Florida Gardening, Tested in the Real World
Practical guides, variety trials, and real-world experiments for growing food and managing landscapes in North Central Florida (Zone 8b/9a).
Featured Guides & Recent Field Reports
Here you’ll find empirical testing, seasonal planting strategies, and care guides tailored specifically to inland North Florida conditions:
My Florida Vegetable Garden Survived the Summer. Somewhat.
Summer in North Florida is not exactly prime time for a vegetable garden. The heat is relentless, the afternoon…
Why Crape Murder Must Stop: How to Right-Size and Prune North Florida’s Favorite Tree
Crape Myrtles (Lagerstroemia) are ubiquitous across North Florida landscapes thanks to their extreme heat tolerance, striking ornamental bark, and long…
Bluebirds in Florida: Help with their Housing Needs
The other day, I noticed two pairs of bluebirds squabbling over the house on the pink post in my backyard.…
Florida Wildflowers: Some of My Favorites
Florida’s wildflowers are easy to overlook. They’re often growing along roadsides, in open fields, sandy areas, and places that don’t…
Fruit trees in North Florida – Millions of Peaches!
UPDATE Looking back at these photos, I should probably have just left the thing alone. Instead, I decided it needed…
My Florida Pepper Harvest: Surviving the Summer
Growing vegetables in Florida can be a little humbling. The summer heat, humidity, heavy rain and relentless sunshine can make…
Explore by Topic
🌱 Growing & Technique
Building soil organic matter, installing drip irrigation, configuring shade cloth, and optimizing raised bed setups for sandy Florida soils.
🌿 Plants
From Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ perennials to heat-tolerant heirloom vegetables, fruit trees, and bird-friendly native wildflowers.
🐛 Problems
Managing hornworms, fungal leaf spots, summer humidity, and sudden late-season freeze events without over-applying harsh chemicals.
🗓️ Seasonal Gardening Guides
Month-by-month planting schedules, late-spring March freeze prep, and summer “swamp season” survival strategies for Zone 8b/9a.
- 🌸 Spring: Seed starting, soil prep, and managing late cold snaps.
- ☀️ Summer: Heat-tolerant crops (okra, cowpeas), shade cloth, and rain prep.
- 🍂 Fall: Primary vegetable planting season in North Central Florida.
- ❄️ Winter: Frost protection, soil building, and winter greens.
Local Resources & Community Focus
- North Florida Nursery Guide: Highlighting independent growers, soil suppliers, and greenhouses across Gainesville, Newberry, Jonesville, and Alachua County—including The Green House Nursery, Garden Gate Nursery, and Wanestreet Nursery.
- UF/IFAS Extension Collaboration: Utilizing science-backed research from the University of Florida Extension office to solve real-world landscape challenges.
About The Florida Gardener
I’m Peter, a North Central Florida gardener with a background in forestry and technology. The Florida Gardener is a field journal dedicated to real-world garden testing—measuring what works, analyzing what fails, and helping you build a resilient, productive garden in Zone 8b/9a.