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City of Cape Canaveral Urban Gardening Tips and

Recommendations

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State Legislation Changes

On July 1, 2019, Florida’s new bill CS/SB 82: Vegetable Gardens, went into effect. The bill prohibits “a county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state from regulating vegetable gardens on residential properties… and any local ordinance or regulation regarding vegetable gardens on residential properties is void and unenforceable. However, the bill does not preclude the adoption of a local ordinance or regulations of a general nature that do not specifically regulate vegetable gardens, including, but not limited to, regulations and ordinances relating to water use during drought conditions, fertilizer use, or control of invasive species.” The bill also defines the term “vegetable garden” as a plot of ground where herbs, fruits, flowers or vegetables are cultivated for human consumption.

The City of Cape Canaveral supports this bill, as it allows residents to become more engaged in the practice of urban agriculture, improves Community resiliency and falls in line with the City’s sustainability efforts. To optimize best practices and ensure safety while keeping sustainability a priority, the City has produced this set of suggested guidelines and recommendations to assist residents in their gardening efforts.

Urban agriculture is a quickly growing practice that is being welcomed and encouraged in numerous cities across the United States, everywhere from front yards to rooftops. Residents of Cape Canaveral are not strangers to urban gardening. In 2016 the City established its first community garden at the corner of Columbia Drive and State Road (SR) A1A,

occupying a narrow stretch of land on the northern end of Patriots Park. It contains 12 vegetable growing beds, has a composting area, herb garden, a 500-gallon freshwater tank, six 50-gallon rain barrels for irrigation and even a Little Free Library and Pantry. Several of the beds at the garden’s southern end were made from debris found in the City produced by Hurricane Irma and have come to be called the “Irma Beds”.

In 2018, six of the garden’s original beds were rebuilt using designs developed by a group of students at the Florida Institute of Technology for their own — and first — campus garden; called the Ethos Community Garden. With this cross collaboration, Cape Canaveral’s garden changed its name to Kairos, following the Greek naming lineage of other local community gardens, which started with Ethos. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, Kairos is defined as a time when conditions are right for the accomplishment of a crucial action: the

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opportune and decisive moment. This informal network is called the Community Garden Network of Brevard (CGNB). Kairos and Ethos are joined by two other local sister gardens, with Logos being at Satellite Beach’s Desoto Park and Pathos being at Cocoa Beach’s Ramp Road Park.

For more information about the City’s own community garden please visit: www.cityofcapecanaveral.org/community/community_garden

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Vegetable Gardening in Florida

Much of the following information is from the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences or UF/IFAS, a renowned open source knowledge platform for agriculture, human and natural resources and life sciences. With multiple offices located throughout the state of Florida — including Brevard County — UF/IFAS is a fantastic resource for anyone wanting to improve their green thumb. Additional information and recommendations from City Staff pertinent to vegetable gardening in the City of Cape Canaveral are also included.

In Florida, vegetables have the ability to be grown year round if proper attention is paid to appropriate planting dates. Such dates are provided in Table 1 starting on page 10.

Site Preparation:

Residents can have a vegetable garden anywhere within their property limits, but for added safety of both gardeners, pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers it is recommended that gardens be placed close to your dwelling; at least three feet away from sidewalks or roadways to avoid encroachments in rights-of-way, overgrowth and line of site issues.

When removing sod to make way for a vegetable garden please be mindful of Chapter 92 of the City’s Land Development Code and do not blow grass clippings into the street or down storm drains. These can add unwanted nutrients to the Banana River and Indian River Lagoons, which can fuel harmful algae blooms. They can also serve to clog storm drains, leading to street

flooding in times of heavy rain. Such grass clippings can be reused as helpful compost or natural fertilizer in a vegetable garden. Grass clippings should be added to your soil at least a month before planting.

Should you decide to want to garden with a raised bed, feel free to use the design recently implemented by the City at the Kairos Community Garden. The design and associated materials are provided here are for a 4 feet x 8 feet bed that is 2 feet

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tall, but this can be modified to fit your own space requirements including: 2 ft x 8 ft, 2 ft by 6 ft, 4 ft x 4 ft and 1 ft by 4 ft.

