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Florida Edibles to Plant in April

I know, it’s the end of the month, and I’m just now posting about April edibles. It’s been a very busy month for us. Good news is these plants are heat tolerant and can still be started now. We are already seeing highs in the high 80s, and will soon see temps in the 90s.

Our cold weather crops have either been harvested or will be soon. I still haven’t harvested my cabbages, although I probably should. I doubt they’ll get much bigger with these warmer temps.

My Brussels sprouts never did do anything, so I’m debating pulling them up or giving them a little more time. I learned that we really don’t eat as much lettuce as we should, so most of my lettuce went to seed. I ended up pulling it up and putting it on the compost pile.

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Most of the seeds that do well this month were already started in March, so we’ve just focused on transplanting this month. We have a lot of bean plants started, many more than I originally planned for when I was just going to build a bean trellis. I’m thinking of building a bean house like in this pin instead. I certainly l have plenty of small trees and saplings that could be used to build it.

Hubby had started a lot of other seeds last month, but most of them did not germinate. Our seeds were old, so it isn’t really a surprise. Since we used up all of those seeds, we’ll finally be able to buy new seeds this summer for planting this fall.

I also planted seed potatoes and asparagus bare roots this month. It’s really too late to start potatoes, but I had already bought the seed potatoes and didn’t want to see them go to waste. I’ve had people tell me that they’re able to grow potatoes year round in Florida, so I’m crossing my fingers. I don’t think the heat really bothers them, but beetles can be an issue.

The asparagus can really be started any time of year. If started from bare roots, they need to be allows a full year of growth before they’re harvested so they have a chance to establish themselves. Mine are coming up nicely, so I think they’ll do well in their permanent bed. I can’t wait to harvest them next year. I love asparagus.

My sweet potatoes are actually still in the ground from last summer, so I’m probably not going to plant any more of them. Deer came through and ate all of the leaves just as it was getting well established, then my Great Pyrenees decided to dig a bunker in the middle of the raised bed, so they didn’t so very well.

When I went to harvest, I only felt one small tuber in the dirt, so I just left it. I covered the vine with some more soil and covered the bed with a thick layer of hay. The vine has come back in four different spots, so I think it’ll be ok. Vining sweet potatoes can cover a bed in a short period of time once the soil warms up. I’m going to be burying the vine in hay as it gets established so that I will hopefully have a better harvest this year.

I love these guides from the University of Florida, but they tend to be a little limited in their plant offerings and advice. They’re perfect for beginner gardeners who want to plant popular edible plants, but you may want to expand your knowledge a bit. I’ve found Tom MacCubbin’s books to be extremely helpful for this transplanted gardener to learn how to navigate gardening in Florida. One that I think you’ll really enjoy is Month-By-Month Gardening in Florida.

what to plant in april in florida