I plant my seeds when everyone else in here does. :)

HaHa! Me too. Moon cycles are too complicated and I haven't seen an almanac in years.

When does everyone here, if you don't mind me asking? Lol

Being new here and all, I haven't seen anything really set in stone when most do plant things. I do have some habaneros, fatalii, and caribbean reds and some mild jalapenos, but that's about all at the moment.

Well, some of us actually started early to try out new techniques while there was still plenty of time to start over. And of course we have to gauge it by the mythical "last frost" date, which is the date that the plants can go outside permanently. Some of the folks here are Canucks and Finns that live up by the North Pole. They won't actually get to set out plants until July. But I suppose they go along to have something to do in the meantime.

So where are you?

When your soil is 60-65F that's a good time to plant transplants.

It won't harm them too much if it's 50-60F, but they won't grow quickly until it gets 60-70F.

A good rule of thumb in the absence of taking soil temperature readings is waiting until you have air temperatures (weather) regularly above 55F (nights dropping to low 50s isn't going to hurt them, though) and days in the 70s+.

Nights hitting the 40s isn't going to hurt seedlings if you hit a freak cold spell after you plant.

The main issue is putting them in the ground when temperatures are favorable for growth vs being in a physiologically stunted state because of lack of ideal warmth. Unless they hit a hard frost/freeze they're mostly safe.

I plant according to variety the hotter varieties Jan/Feb the milder Feb/Mar. Last season I did plant in Dec but light and space became an issue as they branched out. If I had 8-12 stoplights and more space I might start in Dec.

Mark

Tennessee (Oak Ridge area) here. Its kind of on the line between zone 6/7 if I'm not mistaken.

I simply plant two weeks earlier than I plan on every year. It is like an alcoholic staying away from beer.
Bruce

I go by the average last frost date. For me it's April 15th. I look at the weeklong forecast to see if that is still good. Absolute last frost I think is early May. That being said, I planted late last year, going by the old addage "plant when it has thoroughly warmed". That's pretty subjective. So, a short spring and a very hot summer, hurt my late planting. Going back to my old way. I am liking the idea of black plastic for warming the soil.

When it gets close to the average frost date I start watching the forecast. When I don't see any lows below 50's It's time. I may push it depending on what the general weather has been, but, not by much. That usually ends up around the 2-3 week of May for me.

Where I'm at, we're having record lows for this time of the year -- no frost, mid 30's. The thing is I've tried putting peppers and tomatoes in the ground in March and they just sit there and do nothing. I just wait until the beginning of April now. Let the ground warm up. Not only that, it gives me a chance to extend the season for my cool crops and prepare the soil for the warm crops.

Very limited space in my SoCal backyard(Kevin

Its called Agricultural astrology. Its pseudoscience just like astrology is.

Yes. Like everyone is saying, plant by weather and temp. ;)

This post was edited by TheMasterGardener1 on Tue, Feb 12, 13 at 17:56

I plant by the last frost date.

The phase of the moon is meaningless. The signs are meaningles. They're all just supersition, mumbo-jumbo, or at the very best highly inaccurate indicators that pre-date the use of actual science.

Hate to sound harsh, but extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Science backs it's claims up with mountains of data to support it. I have yet to see anyone come up with credible proof that your pepper cares one lick how full the moon is.

Edymnion,

Well said.

I actually believe in the "planting during a new moon" methodology. Ive done many experiments and found it to be mildly beneficial. However less so with peppers specifically. On the other hand, I still plant seeds every weekend because I like the constant flood of plants entering the garden. I believe there is a "science" to the new moon sowing theory and my take on it is this: When a new plant is germinated, the primary thrust of power and energy to grow is contained in the seed, after the first few days the plant transitions to use energy from external sources, air, water, light and soil. Approximately 2 weeks after new moon is when the full moon hits. Now, If you are planting outside, this is where you get the benefit. the freshly sprouted seedling is now just releasing it's first true leaves right at the point when the full moon is reflecting a lot of additional light. I believe this has the potential to give the plant some extra light right at the point where it's growth variables are being determined. While the benefit is small, I find it to be an interesting phenomena.

I do find it interesting absolutely. My grandparents, and parents always went by signs and such. I wasn't sure exactly how many people continued in the "old" ways however.

It's nice to read what peoples thoughts are on it, though!

The almanac isn't astrology. They use weather records and long-term patterns. Phases of the moon correspond to tides which may have an effect on some crops. Overall their record is very good. But I still don't use it.