Water Use, Irrigation and Drainage:

The site of one’s vegetable garden should be well-drained and receive at least six hours of direct sunlight daily. Vegetables do not tolerate standing water very well. However, vegetables prefer moist soil. Younger plants need frequent but light irrigation while maturing plants need more water but less often. Sandy soil, much like that of the City’s, requires more frequent irrigation. With this in mind, be mindful of Chapter 91 (Landscape Irrigation) of the City Land Development Code, for landscape irrigation requirements and schedules to ensure water conservation.

Managed irrigation can come in the form of drip irrigation linked to rain barrels (especially useful for raised bed gardening), making a slight depression around the base of the plant to retain water, using mulch to hold more water or from tying in to the City’s reclaim irrigation system. Any resident can hook up to the City’s reclaim irrigation system for a fee between $475 and $500 after an application is submitted to Community Services Staff. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection mandates that reclaim water can only be used to irrigate vegetables underneath soil (such as through buried drip lines) and cannot be used anywhere above the ground on leaves and stems for health reasons. Underground, the reclaim water is naturally cleaned and filtered through the soil and the plant’s root system.

Soil Preparation:

In order to improve the health and wellbeing of the soil you intend to garden in, it is recommended that you turn and spade the soil at least three weeks before planting. Adding organic matter can also be beneficial. The best pH range for a vegetable garden in sandy soil is between pH 5.8 and 6.3. Simple kits from home improvement stores such Ace Hardware can be used to determine soil pH. For additional soil pH information please go here:

https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ss480

Adding organic matter to your soil could be beneficial, as most Florida soils are low in organic matter. Material such as compost, rotting leaves or cover crops can be used to increase your soil’s organic matter. Composted organics can be applied to your vegetable garden at any time but un-composted organics should be applied several months in advance of planting.

Cover crops, or crops grown for the protection and enrichment of soil, can be planted in off- seasons in order to help suppress erosion, nematodes or weeds. UF/IFAS recommends the following cover crops for Florida gardens:

● Summer: cowpea, velvet bean, soybean, and sunflower ● Winter: cereal rye (FL 401), crimson clover, and Austrian winter pea

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When such crops are turned into your soil their decaying organic matter supplies nutrients to your vegetable plants, acting as a natural fertilizer.

Composting:

Composting can greatly enhance the health of your vegetable garden and maintaining best practices of a composting pile or bin can yield a manure-like, organic fertilizer/soil conditioner. The following series of steps to achieve excellent compost come directly from UF/IFAS scientists:

1. Buy a compost unit or build one from recycled wood pallets, concrete block, sturdy wire,

etc. The minimum size should be 3’x3’x3’. 2. Make successive, 12-inch-thick layers of plant waste — such as leaves, lawn clippings,

shredded branches, and wood chips. Kitchen scraps may also be used. 3. Animal (not pet) manure, finished compost, blood meal, or fertilizer can be added to

each layer if desired. 4. Moisten each layer and keep the pile moist. 5. Turn the pile frequently to add oxygen and help the decomposition process. 6. Depending on how intensively it is managed, compost should be ready for use in two to

twelve months, when plant parts are decomposed. 7. Cover the pile to keep rain from leaching nutrients from it.

Extending the Gardening Season:

You can extend your vegetable gardening season to reduce the impacts of either hot or cold temperatures, which can stress and damage crops. Simple methods such as using shade cloth, tarps or row covers can be implemented to help manage crops for longer growing periods. To learn more please visit the following links:

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1228

https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/cv106

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Fertilizing:

It is important to remember the issues surrounding the act of fertilizing your garden, especially here in Brevard County and the City of Cape Canaveral, which borders one of the state’s most sensitive ecosystems, the Banana River and Indian River Lagoons. Applications of fertilizers do not need to be made frequently (if at all with proper organic matter coverage), perhaps two to three times through the course of a growing season, usually in the months of April and October.

You must also be in compliance with the City’s fertilizer ordinance (No. 17-2013, & 2, 1-21-14), which states that no fertilizers containing nitrogen or phosphorus may be applied between June 1 and September 30 during the rainy season to avoid washing into the Indian River Lagoon. Outside of this restriction period, you can only apply fertilizers containing no phosphorous and at least 50% slow release nitrogen. Fertilizer cannot also be applied within ten feet of any surface waters, ponds, streams, watercourse, lakes, canals, or wetlands as defined by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection or within ten feet from the top of a seawall.

