00:00Hey, fellow gardeners. I'm out here in beautiful, sunny, and absolutely freezing South Georgia
00:05to talk about my favorite thing, seeds. I like to get an early start in my growing season by starting
00:10my seeds indoors. You want a variety of peppers, you want heirloom tomatoes, you want any and
00:16everything, start with seeds. So here's what we're going to do. We're going to share a few tips,
00:21a few tricks. We're going to laugh, hopefully, have some fun. But first, we're going to go inside
00:24where it's a lot warmer. Come on.
00:30My name is Jeffrey Johnson, Georgia Master Gardener. Gardening know-how, community garden
00:38grant recipient, all-around seed-saving expert, most importantly, southern gentleman, and also
00:44the owner-operator that depends on planet Earth, also known as Dobe. A little about me, I started
00:50gardening as a fifth grader. My mother got me some tomato plants one summer, and it just,
00:56it just inspired me to do more. My grandfather realized that, and we started growing, I think,
01:02okra and peppers and all kinds of things, and I sold them to my neighbors, to which my mother
01:07made me give the money back, because you don't charge your neighbors, because their neighbors
01:10are our friends. So that's how I started. In regards to me, where I am now as a gardener,
01:17in 2016, the passion was reignited, did a little background, not background, backyard gardening,
01:24for my family and friends, which led to an association with the school up the street, where I did
01:31gardening club for kindergarteners, first, second, third, fourth, and fifth graders. And I taught
01:38them what I knew. They taught me not to embarrass myself in front of a group of elementary school
01:44kids. And from that passion, I started Depends on Planet Earth, and here I am, garden coach,
01:51garden consultant, and as I said, seed starting expert. So let's get to it. Seed starting in
01:56the South. Let's go.
02:01Okay, rule number one, grow what you love. If you don't like it, no need to grow it, because
02:06you're not going to eat it. Rule number two, don't wear white in the garden. I'm not in the
02:11garden, so I'm rocking the white. Rule number three, decide what type of garden you want.
02:15Spring garden, summer garden, or combination. Some people do both, where they'll plant tomatoes
02:21and squash for spring, and then pull them up and plant okra and cucumbers for summer.
02:27Rule number four, decide what type of seed you want. Heirloom, organic, or hybrid seeds, which
02:34are created by cross-pollinating two plant varieties, selecting the best traits from each
02:39parent. On the positive side, hybrid plants often exhibit improved disease resistance
02:44or higher yield. However, these plants are not a good choice for those who like saving
02:49seeds from year to year like me. The new generation may revert back to parent varieties, displaying
02:55different characteristics than you're expecting.
02:59Organic seeds are grown without pesticides, herbicides, or any chemical that is not listed as organic.
03:05Organic seeds may better align with sustainable and environmentally friendly gardening.
03:10Heirloom seeds, some of which have been around for centuries, are naturally pollinated and often
03:15available in unique flavors, shapes, and colors, producing plants whose seeds will grow the same
03:20as the parent plant.
03:30As with many southern states, we in Georgia have short winters, long springs, long summers, even longer summers.
03:39Summers just don't stop. Short fall, feels like summer comes around again. Winter, a little summer thrown in there.
03:47So because of that, you might not see the plants at your local nursery or big box store that you want currently.
03:54That's why I use seeds. That's why I start my seeds in January. It's so much easier and by the time it gets
04:03really, really warm outside, your plants are already established, okay? So here's number one. Let's create a list of what you want.
04:10As I said before, grow what you want. If you want tomatoes, if you want peppers, determine what type of pepper,
04:17what type of tomato, what variety, choices galore, okay? So you figured out what you want.
04:23Next, if you're new to seeds, you can find a website, you can find a seed catalog, you can find a seed swap,
04:31you can check again, your local nursery or big box store to get seeds. Or if you're like me,
04:37you have a huge inventory of seeds. Huge inventory, okay? Another good thing about living in the south
04:45is that you have the option of growing cool weather seeds well into the spring or warm weather seeds
04:52well into the winter. I know that seems kind of counterproductive, but trust me. For me, there are
04:57certain varieties of lettuce that I can grow pretty much until about June before they start to bolt or
05:04go to seed. Same thing with collard greens. We're southern, we love our collard greens. So the more
05:10collard greens you can grow for the longest period of time, the better. You can look at things from a warm
05:16perspective, your tomatoes, your peppers, your green beans, your okra. These are the things that you can
05:24start early, but you don't want to start them too early. I would not recommend starting okra right now
05:30because we down here in Georgia might get a spell of cool weather. I'm not going to say cold,
05:37no frost dates, but cool weather that'll pretty much kill your plan.
05:40When anyone starts gardening is, I want tomatoes. Ok? So if you want tomatoes, you want a big, juicy,
05:54red, or green, or yellow, or purple tomato variety. Anyway, you want a big, juicy red tomato cut really,
06:05really thick, sprinkled with salt and pepper, and you want to enjoy that on a nice warm day in May.
06:13That is why we start our seeds indoors. We get our crops faster and we get them for a longer period
06:20of time down south because our weather permits it. First, you want a source of well-drained,
06:29high-quality potty mix. Do not use garden soil. It's way too dense for proper root growth. Pre-moisten
06:36your soil and fill your pots, or in this case, an egg cart, my trusty favorite. Create a hole for your
06:41seeds and drop one seed per cell, maybe two, maybe three. It depends on the seeds. Cover the seeds with
06:49soil and press down gently. Get you a spray bottle. Works wonders when it comes to watering. That's not to
06:56your fancy. I picked up some, uh, little cardboard pots, biodegradable, just like the air cartons.
07:04Throw your soil in there, your seeds, boom, boom, you're good to go. Don't forget to put the drainage
07:08hole in the bottom. Those two don't tickle your fancy. Old school. Plastic, they work as well.
07:17Whatever works for you and you're comfortable with. Once you have your seeds planted, find a sunny
07:24windowsill. This is crucial. Once your seeds start sprouting, they're going to need sunlight.
07:30Find some place in your home where they won't be disturbed, where they're not under an air
07:34conditioning event or a heating event. Keep them watered daily. Keep the soil moist.
07:39That is going to make sure that your seeds grow into healthy seedlings.
07:59Hope y'all have enjoyed. Hope y'all have learned some things. Hope y'all start some seeds indoors.
08:04Hope y'all have one more place. Thanks for watching. Happy gardening.
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