There are many seed-starting by zone calendars available on line. The link below is just one of them. You can even find guides specific to your exact location in Ohio, to your microclimate within zone 6.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/indoor-seed-starting-tips-calendar-zbcz1401

Most of us can tell your when WE would start all the things on your list but those dates wouldn't be the same for you. So in general, it is far too early for any of your warm season crops - beans, tomatoes, peppers, melons, okra, squash, etc. Leeks and onions should be started ASAP (mine get started in late Dec.).

Also sort out from your list the things that are normally direct seeded in the garden rather than grown as transplants - beans, cukes, zukes, okra, and the leafy greens.

Then determine how much well-lighted space you have to work with as that alone will determine how much you can do indoors.

Hope this helps.

Dave

Here is another good one.

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/growers-library/seed-planting-schedule-calculator.html

Thanks Dave! I recently have been watching onion growing videos on Youtube. I told my wife, "I think we are late with the onions babe..."

My plan is to start seeds (with exception of the traditional direct sow seeds) in my house under grow lights. Our last kid left for the Navy last year and now I have plenty of beer brewing and seed starting rooms at my disposal.

When the weather breaks a little more and stops going down below freezing at night, I want to move everything out to a DIY visqueen greenhouse I plan on building in the next 3 - 4 weeks.

I am still reading / researching exactly "how/when" to do this.

Have you consider winter sow? Do your own research on what's you can winter sow in your area. I am no expert, as I am trying it for the first time. I do have a fair amount of experience starting seeds with heat mat and under light indoor. It comes out most of the time, but I usually end up losing half of the starts, due to dampening off, leggy stems, and not enough hardening. And it Is a lot of work and cost a lot in electricity. And it takes up a lot space in my little house. So, I am trying winter sow for the first time.

I agree with Dave. Get those leeks and onions started today! The leeks are not daylight sensitive like bulbing onions so not a big deal on those being late to get started, same with bunching type onions (green onions/scallions).

I like to grow the onions and leeks in the 2 lb. yogurt tubs like in the picture below but any fairly deep container will work as long as you poke some wholes in the bottom to bottom water. Sow about 30-35 seeds in each and cover lightly with ~1/4" of seed starting mix (make sure to moisten the mix before you fill the containers!!). The onions should sprout in about 6 days so put them under the lights on day 5 so they don't come up leggy.

I like to start hot peppers 9 weeks prior to plant out, sweet peppers 8 weeks, tomatoes ~6 weeks, brassicas ~4 weeks, and lettuce 3 weeks. Everything else on your list I would direct seed.

NICE! I plan on starting the onions and leeks this weekend.

Thanks Jack and Dave for the words of wisdom...

We are here to help! And thanks to you and your son for his service Brian!!

Have fun sowing the onions and leeks this weekend! I still have 3 more weeks (Feb 25) before I get to start my Broccoli and Cauliflower.

Hey Jack - just curious. Do you trim your tops as they grow? I've been doing mine for the mast 3-4 years and it sure seems to stimulate new leaf growth.

Dave

Yes I do Dave. I allow them to grow to about 6" and then trim them back to ~4". I just gave my onions their 3rd haircut a couple days ago and they will need another one this weekend. I sowed them on new years eve day so they are on day 35 now and growing fast. The Red Cipolinni have noticeably thicker leaves than my bunching onions or Pontiacs.

I also trim the leeks the same way but haven't had too yet as I didn't start them until January 14.

You are right that it does seem to stimulate the plants as well as keep them manageable. Mine are putting out their 3rd true leaves now and the cotyledon leaves are starting to yellow and wither which is normal.

You guys are awesome. I have a garden itch like none other for some reason this year. I printed off the table from Johnny's Seed. I am set now!

Here is my 2017 garden. It is probably blurry, but that is the best I can do.

It isn't drawn to scale. Tried to get the whole garden on one sheet of paper. The beds are roughly 10' x 20'. We leave grass between the beds and mow. I used to till the entire area and realized I was weeding 1/3 of the garden for nothing. This works out pretty well.

The cantaloupe, watermelon and squash will be planted in hills. Drawing them like this gives my wife perspective. I am putting in 4x4's and stringing up wire @ 7' to train the tomatoes up single stem. I have tried cages, Florida weave, and just plain staking in the past. I saw this method on YouTube and want to give it a go. I will weave some kind of netting off the wire for the pole beans as well.

Thanks Jack...it was an honor to serve. My daughter is in the Navy over in the Far East. She is on one of the "big boats" over there. She will be home on leave at the very beginning of planting time. Hopefully the weather cooperates and she can help. She misses working with Daddy in the garden. I will probably plant no matter what so she can help. If frosts kills everything...I can always replant! It would be well worth the time spent with the little girl...

Wow that is a big garden Brian. I can understand not wanting to weed all those paths. All of my garden is raised beds but I have only about 700 sq. ft. total currently.

A whole family of proud Midship(wo)men you have! My late father was WWII Navy airman stationed in the South Pacific.

I'm sure you are excited to see your daughter in a few months.

