Temperature Tango: Tips for Plant Care in Changing Weather

It is now mid-November, and in North Florida, our temperatures had been on the high side for this time of year.

Weather Fluctuations and Their Impact on Plants

After Hurricane Helene and Milton, the cool weather started coming in, with highs in the 70’s, occasionally 60's, and the lows were in the 50's, with brief drops in the 40's. These temperatures always prompt me to start sowing cold weather crops, which I've been talking about quite a bit in the last month or so.

In the last couple of weeks, the temperatures became much warmer again. I consistently had highs in the 80s.

What that means for me is that instead of many of my summer plants dropping leaves or running sap to the roots to prepare for winter, leaves have been budding again. Asparagus is popping up, the figs and crepe myrtles that had lost their leaves with the cooler weather have new leaves coming out again.

Budding During Warm Spells

Unfortunately, you cannot do anything about the plants that are budding. They will lose them when it cools down again. 😕 Harvest whatever you can before that happens.

Always the optimist, I was happy I would have a little more time to harvest my basil! But I knew those low temps will be coming back again. This kind of weather isn't the best for my asparagus. It doesn't make the roots strong with the confusing warm and cold swing of the temperatures. I have been cutting the occasional sprouts, knowing it would not do the roots any good to grow out when they will need to be cut in the next month for their winter hibernation.

Protecting Plants from Sudden Cold Spells

Warning: I just checked the weather forecast and it appears the storm coming through the Gulf of Mexico is bringing a sudden dip possibly into the 30s for zone 8. Some of your plants will be ok in the 40s (except for basil), but if you are looking at these lower temps coming through, consider some protection.

I will either harvest my basil or bring the basil that I have in pots indoors. Even though my young transplants are cold weather tolerant, I do not want to take a chance that at their young stage they might be damaged so close to transplanting. I will also bring them inside (in my case, into my treehouse) where it is temperature controlled and it will not go below 55 degrees. The area should have natural light (my treehouse has large skylights). If you have a greenhouse, even better, bring them there.

Hopefully, they will not need to be there for more than 2 or 3 days. Just check the forecast every day and when it gets up into the 40s again, you can bring them back outside.

Planning for Winter Planting

As I sum up this letter, the lower temps actually make me happy because I have winter transplants ready to be planted in some way. When I say “in some way,” it means I’m planning a small floating system, maybe two, with lettuce, watercress, arugula, and maybe a few other greens.

Some other herbs and crops will be planted in my block garden and around the yard. I will be sowing lettuce and cilantro again for consecutive planting. That way, when my lettuce and cilantro are ready to harvest, which usually happens in another 4 weeks, I will have more of them to plant.

Stay Tuned for My Floating System Setup

I plan on making a video on setting up and planting my floating system. Stay tuned so you can see how simple it can be! 😊