Growing Your Own Fall Vegetable Garden Tampa

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Fenced raised vegetable garden with potting soil
Fenced raised vegetable garden with potting soil

If you a planning on growing your own fall vegetable garden in your Tampa landscape, now is the time to get ready.  You should by now know where you are going to place the vegetable garden, have removed the weeds, grass, and leaves to clear the area, and added your amended soil.  Amended soil can be compost or commercial potting soil, or a mix of both.  You can also add cow manure or other organic material, but it cannot be "hot" or fresh, as it will burn your vegetable seedlings.  As well, this would be a good time to add fertilizer to the vegetable garden in preparation to start planting.

To have the best results with your fall vegetable garden, you should only plant vegetables that are in season.  By doing so, you will have less problems with disease and insects, and be rewarded with happier plants that will thrive.  Follow this general guide as for what to plant in your fall vegetable garden, with recommended planting months for Tampa:

  • Mustard (Sept-March)
  • Onions, bulbing (Sept-Dec)
  • Green Onions, bunching (Aug-March)
  • English Peas (Sept-March)
  • Radish (Sept-March)
  • Spinach (Oct-Nov)
  • Strawberry (Oct-Nov)
  • Tomatoes (Sept)
  • Turnips (Sept-Nov)
  • Beets (Oct-March)
  • Broccoli (Aug-Jan)
  • Cabbage (Sept-Jan)
  • Carrots (Oct-March)
  • Cauliflower (Oct-Jan)
  • Chinese Cabbage, Bok Choy (Oct-Jan)
  • Collards (Aug-March)
  • Kale (Sept-Jan)
  • Lettuce (Sept-March)

While harvest times vary from plant to plant, your average time from seedling size to produce is 60 days on average.  And, as you can see, some of these fall vegetables have a long planting season, so you can plant multiple times throughout the fall and winter.

So, where do you find some of these seedlings?  You may find some of the more common garden vegetables at places like Lowe's and Home Depot, but I have the most luck on all of them at places like Ace Hardware on Gunn Highway and at feed stores like Shell's Feed on North Nebraska Ave.

So, let's get growing that fall vegetable garden!  And, share you success stories and photos, and maybe a favorite recipe of your bounty!