7+ MISTAKES to AVOID Seed Starting in your Florida Fall Vegetable Garden 

One more tip. Need to control fungus gnats? These eggs are in most seed starting mixes. When you initially moisten the soil, use boiling water. This will kill most of the eggs. Keep in mind there is no other micro life in this soil. So, your not killing anything else. And, if you have already started your seeds, try sprinkling cinnamon on the top of your soil. I've done this may times. It smells great and doesn't hurt the plants. I've been doing this the last few years and it works like a charm.

I feel completely defeated right now. Ants, bugs, weeds, heat, humidity. So over it!

I personally like to leave some room on top of starter pots. Add seed then sprinkle soil on top. Watering is always tricky and continues to be my nemesis 😂. It usually works itself out. I have made same mistakes with sun and heat too. Really the answer is moving plants and watching each day. Florida will keep you on your toes. Too hot. Too cold. Too much rain Not enough rain. Just have to adjust. Thanks for video it was fun. 😉

I have been subscribed to your channel for some time now, and I must say... your videos keep getting better and better. THANK YOU!❤ for the time and effort you put into sharing all this info. People like me certainly need it. God bless you🎉 "...I will, until..."

Thanks for being our cheerleader: I will…until! Last year with Hurricane Ian, I definitely felt like giving up, but planted things in pots and kept some plants going. Just keep plugging along- it’s all learning.

Jackie I love every one of your tips! Here are a couple more. Ever have a dampening off issue? Try to water from the bottom instead of the top (you can do this if you have some sort of try underneath) and don't give them as much love lol. For the first couple of years, I watered my seedlings to death...literally! Water only when the soil is dryer on the top. If the soil is dark in color on the top, it has enough water. If you do have a tray underneath, don't leave excess water in the tray. Spill it out. It's taken me some time to know how much water to use so I don't have to do this but it's worth taking the time to learn. Hope this helps. I many hundreds of plants before learning this.

Wild Floridian, where are you located in FL. Greetings from Tampa Bay West.

@2:10 'blllleeeeeah.....' How did you know? my seedlings went tattling to the Wild Floridian?!!!? I keep a $ store wire waste basket with my gardening tools (any container with 1/4 to 1/3" holes will do), and sift my potting soil to get the big woody bits out, that way I don't have multiple soil bags open for what is a very small use case for me. I also top my small seeds with a layer of perlite instead of the seed medium; super light for seeds to push through, water retaining, and also lets light through for plants that need light to germinate, like lettuce (and tomato, I suspect). I am determined to catch this fall growing season come what may, so avoiding all the sun and water issues by starting seedlings indoors using Aerogarden or borrowing the light from it, and...air conditioning for me. Thanks for the friendly cheerleading, and reminder of good practices. Let the seed starting commence!

Thx for the tips …! I’m a beginner gardener and YES I made every single mistake you listed I’m having a super hard time seeding Everglades tomatoes 🍅…… 🙏

Zone 9b, South of Tampa. I'm still recovering from gardening in June. BUT I'm organizing and cleaning my seed starting area and you've given me some great ideas. Thank you!

Watering - I've killed my share of seedlings. Some of the best advice I got was to bottom water only. Let the tray soak in water until the top soil is wet, then pull the tray out. Then when it's dry at least 1-2" from the top, set back in tray to soak and bottom water. No more killing my seedlings!

I use clothspins to clip a sheer curtain over my planters with seedlings. It really helps protect my seedlings from harsh sun and harsh rain.

Tomatoe seeds can be fixed when they get a foot tall i cut the lower leaves off and repot it deeper into the next size up pots.....

Thank you for the tips!! I'm going to try to grow cucumbers and lettuce this year. This will be my 3rd time trying to grow cucumbers. And I think that your tips are definitely going to help.

When starting your seeds place a layer of perilte or vermiculite on top of the seed starting mix. This will help with moisture retention and prevent the soil starting mix from crusting on the top. Go Gators.

This is great! This basically explains why I have no luck with any kind of seed!