Me and the boys were/are Army (HOOAH!). When the baby girl wanted to don the uniform, I put my foot down. Get into the technical / safer branch...the Navy. She is an engineer with a dry bed and hot showers every day. The boys and I did a lot of walking, sleeping under the stars and blowing stuff up.

I sowed my first seeds over the weekend.

On the left uncovered is determine Rutgers and Marglobe tomatoes I plan on potting up and keeping on back deck & giving away to family. The other two are onions and leeks. I planted kale, spinach and colored greens also...but forgot to take a picture.

Boy do I have the fever this year...

Oops on me. I thought you mentioned 2 kids in the Navy. Good idea steering your daughter towards the Navy. Probably helps you sleep better at night too.

Sounds like you are off to a good start! I am going to start a couple Marglobe for my neighbor this year. I've never grown it before but I've grown Rutgers a couple times. They supposedly 'rediscovered' the original strain of Rutgers 250 and seeds are now available commercially. I may have to give it a try next year.

Be sure to take those domes off the leeks and onions when they sprout in a couple days.

I am thinking about starting a few Tomatoes and broccoli a week or 2 earlier than normal this year to take advantage of what looks to be an early spring. I'll still start what I need at the normal time as backups. Is this a hobby or an illness?

LOL...just a hobby.

I haven't really grown anything you couldn't get from the typical garden store plant selection in the past. The only tomato plants I see around me is typical hybrid Early Girl, Better Boy, etc, etc. If you want anything remotely heirloom or "exotic" you have to grow from seed. Black Krim is the only one of my tomatoes I am growing this year that I have grown before. Marglobe's and Rutgers are what I am most excited about this year.

I have always had a garden, but it was never my "primary focus." I have always had some type of livestock to take up the majority of my time, but since all the kids are gone and we are empty nesters...the wife wanted a break from rabbits, goats, pigs and chickens. This is the first year in a very, very long time that some kind of animal and chickens haven't roamed around the valley. I didn't add to my flock with young chicks the past couple of years and all my layers got old and unproductive. Then I got wiped out by a family of raccoons about 2-months ago. The wife wanted a break from watering and cleaning out the coop, so I am pouring all my energy into the garden this year.

I miss chicken TV...

Sorry about the coons getting your flock!

Haha - I love chicken TV especially chicken football when I throw a hornworm at them and whichever one has the hornworm gets chased around the property by the rest of the flock. They do the same thing when one gets ahold of a frog, toad, skink, or snake.

It sounds like you have a regular hobby farm going on there!

We are down to 3 old biddy hens that will be turning 5 in exactly 1 month. We started with 10 hens and a rooster. I doubt they will lay many eggs this year if any. About the only thing they are good for at this point is manure for the compost pile. I wouldn't be too upset if the raccoons took them out but I built my coop and run like Fort Knox so the only chance of them getting knocked off is when they are let out to free range. We lost one to what I guessed was a bobcat a couple years ago while they were out. All I found was a pile of feathers next to the creek bank and the rest of the flock including the rooster were huddled under the coop freaking out.

I've been kicking around the idea of getting a dozen or so meat birds this spring, Cornish Rocks or Cornish Crosses. Since they only take ~6 weeks from hatch to freezer it seems like it wouldn't be too much of a chore and there is an Amish community pretty close that will process them for $1 a bird. The other idea would be raising some Ring Neck Pheasants for hunting in the fall. I haven't really looked into the details of doing either.

I'm growing 3 new to me tomatoes this year. Black Opal is a black cherry bred from Black Cherry, Orange Jazz is a orange beefsteak with yellow stripes that I'm really excited about. 'Black' is a variety that my neighbor wanted me to order from Totally Tomatoes so I figured I would try one in place of Black Krim or Cherokee Purple.

Brian - have your onions or leeks sprouted yet? If you sowed them on Saturday they should be sprouting any time now.

I am proud to announce I have "greenery." The onions are more pronounced than the leeks. You really have to get down close to see the leeks. I couldn't really get a good picture of either of them, they just blend in with the background...but the collards and kale you can really see.

Here is my grow light set up. I know they are too high above the plants...but when I lower them, they do not flood the entire trays. The lights are not real grow lights. They are just a cheap Home Depot type LED shop light. I need to get at least two more to get them lower like they should be.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I really don't want leggy plants...

Yes you should get the other set of lights ASAP. I like to use the T8 4 bulb fluorescent shop lights with the 6500K daylight bulbs and keep them 1-2" above the plants.

You may need to separate those cell packs too if the seedlings grow at different rates/heights. You can use various things like scrap lumber or old books to keep the various things at the same height under the lights.

Leeks grow a little slower than onions IME but after about 5 weeks they really take off. I'll be giving my leeks their first haircut this weekend which will be 4 weeks for them.

I got up early this morning and headed to Home Depot for new lights. I got 2 x 4 lay in troffers with T8 lamps. How does this look?

The leeks and onions haven't done anything but poke through the dirt. The kale and collards continue to grow. No tomatoes after 6-days...

Best to leave off/remove those plastic covers off the lights as they alter the spectrum and reduce the light. Bare bulbs work best.

