I live in Florida (Zone 8b) and we can garden pretty much all year round.  I don’t do much in the super hot & humid months of July and August but it’s September now and I’ve started some seeds for the Fall/Winter vegetable garden!  Can you believe all these have sprouted in only 3 days! Waking up to this will NEVER get old.

kale, cabbage, broccoli, broccoli raab, cauliflower, calendula, collard greens, mustards, etc.

If you’re wondering why I plant so many seeds… well, we try to plant enough for us to eat and preserve (freeze, can or dehydrate). We also give away a lot to friends and family.  We don’t fence our garden areas so we have to have some extras for the squirrels, deer, wild rabbits and of course to supplement our own farm animals diets.  But I will admit I planted a full 72-cell tray of just Georgia Collards for my husband and his friends.  They are southerners and requested a full row of collard greens! Guess I know what side dishes I’ll be making for Thanksgiving!

These baby seedlings look very promising and if this picture from last year’s fall garden is any indication of what we will grow this year I am very excited!  We are going a little bigger this year so we’ll see how it all works out.

I know not everyone lives in a place where they can start seeds this time of year but if you are let me know what you are growing this season. I’m always looking for new veggies to try!

Happy gardening!

5 replies on “Seed starting time!

  • Carrie Cronkite

    You’re so lucky to be able to garden this time of year. I live in Northern Maine and it’s starting to get cold at night already. We only have a few months each year to grow fruits and vegetables. Your garden looks so nice!

    Reply
  • Anonymous

    I’ve been trying to grow collards for several years now. It grows fine, but it gets slammed with whitefly and harlequin beetles. At the end of last year I built an enclosure with some recycled window screens to keep the bugs out. The beetles didn’t show up this year, but the tiny whiteflies got in. It turned into an incubator for whitefies; I had clouds of them. Total disaster. I tried growing some digitalis in the enclosure, which is supposed to be a natural deterrent, but they didn’t grow well, and did no good. Do you have a problem with whitefly?

    Reply
  • Kim Vij

    Ok Vanessa tell me what I need to plant NOW. Looks like I’m a month behind you but if you have any tips I’d love to get some things in my garden this fall/winter. THANk yOU!

    Reply

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