You can succeed in Florida sand, despite 100 degree temps in summer and hard freezes in winter. It just takes the right knowledge. Florida Survival Gardening: amzn.to/3NchEil Totally Crazy Easy Florida Gardening: amzn.to/3Nau2zm The Huge 2nd edition of Create your Own Florida Food Forest: amzn.to/3Rs08ZY The South Florida Gardening Survival Guide: amzn.to/3uNkZOE Subscribe to the newsletter: thesurvivalgardener.us3.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=d1c57e318ab24156698c41249&id=1f74a21dc8 Thank you for watching!
@timsshortvideos9 ай бұрын
I started a food forest at my house in sw florida I brought in dirt to replace my really my soil my yard was full of what they call suger sand down here been working on my food forest for 3 years now
@davidwelty97638 ай бұрын
I live in the Ocala horse country. I bought 3.5 acres and it was all sand. I have a neighbor who has 16 horses dump all of his manure and stable shavings onto my property. I covered almost all of my property with a foot of this composted manure. I regularly re-apply yearly. 5 years later my property is a paradise. I can did down 3 feet and I have earthworms and grubs, the sand is pretty much gone. I have 20 fruit trees, Loquats, figs, peaches, avocados, and low chill apples, blueberries and blackberries and all of them are doing excellent. Also my neighbor does not have to pay to have his manure hauled to a landfill. I have never had a problem with herbicides in manure but I do not mix the manure into the soil, I only place it on top of the soil.
@jamesdagmond9 ай бұрын
The hardest part for me in central Florida was figuring out when to plant. Seed packets will say the craziest times to plant for Florida. They'll tell you to plant something in April that should be in the ground at the end of February.
@davidthegood9 ай бұрын
Totally
@inchristalone259 ай бұрын
Wild Floridian has a planner that tells you what you can plant for each month in central and southern florida.
@Rainoutreachtv9 ай бұрын
Best thing I picked up from bigger farmers is multiple plantings maybe even some early if you have extra seeds to spare. And save seeds to grow. and grow them year after year
@WinterSoldier72077 ай бұрын
For real, it's at the point where we just experiment at home. Chamomile and Carrots planted in November, doing good so far.
@balfourwheatley66446 ай бұрын
Climate change
@charlesdevier82039 ай бұрын
Many people could benefit from contacting their local university extension department. It's "free" information and advice. In addition, a soil test is necessary.
@k.p.11399 ай бұрын
Thanks, David. Today's buzz words in the YT gardening world is "chop and drop". My Pappy always said, i'm plowing it in! He grew lots of food, but, never had a compost bin. Scraps went right out in the garden. It's HOT, as you know..they got cooked off in the blistering dirt pretty fast. 🥵🥵 Plus, he watered from the lake, so that was probably his biggest garden boost! Either way, it is HARD to grow here, but doable.
@PsychicIsaacs9 ай бұрын
I garden in North Central Victoria, Australia. It's Zone 9B with clay/granite soils and I have struggled for years to garden here. 10 years later, I think I have the answer... Hardy Pioneer Species such as Prickly Pears, Chollas and Yuccas, and also Agave americana provide shade from the intense Summer heat. Digging trenches and making hugel pits out of that clay soil, bottom is wood chips and top is filled with horse manure which rots into compost and creates pockets of damp fertility. Runoff water is channeled into these pits and soaks in, creating a mound in a water table. Horse manure is from my own horse, and I have a good hay guy. When the used stable hay rots, it is full of fungus, which is a good indicator that it has been responsibly raised. BTW I grew up in the suburbs of Rotorua, New Zealand, Zone 8, rich, black volcanic soils, Summer temps are almost never above 26 C, although Winter lows can be below zero. Dad was a retired market gardener, but still had an amazing home vegetable garden. His market garden was in Geraldton, West Australia, which was Zone 10, but a semi-arid climate with 5 months of no rain, during every Summer of every year! He used to garden during the frost-free Winters and left the fields fallow during the Summers. When he moved to Rotorua, he thought it was great, not having to deal with extreme Summer heat, (40 C days, every day, for months on end), although as he aged, the frosty Winters affected his arthritis somewhat. When he was in Geraldton, he farmed on limestone, sandy soil on a flood plain. There were no drainage problems but there was the opposite problem of too much drainage, meaning, no water, and that's why he fallowed his farm during the Geraldton Summer. You also have hot winds blowing from the East, from the Australian Outback, from October to March or April every year, from about 2 AM in the morning until 2 PM in the afternoon, when it changes to a sea breeze called "The Doctor" (because it makes everyone recover!). This wind sucks the moisture out of everything and makes it impossible to garden unless you have a very sheltered lot. I lived in Geraldton for 8 years, 4 years on a 10-acre farm with that limestone sand soil that absolutely doesn't hold water (but my place was a former market garden...) and four years in the 'burbs of Geraldton on an 800 m2 lot surrounded by asbestos fence panels (these types of fence panels are everywhere in Geraldton, even to this day). I made quite a nice garden in the 'Burbs, even though it was still on that limestone sand, because the fence panels provided protection from the wind. I put a few ponds in to up the humidity (fed with rainwater from my roof), planted some canopy trees such as a Satsuma Plum and a Surinam Cherry and then began working on the understorey. Within four years, I had created a Jungle Oasis! I'd sit on my shed roof and look at my little green oasis and it was really beautiful, but then I sold that place and moved here. Zone 9B, Baking Hot Summers, Frosty Cold Winters, 10 years later, countless barrows of horse poop, hundreds of prickly pears and other cacti and succulents, planted just to provide shade, shelter the soil and break the wind, lots of thinking "what to plant where", and finally, the place is just beginning to pop with fertility! I fully agree, when you say "look what grows locally". For me, a key canopy species has been Solanum laciniatum, the Kangaroo apple. My original stock came from a self-sown tree growing in a nursery in Bendigo, about 50 miles from where I live. The nursery staff picked the fruit, extracted the seeds, germinated them and put them in the nursery, where I bought a quantity of them (about 30, I think). Most of them died, but a few of them lived and now I have kangaroo apples popping up everywhere! These have an edible berry (when fully ripe) similar to a small tamarillo, and a mature tree will produce thousands of them! Birds eat them and poop out the seeds and this is how they spread in Nature. Under their canopy and to the East of them (in their shade) is a refuge from the intense Aussie summer heat, and it is here that you can really, truly garden! I hope all of this is some help to someone out there, looking to garden in our types of harsh climates. I wish you All the Best, and God Bless your Gardens!
