Seed Starting Dates

[digitS']

Begin here by choosing 50% chance of 32 (middle of the middle) for an average date:

Last Frost Dates, National Climatic Data Center

I have bought seed from Johnny's for decades but never noticed this until the other day. It is fairly simple to just plug in your date and the results seem reasonable to me:

Your seed-starting date

If you want to put together your own chart here is:

Date calculator: Add to or subtract from a date

It takes just a moment to figure out what you are up to but it makes a lot of sense to have something hanging on the wall to keep you informed, date to day.

If you need a guide on how long seedlings should be indoors before setting out, here is one I've used, scroll down to Table 1:

Timely Tips on Starting Seed, Texas A & M

Just started some onion seed (a little) . . .

Steve

 

[i_am2bz]

Interesting! Thank you!

 

[silkiechicken]

That's pretty neat!

I'm a sucker for more work so I tend to start things about 2x the time you are "recomended" to start them. LOL

I've got 3 week old tomato starts that aren't going out into the garden till may 20th if that is any indication of my impatience... and short cool summers. I don't even know why I grow tomatoes. LOL It's only 18 weeks early... instead of 4-6.

I really like that johnny seed calculator!

 

[journey11]

Oh neat, I'll have to check that out. I am supposed to start my broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage next week.... I have to get all my flats and cell packs scrubbed out and sterilized...

ETA: This is such valuable info--I think it would make a good sticky topic!

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

if you want to get those tomatoes out a little sooner than May 20th, just set up some hoop tunnels to help them keep warm outside an extra month early! check out Johnny's Seeds website for the hoop houses or high tunnel stuff!

 

[journey11]

Yes, I am playing around with low tunnels a lot this year to see what all I can get away with. I'm going to put my onions and some garlic (because I never got around to fall plant it) under one. I hear you can larger bulbs that way. Johnny's also has a great selection of row cover material. I'll be buying a roll ofthis from them for protecting my brassicas.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

i love it that i am so close to them. our feed store and one of the bigger green houses carries a lot of their stuff so i don't have to pay the extra to get it shipped!

Gardener'shttp://www.gardeners.com/ is also pretty neat! they have a program on their site to plan your veggie/herb beds. i wish they had the ability to add flowers and other landscaping features on it but it works fine for the veggie part i need.

 

[digitS']

I got in a little trouble last year because of the lingering cold weather in late May. I'd started the tomatoes just a little earlier than usual fully intending to move them into larger pots. Not large but larger -- went from 48 plants in a flat to 20. Then, I ran out of indoor room.

After awhile, I got a little desperate to get the poor, stretched, root-bound things outdoors. The flats went out of the heated greenhouse into into my unheated hoop house. It fell to 38F in there that 1st night and many of them wilted. Some were quite seriously damaged .

After a couple weeks of recovery, it was on to the open garden. They spent almost 3 days under buckets in the garden because of a late frost and wind . . . had to replace a few plants. I still ended up with more than 60 plants but the cold spring weather sure was taxing on them . . . and on me.

The peppers were fine because they don't make such quick early growth. They produced well but the tomatoes didn't have such a good year. Dang rambunctious tomatoes . . !

Rambunctious Steve

 

[thistlebloom]

I had the same experience with tomatoes last year Steve. I only grew a few but they were starting to think they were house guests before I finally made them bite the bullet and live outside. This year I'm starting a lot more and going to use some of them as lab rats with a plan I'm hatching for getting them growing outside earlier. We'll see how it affects production.
I'll also be starting onions from seed instead of sets for the first time. Ever try the Australian Brown?

 

[journey11]

We're all just chomping at the bit, aren't we.

I think it helps too, that they are out of their pots and are in the ground. It has more of an insulating effect, along with the tunnel. Air temps will be colder if they're up off the ground, IME

ETA: Well, and tomatoes just don't like to be cold anyway. Probably is good to have many extra to experiment with on this 'til we find out what they can take. Maybe they need to be hardened off first too?