How to Know When to Start Seeds Indoors for Zone 8
Are you dreaming of the taste of a homegrown tomato? But it’s still winter? Sometime around January we start wondering when we can start seeds indoors for our zone 8 (North Georgia). If you are hanging out by the seed displays at the hardware store, and dreaming of a lush Summer garden – we’ve got you covered with when you can get started with Summer seeds inside!
So, when can you start your Summer garden seeds indoors if you are zone 8?
It depends. (I promise that’s not the full answer!)
Different seeds grow at different speeds. Eggplant seeds are the longest germination rate we’ve found so far. Lettuce is one of the quickest.
We’ve got a list of Southern garden staples below to get you started!
When to Start Southern Vegetable Seeds Indoors
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are the jewel of the Southern garden. Zone 8 gardens have a long growing period, which means lots of delicious, homegrown tomatoes!
We live off of BLTs in the summer!
You can find tomato plants at your local hardware store – so why would you want to start them from seed?
Variety! You’ll find good plants at the store. Big Beef, Brandywine, Roma, Cherokee Purple are all varieties easy to find. But there are hundreds (possibly thousands) of tomato varieties to try.
Some of our favorites (in addition to the ones above) are Martha Washington, Rutgers, 4th of July, and Vintage Wine (my personal favorite). You won’t find these at most stores. But you can sign up for our email list to find them at our April Plant Sale!
We prefer to plant tomatoes in the garden in early May. That’s past the last frost date (read – safe planting date), but late April storms can be really hard on young tomato plants.
For our garden, we start tomatoes near the end of February. If you want to plant out mid-April, you can get started in mid-February.
We start them inside using small soil blocks. This allows us to keep the moisture and humidity levels where they need to be.
Tomato seeds need a little heat to get started, light (use grow lights or LED – window lighting is not enough) and a clear cover to hold on to the humidity until they sprout.
When at about 80% of the seeds have sprouted, we move the humidity cover off and move them off the heat.
When they get 2” – 3” tall, we pot them up into a 3” or 4” pot. For our purpose, they stay in that size pot until we plant them out.
Peppers (sweet or hot)
Peppers are another staple of most Southern gardens. We always keep a few jalapeno plants in the garden plus LOTS of sweet peppers.
We prefer sweet Italian peppers over bell peppers. They are more productive and easier to grow.
Peppers follow the same schedule as tomatoes. At least that’s easy!
Even though they are planted at the same time, peppers’ peak production time is late summer.
If you are wondering about eggplants, they are started at the same time; it just takes them much longer to actually sprout (germinate). So don’t give up on them if your tomatoes and peppers are up – eggplants are just slow!
Lettuce
If you want to enjoy lettuce in your Southern garden, you will start them the same time as the tomatoes and peppers but they will get planted out at the end of March.
Squash
Technically, squash seeds can be started directly in the ground. If you want to get a head start, you can start them indoors.
These germinate and grow very quickly. We start them directly into a 3” or 4” pot.
Squash and zucchini can be started indoors around the end of March and planted out mid- to late April. These plants aren’t as delicate as tomatoes, so they can hold up to April weather a little better.
We’ve had good success with Noche zucchini.
I usually avoid yellow crookneck squash – they just don’t perform well for me.
We prefer Zephyr and Patty Pan.
Your winter squash can be started anytime between the end of March (for early harvest) to early May for a later harvest.
What about starting sweet corn, okra, and green bean seeds?
We direct seed all of these. You can start them and plant them out, but we have not found any advantage to starting these seeds indoors for zone 8. The growing period is long enough to plant them directly in the ground.
When to Start Flower Garden Seeds Indoors (Zone 8)
If I had to choose between a juicy homegrown tomato or a freshly picked bouquet from the garden, it would be hard.
Thankfully, I don’t have to choose! And you probably don’t have to choose either.
Flowers can often be planted around your vegetables or placed in your landscape for added color along with the bouquet potential.
The varieties below are cut and come again that will continue to produce blooms as you cut them.
Zinnias
These are a classic for Southern gardens in Zone 8! Our long growing period lets us enjoy them all summer.
Online seed companies have beautiful and unique types. Check out:
Zinnia seeds can be started indoors or directly seeded in the garden. I typically start some indoors for earlier blooms and some directly in the garden to extend the season.
Zinnia seeds can be started indoors beginning mid-March. That will have them ready to plant in the garden late April.
I typically direct seed a round at the same time I’m planting these out.
Zinnias are started directly in large soil blocks or 3” – 4” pots.
Cosmos
Cosmos are a great one to start indoors to get earlier blooms.
You can also direct seed cosmos, and they will often reseed themselves. Direct seeded cosmos tend to bloom much later in the season.
I start cosmos indoors mid-March, plant out late April and start getting blooms earlier in the summer.
I also direct seed in the garden because cosmos are gorgeous in the early Fall garden!
Like zinnias, cosmos can be started in large soil blocks or 3” – 4” pots.
Foxglove
Foxglove is one of my all time favorite cut flowers! They are so whimsical and a true Southern gem.
Foxglove can be easily started from seed with the correct care. Keep them wet and use a clear cover to keep humidity levels up.
The Dalmatian and Camelot varieties will bloom the first year. Foxglove seeds should be started early January and planted out early April.
I use a Jiffy Seed Starting kit for foxglove, it keeps the moisture and humidity levels correct. They can also grow to a good planting size without potting up.
Gomphrena
These are a cute ball shaped flower that are a great addition to bouquets and they dry well.
Gomphrena seeds are started indoors for Zone 8 in late February and ready to plant in the garden by mid-April.
We start these in small soil blocks and plant them directly in the garden.
These will continue to bloom throughout the Summer and early Fall.
Bonus Notes
We’ve talked about when to start seeds indoors for Zone 8, but what happens when you are ready to plant them in the garden?
When starting seeds indoors, you need to prep them or “harden off” the plants before planting them in the garden.
Your plants are nice and cozy indoors with lights and perfect temps. They need to be stronger before you throw them out into the wild outdoors.
You should harden off your plants slowly gets them used to the strong sunlight, wind and changing temperatures.
We move our plants out on trays over several days. The first day they are out about 2 hours, then 4 hours, 6, 8, etc. I aim for around a week of hardening them off before planting them.
Often the sunlight is the biggest risk – it’s much harsher than indoor lights. Try to plant new seedlings out in the late afternoon or on a cloudy day after they have been hardened off.
Keep your plants well watered (but don’t drown them) in the beginning. You want the roots to get water but also stretch down where water will stay longer. Before watering, check to see if the soil is damp at 1” deep (or roughly the first knuckle on your pointer finger). If it is, you don’t need to water yet.
You got this!
Ok, we’ve covered when you need to start your seeds indoors for a beautiful Summer garden in Zone 8.
What’s next?
Buy some seeds! (that’s the fun part)
Get a good seed starting soil mix. Jiffy is a good option that’s easy to find.
Make sure you have heat mats and good lights.
Then give it a try!
Check out Seedtime App for a great free resource on creating a calendar for when to start, plant and harvest!
Interested in adding Dahlias to your cut flower garden? Find out more about them in our post here!
Owner, chief dreamer and assistant farmer at Pleasant Union Farm