@wolf40769 ай бұрын
Awesome job mate 👍
@KarlKarsnark9 ай бұрын
N. FL of Native. Gardening can be tricky due to the wacky weather, but it can be done quite well. The main aspect is to find the right species/varieties that will do well here. We actually have tons of citrus and many other fruit trees that only occasionally get zapped by the cold. Timing the Seasons is important, as well. Ignore what you read in most "regular gardening" books in terms of when to plant/harvest. We have 2 "growing seasons" from end of Feb. - June (take off the Summer) "Fall" from late Sept./Oct.-Dec.(take off Jan.-Feb.). As David said, adding "organic" matter is always good, but make sure it's "clean" and chemical free. Assuming you don't fight the weather here in FL, as you WILL ALWAYS lose, you can grow anything that doesn't actually require persistent cold, especially if you have a little greenhouse to store plants on cold nights.
@GwenHarper4989 ай бұрын
Been struggling for 3 yrs on our Panhandle homestead. I will continue to keep working at it! Will especially try all your tips. Thank you
@edbradley68159 ай бұрын
I’ve been running a professional garden for seven years in New Orleans. Aside from feeding and pH all the other rules seem to be out the window. 😫😖🤪
@tommyluck199 ай бұрын
Hey,Gwen! What part of the Panhandle You guys live? we are in Molino, close to the Alabama border
@sweatt42379 ай бұрын
Try wicking beds.
@tw50164 ай бұрын
@@tommyluck19 We live in Molino too! If you garden, what plants have done well for you? We grew cucumbers. They did well, until the stink bugs started infesting them.
@tinad85619 ай бұрын
Pensacola’s the city of 5 flags for a reason-nobody was that interested in hanging onto the settlement unless there was money in it (bricks and lumber.) The amazing thing is the winters are too cold for tender plants, but never seem to freeze enough to kill the bugs. I’ve had good luck in the Panhandle with wax peppers, Japanese mustards, long beans and meiwa kumquats. Sweet potatoes, though, are killing me.
@nancytharp82139 ай бұрын
Great tips! Living in central Florida, planting timing early and succession planting with heat tolerant crops was critical for me. Also benefits using shade clothe over raised beds. Thanks for sharing 🙏 😎 🏖 🏝
@shanonallen53959 ай бұрын
50% shade cloth is a must!
@CraftEccentricity9 ай бұрын
Same here. I'm FL 9a and grow a wide range of fruit trees. I use fleece blankets when it dips, and shade cloth in the heat. Using an overhead sprinkler when its cold is also useful.
@nadineb27264 ай бұрын
I live in Palm Coast Florida zone 9A and every single word you have said is completely accurate. I have tried everything from A to z and it is always troublesome whether it's the bugs or the heat it's always something.
@ladylrbnaturelife9 ай бұрын
Peanuts, watermelons, ginger, turmeric. A few more that don’t seem to mind the North Central FL soil
@akersquarteracre80029 ай бұрын
Priceless information as always David. Great video. Very thankful for your knowledge and experience, my gardening wouldn't be the same here in FL10A (formerly 9B) without your guidance and tips over the years. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
@joebobjenkins78379 ай бұрын
Central Florida has amazing soil dang near everywhere. Good watermelon.
@maryjane-vx4dd9 ай бұрын
I gardened in N Florida years ago. I'm now in Utah. Somethings did better in Florida (Jacksonville area), somethings do better here. I miss okra the most
@Sandfarm9 ай бұрын
Sand pit of death, sounds like my 7 acres in Georgia. Bugs, sand, more bugs, fire ants. Oh and sand
@juanchocimarron94099 ай бұрын
Exactly !! Lime (calcium carbonate), compost and LAB's will do wonders
@edbradley68159 ай бұрын
My first guest to the letter he read is PH. Anytime you’re around a whole bunch of pine trees. Your pH is way low. Plant a blueberry bush and watch it thrive I have 40 acres. In southern Alabama. A mile and a half from the coast loaded with pines youpon Hollys, etc. And wild blueberries are everywhere
@shannonalaminski26193 ай бұрын
I have kept a garden nearly all my life. I didn't have much luck since I moved to SWFL. A few years ago I started finding videos on growing this, not that. I stopped planting back home garden stuff. I started looking for tropical, equatorial stuff that might be suitable replacements for the things that I use to grow. It is working. The sand that we call soil here is still a hurdle, just a much shorter hurdle. Amending continues. The soil is slowly getting better. But choosing the right plants was the difference.
@davidthegood3 ай бұрын
Good work, Shannon.
@prepper-coach-dad25105 ай бұрын
You hit the nail on the head!
@aok27279 ай бұрын
Lived in Niceville. A giant sandbar, if you want to grow here, you have to add a boatload of humus.