Dave

Got it...took them off. I also put a heating pad under the tomatoes Saturday night. About 2/3 of the seeds have sprouted. The spinach pooped out as well...

Perfect. I was also going to suggest removing the covers but Dave beat me to it. It looks like you have plenty of room now but just beware that once you have to pot up the tomatoes and peppers they will take up a lot more space under the lights.

The onions and leeks will come up in a loop but after a few days they will pull the seed end out of the starting mix and triple in height overnight. I think it's only been 8 or 9 days so far for them.

I am building a (2) greenhouses. I am about 2-weeks away from having (1) done. When it is complete, I am moving everything out there. It is going to be 8"-10" x 17'-4". I know those are odd measurements, but that is what it is when I get the right head height and but the hog panels together side to side. I forgot to take pictures yesterday.

One side will be working tables and shelves. The other side will be 30" raised bed for onions and leeks. The 2nd greenhouse will be all raised bed for lettuce, spinach, kale, collards, etc, etc. I have a couple small foot heaters I will plug in at night. We are having a very mild winter here in SW Ohio. Hopefully the little heaters will provide enough heat to keep everything from freezing / dying. This all new to me...

Now I'm jealous!! I'd like to build a greenhouse but the only good place on my property would be about 350' from my house so I just invested in more grow lights and do everything in my basement.

Here is what it looks like now. I took out a corner of our horse "pickin pen." The horses have been gone for about 10-years and I had let it grow up with trees. It was just a mess for a long time.

I will add one more hog panel to this one and it will end up 13' long. I was going to make it 4-panels long, but decided it would be too big. I can always add on later and plus the 2nd greenhouse will be the same size.

Nice Brian!...and repurposed lumber to boot. Are you going to dig up the tree roots?

My job is rebuilding old buildings in the Over-The-Rhine district of Cincinnati. It is the area German immigrants settled back in late 1700's early 1800's. Those runner boards came out of an old brewery built in 1866 I turned into market rate apartments a couple years ago. I take all kinds of old wood, trim, doors and tons of bottles.

Here are a bunch of old bottles we found in a couple buildings I am working on now.

I don't know about the tree roots. I might just cover them with dirt or gravel at the entryway.

Well if the boards have not rotted in 150 years they should be good for another few decades at least. They are probably half petrified by now!

I sometimes find bottles like those that wash down into my creek bed from the farmers field next to my property. It seems that back in the day there was a personal landfill on that property where the owner threw a lot of their non-burnable trash.

Here is update on the GH. I was informed on the Greenhouse forum that it is really a hoop-house since since it isn't heated. I MUST change the name then. I did deviate from my original plan. I added a 2nd runner ban board to gain some head height. I wouldn't be able to reuse my old backdoor unless I did.

I hope to get the last of the framing complete today. Maybe install the plastic next weekend.

The plants are doing good. I over watered the kale, coloreds and spinach last night. Before that they were perfect deep dark green. Hopefully they dry out and turn green again.

All the onions and leeks are around 2 - 3" high. They seem to be slow growers...

I re-potted the tomatoes. These were started on 2/4. I transplanted on 2/24. They seem small to me (2 - 3" tall) but they look healthy and I started feeding them fish emulsion (1/3 strength). It is really cool in my basement (60 - 65 deg). I didn't put them on a heating pad until around day 7 - 8 and then they popped up around day 10. All these are "test subjects" of determinate Rutgers and Marglobe. I am going to keep a couple and pot into big planters for the deck. The rest will be given away to friends & family. Before I start my indeterminate garden tomatoes I will get red / blue Solo cups.

I know this is Seed Starting forum...but not much activity on GH forum.

Update on the GH...Here is what I did over the weekend.

I have a 2'-6"" x 12' work table with tons of space for storage underneath. That leaves a bed 2'-6" x 9' bed on the end of the table and a 2'-6" x 21' bed on opposite wall. The back end connects the dots for another another bed area of 2'-6" x 3'.

Now before I put the plastic on, I want to infill the beds with soil. I have 2+ year old composted horse manure and garden soil. My plan was to mix the two 50/50. I had planned on laying down cardboard in the bottom of the beds, layer a bunch of leaves and then fill up with the 50/50 combination. My garden soil is pretty heavy, but I have worked compost into it for the last 3 - 4 years...so the clay is starting to give over to goodness. I might add masonry sand. That combination would be 50% compost, 35% garden soil and 15% sand...????

Any help or suggestions are welcome.

Wow...I just read through (half) of that earlier post. Sounds like there is no "right" answer...too many variables. I will do a 50/50 mix of composted horse manure and garden soil.

"I will do a 50/50 mix of composted horse manure and garden soil."

Based on the principle that you can always add more but you can't take any out ;-) there is no need to begin with a 50:50 mix. I'd suggest cutting that back to a 30/70 mix of manure to soil.

In addition to the drainage and rooting issues compost can cause, composted animal manures can be quite high in salt and a 50% bed of it could be a potential problem in that regard. You can always add more composted manure later, even use it as a side dressing if needed, and add more this fall to work in over winter. But the general recommended mix is no more than 30-35% compost to begin with to avoid the salt build-up issue.

Dave