Our Backyard Garden
In September of 2024, we put in a paver patio to create some outdoor dining in our backyard. We ended up with a bunch of fill dirt and decided to put it to use in a raised, galvanized planter. Our garden began and we were quickly hooked.
Now, everytime before we leave for school and work, as well as when we get home, we head out back to check on the plants and see what’s new that’s growing.
Zone 9b
I follow the University of Florida agriculture page. They publish infographics each month letting gardener’s know what to plant for the season and the zone. I narrowed down their infographics to make an annual calendar (pictured above) for our family that is full of variety and foods we will actually eat.
This isn’t my first garden, but I’ve learned to adjust my expectation to what will grow here and not just what I want to grow. Otherwise, gardening can be very disappointing. Here is their website: Gardening Solution.
Plant Needs
When planning a garden, it is important to consider the plants’ needs for the amount of sunlight, amount of water, and drainage needs of each. Using my planting schedule of recommended plants from the University of Florida, it becomes really clear why Florida is called the Sunshine state. If it won’t do well with 6+ hours a day, it probably won’t grow well here. Most of the plants listed in the Full Sun category actually prefer 8 - 10 hours of sunlight. Fall and winter crops can be affected by the heat rather than the amount of light they receive each day.
The Nitrogen Cycle in the Garden
After watching Common Ground, a documentary on regenerative farming, I realized soil health is going to be a big deal moving forward - especially if I plan to use the same raised planters. I started to research options for rotating my plants and discovered it all comes down to nitrogen levels in the soil.
Being in Florida, our soil is very sandy. I know this is going to be an ongoing battle. Thankfully, bunny poop is a cold compost, which means it can go straight into the garden.
I read that nasturtium and cosmos flowers do well in zone 9b summers and reinforce the soil. I’m still debating if I’m going to use these in the rotation or more of a companion plant.
That’s my plan for reinforcing my soil. Stay tuned (I’ll share updates here).
Read more about our pet bunnies.
Did you know bunny poop is known as gardening gold?
Rabbit manure makes an excellent and safe fertilizer for plants. It's a good source of nitrogen and phosphorus, essential nutrients for plant growth. Rabbit manure is dry, odorless, and comes in pellet form, making it easy to handle and apply.
How to use:
Direct application: You can spread rabbit pellets directly onto garden beds and mix them into the top few inches of soil.
Planting holes: Place some pellets in the planting holes before planting.
Compost tea: You can make a concentrated tea by adding pellets to water and allowing them to settle.
Application rate: For a typical garden bed, a 1 to 2-inch layer of fresh rabbit pellets can be applied and mixed into the top 4 to 6 inches of soil.
You can also add rabbit manure to your compost pile to create a richer soil amendment.
4 times more nutrients than cow or horse manure
Twice as rich as chicken manure
Improves structure of sandy soil
Improves drainage and moisture retention
Not as stinky as other manures
Little threat of burning plant roots
Each bag contains approximately 5 oz.
Each order contains 2 bags (approximately 10 oz total).
Our Seeds
For convenience, I currently get my seeds from Amazon. I do plan to take advantage of the free seeds offered at our local library. I also like to let my plants bolt/bloom so I can harvest and save these seeds, too.
Bell Peppers, Butternut squash, Broccoli, Cabbage, Canteloupe, Cauliflower, Carrots, Corn, Cucumber, Eggplant, Garlic, Ginger, Green beans, Kale, Lettuce, Lettuce (with arugula and spinach), Luffa, Okra, Onions, Peas, Peanuts, Pineapple, Potatoes, Pumpkin, Seminole pumpkin, Squash, Strawberries, Sweet potatoes, Tomatoes, Watermelon
Tools
We added a compost bin to our side yard (behind our AC unit) in the summer of 2025. We put both green (yard) and brown (paper, leaves) waste, as well as food scraps (i.e., vegetables, fruits, and egg shells). We make sure to avoid placing seeds in the compost bin. We also make sure any storebought produce is not tossed in with the stickers still on them.
Red Wiggler Worms
We also added worms to our bin to help keep the smell down. With the addition of the worms, we have to make sure we are evenly placing green and brown waste in the bin, as well as keep the brown waste moist, but not wet.
