In our last installment of Pete’s Place, we discussed making repeat plantings of commonly used veggies during the Winter. You’ll probably want to be winding down such seeding now, as upcoming Spring temperatures will favor other crops.

Organic grower Peter Burkard, in this latest installment of his seasonal column for Greater Sarasota’s Eat Local Resource Guide and Directory, offers tips for local gardeners about how to get the most out of your Winter garden.

Hopefully, your summer crops are winding down or you saved space for all the goodies that can be planted now. Columnist Peter Burkhard offers tips on what seeds to sow this fall as well as the 12 most common mistakes Florida gardeners make.

One more gardening update to get us through the summer! In my last column, I went through the best vegetables for summer growing here in southwest Florida. I want to quickly mention two that I overlooked, and then I’ll move on to more current topics.

In a previous “Pete’s Place” column, I alluded to the two main choices for the vegetable grower during our sultry summers: try to grow from a limited number of choices or focus on soil building for the fall. Summers in Florida are best known for the rainy season but may also include a dry stretch or two. It is tough to prepare soil when it is as dry as this past June was, but after recent rains, there is ample soil moisture for tilling in organic matter or fertilizer. Weeds will also love the sudden surge of moisture, so stay on top of that with mulch or cultivation.

Greetings, and welcome to the first in my ongoing series of columns on seasonal food-growing tips for west-central Florida… There are two basic choices at this point of the year for the vegetable gardener in this region. One choice would be to look at the limited choices vegetable-wise that can take the summer conditions and choose what appeals to you. The second would be to focus on soil building and aim for planting in the late summer or early fall.