The first thing I do when getting ready for the fall garden is to plant my tomatoes. Even though Florida has a warm Autumn, it can get chilly in October. Last year on October 29th it got as low as 32 degrees in Ocala. So you must start your tomatoes as early as possible. I start them indoors in August for the opposite reason Northerners start there's indoors in March.....because it's still too hot.
You'll notice that I like to use Park Seeds styrofoam seed starter (with the bio-sponges which are about 7 cents a piece). I love the accuracy, speed, organization and the strength of the plants when I use it. I label each styrofoam tray (I have about 8) with a letter. If you look on the notebook, this one is labeled "X". I wrote the letter "X" on the actual tray as well, so I know which way to read it & match it with my notebook. Now I can keep track of which varieties & how many are planted & where. If some don't pop up....I just re-plant in the same sponge.
Here's an okra newbie with some great looking root growth all through the bio-sponge. The sponges are made of some kind of sterile medium. Because you only pour water into the tray and not on the plant, it causes the roots to grow down & strong.
I then transplant them into some peat pots with a mixture of peat moss & potting mix.
And then it's under the lights until the end of the month. I'm looking to transplant them into the garden the 1st week of September.
You're looking at 54 tomatoes in peat pots on the bottom, 6 okra in peat pots on top left, about 24 assorted peppers still in the sponges top right, and about 12 tomatoes still in the sponges top right. With more on the way.
