Starting Your Own Florida Backyard Garden? Check Out These 7 Great Places to Buy Seeds Online
The Sunshine State earned its moniker for a reason – which translates well for gardening practices across the state. With a subtropical climate and warm, rainy seasons, Florida is a wonderful location for cultivating a year-round garden. If you want to develop your own green thumb – and harvest delicious vegetables right to your dinner table – we have a great list of companies that cater seeds perfect for the Florida gardener.
(Unless otherwise stated, each of these great places to buy seeds online offer non-GMO heirloom seeds!)
Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
Starting our list is a tried-and-true favorite for many Florida gardeners since the 1980s. Their seeds are heirloom and open-pollinated, certified organic, and come from a network of small farms. Southern Exposure offers a selection that is well-suited for the southeast that includes not only vegetables but also a wide selection of flowers and herbs. They even offer mushroom spawn!
They also have some great southern growing guides on their website, too! These include guides on seasonal planting, seed-saving guides, and lots of information about best planting practices for healthy vegetables.
Renee’s Garden and Botanical Interest
Renee Shephard supplies Renee’s Garden with her personal selection of seeds perfect for backyard vegetable gardeners. The seed packets come with delightful watercolor illustrations on the side and growing instructions, planting charts, growing tips, and even recipes inside.
Seeds are sourced from partner growers across the globe, including Mexico, France, England, Japan, and China. Each of the seed varieties is tested in trial gardens to determine whether they are viable in most US climate zones.
Florida Seed & Garden
As its name suggests, Florida Seed & Garden is a local business that offers a wide variety of seeds for reasonable prices. They focus on Florida gardens, so you’re already looking at a selection of seeds that are great for your area!
Each purchase comes with Florida-specific growing instructions and information about making the most of your climate. They even have an informative blog with more tips and tricks for tackling some of the issues you may face!
Baker Creek Heirlooms
One of the best online sources of heirloom seeds in the market, Baker Creek focuses on sustainability in food supply and maintaining heirloom varieties for future generations. Baker Creek offers over 1,000 varieties of 19th-century heirlooms, including many from Europe and Asia.
Their pricing tends to be comparatively more expensive. However, much of their profit goes to charitable organizations, including nonprofits that provide food, education about sustainable practices, and emergency aid to communities. Baker Creek also donates seeds to many groups, so you can feel good about buying from them!
Florida Backyard Vegetable Gardener
Initially, a casual gardener turned organic heirloom supplier, Florida Backyard Vegetable Gardener is a small retailer located in Central Florida. They only sell heirloom and open-pollinated varieties of seeds that will thrive in the southern heat. The website also has a ton of resources for vegetable gardens, insect prevention, and even popular recipes for your harvest.
Johnny’s Selected Seeds
While they mainly cater to farm living, Johnny’s Selected Seeds has a good selection of vegetable (and fruit) seeds suitable for backyard vegetable gardeners as well.
Located in Maine, they have seeds from all over, so you’ll need to filter through to find good fits for your growing zone. They also sell gardening tools, mulch, composting supplies, and so much more! The best part of their website by far is their Grower’s Library, a stellar online resource for beginner gardeners and old pros alike. You’ll find all kinds of great information there. They even have selected webinars available (for free!) for you to watch at home.
Seeds for the South
An excellent resource for those living in Zone 8 or Zone 9, Seeds for the South is another southern-focused seed distributor that offers both heirloom and hybridized varieties. They are a small family business with a solid variety of basic vegetables. They have great prices, and each listing in their online catalog offers planting and harvesting advice for that variety.
Florida Gardening Basics
If you want to start your own backyard vegetable garden – or want to learn how to take your victory garden to the next level – here are a few tips to get you going.
1. Know Your Growing Seasons
Before you can start planting any of those beautiful tomatoes or lush greens in your garden, you need to know when to start tilling. While you can plant in Florida year-round, the season matters for what varieties will grow best. Florida has three growing seasons each year: Spring, Summer, and Winter. These seasons vary per year, as they are dependent on weather trends.
Spring (January-May)
The Spring season begins after the first thaw of the year. This is the best time of year to plant cool weather varieties like sweet corn, cucumber, and tomatoes. As it’s also the driest season, you’ll want to make sure to water your crops more frequently than in other seasons.
Summer (May – September)
Florida summers are humid and hot. (Boy, do we know it!) If you choose to tend your garden this time of the year, focus on heat-tolerant vegetables. Okra, sweet potatoes, and some tropical vegetables like cassava do well despite the heat.
When choosing vegetables for summer, you’ll have a much easier time growing disease-resistant or fungus-resistant species. During the summers, Florida’s high humidity also means there’s a higher chance of mildew and mold.
Winter (September – March)
Unsurprisingly, you can grow vegetables during winter in many parts of Florida. This is the time of year you can work with some cool-season vegetables like broccoli, carrots, lettuce, and radishes. It’s also an excellent time to check your soil for proper pH levels and nutrients.
2. Know Your Zone
Much of what you can grow depends on the growing zone you live in, and knowing that piece of information is probably one of the most important things to have when you’re starting a garden.
Growing zones – also called planting zones – can tell you what plants are the hardiest (and thus have the best chance of thriving) in your area. North America is divided up into 11 main zones, each with a subzone. These zones represent an average 10-degree difference in temperature from one another (which can be the difference between a successful harvest and dead sprouts). Florida has seven zones, 8a through 11a. For reference, Central Florida is located in 9b. These are subtropical zones, but each has certain limitations for what will grow there.
You can look up more details – including which zone you live in – using the USDA’s Plant Hardiness Zone Map.
If you want to know what grows best in your area, The University of Florida IFAS Gardening Solutions provides a wonderful source for Florida vegetable gardens.
3. Choosing When and Where to Plant
Once you understand the zone you live in and the season you wish to start planting, the fun part begins! You get to choose what you’d like to grow, depending on seasonality. Remember – not all vegetables are created equal when it comes to heat, humidity, and even rainy weather. Choosing the best selection for your zone, soil, and the season you’re starting in are all keys to success.
You may also want to consider what companion plant combinations will work best for your garden. “Companion plants” are when two plants benefit from being planted near one another for a variety of reasons. These benefits range from deterring pests and improving soil quality to providing natural support to other plants. Basically, it means they’re BFFs!
For a list of best companion plant vegetable combinations, we recommend this guide from The Farmer’s Almanac.
4. Have fun!
Last but certainly not least – enjoy yourself! Backyard gardening can be a relaxing and fulfilling hobby with the benefit of providing delicious vegetables for your kitchen table.
How are your Florida gardens doing? Tell us about your sprouts in the comments below, and let us know if you’d like us to dig up some more gardening tips!
Seed you later!
Cover Image
Photo: Unsplash
Recommended Gear for this Adventure
Disclaimer: We earn a commission if you click any of the links above and make a purchase at no additional cost to you.