@JC-cu2xf18 күн бұрын
Omg. 3 yrs in to n.fl. With pine forests all around. You’re preaching to the choir 😢. Thanks for the info… Also this last winter I made a new garden bed in place but made it a compost bin through the winter till about a few weeks before planting. It 4’x16’ , 24”high. Bought compost just enough for the seed layer and omg it WORKED… tomatoes even grew through the heat of the summer. Hope that helps 😊
@midwestribeye78209 ай бұрын
God bless all you folks who want to live and garden in Florida. I visited once. Nice people, beautiful, but way too hot and too many creepy, crawly critters for me. I'll stay in Iowa and take my -25°, blowing wind and 5 months of freezing.
@dennisperusse71208 ай бұрын
I'd recommend drying and trading/as elling yaupon tea since it grows there. (We need more local sustainable caffeine sources) Sunchokes would be a good crop. I'd also seed large areas with dikon radish and let them go to seed and decompose in the soil.
@trishferrer82097 ай бұрын
I'm 7 minutes into this video, and it sounds like you are describing the tough gardening we have here in west Tennessee, zone 8a. I never gardened in my life until almost age 60, and wow has it been a big challenge for me! I am loving it anyway - just hate our heat, humidity, and biting bugs, but we also have a few hard freezes. 😂 Our weather is kooky, but I adore gardening! Thank You for the great content. I just discovered your channel. 🌱
@lauriesmith75179 ай бұрын
Doing the bean test on compost/manure can give you a clue. I grow in containers in Southern NM and love your videos.
@teter1295 ай бұрын
Sold advice, appreciate this video!
@TheRugghead9 ай бұрын
I often think David would be a pretty chill guy to have a beer with
@davidthegood9 ай бұрын
Or bourbon!
@AaricHale9 ай бұрын
Lots of great information ! I'm a Hoosier so my favorite thing to grow is corn and i'm always experimenting with it . This year I decided to plant corn in nothing but fill sand around the pool . I was able to get a harvest of small ears even though I never fertilized it other than it was a giant litter box for the cats and dogs . I knew the corn I have been breeding grew well with little inputs but it shocked me that I got a harvest in just sand. Thanks for sharing and have a great day !
@zmblion9 ай бұрын
I'm digging the greenhouse vibes and it's filling up heck yaaaa!
@shaypenton88544 ай бұрын
You described south west Mississippi gardening just now
@Nauticamb5 ай бұрын
One shouldn't forget to have the garden water tested for bicarbonate levels, or irrigation suitability. High bicarbonate levels can tie up mineral availability. There are some You-Tubes on the subject. Some related to growing citrus.
@TheHivefl9 ай бұрын
It’s interesting because some areas of north/north central FL have absolutely amazing soils. Here’s a very quick way to tell; lots of deciduous hardwoods = rich soils. Slightly more to it than that, but it’s an extremely good indicator of productive land. These soils are usually in the “Hawthorne” group. Usually loamy, lots of clay. Generally a diverse mixture of sieve sizes and reddish/gray in color. You will find large areas of this soil type in Hernando, Sumter, Alachua, Marion, Leon counties. It’s sporadically mixed in many other areas too. Upland hardwood forest= good soil
@davidthegood9 ай бұрын
Yes, very good advice. I visited a piece of property in Sumter county earlier this year on a consultation and was truly amazed by how rich the soil was. It was incredible. He had just throw down turnip seed and there were huge, happy plants everywhere.
@laurasgarden02119 ай бұрын
That's excellent advice. I have a gardening friend shopping for land in north central Florida now and I told her the same thing: look for deciduous hardwoods because that area will probably have the best soil in the area. Avoid pine forests.
@karen-hillshomestead9 ай бұрын
Thanks!
@davidthegood9 ай бұрын
Thank you very much, Karen.
@Jessie_D_8322 күн бұрын
I live in Dunnellon, which is on the Marion and Levy county line, and my soil is sandy. I thought about going to the property next to mine that isn’t cleared of trees and weeds and digging the topsoil up and building up rows and then raking up the leaves to top it and then plant some cover crops to chop and drop for the next few months to build it up more. I don’t know how much that’ll help but buying a bunch of compost and mulch isn’t an option.
@bettypowers51669 ай бұрын
THANK YOU, I live in Milton (right down the road from Ft. Walton). I've been having similar problems, with my sand not growing anything! I can't afford to buy potting soil every time I want plant something. I have alot of pines and oaks on my property (it's an inheritance). Last year I planted broccoli which did grow but not very big, my collards are still from last year but there not very big. I mixed potting soil into the sandy dirt. Over the summer, the bugs were terrible I used diamatous earth food grade, just to help keep the bugs off. With this new knowledge, I'm going to try this and see if I can do better. I'm also moving my garden to where it will get more sun, I was told that might be an issue.
@dustyflats38329 ай бұрын
There seems to be problems to growing everywhere. In the north we can’t grow warm weather crops and vice versa. The Weather swinging is the worst! We had extremely hot weather this year from January on and the frost late spring killed plants because they were too advanced. Then add the severe drought and smoke in Z5a, it was a tuff year. Irrigation fixed the water problem and shade fabric helped with those heat domes where we had 103*F😮. Too hot, too Smokey to even go outside a few times and was almost like cabin fever-we stay indoors enough during the long winter. Even though we had rain last January you still can’t do anything and the winter sow projects can’t be in the sun with it so warm because the seeds either rot or sprout too soon and freeze. Then you think the seeds were duds, but they actually sprouted and froze. Yes, it’s a new game with this crazy weather. Good luck finding a successful farmer that grows organically to get straw, ect. We have crop farmers in the family and it’s a tuff business.
@showxating98857 ай бұрын
I'm in north Okaloosa County. Next door. DeFuniak or Mossy Head? Red clay, or sand. North Central Florida, specifically Hamilton, Madison, Jefferson, Leon, and Gadsden counties, are farmland. Much further west, and you run into acidic red clay or salinity in the dirt. I HATE bahaia grass, but it is an indication of a more balanced pH. Vermiculture and cultivating compost is a good option, but raised beds or container gardening while you are conditioning your soil is another option. For warmer crops in the few colder days we have, I'd recommend a solar earth/sand battery and covering them at night.