I started my Fall seeds right before I watched this. Glad that I got most things right. I may have buried a few too deep though. 😅 This is very helpful info. Great video!

I’m in broward Florida can I start tomatoes watermelons musk melon and eggplants right now

BTW a small greenhouse is always a plus. Pretty cheap too. Well worth it. So many people put off a green house in Florida but climate control, pest contol, irrigation control makes seedlings way easier. I put it off at my new house but have it on my to do and hopefully get to it soon. Had one at last house and miss it.

Shalom Jackie: Thank you for making this video. I really needed to learn how to be successful in growing plants through seeds starter. I was disappointed when I started doing seed starter in July for my medical plants, and had no success. I made all the mistake above. I'll start doing it again the right way. Thank you for your explanations.

I LOVE the paper towel and then aerogarden ...i hsve been succesful this year with my milkweed seeds 😂❤❤❤ the tomatoes just growing wild fro. the compost 😂😂

Great job Jacqueline! Your babies look so cute 🥰

Thanks , seed starting is one of my biggest problems this will help me out I think?

Aha! thanks so much! I didn't even know there was seed starting mix! No wonder so many of my seeds that are teeny tiny don't come up!

Execelente metodos

Did I see you started onion seeds already?? I’ve been having a hard time finding “when” to start onion seeds. I’m in 9A up in Jax. What do you recommend? Btw, I love your channel and look every day to see if you have a new video out! Thank you! I moved here from the north and it is SOO different in FL!! So happy I found you!

I love your channel. I have enjoyed n shared your videos. One of the reasons less seeds germinate is poor quality soil. Miracle Gro is not quality. Hence the large chunks of wood. I have used potting soil I buy from organic growers. Also I have used coconut coir w great results. Brand I use is Wonder Soil which is high quality clean organic coconut coir. Fox farm is another high quality potting soil. Quality organic soil does make a difference in yields.

I was going to put out some of my starters this weekend but guess what! Hurricane Hilary is pouting rain for next 3 days in Vegas! Crazy lol

I learned the hard way that birds think seedlings are especially yummy. I start. Mine indoors under row light till stronger and slowly introduce them to out doors

Lol when did you film this? You jinxed it 😂 I live in same area haven't had rain for days then yesterday and day before we got 4in of rain

Totally agree! Not giving up. Just reseeded a few things yesterday. Dang caterpillars are hungry. But overall....I am still ahead! I think of it as succession planting. 😂

Whoops! I am burying my seeds way too deep. No wonder the tiny ones are not coming up. Wah!

You are so silly if you think up north doesn't have down pours and that they only have gentle rains.

When I plant seeds in dry soil (cell packs), I add water to the bottom of the seed tray and the soil ends up sucking the water up and that also helps to not disturb the tiny seeds. Hope that makes sense.

I love your videos. I just planted my slips from the sweet postatoes and then found your videos...........Oh well I know what to do for the next crop! I have a question though......what is in your bed that looks like pine needles or hay?

Excellent Post.. Saving time and money 😊 I subscribed to your channel 🙏

This helps me so much. I failed completely last year. I will try again🙏🏼

Thank you for all the wisdom because I keep making the same mistake and I’m glad you made us aware of lots of things that I’m going to adjust and try. Thank you

I have a question. Do you fertilize your seedlings at any point?

You are so cute ☺️ could you come over and help me with my garden 😩

LOL! I'm laughing with you, not at you.

Thank you for the iFlorida nfo! Your videos are so informative and interesting. They keep my attention cause not at RU-vidrs are as fun to watch. You are so cute!

Wow!! Soooo helpful ❤❤really appreciate your knowledge!!

Thank you! So much great information, as always. ❤

Do you put 1 seed in the cell or cup or can you put 2 or 3 or more? Some are sooo tiny.