Black Beans
9b Varieties: Puerto Rican, Cherokee Trail, Black Turtle
Plan in February, March, April, May, September, October
60 - 100 days
pH: 6.0 - 7.5
NPK: 5-10-10
Blueberries
9b Varieties: Jewel, Emerald
Plant in December, January, February
120 - 150 days
pH: 4.5 - 5.5
NPK: 12-4-8 (for acid loving plants)
Butternut squash
9b varieties: Waltham, Ponca
Plant in February, March, August, and September
pH: 6.0 - 6.8
NPK: 5-10-10
Avoid high-Nitrogen fertilizers once you see flowers. Too much Nitrogen at that stage will give you massive green leaves but very little fruit.
Broccoli
9b Varieties: Waltham 29
Plant in September - January
100 - 120 days
pH: 6.5 - 7.0
NPK: 15-5-10
Cabbage
9b Varieties: Bronco, Bravo
Plant in September - January
85 - 100 days
pH: 6.5 - 7.0
NPK: 15-5-10
Canteloupe
9b Varieties: Hales Best Jumbo, Ambrosia
pH: 6.0 - 6.5
NPK: 6-10-10
Avoid high-Nitrogen fertilizers once you see flowers. Too much Nitrogen at that stage will give you massive green leaves but very little fruit.
Cauliflower
9b Varieties: Snow crown, Fioretto 60, Snowball improved
Plant in February - March, Oct - Nov
70 - 90 days
pH: 6.5 - 7.0
NPK: 10-5-10
Carrots
9b Varieties: scarlet nantes, bambino, royal chantenay, imperator 58
Plant in October - February
60 - 80 days
pH: 6.0 - 7.0
NPK: 0-10-10
Celery
9b Varieties: Utah 52-70, Conquistador
Plant in October - February
100 days
pH: 6.0 - 6.5
NPK: 5-10-10
Cilantro
9b varieties: slo-bolt
Plant in October, November, December, January, February
50 - 55 days
pH: 6.0 - 6.8
NPK: 20-10-10
Corn
9b Varieties: Golden bantham
Plant in Feb - April, August, September
75 - 80 days
pH: 6.0 - 6.8
NPK: 20-10-10
Cucumber
9b Varieties: National pickler, Marketmore 76
Plant in February, March, April, August, September
50 - 70 days
pH: 6.0 - 7.0
NPK: 5-10-10
Edamame
9b Varieties: envy
Plant in March, April, August, September
75 - 85 days
pH: 6.0 - 7.0
NPK: 3-10-10
Eggplant
9b Varieties: Black beauty
Plant in April, August
75-80 days
pH: 5.5 - 6.5
NPK: 5-10-10
Elderberry
9b Varieties: York, Bob Gordon
Plant in December, January, February
pH: 5.5 - 6.5
NPK: 10-10-10
Garlic
9b varieties: California white, Burgundy, Creole Red
Plant in October
pH: 6.0 - 7.0
NPK: 10-10-10
Ginger
9b varieties: culinary ginger
Plant in February, March
pH: 5.5 - 6.5
NPK: 10-10-10
Green beans
9b Varieties: contender
Plant in March, April, August, September
50 - 55 days
pH: 60 - 7.0
NPK: 5-10-10
Honeydew Melon
9b Varieties: Tam Dew
Plant in February, March, April
80 - 100 days
pH: 6.0 - 6.8
NPK: 5-10-15
Avoid high-Nitrogen fertilizers once you see flowers. Too much Nitrogen at that stage will give you massive green leaves but very little fruit.
Kale
9b Varieties: Lacinto
Plant in March and October
pH: 6.0 - 7.5
NPK: 10-5-5
In Florida’s 9b regions, Magnesium and Iron deficiencies are common. If your leaves start turning yellow while the veins stay green, you may need a supplement like Epsom salts (Magnesium Sulfate).
Lettuces
9b Varieties: arugula, romaine, oakleaf red, cimmaron romaine, Grand Rapids TB
Plant in January, February, March, November and December
30 - 75 days
pH: 6.0 - 7.0
NPK: 10-5-5
We had an abundance of lettuce. The bunnies eat it quickly, which is a good thing because by mid-April the heat becomes too much and the leaves wilt and either start to decay or dry out too quickly.
