New to gardening! Looking to plant now in Florida weather.

Hey guys, my girlfriend and I just recently moved into our first house and it has a nice size yard and patio that I am looking to start my first garden. I am looking to grow a small herb garden in small clay planters and a few vegetables. The herbs I am looking to grow are Broadleaf Sage, Genovese Basil, Cilantro - Leisure Coriander, Single-leaf Parsley, Oregano, Common Thyme, and Onion Chives. I have never grown anything before and am curious to know if there are any special ways to germinate the seeds or any special tricks? Like I mentioned these will be planted in clay pots and kept on the west-ward side of the house where they should receive a decent amount of sun.

I am also looking to grow a few vegetables that I often eat. The vegetables are as followed: Giant Noble Spinach, California Wonder Bell Peppers, Large Cherry and Beefsteak Tomatoes, and Jalapeno peppers. Again any helps or tips on where and how to grow these would be great! I am looking to grow the cherry tomatoes from a hanging basket with coconut husks as the bottom. I have heard some pros and cons to this type of growing method so any help would be great!

Thanks again for any help and look forward to becoming an active member on this forum.

Hi Chris. Welcome to DG. This link gives you lists of fruits, veggies and herbs with planting dates for your part of Florida. Hope this helps you.

http://localfoods.about.com/od/searchbyregion/a/floridaseasons.htm

http://niceville.com/Garden/FYF/Guides/CoolVeg.htm

http://local.garden.org/Edibles_Tampa_FL-t2473_Tampa+FL.html

Hey themoonhowl,
Thanks for the links. It looks like I am good to plant everything this time of year. It didn't have much on anything on germination of herbs or plants. Do you have any tips on this? Or should I just throw them in the soil, cover, water, and sit back?

Also, I am mainly doing this to harvest organic vegetables; what are everyones prefences on organic fertilizers?

Chris, just about every seed packet gives you planting instructions...depth, light and length of germination. The following link addresses most of your questions on seeds and a whole lot more...it is a fairly long pdf, but put together by U of FLA so should be pretty relevant. I use compost/aged manure and 8-8-8 granular fertilizer. Moon

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/vh/vh02100.pdf

You may also want to check out the Beginner Vegetables forum here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/b_veggies/all/

Welcome to Florida and DG :)

Hi Chris. Welcome to Florida. I am a master gardener up in Nassau County. The link Moonhowl gave you above to the Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide from the University of Florida/IFAS is a great resource. Also check out the link below to the entire UF/IFAS website. It has all of the information you will ever need regarding gardening in Florida, as well as many other things.

http://solutionsforyourlife.ufl.edu

Also, if you want more specific information for your county, check with your local extension office. Their website is:

http://hillsborough.ifas.ufl.edu

Just call them up and ask to speak with the county agent, or a master gardener, if you have any specific questions for your area. Their contact information is on their website. Hope this helps, and happy gardening.