Thanks Dave

I am new to NE Florida and trying to learn what is the growing seasons and what plants that do great with the weather. I tried some veggies last summer and have learned I needed to build raised gardens due to poor soil. I was hoping I can get some help in where to get some seeds that are chemically treated and are proven for here.

Thanks again
Kim

Hi Kimberly,
I'm much farther south in the state (Sebastian, in Indian River County) so I can't offer much advice about what to plant up your way but you should come over to the Florida Gardening Forum: https://garden.org/forums/view.... We have a few members from the northern part of the state and I bet you'll get some good advice on the Florida Forum!

Welcome to Garden.org Kimberly! I couldn't be as different from your climate if I tried but one thing I have learned over the years as a gardener is that you can never go wrong starting for information on local conditions at the state specific extension service. Here is yours for Florida:

http://solutionsforyourlife.uf...

Explore some of the forums here on Garden.org, chat with other gardeners, the more you look the more you will find to get help, information and make new friends. Good luck!

Hi Kimberly, and welcome to NGA!

From what I hear, Florida has sand, fungus, mold, ravenous bugs, high humidity and high heat.

I wouldn't know where to start except for buying some water-holding additions to improve the soil in raised beds. I would start by adding bark fines plus anything organic I could get my hands on for cheap! But the best soil amendments might depend on what attracts the fewest bugs and soil diseases.

I bet one key factor in selecting varieties is disease resistance and bug tolerance. And resistance to heat and humidity. I don't think most tomato varieties will flower above 85F or so. Maybe you could grow "summer lettuce" in your fall and winter.

Is there ANY way you can grow "cool season crops", without air-conditioning your garden?

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Here's one EDIS publication that has a big list of vegetable varieties that do well in Florida:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep486 <-- list of varieties

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If you don't get many good answers here after a week or two, I'd suggest moving this thread to the Florida forum so more people will see it who know the answers. You can use the "Suggest a Change" button at the bottom of the thread.

I hope you get some people in this forum who know Florida!

You might also want to browse the NGA Florida forum and look for relevant threads there:
https://garden.org/forums/view...

Hmm, this next thread ought to provide some ideas! And since it has 110 replies, there must be a lot of people who have bookmarked it. If you read the thread and then ask a question THERE, perhaps being specific about what kinds of things you like to EAT, and what part of Florida you're in, you'll get faster answers.
The thread "Who grows vegetables and fruit in Florida" in Florida Gardening forum

Or start a brand-new thread over there.

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You can also search the NGA Memberlist for people who live near you put their approximate address into their NGA Profile. For example, I see around 12 people within 20 miles of Pensacola:
https://garden.org/users/membe...

There is also a "Member Map" that shows the location of each NGA member who put their approximate address into their NGA Profile:
https://garden.org/users/membe...
(Until you zoom way in, the Florida map is wall-to-wall NGA members.)

It's nice to know gardeners near you, so you can swap seedlings, plant divisions, cuttings and experiences.

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The local "agricultural extension offices" are usually good sources of local info.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ <-- the whole website
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic... <-- gardening

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic... <-- starting a garden in FL
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic... <-- seeds and propagation

Here are some seed vendors that claim to know what's good for Florida:
https://growincrazyacres.com/
http://floridaheirloomseeds.co...
http://sustainableseedco.com/g... <-- articles
http://www.seedsforthesouth.co... <-- UN-treated seeds

Vegetable planting calenders for FL:
http://www.ufseeds.com/Florida...
http://www.rodalesorganiclife....

Good luck!

Where do I post questions? New to NGA. Does it have to be in one of the forum specific topics (eg fruits and vegetables) or is there a place a question where everyone will see it? It seems that the list of specific topics is long and I'm not sure which ones would be appropriate for my questions.
Most, not all, of my questions are about starting plants from seeds. Thanks.

Hi & welcome @noflagarden !

This is a good question with no hard and fast right and wrong answers.

In regard to growing from seed, there is a "seeds" forum here, so that could be appropriate. There's also a "veggie and fruit" forum, so that could be appropriate. If you want to narrow your responses to more local folks, there's a "Florida" forum. Or if your seeds match one of the plants that has its' own forum, that could be appropriate.

If you click around a bit, you might find your question has already been asked and answered, or you might decide to start one or more new discussions.

It's best to stick to 1 topic per discussion to avoid confusion, but if you ask in 1 place and some time passes without receiving the information you wanted, you could ask again elsewhere, or move your discussion to a different forum by clicking "suggest a change" at the bottom of the discussion. Best luck!

Hi noflagarden, to the site!

The Ask a Question Forum can be used for any and all questions. This is the main page for the forum: https://garden.org/forums/view...

Go to the bottom of that page and start a new thread to ask your question and you will be notified whenever anyone posts an answer. You will love it here, we have many members with great knowledge in all types of plants!