@BigBassTurd9 ай бұрын
I did not realize parts of Florida were zone 8. Thanks David, learned something new today.
@SandcastleDreams8 ай бұрын
According to the old maps, North of State Road 40 is zone 8 and south is zone 9 on the west side of Marion County. We got down to 22°F last year. We've got hills and valleys. I stick to zone 8b planting just because it takes a long time for most fruit trees to grow and they are expensive. I've seen snow on the news up in our area before we moved here! So, not every year is that bad but it has it's cycles.
@cenellagrantham933715 күн бұрын
I live in the panhandle in a town called Bonifay it is so hard to garden here Zone 8B
@shannonhutchins152922 күн бұрын
I have lived in Tallahassee Fl for over 5 years, I'm from NC mountains and I gave up on most summer gardening, winter gardening though is great! So mild its easy. but summer come end of June is just to hot even if everything grew well I don't want to be outside. Fire ants though, are the worst.
@runningwarrior54689 ай бұрын
I will stay in WNY where the taxes are high, but the soil is beautiful!
@D71219ONE9 ай бұрын
Being born and raised in Indiana and now living in Illinois, I miss Indiana. The soil was the same, but the taxes were WAY lower. Outside of having solid soil, Illinois is a dumpster fire through and through.
@D71219ONE9 ай бұрын
@Ni-dk7niMy house in Illinois is worth half of what my mom’s house is worth in Indiana. I pay nearly 5x the property tax that she does. Illinois cares nothing for the Constitution nor the citizens it was written to protect.
@johnliberty36479 ай бұрын
I grew up in Westen NY, Grey days from October to May with snow fall by the foot.. I can handle Florida sand. Unscented cat litter with biochar lead to better year round Gardens than I had for those 2 months of summer I got between Buffalo Rochester. I will admit those 2 months between June 15th and August 15th had that area the best place in the world to be. It’s those other 10 months that had me moving south.
@dgblac09 ай бұрын
Great video, I really enjoyed watching it.
@baneverything55809 ай бұрын
East Central Louisiana between zone 8a and 8b is a nightmare too. On top of the crazy temperature swings, severe storms, droughts, floods, monsoons, humidity, evil spirits, raccoons, deer, squirrels, crazed birds, hogs, possums, mosquitoes, snakes, wasps, UFOS, and terrifying mystery creatures, my soil on the beautiful secluded lot I moved to last summer is where a hill once was stood that was leveled to drill for oil, so it`s ancient red dirt mixed with gravel. So now I have to begin building soil here with no money or car with a disability. On very cold days when it`s somewhat safe to drag my garden wagon around in the jungle hunting better dirt to add my pain level is through the roof. So I`ve been buying those indoor hydro gardens. Okra did ok this summer but I had to plant 70 plants to get a daily harvest. I planted red ripper and purple hull peas to build soil. I managed to get one quart of shelled purple hull peas. The red rippers were a huge disappointment. They grew...just no harvest. I was able to eat some cucumbers but my "summer" varieties of pole beans were a joke...the amaranth too...and the "heat tolerant" Armenian cucumbers did absolutely nothing as well. I did manage to grow enough asparagus pole beans for seeds next year. The heat killed the pumpkins, watermelons, winter squash, and cantaloupe. Wind blew the corn down two weeks before harvest...80 mph wind. The mustard I planted nearly a year ago has finally made a huge harvest, so that`s one success.
@countchocula53799 ай бұрын
I just bought one of your books, just subscribed, and I am so excited!!! I have been an “experimental” gardener for the past year, haha, and surprisingly have done pretty okayish, for a novice! I’m wanting to take it to the next level. Thank you for your help! May God bless and keep you and yours. ✝️🙏🏻🕊️🤍
@davidthegood9 ай бұрын
Welcome! And thank you.
@angelinaaleman60027 ай бұрын
Tell me about it, it’s so challenging
@bigonorganics57539 ай бұрын
I was looking at soil in north florida as one of the best potential locations for biochar because of its extremely low ph. right now highly acidid 3-6 ft deep clay is my dream soil one that doesnt have calcarenite or limestone underneath.
@Sencman19 ай бұрын
Greetings from Trinidad. Love your channel. You and your family lifestyle are the dream of so many of us bro. Ps. On the iguana topic , one has taken up residence in my backyard and is eating lemons. Yes for real , huge sour to my taste lemons with bites out of them. I have never seen any animal do that before. Great to learn everyday. Blessed.
@mariap.8949 ай бұрын
Oh wow! I grew up in the tropics and never knew Iguanas eat lemons
@Sencman19 ай бұрын
The tree is not a true lemon , but a cross with an orange. You really can't be sure what exactly you will get when you plant a citrus tree here. Still this particular fruit cannot be eaten like an orange. We use it to make a mug of juice or for cooking. Not even birds bother this tree , they are after the mangos. So it was really a surprise to find the iguana and the fruits with chunks bitten out. Can you imagine biting through the skin of a lemon ? . 😂 I really can't.
@reneeberthelette29015 ай бұрын
You think it is hard in Florida, you should check out Saskatchewan Canada. April 3, and I still have 1 to 2 feet of snow on the ground 😅
@jolus66783 ай бұрын
well I live in Saint Pete on the coast, and it's not easy at all to garden here either. All the rain seems to fall inland far away from us so we're nearly always in drought yet the crazy humidity allows fungal diseases to develop even during 8 months with barely a drop of rain. The native soil is basically 99% beach sand and holds no moisture if exposed at all to sunlight. Fungal diseases and billions of caterpillars essentially devour everything. The overnight temperature at night barely drops 8 degrees and only really reaches it's low point in the early morning hours for about 2 hours each day so nights are essentially very humid and hot most of the time which only encourages disease and pests.
