Regional guide
North Florida Frost-Window Vegetable Garden
UF/IFAS North Florida guide for north-of-State-Road-40 scope, late-frost checks, spring/fall windows, pest pressure, and rotation.
Climate signals
- UF/IFAS says vegetables can be grown year-round in Florida if attention is paid to the appropriate planting dates in Table 1.
- Warm season vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers are damaged or killed by frosts and freezes and do not thrive when soil is too cool.
- UF/IFAS says North Florida is especially vulnerable, so residents of that region should note the dates of late frosts.
- The Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide separates planting dates into North, Central, and South Florida columns.
- The Table 1 footnote defines North Florida as all of Florida north of State Road 40.
Planning notes
- Use the North Florida column in Table 1, the Planting guide for Florida vegetables, instead of copying Central Florida or South Florida dates.
- UF/IFAS points gardeners to floridafresh.ifas.ufl.edu by ZIP and says to note local frost dates and adjust planting times accordingly.
- North Florida cool-season rows include beets Sept-Mar; broccoli Sep-Feb; cabbage and kale Sept-Feb; Brussels sprouts Sept-Nov; carrots, radish, and Swiss chard Sept-Mar; cauliflower Jan-Feb and Sept-Oct; collards Feb-Apr and Sept-Nov; lettuce Feb-Mar and Sept-Feb; mustard Sept-Apr; spinach Oct-Nov; and turnips Jan-Apr and Sept-Oct.
- North Florida warm-season rows include bush beans Mar-Apr and Aug-Sept; sweet corn Mar-Apr and Aug; cucumbers Mar-Apr and Aug-Sept; eggplant Mid Mar-Jul; okra Late Mar-July; peppers Late Mar-Apr and July-Aug; pumpkin Early July; summer squash Late Mar-Apr and Aug-Sept; winter squash Feb-Apr and Aug-Sept; tomatoes Late Mar-Apr and Aug; and watermelon Late Mar-Apr and July-Aug.
- Bunching onions use a Sep-Mar North Florida row.
- UF/IFAS says late summer or early fall plantings are susceptible to insects and diseases that thrive in hot weather, and late winter or early spring cold-tender vegetables can be damaged by frosts or freezes if not protected.
- Use the transplant ability field as a handling warning: I easily survives transplanting, II survives with care, and III means seed directly or use containerized transplants with developed roots.
- Use the plant-family field for rotation because UF/IFAS says to avoid successively planting vegetables from the same family in the same garden area.
- Use these priority catalog links as crop-row examples only, not UF/IFAS cultivar recommendations.
Catalog crop examples
These catalog entries match crops covered by the regional timing source; variety-specific details remain tied to each seed entry's own source.
- Provider Bush Bean Vegetable · Warm · 50 days
- Detroit Dark Red Beet Vegetable · Cool · 58 days
- Waltham 29 Broccoli Vegetable · Cool · 74 days
- Long Island Improved Brussels Sprouts Vegetable · Cool · 100 days
- Golden Acre Cabbage Vegetable · Cool · 64 days
- Danvers 126 Carrot Vegetable · Shoulder · 70 days
- Snowball Y Cauliflower Vegetable · Cool · 70 days
- Georgia Southern Collards Vegetable · Cool · 65 days
- Golden Bantam Sweet Corn Vegetable · Warm · 80 days
- Marketmore 76 Cucumber Vegetable · Warm · 58 days
- Black Beauty Eggplant Vegetable · Warm · 80 days
- Green Curled Endive Vegetable · Cool · 85 days
- Lacinato Kale Vegetable · Cool · 60 days
- Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce Vegetable · Cool · 45 days
- Southern Giant Curled Mustard Vegetable · Cool · 45 days
- Clemson Spineless Okra Vegetable · Warm · 56 days
- Evergreen Bunching Onion Vegetable · Shoulder · 65 days
- California Wonder Pepper Vegetable · Warm · 72 days
- Small Sugar Pumpkin Vegetable · Warm · 100 days
- French Breakfast Radish Vegetable · Cool · 28 days
- Bloomsdale Spinach Vegetable · Cool · 42 days
- Waltham Butternut Squash Vegetable · Warm · 95 days
- Bright Lights Swiss Chard Vegetable · Shoulder · 55 days
- Roma Tomato Vegetable · Warm · 76 days
- Purple Top White Globe Turnip Vegetable · Cool · 55 days
- Sugar Baby Watermelon Vegetable · Warm · 80 days
Related regional guides
- Central Florida Year-Round Vegetable Garden A Central Florida year-round vegetable guide for UF/IFAS planting dates, occasional frost, warm soil needs, and late-summer pest pressure.
- South Florida Year-Round Vegetable Garden UF/IFAS South Florida guide for below-State-Road-70 vegetable windows, rare frost, year-round timing, pest pressure, and rotation.