Sunshine Blessed Sunshine!

One of my favorite hymns at church is There is Sunshine in My Soul Today and every time I go out to my patio garden I find myself humming this song.

The first verse of that hymn reads:

There is sunshine in my soul today,

More glorious and bright 

than glows in any earthly sky,

For Jesus is my light.

Oh, there's sunshine, blessed sunshine

When the peaceful happy moments roll

When Jesus shows his smiling face,

There is sunshine in the soul.

I often think that my plants, if they could sing would sing this hymn, because veggies love sunshine, blessed sunshine and that's what we need to talk about today.

Most vegetable plants need 6-8 hours of direct sun to grow their best. However, leafy crops such as lettuce, cabbage, greens, spinach and parsley can tolerate more shade than root crops such as beets, turnips and onions. Fruit bearing plants, such as cucumber, peppers, tomatoes and eggplant need the most sun of all. 

One major advantage to gardening in containers is that you can place the vegetables in areas where they can receive the best possible growing conditions. If you are not sure how many hours of full sunlight the area you are considering gets you have need to do one of two things; take the time to watch the area and time how long it gets direct sun or purchase a sun calculator to get the most accurate number of hours.

If you live on the East coast and can put your containers on the east side of your apartment or home where they are not shaded you should be getting 6-8 hours of direct sun.

You will also need to take into account the size of the plant as well. You do not want to plant a tall vegetable in a pot in front of a plant that is shorter as the taller plant will shade the other one and you will not get the best results.

We need to thing about heat as well. With sun comes heat and heat can have some serious negative impact on your vegetables.

Soil temperature is key, if the soil is too cold the seeds and plants will not grow and if it’s too hot the roots can cook causing the plants to fail. 

The ideal temperature of soil to successfully grown plants most plants in containers are no lower than 60 degrees and no higher than 80 degrees. Since there are exceptions to this make sure to check the package to see what temperature is best for the plants you want to grow.

Remember the soil will become the same temperature as your growing space. If we have record high temperatures the soil can become too hot and plants will need shaded for part of the day or moved to a cooler area. 

If we have record low temperatures the soil temperature will drop and you will need to cover or bring your plants inside. 

You can check the soil temperature in your containers with a meat thermometer so that you can do what is best for your plants. 

We are lucky to live in North Florida where we have degrees of heat all year round and because of that we can also grow year round; below is a list of common crops that can be planted each month in North Florida.

THINGS YOU CAN GROW YEAR ROUND IN NORTH FLORIDA

January – beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, Chinese cabbage, mustard, bunching onions, English peas, potatoes, radishes and turnips.

February - beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, collards, endive/escarole lettuce, mustard, bunching onions, parsley, English peas, potatoes, radishes and turnips.

March – snap beans, pole beans, Lima beans, beets, carrots, celery, collards, corn, cucumber, eggplant, lettuce, okra, English peas, southern peas, peppers, potatoes, sweet potatoes, summer squash and tomatoes.

April – cantaloupes, cucumbers, eggplants, kohlrabi, sweet potatoes, summer squash, tomatoes, turnips and watermelons.

May – Lima beans, eggplant, okra, southern peas, and sweet potatoes.

June – Lima beans, eggplant, okra, southern peas, and sweet potatoes.

July - Lima beans, eggplant, okra, southern peas, peppers, and watermelon.

August – broccoli, cauliflower, collards, bunching onions, and turnips.

September – snap beans, pole beans, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, endive/escarole, lettuce, cucumber, bulbing onions, bunching onions, radishes, and summer squash.

October – beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, Chinese cabbage, collards, kohlrabi, bulbing onions, radishes and spinach.

November - beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, collards, kohlrabi, bulbing and bunching onions, radishes and spinach.

December - beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, Chinese cabbage, bulbing and bunching onions and radishes.

This above information came from the Florida Times Union in 2011. I started this year testing to see if these plants really can grow in the different months. 

In January, I planted broccoli, cabbage, carrots, and radishes. We harvested and enjoyed all we grew already from January. In February, I planted collards, endive/escarole lettuce, and radishes, again we enjoyed all we grew already. In March, I planted almost everything on the list and we have harvested and enjoyed almost all of what we planted. Some were lost to bugs. :0(

Over all though I think the list is very accurate and we can have success by following this planting list. So there you have it, sun and heat two very important components to having a successful patio or container garden.

Hope this information is helpful. Leave me a comment or a question. 

Dianna :0)