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Gardening in Florida is a very different experience than gardening in the rest of the country, and growing fruits and vegetables in North East Florida is a very different experience than gardening down south. It has taken us about five years to adjust to the zone 9 planting schedule, and while there are many zone 9 garden guides out there, we felt that there was a need for a simple, user friendly zone 9A/9B planting calendar.
The zone 9 garden calendar color chart below is based on when you should either start from seed/or if you have started your seeds inside, when it is safe to plant out.
Here in North East Florida, it is easy to extend your growing season by starting your seeds indoors, or by protecting your plants outdoors. We grow tomatoes and peppers outdoors all year round, some under a plastic cover and some up against the house. If you want to extend your growing season here in zone 9, it can be as simple as putting up a fence around your garden, and if you create a walled garden you are even better off.
When it comes to extending the cold season, it gets tricky, but we have had some success with extending our lettuce season by planting in our backyard, which is dabbled shade and gets late afternoon/evening sun only.
Our North East Florida Garden Calendar
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Months where it is time to plant out/or when you can start seed outside. |
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Months where you may have success, but it is not optimal to start growing a particular fruit or vegetable. |
** If you're looking at this 9A/9B planting calendar on your phone, it works best in horizontal view.**
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Zone 9 Planting Calendar |
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Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
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Asparagus |
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Jan |
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Dec |
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Artichoke |
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Apr |
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Arugula |
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Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
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Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
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Basil |
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Feb |
Mar |
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Beans |
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Mar |
Apr |
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Aug |
Sep |
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Bok Choy |
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Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
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Beets |
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Jan |
Feb |
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Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
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Broccoli |
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Jan |
Feb |
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Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
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Brussel Sprouts |
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Jan |
Feb |
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Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
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Butternut Squash |
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Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
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Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
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Cabbage |
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Jan |
Feb |
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Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
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Cantaloupe |
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Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
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Carrots |
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Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
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Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
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Cauliflower |
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Jan |
Feb |
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Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
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Celery |
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Jan |
Feb |
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Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
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Cerasee/Bitter Melon/Karela |
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Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
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Collard Greens |
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Jan |
Feb |
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Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
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Coriander/Cilantro |
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Feb |
Mar |
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Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
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Corn |
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Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
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Cucamelon |
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Apr |
May |
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Cucumbers |
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Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
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Jul |
Aug |
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Daikon/Japanese radish |
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Feb |
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Oct |
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Dill |
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Feb |
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Eggplant |
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Feb |
Mar |
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Aug |
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Endive |
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Jan |
Feb |
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Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
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Garlic, hard |
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Oct |
Nov |
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Garlic, soft |
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Oct |
Nov |
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Ginger |
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Mar |
Apr |
May |
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Honey Dew Melon |
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Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
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Kale |
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Jan |
Feb |
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Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
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Kohlrabi |
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Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
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Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
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Leek |
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Mar |
Apr |
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Aug |
Sep |
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Lettuce |
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Jan |
Feb |
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Sep |
Oct |
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Luffa |
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Mar |
Apr |
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Mustard |
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Jan |
Feb |
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Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
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Nasturtium |
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Okra |
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Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
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Onions, bulbs |
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Jan |
Feb |
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Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
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Onions, bunching (green + shallots) |
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Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
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Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
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Papaya |
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Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
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Parsley |
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Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
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Oct |
Nov |
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Peas, snow |
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Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
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Peas, southern |
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Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
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Pepper |
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Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
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Potatoes, reg |
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Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
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Dec |
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Potatoes, sweet |
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Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
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Pumpkin |
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Jul |
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Radish |
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Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
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Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
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Roselle Hibiscus/Jamaican Sorrel |
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Mar |
Apr |
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Spinach |
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Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
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Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
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Spinach, Malabar |
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Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
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Squash, summer |
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Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
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Aug |
Sep |
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Squash, winter |
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Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
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Aug |
Sep |
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Strawberry |
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Sep |
Oct |
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Swiss Chard |
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Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
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Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
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Tomatoes |
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Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
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Jul |
Aug |
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Turmeric |
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Mar |
Apr |
May |
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Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
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Turnips |
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Jan |
Feb |
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Watermelon |
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Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
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This zone 9 garden calendar color chart is based on when you should either start from seed/or if you have started your seeds inside, when it is safe to plant out. It is created based on the north Florida planting recommendation of the UFIFAS Extension as well as our own experience.
If you have had success growing a specific fruit or vegetable in a month that is not colored in, we would love to hear from your experience. You can either leave a comment or or send us an email.
If you have any suggestions for fruit and veggies, which should be added to the Zone 9 Calendar, please leave us a comment as well, we especially want to add fruit, vegetables and herbs not commonly grown in our growing zone, so if you have had success with a specific species, please reach out, we are always looking for ways to extend our North East Florida growing schedule.
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Great info!!! Thanks or posting it. Do you have a printable version of this?
ReplyDeleteA downloadable spreadsheet would be great. Then we can hide things we don't grow or add things we do.
ReplyDeleteYou can copy and paste it to excel
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ReplyDelete' Great source -
ReplyDeleteThanks. We are new to Florida … from Illinois. I’ve killed some plants here so far before realizing I things are very different here and I need help! Thanks for this!
ReplyDelete