Welcome to Just One Thing Nursery and Gardens!
Let's Get Growing!
Florida's October Planting Guide
What’s Up In Florida’s October?
The Great Seasonal Shift: October is widely considered the absolute finest month of the year for Florida gardeners. It brings the official end of the grueling tropical summer and ushers in the state’s primary growing season. Climatologically, this month features the dramatic arrival of dry, crisp air masses that completely alter the gardening landscape.
🌡️ The Microclimate: The Arrival of the Dry Season. October delivers the highly anticipated atmospheric breakthrough that Florida gardeners wait for all summer.
- The Climate Break: The defining event of October is the passage of the first major continental cold front. According to the National Weather Service, the official transition to the dry season occurs around October 15th across the middle of the peninsula.
- Plunging Humidity: As these fronts push through, the oppressive humidity vanishes, replaced by bright, clear skies and crisp, cool nights.
- Fading Rainfall: Daily sea-breeze thunderstorms completely stop. Saturated summer soils begin to dry out, making outdoor garden beds comfortable, workable, and ready for planting.
What To Grow! Click on your region below.
Don’t forget to check out our Full Monthly Planner (click there or on the bar above!) to get more information and details or to look ahead to the coming months!
North Florida Planting Guide
What To Grow
Start by Seed (Direct Sowing or Trays)
- Brassicas & Cool Greens: Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Kale, Collards, Mustard greens, Turnip greens, Lettuce, Endive, Spinach, Arugula, Swiss chard (Direct-seed or use trays).
- Root Crops: Carrots, Beets, Radishes, Turnips, Rutabagas, Leeks, Parsnips, Bunching onions/Green onions, Bulb onions, Garlic cloves, Shallots (Direct-seed only).
- Legumes: English peas, Snap peas, Snow peas (Direct-seed only; they thrive in the incoming chill).
Install as Transplants or Cuttings
- Brassicas & Greens: Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Kale, Collards, Mustard greens, Lettuce (Install transplants immediately for rapid autumn growth).
- Berries (Missing Crop Addition): Strawberries (October is the prime month to install bare-root or potted strawberry transplants).
- Perennial Herbs: Common oregano, Rosemary, Thyme, Sage, Lavender, Parsley, Cilantro, Dill.
October In North Florida — Peak Autumn Abundance
By October, North Florida (Zone 8b/9a) enjoys consistently cool days and genuinely chilly nights. The summer heat is a distant memory, and the soil temperature drops rapidly.
- The Gardening Vibe: Winter Preparation. The focus shifts entirely to frost-tolerant winter crops. Gardeners are no longer planting summer vegetables; instead, they are mass-planting traditional cool-weather greens and cold-hardy roots.
- The Strategy: Get winter brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, kale) and sweet winter legumes (English and snap peas) established immediately. This ensures they develop strong root systems before the first hard freezes arrive in late November or December. Tropical perennials must be heavily mulched and protected as they head into total winter dormancy.
Central Florida Planting Guide
What To Grow
Start by Seed (Direct Sowing or Trays)
- Brassicas & Cool Greens: Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, Kohlrabi, Kale, Collards, Mustard greens, Turnip greens, Lettuce, Endive, Spinach, Arugula, Swiss chard.
- Root Crops: Carrots, Beets, Radishes, Turnips, Bunching onions, Bulb onions, Garlic cloves, Shallots (Direct-seed only).
- Legumes & Cucurbits: Bush beans, Pole beans, Lima beans, Cucumbers, Zucchini, Yellow squash (Sow early in the month).
Install as Transplants or Cuttings
- Nightshades: Standard tomatoes, Bell peppers, Hot peppers, Eggplants (Install transplants early in the month to ensure fruit sets before winter temperature drops).
- Brassicas & Greens: Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Kale, Collards, Lettuce, Celery.
- Herbs: Common oregano, African blue basil, Cuban oregano, Mexican tarragon, Rosemary, Thyme, Parsley, Cilantro, Dill.
- Berries: Strawberries (Install transplants all month long).
October In Central Florida — The Ultimate Launch Window
October is the golden, “sweet-spot” month for Central Florida (Zone 9b/10a) gardeners. The intense, burning UV index of summer finally drops to a mild, comfortable level, allowing delicate seedlings to thrive out in the open sun.
- The Gardening Vibe: The Great Field Transplant. This is the month where the parallel nursery operations of September pay off. The flats of broccoli, cabbage, and kale seedlings raised in the shade are finally hardened off and moved into their permanent garden beds.
- The Strategy: Launch the primary winter kitchen garden. Plant main-season tomatoes and peppers early in the month so they can set fruit during the mild November days. Concurrently, direct-seed massive sweeps of root crops (carrots, radishes, beets) and leafy salad greens, which thrive in the rapidly cooling October soils.
South Florida Planting Guide
What To Grow
Start by Seed (Direct Sowing or Trays)
- Nightshades & Cucurbits: Standard tomatoes, Bell peppers, Hot peppers, Eggplants, Everglades tomatoes, Seminole pumpkin, Calabaza, Luffa, Bitter melon, Snake gourd, Long squash, Cucumbers, Zucchini, Yellow squash.
- Legumes & Pods: Jicama, Okra, Yardlong beans, Southern peas (cowpeas), Winged bean, Bush beans, Pole beans, Lima beans.
- Brassicas & Cool Greens: Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, Kohlrabi, Kale, Collards, Mustard greens, Lettuce, Endive, Arugula, Swiss chard (Seeds sprout quickly now without frying in summer heat).
- Root Crops: Radishes, Carrots, Beets, Turnips, Bunching onions, Bulb onions (Direct-seed all month).
- Grains & Warm Greens: Amaranth, Celosia (Lagos spinach), Molokhia, Malabar spinach, New Zealand spinach.