@oxennguyen31488 ай бұрын
I have a rough time gardening even in central Fl 😢😢
@4zooflorida9 ай бұрын
How about fruit/nut trees, which ones grow in a climate that swings from 20F to 100F?
@davidthegood9 ай бұрын
Persimmon, mulberry, sand pears
@glorytogodhomestead34959 ай бұрын
Lime buggy!!!
@JuliePascal9 ай бұрын
How could you not have the lime buggy song on this video?? 😜
@davidthegood9 ай бұрын
What an oversight! Mea culpa.
@DDWASH95959 ай бұрын
Sounds like Houston Texas
@crystals14acregarden619 ай бұрын
The pine tree curse... fruit trees wouldn't grow in ground, roots everywhere. They even made their way throughout my raised beds. Theyve caused us and my neighbor to have to replace our water lines!
@garyblack87179 ай бұрын
You sure about Meyers? My MIL has been trying to kill a Meyer lemon for years in South Alabama! (I think she finally succeeded in killing the lemon portion and is left with suckers now).
@davidthegood9 ай бұрын
It depends on the microclimate. Down near Mobile, they are great. Up here near Brewton, the occasional freezes in the teens can take them down to the ground.
@danyoungs40619 ай бұрын
Does the herbicide from manure get into the manure tea?
@davidthegood9 ай бұрын
Yes, I would think so.
@olsonlr9 ай бұрын
You could always grow sarracenia.
@davidthegood9 ай бұрын
That's funny. Acid swamp flowers!
@natebecerra98479 ай бұрын
My homestead is covered in pines and saw palmetto and sugar sand what is your best suggestion for me I’ve been bud hogging the palmetto and the smaller pines so it can be a mulch and the roots are everywhere I need some suggestions I’ve thought of hiring out a root raker what would you suggest for my situation? I appreciate your knowledge I’m in zone 10a
@garyblack87179 ай бұрын
Coastal Alabama isn't great either. Soil is crap, climate is either too dry or too wet, and the BUGS!
@marthasimons79409 ай бұрын
Zone 10B on the Gulf ain't no picnic, are you kidding? Lychee mites have wiped out 80% of my fruit production.Avocado virus, citrus greening, ...... switching to veggies.... compost,muck, manure, minerals, etc
@davidthegood9 ай бұрын
I love it, as I grew up in Ft. Lauderdale. I don't count on citrus or avocado there, though. Starfruit, mulberry, cassava, yams, guava, Surinam cherry, bananas, plantains, etc.
@terencechandler8455 ай бұрын
Ive decided that the property I bought has 8 seasons go australia 🇦🇺 😂
@awakelingsignals9 ай бұрын
Thank you David...also what is this music at the end of the video? And do you have a place online where the music you make lives? All the best, bud 🌱🌞
@davidthegood9 ай бұрын
Yes - David The Good Tunes - it's a channel.
@awakelingsignals9 ай бұрын
@@davidthegood oooo many thanks
@KingOfShenanigan8 ай бұрын
If at all possible, please don't cut down longleaf pines.
@PhilippeFernandez6 ай бұрын
I feel like everything grows perfectly well here in south west Missouri. Why do you want to rot in Florida when it’s going to be underwater eventually?lol Missouri is also very very affordable.
@davidthegood6 ай бұрын
It's my home. And Missouri is cold. And the sea levels look fine for now.
@PhilippeFernandez6 ай бұрын
@@davidthegood I understand that it’s you’re home. California was my home for 40 years however, change is good and life is a series of adjustments. Plus fruit trees as you know demand a certain amount of cold days..
@BryceGarlingАй бұрын
Number one thing i see is variety selection. Lemon and plum mean nothing. Plant the right kind of lemon and plum. Don't plant the wrong thing then assume you lost. Number two thing I see is nobody sells the right varieties and if they do they are poorly potted and rarely thrive. Personally I search and travel to get the right things and plant bareroot when possible. Lemons always failed for me until I planted Harvey lemon. The perfect lemon and tough IMO. Beauty plum ( not scarlet beauty ) is a beast. Grow and establish rapidly with no signs of disease. Mayhaws I chose rust resistant varietied with Big Red out performing them all.
@davidthegoodАй бұрын
Yes!
@TomG-x7o8 күн бұрын
I didn't hear you mention fire ants once
@davidthegood8 күн бұрын
They are a minor issue in the garden
@lujainalkhateeb91459 ай бұрын
Has anyone used COF/solomon’s gold for their fruit trees? I tried finding the answer online and on your website but couldn’t find one. I ask because I have all the ingredients and fed my soil for my garden before adding fruit trees and now I’m wondering if it would be a good idea to use the same mix for the fruit trees or are their needs different. I’m in Zone 9 Wesley chapel, FL
@davidthegood9 ай бұрын
I've had it in my Grocery Rows and the trees were quite happy.
@rootelation4869 күн бұрын
There's nowhere in florida that's "easy" to garden in. Florida is a different animal, especially with climate change. Its too hot all the time and even the tropical plants suffer. Trying to grow food is harder than ornamental plants because there isn't much that people really want to eat that thrives without a bit of cool down. Still i love my garden and i will do it until i physically cannot anymore. I live on what used to be tomato fields and the soil is pure crap because the commercial farmers just pump the plants with chemicals and ignore the soil. It was mostly sand in the back and muck in the front....PHs all over the place from bed to bed until i started amending. Now 6 years later i can plant almost anything i want as long as i start the garden season in september and end it in may.
@keithconti60579 ай бұрын
you are better off with growing in barrele and make semi hydroponics in this case
@davidthegood9 ай бұрын
That gets you some food, but I would rather use all that dirt by making it into something that approximates soil.
