A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion New Members Hello from sunny (and mega-hot) Florida

Hey all you gardeners!

My name's Chris and I've been looking for a gardening forum for a few days now... This looks like a great one.

I just recently got into gardening in the last few months, and have built up a considerable number of plants... Maybe about 130 since then.

I've got all sorts of things - mostly edible.

Cucumbers, pumpkins, watermelon, chillis, peppers, squash, tobacco, cantelope, honey dew melon, and a whole lot more.

Anyway, my biggest problem so far is the heat. My plants in the backyard get a LOT of sun all day, and it's been really hot the past two months... so they've suffered a bit.

I built a little "shader" out of a tarp and some PVC, and that's helped a whole lot, but it's not enough to completely cut out the heat issues.

So anyway, this is where I'm at right now. A beginner who's read a lot and experimented a little and has a LOT to learn still.

Looking forward to getting to know plenty of you!

Also, here are a few pics of what I'm growing right now.

A watermelon I'm growing in a grow box I built.


Some plants that I germed a few days ago and put into cups two days ago. (Except the peppers, those were bought today)


Up close pepper.

And some pumpkins. Today all the leaves with the fungus got chopped off and thrown away. Tomorrow they're getting a little soap/water spritz to keep all the ants off them... They're really bad down here lately.

Welcome Chris. It looks like you are off to a running start on your gardens.
I have had heat/sun issues with some producing plants in the past. I have also built a shade for some things to help them out in our strong California desert sun. But I used shade cloth instead of a tarp. A tarp will shade but hold more heat in. Shade cloth allows heat to escape more easily and still cools. It might be a thought to keep in mind in the future, near or far.

Thanks Tina! I was curious to know what "the norm" was for making shade.

I'm guessing I can pick something like that up at a local nursery?

Yes, or Home Depot or Lowes.

Hi and welcome..you've got a great start

Thanks

Glad you found this forum. Theres a good bunch of friendly expertise here. Thanks for sharing your photos Its cool to see what other people are trying.

when are you planning on putting your plants out? Will they be put in the ground or moved to bigger containers?

Hi and welcome to the forum! It is nice to meet you!

You've made a wonderful start so far and I think your peppers are quite beautiful.

Along with the shade cloth, you may want to try a fan also. Don't laugh! I have friends in the south who use fans outdoors all the time and it works well -- of course you can't do that in the rain! Fans will keep the air moving and not allow extra heat to build up artificially under the shade device.

We tend to have the opposite problem up here, trying to devise ways to make the immediate area around the gardens warmer, especially at night for we cool off so much. Tomatoes don't do as well here as they do in more southerly areas where the nights stay hot.

Can't wait to see your garden's progress!


Merme

I've got a corner that I plan on digging up and filling with some sort of local dirt that a nursery would recommend. These guys will mostly be transplanted into a larger pot first, then once they're quite a bit bigger, they'll get transplanted into the ground when I think they can take the heat.