Best not to start seeds to early or you'll end up with lanky plants and be desparate to get them out. People are so anxious to get going they start things too early in my opinion. I usually put annuals and tomatoes out on Memorial Day weekend or the following week and just start my seeds 6 weeks prior (so 2nd week of April). Of course if you are starting slow to germinate annuals (like pentas, impatiens), hardy annuals (like pansies which are put out in April/May) or perennials you should start these earlier. I do not grow any of the cold weather vegetables so these you will need advice on (I suppose things like lettuce, spinach, ??) need to be started earlier and go out earlier. Someone else with more experience with these could comment on them.

If you put the annuals out too early for your zone, the ground can be very cold too, so the plants will sit there anyways and not grow until the soil warms up. Of course containers warm more quickly and can be brought into a garage so they are another story. All this advice is dependant on the microclimate of you property which can vary.

You have to judge based on the weather trends for your immediate area. We can get away with planting earlier in our 6b coastal zone. I put my tomatoes out in early May. Haven't had a frost after April since I can remember. You can always through a cloche or tarp over the plants at night if you're nervous.

Microclimates play a large role too. If you have a warm, sunny sheltered spot next to a building, it can mean several weeks of extra growing time at each end.

yes Cady is right... I saw that you were from Hingham, MA after I posted. Being near the coast and on the south shore you certainly can put plants out earlier than me (who lives near the NH border). Best to look at the seed packets and see how long the seeds to take to germinate. Then depending on your frost date count back from there. Then take into account when cold hardy vegetables/annuals can go out.

Many folks start their seeds using the wintersowing method too, so they may have been referencing that......

Hi,

I have often put my tomatos out as early as the first week of May, by using wall of waters around them. Sometimes they do great and take off earlier and other years they just sit there waiting for warmer weather. I can always throw something else on top of them on a really cold night.

It is taking a risk though. For other reasons, I haven't done that in a few years. Last year would have been a horrible year to do that. It was rainy and cold most of May.

I never start any cuke, or squash early though. They definitely do not like even the slightest cold weather and they grow quickly when direct sown after May 31st. In an unusually warm year, I might try putting them out a week or so early, and you can always start them indoors if you want to have larger plants to set out on May 31st.

I am starting seed this week for tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, spinach, lettuce, broccoli, kale, cabbage, cauliflower. I actually would have started them the beginning of March if I had the opportunity to. I am North of Boston. I have always tried to put pea seed in the ground on Saint Patrick's Day. Some years snow has prevented that, but mostly never having a bed prepared. [g]

It would seem you are in a warmer area than I am.
:-)

If you have really good growing conditions indoors, with lots of light, fairly low temperatures, and great air circulation, you can get away with starting things indoors earlier than those of us with no space around windows, no grow lamps, and no unheated areas. If you have the time to cart the seedling outside in the morning and back indoors at night, or if you have a large coldframe, you can also start plants earlier than those of us with packed schedules and no coldframes.

Maybe the folks on the veggie forum have good propagation set ups; I personally don't have any of the requisites for serious seed-starting. I'll do a few trays of random things later this spring, but will have to fork over the bucks for seedlings at one of the local greenhouses for most of my annuals and vegetables. Luckily, I enjoy that activity too.

I always wait until Memorial Day weekend as I am more inland (especially for tomatoes). My pole beans I may start even later. Everything catches up. I'm in the same situation as diggingthedirt. Plus my property has a lot of shade.

I have had good luck with a cold frame with an automatic opener. Because I travel so much, seedlings are a risky/hopeless proposition for me. I just buy started plants (mostly tomatoes and peppers) at the local nursery. They usually start showing up in early April. I always thought people, who bought tender plants so early, were clueless, given where we are located. But, with a cold frame, you can definitely add about a month to the growing season.

narcnh

We grow hundreds of starts on shelves under growlights (regular fluorescent bulbs) and are ready to go out on May 1 on Cape Cod. But last frost can be anywhere from 4/20 to 5/10, depending on microclimate and distance from the ocean. And luck. So I direct seed radishes, spinach, and other greens in early April, along with peas. I want them ready for the farmers' market in mid-June. Brassicas also I start from seed now indoors so they can go out in late spril and be ready for the June market. It's a real balancing act.

Here is a link that might be useful: blogging about organics and life