I often start perennial and biannual seed in July. Right now I have shasta daisy, sweet william, foxgloves, painted daisy already germinated and am waiting on delphinium, columbine, salvia and sage to get started. I find it much easier to get them started outside when the soil is already warm and the temps make germination faster. If you start seed in July you can expect the plants to flower the following year. Some perennial and biannual seeds are very easy and some are hard. I follow directions on back of packet as far as if the seed needs to be covered or needs light and some need to be frozen for a while, set them on wet miracle grow potting mix, water well, but gently and put in a shady place until germination starts and then I move them to an area that gets a few hours of morning sun a day. Once their first set of true leaves is out I will move them into a place that gets 4 or 5 hours of morning sun. When their second set of leaves shows up the seedlings will be moved to either a nursery bed in my veg garden or for some into their permanent spot right away. The bulk will go to the veg garden and those I might cover with shade cloth if it is very hot (it will be in Arkansas in August). The hardest thing is to keep the soil moist while germination is going on and when they are vey small. Sometimes I have a complete failure, but for some like shasta, sweet william, foxgloves, painted daisy, gillardia they are so easy you will get dozens of plants. Almost always I get at least a few. Well worth the couple of bucks the packet of seed costs. Hope this helps.

Sheri, I agree with the others. Okra and melons like and, in fact, need really warm soil and warm air temps. I don't even have mine in the ground yet. Watermelon seed (or transplants) shouldn't be sown/transplanted into the ground until the soil temperature at planting depth is 70 degrees. I don't plant until it has been at 70 degrees for 3 to 5 days because, just like our weather, the soil temps can swing drastically from one extreme to another in spring. You can check your soil temp with a pricey soil thermometer, but I just use a $5 meat thermometer from Wal-Mart. Okra seed (or transplants) can be sown/transplanted into the ground once soil temps are consistently staying above 68 degrees. If you don't want to check your own soil temperature, you can use the soil temperature charts from the OK Mesonet. Your soil temps might not be the same as the ones at the mesonet station nearest you, but there shouldn't be a big difference between the two. I've linked one soil temperature map from the OK Mesonet below. It shows the three-day average of soil temperatures at 2" beneath bare soil. As you'll see, soils are still fairly cool at this point. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: 3-Day Ave. of Soil Temps 2

Melissia, It depends on what you want to grow and it depends on where you live in the state. What you choose to plant now will vary based on the days-to-maturity of the veggies you plant and the first autumn freeze in your area. Look at the linked thread from a while back. Compare the list of fast, medium and slow-maturing veggies. Figure out your average first freeze date. Compare the two and then plant what you think will have time to mature and produce. Here in southern OK (and probably in the rest of the state too) there's plenty of time to plant seed now and get a harvest from the plants on the "quick maturity" list. In fact, for most of the cool-season crops on that list, it is still too hot to direct seed them, although you could start seeds in cups where you can control their sun exposure and moisture. For plants on the "Moderate Maturity" list, some likely would have time to mature if planted from seed now and that includes broccoli, Chinese cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, sweet corn (if 65-70 DTM varieties are planted), green onions, kohlrabi, bush lima beans, okra (could fail to produce pods, though, if cool weather comes extra early), parsley, and southern peas. Peppers or cherry tomatoes MIGHT have time to produce before frost, but only if large transplants (from 5-6" pots) are set out ASAP. On the list of slow maturing plants, the cool season ones like brussels sprouts, cabbage, or cauliflower could be planted from seed and likely would produce before a freeze gets them. Of course, these particular vegetables can take some cold weather. Garlic is traditionally planted in fall (Sept.-Oct.) for harvest in late spring to early summer of the following year. For the warm season plants on the Slow Maturity list, it is likely too late for the following from seed or tuber: tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes (might get some from tubers planted now if they are relatively short TM), pumpkins and winter squash or melons. It is definitely too late for melons, peppers, eggplant and tomatoes from seed. With everything else, it varies. For example, bush beans are a safer bet than pole beans at this point because they produce more quickly. Of course, everything hinges on the arrival of the first freezing weather/hard killing frost. Since moving here to Marietta 10 1/2 years ago, we've had a killing frost as early as Sept. 30th and as late as mid-December, so how well your fall garden does can vary a great deal depending on what the weather does. Hope this helps. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Veggies You Can Still Plant For Fall Harvest

Know any gardeners that grow their own from seed? (Like me). I always start lots of surplus tomatoes for replacements of hailed out, pest ravaged, or wind casualties. I probably have a hundred tomatoes in my "tomato storm shelter" right now that are ready to be planted if I or a friend or neighbor has a need. I couldn't provide you an Azoychka, (though I grew it one year), but I could give you a Big Sungold Select or one of about 40 better varieties.