May is planting time for summer vegetable crops. These are primarily tropical crops and cover crops that can withstand the high heat and humidity, and heavy rainfall of our Florida summers.

For tropical crops that need a long frost-free growing season, it may be helpful to check your first average frost date to determine if your frost-free growing window will be long enough. You can find your first average frost date here on this interactive map: [ Ссылка ]

The insect populations are steadily increasing as the weather keeps getting hotter. As I said in the April video, it's a good idea to start monitoring your plants for insect damage and hand pick damaging pests whenever possible. For major pest infestations the following can be used:
Organic Pest Control Methods I use:
1) Spray Insecticidal Soap directly on the the bugs (I do this late in the day and rinse off the next morning so the sun doesn't burn the plants). Do repeated treatments every few weeks until they are gone. For a homemade soapy water spray, I mix up some castile soap with water and neem oil (I do 1 tsp of Dr. Bronner Soap + 1 tsp Neem Oil to a quart of water in a spray bottle, per the instructions on the neem oil bottle, but there are many recipes online for homemade insecticidal soap that would probably work just as well). Alternately, you could buy a pre-mixed Insecticidal Soap. These are the brands I have used, but I'm sure there are plenty of other good ones:
Pre-mixed Insecticidal Soap: [ Ссылка ]
Dr. Bronner's Soap: [ Ссылка ]
Neem Oil: [ Ссылка ]
2) For Caterpillars I use "Bt" (Bacillus Thuringiensis) and/or Spinosad. I only use them for severe infestations that can't be controlled by routine hand picking. I spray it in the evening when bees are not active and only spray it on the affected plants. These are the ones I have used, but there are other brands that would also work (Note that these are concentrates, meant to be mixed with water following the instructions on the label):
Spinosad: [ Ссылка ]
Bt: [ Ссылка ]

Here are links for many of the products I use in my vegetable garden. Note that a lot of these items, like the fertilizers and the trays/saucers, have gotten much more expensive lately (like everything else). I shop around to find the best prices on the items and if I can't find something at a reasonable price then I will just do without or find a substitute):
7 Gallon Grow Bags: [ Ссылка ]
5 Gallon Grow Bags: [ Ссылка ]
10 Gallon Grow Bags: [ Ссылка ]

14 Inch Diameter Grow Bag Trays/Saucers: [ Ссылка ]
16 Inch Diameter Grow Bag Trays/Saucers: [ Ссылка ]

Sustane Organic Fertilizer (4-6-4) 20 lb Bag: [ Ссылка ]
or
Jobe’s Organic Fertilizer (4-4-4): [ Ссылка ]
or
Espoma Organic Fertilizer (3-4-4): [ Ссылка ]

For Berries: Espoma Berry-tone Organic Fertilizer (4-3-4): [ Ссылка ]

In addition to the above fertilizers I occasionally use these seaweed and fish fertilizers to give my plants a boost of nutrients. I also use some of the seaweed fertilizer (half-strength) on my seedlings right after I transplant them (Note: I don’t use fertilizers with fish in them for seedlings as I explained in the video):
Maxicrop Seaweed Fertilizer (Powder): [ Ссылка ]
Maxicrop Seaweed Fertilizer (Liquid): [ Ссылка ]
Neptune's Harvest Tomato & Veg Fertilizer 2-4-2 (Note: this formula is best for first few weeks of plant growth, as it encourages lots of green leafy growth. For fruiting/flowering plants, I switch to the Rose & Flowering formula after the first few weeks. Also, this contains fish and the smell attracts animals, which will dig up the plants trying to find the source of the fish smell, so I use it early in day and water it in just before dark to minimize the smell). [ Ссылка ]
Neptune's Harvest Rose & Flowering Formula 2-6-4 (Note: this formula is best for later stages of plant growth to encourage more flowers and fruit to grow. This formula also contains fish so everything I said above about attracting animals applies to this formula too). [ Ссылка ]

The Following Organic Soil Amendments Add Trace Minerals To The Soil.
Green Sand (Organic Soil Amendment Adds Trace Minerals): [ Ссылка ]
Kelp Meal (Organic Soil Amendment Adds Trace Minerals): [ Ссылка ]

Dolomite Lime: [ Ссылка ]

Row Cover (This is a multipurpose plant covering that can protect plants from insects, provide some cold protection in winter, and can also provide a small amount of shade): [ Ссылка ]

Drip Irrigation: [ Ссылка ]

Self-Watering Grow Boxes:
Patio Pickers: [ Ссылка ]
or
Earthbox: [ Ссылка ]

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