Questions about when to plant and if I can start inside???

[ThePigeonKid]

I have questions about Okra, Leeks, Kale and Strawberries. I am in Zone 7 and I am wandering if I could plant these seeds indoors and when. I checked the Farmer's Almanac but I didn't see it in there. Thanks in advance.

 

[AmyRey]

I started okra inside this year, but they didn't handle transplanting well AT ALL.

I'll be direct sowing them instead in another week or two.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Okra - A warm weather crop. I'd wait until the ground warms up some to direct seed, probably mid to late April for you. It will probably be the end of April at least for me. For me, if the ground is not warm enough, the seeds tend to rot instead of sprout. Okra has a reputation of being hard to sprout, but I find if I wait until the ground warms up, they sprout pretty well. I have never tried to transplant them.

Leeks - I usually direct seed them in the fall, say late September/early October, then overwinter them. You can try them now but I am not sure they will develop the way you want. If you have room and the seeds it is worth a try to see what happens, but you might be disappoined.

Kale - Could have direct-seeded a month ago. Definitely need to get them planted. Instead of indoors, I direct seed in the garden. This is another one I often plant in the fall, then cover during the hardest freezes. They'll get frostbit back but as long as the roots and stalk don't freeze too hard, they will come out in the spring. Chard works well this way too.

Strawberries - I do not grow from seed so cannot help.

Good luck!

 

[dickiebird]

Strawberries from seed is a tough thing to do.

I've grown a lot of plants from seed but have never had much luck with strawberries.

I started my strawberry patch from bare root stock and have grown it quite large with just the runners from the origional group I planted.

THANX RICH