The Gulf Coast is its own mood circle stretching from southeastern Texas through the southern contribution of Louisiana , Mississippi , Alabama and Georgia and into northern Florida . Here , so closemouthed to the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico , it ’s not just about the heat , it ’s about the humidity . gardener can grow veg in these parts almost year - orotund .
The Climate
According to the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone , most of the greater Gulf Coast area inhabits zones 8 and 9 , which experience Sir David Low of 10 grade F or higher in any give twelvemonth . Sunset Magazine place the region in its Gardening Zone of 28 , and describes winters here as " about frostless but subject to periodic invasions by wintry Arctic air . " Gulf Coast indweller revel one of the longest grow seasons in the whole United States , of nine months or more out of the yr .
Spring Planting
say the back of germ package can be a scrap tricky since they unremarkably do with germination instructions that register something like , " get seed indoors six week before hoarfrost . " Hmm , Robert Lee Frost ? What ’s that ? Never mind ; in the Gulf Coast realm , gardener can take off most of their summer garden by other February and transplant the seedlings outside by mid - March . For about a week before the courtly transferee to the great open air , let your seedlings acclimatize a bite to the cooler - than - indoor nighttime temperatures by drop gradually increase time out of doors . If plant are planted outside all at once , the temperature shock can slow their growth . This more gradual appendage is shout out " hardening off . "
Water Concerns
Gardens in much of the residual of the country get drier and drier as spring immix into summer , but this is not the case along the Gulf of Mexico . Intellicast.com lean average precipitation month to month for most locale in the United States . New Orleans enjoys at least 5 inch of rain most months . Westerly Houston has only slightly less , and to the east , in Mobile , Alabama , the aborigine must have webbed animal foot with the 6 or so inches a month that they see . The precipitation point off a little in Tallahassee , Florida , but every month still brings 3 to 8 inches . Check that roots still have wet if it has n’t rain in a while , but rarely will you need to irrigate the garden . Do make certain your soil drain well ; roots could drown if there is n’t equal water cause through the land .
Fall Planting
As the summertime harvest slows , Gulf Coast gardener can storm up for a fall planting of nerveless season plant like pea , lettuce and most tooth root vegetables . If there is n’t yet enough space in outdoor bed , start the seed indoors and let them develop in pots for a few hebdomad . Temperatures in the later summer - early fall are usually warm enough to transfer seedling without hardening off first . Since frosts are rare and light , most cool - season plant will overwinter and boom in this orbit , all the elbow room until it ’s prison term to engraft again in the leaping .
What Doesn’t Work
As envious as most U.S. gardeners are of Gulf Coast tiller , a few coolheaded - time of year and drought - have it away plants might not do well here . Vegetables that involve six months of cool days to fully ripen will likely bolt before you’re able to collect a good crop . dough and Apium graveolens dulce are two such examples . Many herbs , like thyme , salvia and rosemary , may need to be grown in pots protected from excess rain .
References
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