Winter Crops For The Florida Tower Garden

This is a PSA for everyone who gardens in Florida and is starting or re-planting their Tower Garden for the upcoming winter weather. I got you!

With the holidays coming up and the weather getting colder, I am sad to announce that It’s a little late to start the warm-weather crops if you live in central or north Florida. BUT even though summer and fall may pass by, we can now celebrate because it is time to begin our winter-loving crops such as cabbage and peas!

This video about growing a Tower Garden in November/December is full of great information. This post about protecting your precious tomatoes in winter is a must-read, too!

---

Leah's Favorite Plants for Winter for the Tower Garden

(Note: These plants are the ones I recommend you plant in your winter Tower Garden. I often start my seedlings indoors as the shelter will protect them against weather and those pesky squirrels!)

• Tokyo Bekana (a favorite!)

• Kale

• Swiss Chard

• Red Cabbage

• Chinese Blues Cabbage

• Green Cabbage

• Sugar snap peas

• Snow peas

• Spinach can be planted Oct. through late March. I find that Kolibri tolerates our heat best, even in winter.

• Strawberries can be planted in October from BARE ROOTS (Bare Roots prep and planting info HERE)

• ANY lettuce (my favorite Romaine is Sparx)

• ANY gourmet lettuce (my personal favorite is Starstruck, planted in the Baby Greens sections)

• Piracicaba broccoli is a heat-tolerant sprouting (similar to Chinese) broccoli from Brazil, which is great for all of FL, but especially S FL. Read more about how to grow it HERE.

• Green Magic Broccoli tolerates heat quite well and doesn't bolt when our temps spike (good video about growing broccoli from an FL grower)

• Herbs like cilantro (coriander), parsley, thyme, chives, and fennel.

• Bunching onions

• Short-day onion sets (yes, as crazy as it sounds, you just pop them in the rockwool cubes! Depending on the variety, they take 3-4 months to develop. These are perfect for the Baby Greens sections of the Tower Garden!).

• Violas

• Small Red Radishes (great in the Baby Greens Kit!)

• Celery

• Bok Choy: New Nubai baby bok Choy (great in Baby Greens Sections), and ANY bok choy (there are so many!)

• Beautiful edible flowers like calendula, marigold, and viola. (Viola works great in the Baby Greens sections!)

• Tatsoi

• Salad Greens-Green Chrysanthemum Garland Round Leaved

• Watercress

• Snowball cauliflower & Cheddar Cauliflower

• Arugula

• Kohlrabi

Don't forget to protect your tender, heat-loving plants from any frost or freezes!

---

Happy Gardening!

Reach out to me with any questions or concerns by clicking here.

~ Leah Brooks