Indoor start time?

[ishy]

Is it time to start the veggies indoors yet? Thanks

[Eric Wettschreck]

Not sure, but yesterday the wife started a bunch of herbs.

Basil, parsley, mint, and a few others.

[pushbutton]

All depends what your crystal ball says about mid may weather and where you live. 6 to 8 weeks before setting out is a general rule of thumb. Cool season crops can easily be started now. The maters and peppers, however, don't really like nighttime temps below 45....so might be a little early...but might not. Would personally rather put out a seedling on the smaller side than a larger leggy one.. Many plants are not seriously putting on the pounds until the temps really warm up and need a particular amount of "heating degrees" to produce fruit. A big head start now might not even matter if the plants get stunted in a mid may cold snap. The particular variety also can come into play. For example, the Sub Arctic Plenty tomato was developed during WW2 for troops stationed in Greenland, and can be put out in April and will not be as affected by the cold nighttime temps....it just cant be allowed to freeze.

[KoppsCrops]

I always start everything by the 10th of March. (except for last year!) I put in all plants, cold and warm weather, but have a greenhouse and keep them warm at night. Tomatoes, and peppers go in the ground May 15th but I do mine on plastic mulch which allows them to go in early. I put the plastic down as soon as the frost is out and the soil is worked up. This allows the soil to warm up prior to planting.

If you are just planting them on uncovered soil, you might want to wait a couple weeks to plant your hot weather seeds since it’s looking like ground temps are going to remain cool all spring and you won’t want to get them in the ground until Memorial day. Cold weather stuff as pushbutton said can certainly get started now.

Is it time to start the veggies indoors yet? Thanks

[yoppdk]

We started our first batch of tomatoes, peppers, brussels sprouts and eggplants in February and have a bunch of healthy 3-inch plants growing in the basement now. I hope to have some well-developed plants ready to put into the ground sometime in May.

[ishy]

Thanks for the replies. I will start gearing up this weekend. At least find all my stuff in the shed and get pots, lighting, seeds ready.. Thanks again! Can't wait !!!!!!!!!!

[amateurfishing]

we usually buy our garden stuff as soon as it is on sale at end of jan, sadly we have been spending too much time with basement finish this winter & totally forgot bout the garden till 2 weeks ago, already started in basement with sprouts coming. always figured the bigger the seedlings are for the outside garden the better the survival rate

[JeremyCampbell]

I usually buy the plants when there just big enough to plant in the garden.I been feeding the garden with rabbit manure for two yrs.Had a good tomato turn out last yr. Whenever I try to grow from seeds the plants grow but arnt strong enough to survive the garden How do I make them tough when If I decide to grow them from seed again?

[amateurfishing]

im no expert but think 1 key is to give those fragile little things a little "extra" protection when initially planting in garden from wind, colder air, etc. we will usually put some kind of "barrier" around the seedlings like plastic yogurt containers with bottoms cut out or whatever i can find laying around for wind protection for first month or so. im pretty sure if we have plants that dont make it a tough spring wind is usually first culprit. anyway you can "protect" those fragile seedlings till they get a good root system in garden will help.

[Juneau4]

Go to a recycling dumpster and get some empty coffee cans(plastic) cut the bottoms out and place them around the plants and then take them off about June 1 depending where you live. Put in plants about May 15 or Just before you go fising on the Opener.

[KoppsCrops]

Are you hardening them off? Whenever you grow indoors under “perfect” conditions without wind, the plants get accustomed to these conditions and are not tough. When I start anything indoors, about 2 weeks prior to planting, I’ll bring them outside for the day gradually increasing the time they get. By the time the hit the garden, they are used to the weather and wind.

It also helps to put a fan on them as they are growing indoors. I also do this and it gives them a much stronger stalk.

[Juneau4]

Thats pretty much what I do. I'll start out by setting them in the garage for a day or two before actually setting them out side. The containers around them just seems to protect and help them get over the transplant shock.

[eurolarva]

I started the onion seeds, compact basil, and peppers last week. I am using a home built heating board that has really helped to get the peppers started. This is the first year I have been able to get them to germinate in a week. Tomatoes I will start next week. Leggy tomatos are not a problem. Just cut off all the lower branches before planting and lay the plant horizontal in the garden with just the top sticking up. It will give you a better root structure. Even though I think around April 1 is a good time to start tomatoes indoor. I do the compact basil because you can grow it in a small pot and start eating fresh basil while the other plants are growing. I have my best luck from seed with regular basil in the garden.

[yoppdk]

To harden mine off, and to help them get a better start, once it gets warm enough outside (above freezing) I place my seedlings into a black garden cart which I cover with a clear plastic film to make a makeshift greenhouse. The black absorbs tons of heat that's let in by the film. This really gets the heat-loving plants like peppers a boost, even when the air temp outside is only in 40's or 50's. I always bring them back inside after the sun gets low. When it's time to put these into the ground many of my plants are a couple feet tall. I'll leave them out overnight a few nights before planting, but I figure they are pretty hardy by then.

My garden plot in surrounded by woods and doesn't get a ton of sunshine in late fall and early spring, so I need to get my plants as developed as possible as early as possible.

[196thDLR]

I will be starting my bedding plants for the garden this next week. After the seedlings develope the third true leaf I put a couple of small osillating fans to blowing on the seedlings. The fans are set on low and they simulate a gentle wind. This helps thicken the main stem so that natural wind does not bother the plants when transplanted in the garden.