@james-heatherbailey55309 ай бұрын
😂😂😂 sounds like central georgia!
@mekay2359 ай бұрын
😊😊💕💕☝☝
@Car-jy8pw9 ай бұрын
Anybody have problems with root knot nematodes? Nothing I’ve tried has helped. Resistant plants haven’t helped. They are the bane of my existence. Anybody. Please. Help.
@wd85459 ай бұрын
Sand LOL
@billybass64199 ай бұрын
I'm in zone 9a. My soil is sand without organic matter. Plus, on top of everything else, we have root knot nematodes. However, by amending the soil with compost and leaves, I am able to grow tomatoes, squash (except the borers kill them right away), okra, potatoes, sweet potatoes, egg plant, green beans and cow peas in the summer. In the fall we can grow collards, kale, cabbage, carrots, turnips and mustards. Sugar snap peas in the fall, but not enough time before the heat in the spring. Cabbages too in the spring. Around June, though, it's a hundred in the shade and nothing but okra, cow peas and egg plant do well. We do good with blueberries, figs, scuppernongs, blackberries and mulberries here. We have to fertilize often, because it goes right through the sand. If your friend's problem isn't the PH, which it very well may be, it could be nematodes. They are ruthless. I'm trying a mustard cover crop tilled in to biofumigate them. I've heard good things about that process.
@mariap.8949 ай бұрын
I don't know about you, but here where I live in South Florida Eastside, North of Ft. Lauderdale, we have to add the stinking Iguanas that DTG talks about, and my garden has the Asian Jumping Worm now!!! I want to cry and give up!!!😢😭😭😭😭 Any ideas???
@billybass64199 ай бұрын
I was about to give up, but Travis at Lazy Dog Farm said to plant a cover crop of mustard greens and till them in to kill them. I'm trying that now. I went to containers, but the nematodes got in them too.@@mariap.894
@billybass64199 ай бұрын
We don't have iguanas, but the sqirrels keep my seedlings dug up.@@mariap.894
@billybass64199 ай бұрын
I hear they taste like chicken.@@mariap.894
@nancyprovost18788 ай бұрын
@billybass6419 I live in Escambia County,Florida. I have root knot nematodes as well as Asian Jumping Worms. In late August I did a cover crop of two types of mustard (one very hot), white turnips, vetch, and Sudan grass to fumigate my main garden. I tilled the biomass into the soil. After several weeks, I covered it with clear plastic for another few weeks. I started planting a a week or so ago. I had juvenile AJWs under some pots I had placed in the garden to cover with frost cloth. I don’t know if it 😮did any good for the nematodes, I guess I’ll see when it warms up. I plan to put out beneficial nematodes around March or April. Good luck in your garden.
@elizabethmcgowan97439 ай бұрын
Tallahassee here!!! Thank you for this video! I’ve wanted to quit gardening due to the soil. I just purchased Florida gardening survival book. Thanks for all you do David
@edbradley68159 ай бұрын
You have soil😂?
@sweatt42379 ай бұрын
Look into wicking beds.
@juliephelps76169 ай бұрын
I am in Tallahassee too. I grew Everglades tomatoes this year, in 5 gallon buckets and peppers in buckets. My "soil" is in need of amendment for upcoming season.
@margaretturner33897 ай бұрын
Tallahassee here!
@dg-vg9di9 ай бұрын
I live in mobile. My soil is sand and clay. For the past three years I’ve been adding compost and chicken manure, rabbit manure, multched leaves to it. It’s getting to be good soil now. I also have raised beds and containers. I’ve learned to plant my potatoes in September, peas in October. My zucchini in September. This way I skip past the bugs because I’m growing outside their life cycle. I’m also growing in the cooler months. I use sun shades to cover my raised beds. I make my own calcium acetate and dilute it and I mist it onto my tomatoes and potatoes and such.
@nancyprovost18788 ай бұрын
How do you make calcium acetate?
@minutemenwood8 ай бұрын
As David says in one of his books "grow what grows well in your area". I'm smack in the middle of the panhandle in Crestview. I tried to get exotic and fancy with my fruit and veg selection but it really is a pain and requires more time than I can donate. Cherry tomatoes, Okra, Beit Alpha variety of cucumbers, Jericho lettuce, sweet potatoes, Sorghum, blueberries, Elderberry, Muscadines (of course) are some of the items I've had success with and I'm a pretty lazy gardener. Going to try Amaranth and Kijari melons this year.
@yumyumbear5 ай бұрын
Im in Crestview as wel. I had to work my soil and basically let nature take its course while amending it wit compost that I will directly dig into the ground randomly. I have chopped and dropped in the past while practicing permaculture. I gave up on taking the weeds out. It's too time consuming. The best thing I did for my soil was adding mulch it drastically changed the color from sugar sand to brown soil quickly.
@minutemenwood5 ай бұрын
@@yumyumbear Haha I agree, I only do beds now and lay down Dewitt landscape fabric all around them which mostly keeps the weeds out of my garden area.
@priscillahudson36259 ай бұрын
Yep! Lifetime gardener in the panhandle. It’s tough. We just got changed from 8b to 9. Too hot, too buggy, add in hard cold snaps, soil that needs to be amended and it’s definitely work! Now through about March is as close to ideal as we get, with a lot of ups and downs. Summer? Find an indoor hobby! 🤷♀️🥵
@jeas49809 ай бұрын
I get so much from this channel because I live in a brackish water swamp region of VA. Bruce perfectly described my area and I've been gardening here for 22 years. I'm finally getting good at it. Getting a local gardener is the best tip. My neighbor Bob is the best! But I would add .. give up the recommended plant dates for your area because they're all wrong. The seed packet knows nothing of our extremes... the garden planners don't have a clue. You absolutely need to split the seasons because nothing grows in July and August unless it's native. Once I threw away the approved calendar and paid attention to the swings in weather using protection for my crops... that's when things survived long enough to eat. When I put my annuals in raised beds... that's when things got "easy." When I gave up on imported perennials'... that's when I started to thrive and stock shelves full. And God Bless David the Good for biochar, feted swamp water, and taking the rules out of composting except the ONE: look out for aminopyralids.
