What to Plant in Your Florida Garden This Fall (And Everything Wrong With the UF Monthly Planting Charts)

If you’ve been gardening in Florida for more than five minutes you’ve probably seen the UF/IFAS vegetable planting calendars. They are the foundation for almost everyone who gets started down here. Honestly they’re invaluable. If you’re new to gardening or you just moved here from up north, that chart is where you begin. Even for experienced gardeners it’s a steady reference point.

I’m not saying the UF planting charts are wrong. Generally speaking they’re spot on. I like to think of them as a launching pad, a diving board, a foundational guide you can jump off of. But Florida doesn’t really follow the calendar and that’s where people can get tripped up. So what I want to do here is show you a few soft spots in the chart and how you can use it even better.

Soft Spot #1 – Looking Ahead

UF tells you what to transplant in September, what to transplant in October, and so on. The problem is that if you only look at the current month you’re already behind. In real Florida gardening you need to be thinking a month or two ahead.

For example, if the UF chart says to transplant broccoli or cauliflower in October and November, where are those plants supposed to come from? They don’t magically appear in your garden. Somebody had to start those seeds back in September or even late August. 

That’s why I like to add a fourth column in my head when I look at their chart. They’ve got “easily transplant,” “transplant with care,” and “use seeds.” I add “start seeds now for transplant later.” If you keep that in mind while you read the chart, suddenly the timing makes sense.

Soft Spot #2 – Variety Matters More Than Category

Another thing UF does is they give you broad categories like “lettuce” or “spinach.” That’s fine on paper, but in Florida the variety makes or breaks the crop.

Take lettuce for example. Right now in September when the weather can still be "sweating to the oldies", I’m starting Jericho Romaine and Manoa lettuce. Those hold up in the warmth better than most. But in October when it finally cools off a little more, I’ll move into bibb types, butter crunch, and some red lettuces. Then when we get that "real" cool down in late November and December, that’s when I’ll start the least heat tolerant lettuces.

I always joke that fall in Florida really begins the first morning you can drink coffee outside without sweating through your shirt. And winter is when you see women wearing boots and scarves even though they might still be sweating by lunch. That’s the reality. And that’s when certain varieties finally make sense.

So when UF says “lettuce,” I read it as “pick the lettuce that matches this stage of Florida weather.”

Soft Spot #3 – Transplants Only? Not Quite

When you get into October and November the UF calendar tells you to transplant broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and a few others. That’s true, but it’s not the whole story.

Those months are actually fantastic for direct seeding brassicas as well. Broccoli especially does great from seed in Florida’s fall and winter because it can take a Florida freeze without blinking. The only time you need to rush broccoli (and its cousins) is when summer heat is looming on the horizon.

In real practice we plant those crops in succession over and over again starting in September and running all the way into late February. So yes, transplants are fine, but don’t overlook how well they do from seed once the nights cool off.

How to Use the Charts Better

So don’t throw the UF calendars out. Keep them handy. They’re an incredible reference and they’ll keep you on track season after season. Just layer in these three things:

1. Always think a month or two ahead. What do I need to start now for transplant later

2. Pay attention to varieties. “Lettuce” isn’t just lettuce in Florida.

3. You can direct sow a lot of crops where the chart only says, "transplant". Remember- with a long season ahead, October and November are not "transplant-only" months

Pay attention to these things, and you’ll get the best of both worlds, the authority of UF’s research and the practical tweaks that make Florida gardening click.

And of course we can’t talk about Florida fall planting without mentioning the elephant in the room...

TOMATOES 🍅 

Everyone wants them, but they’re one of the trickiest crops in our state. Most of Florida only has two planting seasons and both come with risks. Shout out to South Florida- you’re a little bit different, but we’ll get into that in the tomato blog post. That’s such a big topic it deserves its own guide, so I’ve written a Florida Tomato Planting Guide you can dive into when you’re ready.

Final Word

The UF planting charts are an incredible resource. They’re the bedrock for learning how to garden in Florida and they’ll get you pointed in the right direction every time. Just remember to use them as a launching pad, not a finish line. Think ahead, pick the right varieties, and don’t be afraid to try both transplants and seeds when the weather lines up.

That’s how you take the chart off the page and bring it to life in your garden.

Whitwam Organics has the supplies you need for your fall garden!

Whitwam Organics has all the knowledge and supplies you need for a successful fall garden! Whether it’s your first growing season or your fiftieth, we’re here to help.

Browse our selection of plants and seedings, or contact us to learn more about our residential and commercial consulting services!