Luffa Gourd
9b Varieties: Angled or Smooth
Plant in March, April, May
150 - 200 days
pH: 6.0 - 6.5
NPK: 10-10-10
Luffa seeds are super easy to save. I wait until the luffa squash dries out on the vine. Then I peel the skin off and the seeds start falling out. I leave the seeds out on a paper towel for a day to completely dry out before sealing them in these envelopes.
Onions
9b Varieties: Tokyo long white, yellow sweet Spanish, red Creole, yellow Granex, white sweet Spanish, Texas early grano 502
Plant in October, November, December
110 - 130 days
pH: 6.0 - 6.8
NPK: 10-20-10
Oregano
9b Varieties: Cuban
Plant in March, April
30 - 45 days
Papaya
9b Varieties: tainung, red lady
Plant in March, April, May
6 - 9 months
pH: 6.0 - 6.5
NPK: 14-14-14
Passionfruit
9b Varieties: Possum Purpose
Plant in March, April, May
pH: 6.5 - 7.5
NPK: 10-5-20
Peaches
9b varieties: Florida Prince
Plant in January, February
2 - 3 years
pH: 6.0 - 6.5
NPK: 10-10-10
Peanuts
9b Varieties: Tennessee Red
Plant in April, May, June
110 - 120 days
pH: 5.8 - 6.2
NPK: 0-10-10 (plus Gypsum)
Peas
9b Varieties: Sugar snap, Burpeeana early
Plant in September, October, November, December, January
60 - 70 days
pH: 6.2 - 6.8
NPK: 5-10-15
California Blackeye Peas
Plant in April, July
60 - 70 days
pH: 6.0 - 6.8
NPK: 5-10-10
Pinkeye Purple Hull
Plant in March, April, May, June, July, August
60 - 70 days
pH: 6.2 - 6.8
NPK: 5-10-10
Peppers
9b Varieties: Bell, Lunchbox
Plant in April, August
70 - 90 days
pH: 6.2 - 6.8
NPK: 5-10-15
Pineapple
9b Varieties: sugarloaf, Elite gold
Plant in May and July
pH: 4.5 - 6.0
NPK: 10-10-10
In Florida’s 9b regions, Magnesium and Iron deficiencies are common. If your leaves start turning yellow while the veins stay green, you may need a supplement like Epsom salts (Magnesium Sulfate).
Potatoes
9b varieties: Yukon Gold, Red Nu, Beauregard Sweet
Plant in January, February, September
90 - 120 days
pH: 4.8 - 6.0
NPK: 5-10-10
Pumpkins
9b Varieties: Seminole
Plant in July, August
95 - 120 days
pH: 6.0 - 6.8
NPK: 8-15-36
Sage
9b varieties: Common (perennial)
Plant in October, November, December, January, February, MArch
80 - 90 days
Spinach
9b Varieties: longevity, African, Malabar
Plant in October, November, December, January
50 - 70 days
pH: 6.0 - 7.0
NPK: 10-5-5
Squash
9b Varieties: delicata, summer/yellow, spaghetti,
Plant in February, March, April and September
50 - 120 days
pH: 6.0 - 6.8
NPK: 5-10-10
Strawberries
9b Varieties: Festival, Sweet sensation, radiance
Plant in October
pH: 5.5 - 6.5
NPK: 10-10-10
We picked up a variety of strawberry plants from Lukas Nursery in Oviedo. Unfortunately, the heat and drought conditions have limited the fruit development, but with regular watering, we’ve been able to keep the plant healthy.
Tomatoes
9b Varieties: everglade cherry, roma, solar fire, heat sensation, bella rosa
Plan in February, March, August
70 - 85 days
pH: 6.2 - 6.8
NPK: 8-15-36
Watermelon
9b Varieties: sugar baby
Plant in February, March, April
75 - 80 days
pH: 6.0 - 7.0
NPK: 5-10-10
These took a while to get going. We ended up seeing big growth in April. The vines had a hard time with the weight of the melons. We’ll need a better system for supporting them next year.
Zucchini
9b Varieties: black beauty
Plant in February, March, September
50 - 60 days
pH: 6.0 - 7.0
NPK: 10-10-10