Vegetable Gardening in Port St. Lucie, Florida

That’s right, YOU TOO can grow vegetables! Gardening is an enjoyable way to enjoy a little Sunshine, Fresh Air & Exercise. PLUS the freshest, healthiest eating you can have! Read on to learn how.

First, our favorite resource for gardening comes from the University of Florida. Here’s the link-Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide  UF is an excellent resource for all things gardening in Florida. They have many pages on all types of gardening, pest control & more.

🌶 Learn Your Growing Season… The growing season in South FL runs from about Late Sept October to May or even June. Personal experience says not to start planting (there are exceptions) after late February.

🌶 Start Small… While our set up of raised beds might look a bit elaborate, you can grow in baskets, pots on porches, raised beds, even bags hung on a fence- our neighbor has a 4’ by 8’ beside a shed that yields him plenty of tomatoes & peppers. There’s even a Facebook page “Rain Gutter Grow System Group Page”. Use your imagination.

🌶 Pick Your Location… Most plants need plenty of sunshine! Pick a location with at least several hours of sun everyday and well drained.

"Grandbuddies even enjoy the fruits of labor with Vegetable Gardens"

🌶 When we built our raised beds (lots of advantages to gardening in raised beds) we obtained a truckload of “veggie mix”. This soil is has plenty of organic matter in it and doesn’t “harden”. This is crucial for plant root growth and health. Before each growing season, we add “seasoned” cow manure (we have a free source if you’d like some- reach out) and compost from our kitchen & other yard materials. If necessary, fertilize according to plant type.

🌶 Water regularly especially when plants are young. And hope for regular, light rain. Vegetables seem to enjoy and prosper from rain more than anything. We keep & use a rain barrel too.

Some of what we’ve grown with a varied amount of success include…

Tomatoes, Broccoli

Black beauty eggplant- we have had several eggplant plants that lived 2.5 years and produced countless- at least a couple hundred!

Rattlesnake, green & black beans

Kale, Spinach

Lettuce, Carrots

Various Herbs

Peppers

Scallions

Rogue- don’t be too quick to pull “rogue” plants. These can come from the compost or? We’ve had several rogue tomato produce over 50 tomato’s each.

Finally, practice what Grammy taught “Bro” don’t pick too early! “Joe”, don’t pick those green tomatoes, they have to be red”!

"Bro & Joe"

Feel free to email us at for tips & tricks 💁🏼