Install as Transplants or Cuttings
- Nightshades: Standard tomatoes, Bell peppers, Hot peppers, Eggplants, Everglades tomatoes.
- Herbs & Perennials: Common oregano, African blue basil, Cuban oregano, Mexican tarragon, Papalo, Quilquina, Cranberry hibiscus, Ruby hibiscus, Roselle, Strawberries. Blue Butterfly Pea.
- Root & Tuber Crops: Sweet potatoes, Boniato (Slips); Achira, Arrowroot, Malanga, Taro, Yams, Gingers (shampoo, culinary ginger, galangal, spiral, turmeric).
- Perennial Tropical Greens: Aibika, Chaya, Katuk, Moringa, Longevity spinach, Okinawa spinach, Sissoo spinach.
October In South Florida —Entering The Tropical Spring
While the northern half of the state cools down, South Florida (Zone 10b/11) is experiencing its equivalent of a beautiful, northern spring. The daily flooding rains taper off, leaving behind warm, rich, moist soils.
- The Gardening Vibe: Full-Throttle Production. South Florida gardeners are entering their absolute peak planting window. With the threat of daily downpours gone, it is safe to plant delicate crops without fear of them drowning.
- The Strategy: Plant everything. Mass-install main-season nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, eggplants) and large, heavy-vining cucurbits (Seminole pumpkin, calabaza, luffa). This is also the unique window where South Florida can plant tropical perennial greens right alongside early flats of winter brassicas, running both systems at maximum capacity.
Heads Up! Highlighted Posts, News, and More!
How To Make Liquid Pectin From Roselle Seed Pods!
I was so excited to finally have the opportunity to make this liquid pectin this season! After plenty of reading, research, and chatting with others, this is what we got - and it came out amazing! See the recipe below, and look at the links in this post to see how to make Roselle Jam with this Seed Pod Liquid Pectin! Don't forget - stay tuned, there will be many more recipes to come!
So When DO I Harvest My Roselle?
(Sept. 2026) It's Roselle season here at J.O.T.! While some have already been pulling in their first harvests, and others are continuing to wait for their first buds, we are gearing up to start pulling in daily Roselle calyxes. One of the biggest questions I get is about just that; when it is the best time to actually harvest the Roselle calyxes, and how.
Florida Cold Weather Action Plan
The DO'S and DON'TS of cold weather prep for Florida! Learn the proper way to protect your food Forest and annual crops PRE cold weather event and how to handle the aftermath.
Recent Posts
Post Categories – See What There Is To Learn!
J.O.T. Nursery Shop!
**COMING SOON** Click here or on the pictures above to take a peek at what we’re currently offering in our little nursery shop, and get started on your Food Forest adventure! We hope you enjoy checking out all the amazing plants, cuttings, and gifts that we have for you to add to your home, no matter how big or small your growing space!
Book A Tour, Visit, Or Pick-Up
Click on the pictures above for a variety of methods to schedule a visit to the plant nursery and browse our stock, a personal tour of the food forest and gardens, or to pick up an order, as well as to read about why you should schedule a tour and what to expect.
Hey!
I’m here to tell you something important.
Something that I feel like every aspiring gardener, homesteader, or small home farmer needs to hear. For everyone that is feeling overwhelmed, lost, scared, or even defeated; for every person that’s excited to begin but doesn’t know where to start; for those who have begun but feel like they’re floundering; for old and young, for 9-5’ers or stay at home parents; for over-thinkers or Lets-Wing-Its; for those of you who are convinced you have a “black thumb,” not enough space, bad soil, or that there’s no way you can possibly make the time to achieve your goals. I want you know this, and hear it loud and clear:
YOU CAN DO IT. I promise you.
All you have to do is get started with just one single thing. Honest. It’s that simple! And it would be my honor to help you on that path.
This is why “Just One Thing Nursery and Gardens” came about. Because I’ve been there, where you are, or have been. I’ve hit all the struggles, all the highs and lows. I’ve been so overwhelmed with life that I felt like I could never and would never achieve my goal of self-sustainability for my family. I even almost gave it all up. Yet in these moments, I found myself saying something over and over that got me off my rear-end and back into my muck boots:
“Just one thing. Just go do ONE thing.”
And so I would. Then a week would pass, and seven things had been done. Then fourteen things. Then thirty. And four years later, I have a producing (and still growing!) food forest, complete with livestock, an absolutely thriving micro ecosystem where once there was bare land, all of which feeds us not just with food and medicines, but feeds our hearts and souls as well. All on just an acre of land. In the meantime, I’ve helped others establish mini food forests in even smaller spaces.
And now I want to share all of this with you!
So go ahead and take a look around the website. The “About Us” section will tell you a little more about our story. Take a peak at the “Getting Started” page if you need a landing point or quick guide. Our JOT Journal will have an ever-growing collection of information and growing experiments. Look at our Monthly Planner for a quick guide on what to get started with or plant in your Florida gardens right now. Take a look at the “JOT Library – Learn About Your Plants” section to understand better the amazing plants you can grow here and why you should grow them. Visit the Just One Thing Nursery and Gardens Facebook for daily updates from myself and other JOT-ers, as well as experiments and other learning opportunities. Check out My Recommendations for books, tools, and YouTubers that have helped me on my growing journey and that I think can help you, as well as other recommended nurseries that I’ve had personal experience with.
Or, if you’re ready to jump right into, hop right over to our Nursery Plants, and start on your JOT Journey! And if you’re feeling really adventurous, come visit the Nursery for yourself! Contact Me ahead of time with any questions, or if you’d like a personal tour of our JOT Food Forest and Gardens.
But most importantly – enjoy yourself, and don’t give up. You’ve got this. And we’re here to help!