Question
Hi Nick,
I live outside of Ft Myers & want to plant veggies in containers. I was an avid gardener in MA, but I am lost as far as what the growing season is here and for what crops. Please enlighten me on starting my garden.
Thanks so much,
Debby

Answer
Hi Debbie, I will do what I can from this end, but I really encourage new gardeners to Florida to contact their local "Cooperative Extension Service" agent and Master Gardeners (County office paid by your taxes) and Fort Meyers has a very nice setup,  to get a plethora of information on the intricacies of gardening here. Ok, the Veggie season in Mass. (I am also from there), runs from late April through early October, here in Florida, it runs from early September through about mid April. The reason for this is from mid April on, the humid nights preclude the successful growing of most veggies, Fungal problems and diseases set in and are near impossible to control. I usually start my veggies in starter containers around the end of August, so by October, I am already picking and enjoying some of the earlier varieties of Tomatoes, snap beans, Peppers etc. The nice thing about using containers is that you can move them about (in and out of the hot afternoon sun, under cover should a severe wind storm or rain storm threaten, out of harms way when we get that occasional frost or freeze, etc.) We enjoy veggies for up to 7 months here because of the climate, but we still need to take precautions , and putting them in containers is the best way to do this. Virtually any vegetable can be grown in this manner, (albeit some of the root crops may provide a challenge..) just be careful that you don't over burden your ambition, and bite off more then you can chew, and plant accordingly where your containers will be placed so that they blend with your landscape. That is a brief summary Debbie, I would even suggest you entertain the idea of becoming a Master Gardner yourself. I did it, and never looked back, a wonderful opportunity to excel in Horticulture. Nick