© Nick King/Lansing State Journal . Strawberries on display on Tuesday, October 4, 2022 in Lansing at the Eastside Lansing Food Co-op."Timing is everything." The inventor of the term must have been a gardener, because the time of year when certain cultural practices are practiced can make the difference between success and failure.
The onions and strawberries around us are often misunderstood and planted at the wrong time of the year.
We can produce beautiful sweet onions with bulbs up to four inches in diameter that rival those of Vidalia, Georgia in flavor. For this we have to plant the plants in autumn, not in spring as in the north. In fact, bulbs planted after the first year will produce small bulbs or perhaps just squash.
Some North Florida gardeners grow large sweet onions. That's how they do it. They use short day onion varieties such as Grano, Granex, Texas Grano, Excel, or Tropicana Red. Granex is the variety used to make Vidalia onions and San Agustin sweets.
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Some gardeners sow onions in September, and the plants can be planted in the garden in November or early December. Others buy plants of these varieties in the fall. These plants are spaced four to five inches apart in rows of twelve to twenty-four inches. A light diet is necessary to keep them strong throughout the season. Onions do well in our mild winters and can be harvested between April and May.
Many gardeners make the mistake of planting strawberries in the spring. In the regions of our country they should be planted in October-November. Like onions, strawberry plants are hardy, producing mature plants in the spring and harvested from March to May.
Use only "short day" strawberry varieties. These include Chandler, Sweet Charlie, Dover, Selva, Ossa Grande, Florida Belle and Florida 90.
Fall is the time to plant other fresh vegetables. Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, onions, beets, turnips, Brussels sprouts, sprouts, carrots, endive, chicory, kale, turnip greens, leeks, lettuce, mustard, parsley and radishes can be planted in the fall.
The time of year when flowers and perennials are transplanted is also important. Many bulbs that bloom in the spring are planted in the fall. Fall is the perfect time to move a shrub from one place in your garden to another, or to plant and plant new trees and shrubs in your landscape.
The theme of good timing can be applied to fertilizers, pest control, pruning and all other gardening practices. Expect good results at the right time. On the other hand, doing it at the wrong time of the year wastes a lot of time and money.
This article originally appeared in the Northwest Florida Daily News: Time to question gardening success or failure | gardening
