Grow with the Season

October 2026 · Miami and South Florida

SOUTH FLORIDA · OCTOBER 2026

Make room for the growing season

October brings a fresh planting opportunity to Miami gardens. Start with a manageable patch or a few containers, choose vegetables your household enjoys, and leave room to watch how they grow.

What to plant now

Sow carrots, radishes, and bush beans directly from seed. For a head start, plant healthy lettuce, broccoli, or tomato transplants. Cilantro, dill, and parsley are also October options.

Choose one or two crops today. Check the seed packet or plant label for spacing and variety-specific instructions, then record what you planted and the date in My garden.

Read our October garden guide

Seeds or young plants?

A seed lets you follow the whole story, from the first root to the first leaf. A transplant gives you a plant that has already begun that journey. UF/IFAS lists carrots, radishes, and beans among October seed choices for South Florida, and lettuce, broccoli, and tomatoes among crops suited to transplanting.

A small task for today

Sketch your growing space and select a crop. Note where sunlight reaches it, how water drains after rain, and whether nearby plants will shade it as they grow. Use these observations alongside the crop's growing requirements to choose its place.

Keep a useful garden record

Write down the variety, planting date, and whether you used seed or a transplant. Add observations as the plant develops. Your notes will help you compare what worked in your own garden when the next season arrives.

Follow the season, observe the garden

This is regional seasonal guidance for Miami and South Florida, not a daily weather forecast. Planting windows are a starting point; the needs of the crop and the conditions in your growing space still matter.

We also explore moon gardening as a cultural tradition. Keep lunar observations in your journal while using seasonal planting guidance and plant conditions to make growing decisions.

Written for Amigos de la Huerta. Planting recommendations checked October 16, 2026 against the UF/IFAS guides below.

Sources for this month

Choose a planting date and explore crops →

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