Est. 2025 · Freeport, Florida

The almanac for

October 2026

Waning crescent

22% lit

Full Oct 25 · new Oct 10

Planting almanac

What to plant, and when, here

Sowing and harvest windows worked out from your county’s own frost dates — not from a national chart that assumes a different climate.

18
crops

National Weather Service

This week in the field

The next seven days for Freeport, FL, read for the work it makes possible — which ground can be travelled, what the week’s rain covers, and what is coming for anything tender.

Right now

70°F

Chance Rain Showers

Humidity
100%
Wind
10 mph ENE

Forecast for the current hour at Freeport, FL, not a station reading.

Frost

64°F

Coldest night in the forecast

No frost in the forecast. No average frost dates are recorded for this county yet.

Irrigation

4.3 in

more rain than demand

Reference demand
0.71 in
Forecast rain
5.01 in

Forecast rain over the next 6 days covers reference water demand.

Reference evapotranspiration over 6 days, by the Hargreaves and Samani (1985) temperature method. It is the demand of a short grass reference surface, not of your crop: real demand is this multiplied by a crop coefficient that varies by species and growth stage. Use it to compare weeks, not as a water order.

Seven days, and whether they can be worked

A day is called workable when the chance of rain is at or under 40%, less than 0.1 in of rain is forecast, wind stays at or under 15 mph, and the day before did not bring 0.5 in or more. Those are this site’s own operating thresholds, not a published standard — the day’s actual figures are in the table so you can disagree with them.

Seven-day forecast for Freeport, FL with a field-work assessment for each day
DayHigh / lowRainAmountWindField work
TuesdayOct 6Showers And Thunderstorms Likely64% chance of rain; 0.29 in of rain forecast76°F / 66°F64%0.29 in15 mphNot workable
WednesdayOct 7Partly Sunny81°F / 65°F4%0 in15 mphWorkable
ThursdayOct 8Partly Sunny83°F / 64°F15%0 in10 mphWorkable
FridayOct 9Chance Rain Showers63% chance of rain; 0.7 in of rain forecast80°F / 65°F63%0.7 in15 mphNot workable
SaturdayOct 10Showers And Thunderstorms Likely74% chance of rain; 2.27 in of rain forecast; wind to 20 mph; 0.7 in of rain the day before, so ground may still be wet78°F / 67°F74%2.27 in20 mphNot workable
SundayOct 11Showers And Thunderstorms Likely63% chance of rain; 1.75 in of rain forecast; 2.27 in of rain the day before, so ground may still be wet81°F / 68°F63%1.75 in15 mphNot workable
Columbus DayOct 12Chance Showers And Thunderstorms0.46 in of rain forecast; 1.75 in of rain the day before, so ground may still be wet84°F / —40%0.46 in5 mphNot workable

What that means for crops in the calendar

Only for crops the Almanac already holds windows for, and only where this week’s weather actually bears on one that is open.

Forecast from the National Weather Service API, grid TAE 14,84, for Freeport, FL. Issued Oct 6, 2026. Forecasts change; check before you act on a spray day or a frost cover.

Results

18 crops · regional dates

Broccoli

A cool-season transplant crop; heads poorly in warm weather, which sets both ends of the window.

Open now · planted twice a year here

50–70 days to maturity

Checked Sep 17, 2026

Cabbage

Set out as transplants for an autumn or a late-winter crop; hardy enough to go out before the last frost.

Open now · planted twice a year here

70–90 days to maturity

Checked Sep 17, 2026

Carrot

A winter crop in Northwest Florida, direct sown into loose soil from autumn onwards.

Open now · planted twice a year here

70–120 days to maturity

Checked Sep 17, 2026

Collards

The Panhandle standby: hardy enough to hold through a Northwest Florida winter and sweeter after a frost.

Open now · planted twice a year here

70–90 days to maturity

Checked Sep 17, 2026

Cucumber

Spring and autumn direct-sown crops; downy mildew is what usually ends them here.

Open now · planted twice a year here

40–65 days to maturity

Checked Sep 17, 2026

Kale

Cool-season greens that hold well through a Panhandle winter.

Open now · planted twice a year here

50–70 days to maturity

Checked Sep 17, 2026

Mustard greens

Fast, peppery cool-season greens for autumn and late winter sowing.

