When to Start Seedlings

One of the biggest mistakes gardeners make is starting seedlings too soon.

I know gardeners in Los Angeles who harvest tomatoes in January, but north of USDA Zone 6 you shouldn’t even think of starting tomatoes until February.

In USDA Zone 4 we start ours in two batches: A few in mid-March, and a larger group around the first of April. If the weather breaks early, the March planting is worth it; but if spring is sow, the early seedlings just get tossed out, as they are too big when planting season arrives.

That’s why it’s a good idea to make two sowings of seed, a week or two apart. If something happens to one set, you’ve got the backup. With two plantings, a week before and a week after the theoretically ideal planting date, you’re ready either way.

TIMING CHART FOR STARTING SEEDLINGS

Group 1
Start 10 to 12 weeks before the frost-free date.

Eggplants
Peppers
Parsley
Onions
Leeks
Perennial Herbs
Celeriac

Group 2
Start 6 to 8 weeks before the frost-free date.

Tomatoes
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Basil
Lettuce
Endive

Group 3
Start 2 to 4 weeks before the frost-free date.

Dill
Melons
Beans
Brussels Sprouts
Squash
Lettuce
Annual Herbs

Read more: Nature, Lawns & Gardens

Adapted from Straight-Ahead Organic,by Shepherd Ogden. Copyright (c)1992, 1999 by Shepherd Ogden. Reprinted by permission of Chelsea Green Publishing Company.
Adapted from Straight-Ahead Organic,by Shepherd Ogden.

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Lost A.

3:50AM PDT on Mar 20, 2012

Thanx.

send a green star

Tim C.

10:06AM PDT on Mar 19, 2012

KrassiAWAY B.

4:28AM PDT on May 13, 2011

Noted with interest.

KS G.

5:07AM PDT on Apr 4, 2011

Thanks for the article.

Robert O.

4:15PM PDT on Mar 20, 2011

Thanks.

mr C.

2:16AM PDT on Jul 11, 2010

thanks!

Lisa A.

5:10PM PDT on Jun 6, 2010

oops, that should read-- "until we got frost and 35 degrees one week in May

5:08PM PDT on Jun 6, 2010

Ohh, I am so guilty of this--and I managed to sadly kill Morning glory and sunflower seedlings by being overly excited that we were having a warming spell in April. They did great, until we suddenly got frost and 35 degrees one night this week.

I learned my lesson now to plant them AFTER Memorial Day here in Northeastern Pa.

Nanna B.

8:35PM PDT on May 4, 2009

Thanks for sharing that. Many times I am guilty online for assuming that everyone is in the same climate time as we are. Yet, In the same note...I think about it and know that they are not.

If I have confused you, sorry. It is just the interent brings people together. The other day a lady was speaking about eating from her garden, yet I just placed our last seeds in the groud. First thing I thought of was wow, you started those out inside to be able to be eating from the plants.

Hope I explained myself.

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