Private, non-commercial applicators are encouraged to follow the recommendations of the UF/IFAS Florida Yards and Neighborhoods program when applying fertilizers.

A list of products that comply with this fertilizer ordinance outside the restriction period can be found here. Three numbers (#-#-#) can always be found on the back of a fertilizer bag, with each one denoting the percentage of nitrogen, phosphorus and potash or N-P-K respectively. To identify which fertilizers on in compliance please follow the steps here.

Pest Management:

Pest that may afflict your vegetable garden can include different types of insects, weeds, mites, diseases, nematodes and animals. We encourage you to use a no-pesticide/herbicide approach in your pest control as synthetic pesticides and herbicides can contain dangerous compounds such as glyphosate. Please also be mindful of requirements in the 2018 International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC) Ordinance (05-2019) adopted by City Council in February when it comes to exterior property maintenance and pests. For a natural approach consider the following from UF/IFAS:

● The following recommended planting date(s) listed for each vegetable in Table 1.

However, be aware that vegetables planted in late summer or early fall (August or September) will be susceptible to insects and diseases that thrive in hot weather. Likewise, cold-tender vegetables planted in late winter or early spring may be damaged by frost or freezes if not protected with covers.

● Rotate vegetables so that the same vegetable (or members of the same vegetable family) are not planted repeatedly in the same areas. The plant family for each vegetable is listed in Table 1.

● Till or hand-turn the soil well in advance of planting to discourage soil insects— especially when the garden is a converted lawn area. The garden soil should be turned

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and free of weeds, grass, and woody material at least 30 days before planting. ● Monitor or scout the garden twice weekly for pest problems. This includes inspecting the

plants from the bud to the soil, including both upper and lower leaf surfaces. Record notes on pest problems and the performance of different varieties. Include photographs of insects, diseases, and beneficial insects that you find.

● Identify beneficial insects (praying mantis, spiders, big-eyed bugs, assassin bugs, lady beetles (also called ladybugs or ladybird beetles), and all wasps). Some of these insects can be purchased, but keep in mind that many beneficial insects exist naturally in Florida, and purchased beneficials will leave if there are no insects for them to eat.

● Plant flowers in the vegetable garden. They provide nectar and pollen that attract beneficial insects.

● Remove large insects by hand and destroy. Place them in a container of soapy water, where they will sink and drown.

● Watch for early disease symptoms. Remove any diseased leaves or plants to slow spread.

● Do not panic and start spraying at the first sign of insect damage. Most plants that produce fruits, pods, or ears can stand a 10%–20% loss of leaves without loss of potential yields.

● Harvest ripe crops promptly. Allowing over-ripe fruits to remain on the plants often invites additional insect problems.

● Remove unproductive plants and compost or dispose of them. ● Control weeds in and around the garden because they can be a source of insects and

diseases. Weed control is best accomplished by mulching and hand-pulling or hoeing small weeds. Recommended mulches are straw, fallen leaves, and unfinished compost. Wood mulches and un-decomposed sawdust should not be used. Weeds around the outside of the garden and between rows can be reduced by putting down several layers of newspaper and then covering them with leaves.

● Choose adapted varieties with resistance or tolerance to nematodes and common diseases. Purchase healthy transplants that are free of insects and disease symptoms (such as leaf spots or blights). Avoid transplants that are already flowering. Consider growing your own transplants from seed.

● Protect plants from cutworms by placing a collar around the plant. The collar can be made from a bottomless plastic cup or a waxed cardboard carton. The collar should extend a few inches above and at least an inch below the surface of the ground.

● Keep plants growing vigorously and in a state of good health by supplying appropriate amounts of water and fertilizer. A healthy plant is often able to survive insect attacks. Too much nitrogen, however, can make plants more inviting to aphids and whiteflies.

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With these helpful tips and recommendations, we wish you the best of luck with your vegetable gardening. For further resources please see Table 1 and Table 2 on the following pages, which include a Florida vegetable garden planting guide and suggested varieties for Florida gardens

respectively. We would like to thank UF/IFAS for their continued efforts of education and awareness in regards to gardening and the general wellbeing of the environment, as well as for

making their research and expertise available to the public for use. Happy gardening!

If you have any questions please contact the City’s Sustainability Manager, Zachary Eichholz, either by email at z.eichholz@cityofcapecanaveral.org, or by phone (321) 868-1240 Ext. 406.

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