Open now · planted twice a year here

40–50 days to maturity

Checked Sep 17, 2026

Okra

Wants hot soil, not merely a passed frost date; sown late and bears until autumn.

Open now

60–70 days to maturity

Checked Sep 17, 2026

Onion (bulbing)

Only short-day and intermediate-day varieties bulb at this latitude; long-day types will not.

Open now

100–130 days to maturity

Checked Sep 17, 2026

Pepper

Spring and fall transplant crops; slower off the mark than tomato and needs a longer start indoors.

Open now · planted twice a year here

65–75 days to maturity

Checked Sep 17, 2026

Radish

The fastest thing in the cool-season bed; sown in succession from autumn to early spring.

Open now · planted twice a year here

20–30 days to maturity

Checked Sep 17, 2026

Southern pea

The summer legume for this region: tolerates heat, sand and drought, and fixes its own nitrogen.

Open now

75–90 days to maturity

Checked Sep 17, 2026

Summer squash

Quick, heavy-bearing and short-lived: two plantings a year rather than one long one.

Open now · planted twice a year here

40–50 days to maturity

Checked Sep 17, 2026

Sweet corn

Planted in blocks around the last frost, and again in late summer for an autumn ear.

Open now · planted twice a year here

65–90 days to maturity

Checked Sep 17, 2026

Sweet potato

Planted as slips into warm soil, not as seed; a long, low-input summer crop for sandy ground.

Open now

85–130 days to maturity

Checked Sep 17, 2026

Tomato

Two crops a year here, and the fall window closes at the end of August — the shortest in the state.

Opens in 4 days · planted twice a year here

70–90 days to maturity

Checked Sep 17, 2026

Turnip

Grown here for the roots, the greens, or both, from one autumn or late-winter sowing.

Open now · planted twice a year here

40–60 days to maturity

Checked Sep 17, 2026

Watermelon

Two plantings a year here, spring and late summer — both need room, and both need bees.

Open now · planted twice a year here

80–100 days to maturity

Checked Sep 17, 2026

This week in the field

In season now in Northwest Florida

Worked out for October 6, 2026

Sow or transplant now

Ready to harvest

Drawn from 18 published crop entries and the regional average frost dates. Pick your county in the filters above to move these dates onto your own ground.

Worth knowing

Farm facts

The scale of the thing you are part of. Every figure below names where it came from and the year it describes — follow the link and you will land on the table it was read out of.

Walton County

695farms in Walton CountyUp 16% since 2017, over five years in which the national count fell 6.9%.
USDA NASS, 2022 Census of Agriculture: Walton County profile · figure for 2022
91,288 acresof Walton County land in farmsAveraging 131 acres a farm, down 12% since 2017.
USDA NASS, 2022 Census of Agriculture: Walton County profile · figure for 2022
1,255producers in Walton County493 of them have been farming ten years or fewer.
USDA NASS, 2022 Census of Agriculture: Walton County profile · figure for 2022
8%of Walton County farms sell direct to customersThe other 92% reach the people eating their food some other way.
USDA NASS, 2022 Census of Agriculture: Walton County profile · figure for 2022

United States

1.90 millionfarms in the United StatesDown 6.9% since the 2017 census.
USDA NASS, 2022 Census of Agriculture: Farms and Farmland (ACH22-3) · figure for 2022
880.1 million acresof land in farms39% of all land in the United States.
USDA NASS, 2022 Census of Agriculture: Farms and Farmland (ACH22-3) · figure for 2022
58.1 yearsaverage age of a producerUp 0.6 years since 2017, continuing a long trend.
USDA NASS, 2022 Census of Agriculture: Farm Producers (ACH22-2) · figure for 2022
$543.1 billionmarket value of products soldUp from $388.5 billion in 2017.
USDA NASS, 2022 Census of Agriculture: Farm Economics · figure for 2022

Florida

44,703farms in FloridaAveraging 217 acres apiece.
USDA NASS, 2022 Census of Agriculture: Florida state profile · figure for 2022
9.7 million acresof Florida land in farmsCropland is 2.9 million of it; the rest is pasture, woodland and other uses.
USDA NASS, 2022 Census of Agriculture: Florida state profile · figure for 2022

The Census of Agriculture is taken every five years, so these are the most recent published figures rather than this year’s. We would rather show you a number with a date on it than a fresher-looking one nobody can check.