I do the same for seed starting mix and prep. However, if I cannot get seed starting mix, I can make my own with vermiculite and peat moss/coconut coir and some garden soil that I have sifted to get the bigger pieces out. I have taken potting mix and sifted out the bigger pieces to get seed starting mix too. I got a hand pump liquid spray bottle with an adjustable nozzle for misting. It holds about a quart and a half. I use it for misting seedlings and also for applying liquid foliar feed. The other thing i do with seedlings is put them in a tray and take one cell out and add water into the tray and put the cell back and let them water from the bottom up to get the seedlings to stretch to seek water source at the bottom. About an hour later, any remaining water in the tray gets dumped out onto a potted plant or another plant that needs it. I sit the seed trays on top of mulched soil in a flower bed where they will get dappled morning sun for the first few weeks. The flower bed is always under the eaves of my house so any rain deluge will not affect them as i place a hard plastic cover over them with a vent for the rain event, and take it off afterwards. Then move them to a more open location for more sun once they get two sets of true leaves.Yes, the Summer heat is challenging. I've got bunching onions, red and yellow onions, summer savory, spotted bee balm, slo-bolt cilantro, clary sage, snapdragons, echinacea, and dill seedlings up now. Plastic trays do get hot in this heat, so I have to make sure that the tray sits on soil or mulch to keep the tray cool and I could cook the seedlings with that too! I wish I had white seed starting trays instead of black ones, they would repel heat better.

me too wonderful... i have a butt load of mistakes

you are awesome....thanks wonderful

Prefect timing. I have been making so many of these mistakes. I do start more seedlings than I need and just give the extra away.

What is that noise haha I love how she has tuned it out and to me it’s like nails on a chalkboard 😂

New subscriber here. Thanks for this topic this describes me to a T! I have seeded receded re-planted repotted etc.… But I am going to keep trying I can do this eventually. thanks for the encouragement!

To add… I have been searching for information on planting seeds forever and this is the first comprehensive video I have seen.

I am resilient and persistent! Great affirmation, Jacqueline!🍅🌞

Thanks again for another awesome video. I've made all the mistakes. Learning as I go. The seed depth was an eye opener for me. I saw your kale seedlings at 3-4 days, mine have been in for over a week and nothing. I think I'll start some more & not plant as deep. Thanks for all the tips & tricks. Gardening is so much easier now.

This is great content for all levels of garden experience! Keep up the good work 👏👏

This is awesome. I'm not giving up❤

Loved your lesson on how deep to plant seeds So sensible! Thank you!

I've been gardening in Florida for over 10 years now, and you always teach me something new or remind me of something I knew but forgot. Thank you so much for all the knowledge and for saving my mulberry! It's finally growing after 4-5 years at 5ft tall 😁

Thank you for all of your tips.. you have helped me with all of my gardening everything is looking at tasting so amazing . And all of my native gardening plants oh my God I have people stopping at my driveway to ask me how is it that I am getting them to look so amazing thank you so much 😊

I’m not even kidding, it’s actually really humid in vegas right now because of that hurricane on the west coast

Thank you for this info! I needed this 3 days ago😮. At least I'll know what happened if they don't come up.

You forgot to add the tag for the video you referred at the end... I'll try and go and find it later. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!!!!❤❤

Your videos are such a great resource, I wish you put chapter marks for easier reference/rewatchability

Yae Verily I will, Until 😊

My biggest question is WHEN to start seedlings for fall planting. Zone 10b North Fort Myers here

Jackie - Love the videos. Where do you buy your seedling trays? Is there a link available? Thanks.

🤣I’ve done everything wrong but I’m a quick learner did it again till I got it right all but the hurricane 🌀 can’t change those Yet🤣

Thank you so much for more helpful tips! I had no idea on the seed starting soil. Mind blown 🤯 adding water to the soil before potting up. After the video i poured some water right to the remainder of the soil I had left, added to 8 x 4 inch pot and added seeds to it and watered properly (another 🤯 moment). I didn’t realize I wasn’t watering enough! Thank you loved this and your personality just makes me smile 😊

Little off topic, but what about a grow-light to start wildflowers? I'm considering starting them in January so I can plant near the end of March. Anyone every tried it?

Thanks for this video. I felt like a big failure this summer because some seeds didn't come up. Now I know!