@alaskansummertime9 ай бұрын
Sounds like growing on Big Island. Hot and rocky. You also forgot to talk about pests. Pests LOVE the heat. I've found growing in Alaska is easier than Hawaii because we have months of cold to kill off the pests. When I did landscaping in Hawaii pests were a constant issue. I worked at a condo where they came through in moon suits spraying Malathion on everything. LOL. I wouldn't go near that stuff. All these richie rich's asking me if what they were spraying was 'safe'. Ha ha. Define 'safe'. "Did you notice them wearing moon suits?" As far as manure I'd never trust anyone with their manure. Ever. Had people lie straight to my face too many times.
@davidthegood9 ай бұрын
Yeah. The pests are an issue, but mixing up the species helps a lot, as does planting resistant varieties and species.
@sue37029 ай бұрын
In Arizona zone 10, sand and rock for soil. Purchase soil to put in my raised beds.Water with salty city water. Annual rainfall is 3 inches. Yes the challenges are real. Only good thing is I can garden all year long but who wants to when summer is 120 degrees.
@SandcastleDreams8 ай бұрын
Grow Moringa and get some shade and cool things down a bit. Moringa is drought resistant. It provides plenty of leaves to harvest for compost. It provides good understory places to grow for plants that can't handle the intense sun and heat. There's a guy that lives in AZ that does that. Interesting video. Regreening is a real thing.
@ecocentrichomestead67839 ай бұрын
Everything has its challenges. If gardening was easy, everybody would be doing it!
@dianapagan89919 ай бұрын
@econcentrichomestead, is not a challenge is difficult is almost dissapointing and almost impossible to garden in Florida...believe me I'm here trying for more than 3 years...😢😢😢
@JuliePascal9 ай бұрын
Ages ago I lived within sight of the white sand beach in the panhandle. A/C on in February and that year it froze in March. Killed everything that should have easily been hardy because it had all started growing. St Augustine grass is gross. Just saying.
@mattpeacock52089 ай бұрын
Containers might be your best friend for growing in the Florida panhandle.
@davidthegood9 ай бұрын
Just hard to grow enough to feed anyone
@ursamajor19369 ай бұрын
Great tips for improving any soil. I've heard of some people adding bentonite or non clumping or scented kitty litter clay into their sandy soil to help with water retention. I like adding a little greensand and pulverized egg shells into mine.
@BiLuOma9 ай бұрын
Great advice, even though I'm not in Florida but the concept is the same. Amend the soil where needed with what might be needed (in my case compost) and grow more of what naturally wants to grow there.
@EarthStudent79 ай бұрын
They just recently changed our zone from 8b to 9a, and I'm in High Springs, FL (north of Gainesville). Last winter we got as low as 15 degrees, and in the summer we are in the high 90's. Personally, I do not believe we are now zone 9a based on our readings. The bugs are awful, and we feel like we are gardening on the beach with all of our sugar sand (we are on a sand ridge). Our neighbor does well with her garden after years of building up her soil, but she also uses chemical fertilizers, which we don't want to do. As a result, we've had barely any success, with the exception of roselle and a pigeon pea variety I found from up north that takes only 120 days to produce peas and can tolerate the cold. Thanks for your tips. I'll definitely give them a try.
@SouthFloridaSunshine9 ай бұрын
Not believing them on my zone either we are more like 11a not 10b, we just are the tropics, I should just ignore the “sub”. I shall just call it the tropics and be done with it for my zone, I give up on their weird numbers with letters. 😂
@SouthFloridaSunshine9 ай бұрын
@Ni-dk7ni Yes, indeed. But for now we are the tropics. And somehow the Southern most point of New York, or Southern New York as I call it, just wish we had the soil my Grandfather farmed up in Yorktown Heights, before he had to parcel it out to retire.
@johnliberty36479 ай бұрын
I honestly believe there is a climate propaganda agenda behind these growing zone revisions. Bureaucracies are run by propagandists.
@benmckinney29419 ай бұрын
I need to check out those pigeon peas. I live in the same general area and would love to grow them.
@benmckinney29419 ай бұрын
He should make some tea out of that yaupon.
@dianapagan89919 ай бұрын
He is doing nothing wrong. The wrong is FLORIDA.
@davidthegood9 ай бұрын
There is some truth in that. Though there are plants that love it, so concentrating on those makes a world of difference.
@koicaine12309 ай бұрын
OMG! I call mine the Sandpit of Death and Despair LMAO 😂 Really though, sand can suck it..
@beeneverywhereman9 ай бұрын
You were speaking directly to me! I am in the panhandle pretty close to where you guys are at now, I guess. I have some pines, magnolia, popcorn tree, camphor, wild blueberry and muscadine, some hardwoods and lots of Yaupon holly! The dirt is very sandy, but I have been adding in composts and lime and had some success in the area that I improved. The yams, cassava and even corn and winter squash are beginning to produce some food for the family now. Thanks, David. One of these days I will make it over to a plant sale. I'm about an hour and a half away.
@Deepwatermusic9 ай бұрын
Nice to see the beard starting to make a comeback!
@cdybft90509 ай бұрын
They changed zone 8B here to 9. This whole NW Florabama is weird so I’m keeping it 8B. I have a beautiful plum tree. In March it has amazing blooms. But April 15th we get that last freeze and the flowers fall Off . I’ve never gotten a plum, but I get great flowers..
