me lots of luck and happy learning experiences, lol! Jen
I must live near you. Thank you for all of the helpful info. I'm a beginner.
Thank you I'm also in central Florida, new to gardening š
Iāve recently moved to Orlando area from Canada (zone 3). Ive seen seeds for sale at the big box stores but am wondering if thereās somewhere else you might recommend that would have more selection for local growing. Thanks!
I like format of your videos. I'm in zone 10a on the West Coast and growing in raised beds and containers until I build my soil. Thank you for the info
so in we are out of luck in Central Florida?
I have some pineapple plants that are over 16 months and some that are 12 months old. They are in pots inside a lanai. I did cover them over the Christmas freeze here in Ocala. Some have some leaves have a yellow tint to them and I am not sure that my pots are large enough for the plants. I have need researched enough on them. š I do have a fertilizer for them. Didn't know if you had a video that would help or any suggestions would be appreciated. All my starts are from an original plant I bought at Lowes. My soil my not be correct. Thanks