@Vixxiegurl9 ай бұрын
cover the tree when the freeze comes. I live in NE Houston, TX where weather is always wacky. We have freezes with hot spells and it helps to cover plants when its 39 or below per your weather forecast.
@laurasgarden02119 ай бұрын
Also live in NW Florida. I don't believe the new zone map at all. Sure, we get mild winters with just a little light frost. But we also get years with hard freezes down to the teens - just like we got last Christmas. Folks who believe the zone map and buy zone 9 plants will be replacing them when they freeze. It might not be this year or next year, but hard freezes will come again.
@SandcastleDreams8 ай бұрын
@@laurasgarden0211😂 Yeppers! I remember a decade ago, they were getting snow up here near Ocala! Last winter we got a couple of nights down to 22°F. Everybody was complaining it killed their fruit trees! Well, Mulberries and Flying Dragon citrus, some tangerines and some grapefruit survive up here. Flying Dragon doesn't provide an edible orange but the fruits are covered in pectin! They also make good root stock for grafting.
@nancyh23783 ай бұрын
I stick to the zone 8, too. We had too much cold weather this past winter to say it is zone 9.
@WilliamMiller-nr5gb9 ай бұрын
How many people would live down here without AC? We obviously then also need AC outside for our plants! Someone really needs to talk with Elon about this! ...'cause that chemtrail remnants business isn't being universally embraced. Lime Buggy! Lime Buggy! 😂😉
@johnliberty36479 ай бұрын
No AC in North Central. Florida, not even in my vehicle. On the hottest days I just remind myself that I am not shoveling snow and it brings me pleasure to know I will never shovel snow again. Th be honest Florida heat is not as bad as the heat I dealt with in Salisbury NC because in Florida there is always a breeze. Get out of the sun and enjoy the breeze. Don’t need AC in Florida.
@WilliamMiller-nr5gb9 ай бұрын
@johnliberty3647 We must live in different "Florida's." 😂 Zone 10 here has become a humid Phoenix AZ lately! ...please pass this brilliant insight along to every New Yorker and Californian you encounter. Thank you, in advance! 😂
We are in a very hot climate with long dry periods. Sandy soil. Frosts in winter. But we have found grow a few things that do well. Bananas survive our frost and thrive generally. Passion fruit do well. Mangoes once established do well. But we learnt after 18 months to stick with these and slowly add. We mulch mulch and mulch more. Now in year 3 we are starting to get ahead. A lot failed in the first 18 months.
@babetteisinthegarden69209 ай бұрын
OK. I have a question How do you get around gardening burnout? I don't know if I've just had Just gotten too old to want to garden anymore. But the thrill is gone.
@tinad85619 ай бұрын
I’m feeling that too. I’m wondering if it was all the implicit pressure from the recent shortages…in any case, I’m doing flowers next year.
@melissab85009 ай бұрын
Maybe if you quit for awhile? I lose the thrill every summer. Then spring comes and I can't help it, I have to plant something. It's exasperating! Then summer comes with the ants and by autumn bidens alba swallows everything. I guess everything has it's phases
@davidthegood9 ай бұрын
I do feel like quitting in summer. But the fall weather draws me back into it. Sometimes we try to do too much, too. A big area and lots of different seeds with different planting times can become frustrating, especially when you feel you aren't doing it well. Instead, I recommend picking a small area, loading it up with good compost, and growing a few things that you love. It's very encouraging.
@SandcastleDreams8 ай бұрын
When you feel like its a losing battle you get burnout. I knew that coming to a new place with new soil and growing conditions was going to be difficult. I figured my first year was a trial year. My second year ended up being a trials and tribulation, too! 😊 But, I had some successes! I did good onions . I did these chinese red beans (dry beans) that are sort of like vining red mung beans that gave me a half bucket every other day none stop! They are in the same family as yardlong beans. We have one of those protected turtles and he knocked over my corn, ate half of one trellis full of beans before I realised what did it. I did get some peppers and tomatoes. Canned a couple of jars. By some miracle my leaks are still alive but have not given me seeds yet. Eggplant kept producing but I'm not too fond of it. 😂 I got so much eggplant! You've got to count your blessings. If you look at only your failures you'll give up.
@Vixxiegurl9 ай бұрын
Now I see why NE Houston 9A is a bust for me for many years :(
@musicteacher57579 ай бұрын
J. C. Penney started a farming community named Penney farms. He sold 10 acre plots to people from up nawth, AKA "Yankees". They couldn't make farming work in Florida, so it failed. The tiny town is still named Penney Farms, the last time I drove through, they didn't have even one traffic light. You have to know how, what to plant, and when. I've been reading gardening books since I was a child, and I used to think their advice was weird! But those books weren't written for Florida. Too hot, too cold (in North Florida), and too wet. And usually the soil is so poor that you can put fresh chicken manure down and the plants LOVE it. What does "burn the roots" mean? It must be a northern thing. But - there's a lot of things I'll never be able to grow here: cherries, cranberries, hazelnuts, etc.
@EdgeOfAquarius3699 ай бұрын
As an implant from the Northeast, I've been in Walton County for 20 years and own a small farm . 😂😂 the worst soil, lots of amending.
@Sunshineandhydrangeas6 ай бұрын
I have lived in the FL Panhandle my whole life. It didn’t used to be this hard. My great grandparents and grandparents were able to successfully farm here all the way up to the 90’s. They grew every vegetable you can think of. One grandfather had an amazing orchard and expansive grape vines. The weather has changed and made it almost impossible. I agree with your suggestion to use lime and compost. Also, don’t forget that further inland, the soil can also be heavy clay rather than sand. He should stop getting rid of the pine straw and use that as mulch instead. Nearly had a heart attack when I heard he was wasting that!