Elisa,

Nice thaw indeed!! A little behind on the onions/leeks, ill start mine this weekend.. Have to plant celery soon as well! Thinking about planting some flowers like impatiens around the same time.. A little after that ill start the peppers.

Im glad you brought up the topic, I was just going to post something!

You two are lucky, Elisa and Nature. I can't even see my garden beds yet so I'm still stuck in winter mode. Everything is still covered with snow here even though it rained almost all day yesterday and is/was above freezing both today and yesterday. (It's going to be back to below freezing again in a couple of days.)

So far the only edible thing that I have planted from seed this year is rhubarb and those were winter sown (meaning they are outside). If I count what I planted outside last fall I've got garlic, shallots, egyptian onions, and sunchokes. I could harvest some egyptian onions now, if I could find them.

It won't be until around mid-march that I'll start lettuces, brassicas, peppers, and tomatoes.

Rodney

Lots and lots of indoors sprouts. I don't have the room inside this year, so it will have to be store tomatoes and pepper plants, purchased in May. I could start onions, though.

Too early to start almost anything outdoors without protection. I do have peas growing outside that are doing pretty good so far but those are in a doubled up low tunnel.

Indoors mostly onions, peppers and celery plus some chard, collards, tatsoi, lettuce, spinach and brussel sprouts.

Our temps have been on the warmer side, which has me scared for the fire season this year and our precipitation has been very low. I will be putting favas outside today, to germinate when they are ready. I also have winter sown some more sorrel. I bought some onion sets at Wal-Mart and got those in the ground outside. I have purple sprouting broccoli that I started in the fall under cover and I am itching for the day when it starts producing. There is still kale alive under cover too that is starting to grow. I winter sowed parsley as well, just waiting on it.

For starts, I have kohlrabi and cilantro that has germinated and is on the front porch during the day. I am waiting for peppers to germinate. Once they do, I will start some tomatoes. I have also have 4 cauliflower seedlings but cauliflower is also a bit dicey here. I have organized some of the plant stuff in the garage though so I can actually get to it when needed and that is a huge accomplishment.

Will all you folks that are jumping the gun with your starts be sure to report back later on how they did? It could be really helpful info for others in your zones for next year.

Dave

Dave,

I was going to say... I see lots who already have celery growing... Forget celery, they have cilantro, spinach.. Seems way to early for the leafy greens.. At first, i thought i was the one behind schedule! Lol..

Im curious, when do you guys start your onions, leeks, celery, etc? What date?

Here's a link to the right times you should start your plants.

Here is a link that might be useful: Seed starting calculator

I haven't started anything yet, still planning and gathering supplies/waiting for seeds to come in the mail. It will be at least a week (probably more like 2-3) before I start my earliest seeds. Planning on starting cabbage the first week of March, lettuce, broccoli, and cauliflower the 2nd and 3rd week of March. I'm not growing leeks, and my onions are starts, not from seeds so I believe I have some time for those.

I do have a few things on my plant shelf, just some ongoing herbs and a handful of celery stumps that I'm rooting, but I'm not planning on growing any celery from seed this year. We go through enough that I just start saving stumps in late winter and rooting them inside until it is warm enough to put them out in the garden.

It seems almost everybody has got something growing inside besides me. It doesn't feel like I'm even in the same zone as you all.

So I've got a couple questions. When do you plan on planting out? And do you plan on growing under some sort of cover?

I'll be planting cool season crops in April. Warm season crops in May. My mid-March start time will give me plants about a month old to plant in April, one and a half to two months old for warm season plants in May. Row covers are all I'll be using and those are mostly for an insect barrier.

Rodney

Rodney,

I am interested to know what crops are you planning for April. Thanks.

Rodney, that's exactly the schedule I've been on (end of May for the late crops like tomatoes to go in the ground, any time in April for the early crops, and I do plant under a thin cover). Except for leeks, which I start as early as January, and this year my first try at starting onions from seed (started in early Feb.)

The temptation to start broccoli, etc, now is mostly because I"m visiting my parents and they have running water, which we have not had all winter because of the cold. It would be so much easier to work with the potting soil, etc, with an actual functional kitchen sink!

theforgottenone -- oh, it's still all under snow. But I can dream, can't I? :)

Everything I am growing now, I eat within the week. Right now two jars of fenugreek sprouts, and one tray of sunflower. I have finished alfalfa in the fridge. If I start the onions this week end, they will have to be transplanted under cover. After last night rain, which has melted a lot of snow, we still have one foot plus on the ground. The 15-days weather looks like freezing every day at mid day.

I have started 400 tomatoes for my early planting in my high tunnel in mid march. They should be coming up soon, about 2 weeks late starting them. I was pushing too hard last year and had too many seedlings and no place to plant, due to the very late spring. I started broccoli and it is coming up now, I will transplant them in mid March into a movable tunnel.

I am starting lettuce, kale and chard tonight too. I am going on a short vacation, for 3 days next week, so I don't want to have anything in my germination chamber and have the kids have to worry about it. They will be responsible to water them all, I am sure they can handle that.

I also bought another high tunnel to replace one of my homemade tunnels. I have to disassemble and move it to my house. I am hoping to have it tore apart and move to my house by early March and have it up by the end of the week of March 17th. I will be starting more seed on the 1st and 2nd.

It is going to be a BUSY month of March. School, planting, and building.

Jay

I don't think I'm jumping the gun on anything. I always start peppers, onions and celery around this time and it's always worked out. Obviously peppers aren't going outside anytime soon but onions and celery can go out into the tunnels in a handful of weeks.

I find I can grow greens way better and tastier during the cold season. I have plenty of time during the winter to attend to the coldframes and tunnels which of course many other people don't have the time.

Rodney, I'm pretty much on the same schedule that you described. Cold crops like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower & lettuce will be started inside the first 3 weeks of March, then taken outside the first 2 weeks of April.

Tomatoes will get started the first week of April and the rest of my warm weather crops (cucumbers, squashes, etc) will get started in mid April. The warm weather crops won't go outside until mid-May.

Direct sow crops vary - peas: mid-March, carrots: first week of April, corn and pole beans in early May.

I have some floating row cover that I'm using for the first time this year, but that's mostly as a bug barrier.

I still need to figure out the timing on a few of my plants, but I haven't worried about it yet since they aren't cold crops... I know I have some time.

Melissa

Onions, broccoli and cabbages started. All beds in garden still under feet of snow.

And the sunporch where I normally grow my starts just collapsed under the weight on the roof.

Solar altitude(angle) here is too low (~32 deg) and the ground is not warming up. We need another month or so for the sun to rise higher, to about 45 deg. Then it will be the time to plant my cool crops.I have already sown some in the cold frame but hardly any germination so far. Our zone, 7b , is no better than yous zone 5 right now. So count me in. as zone 5er.(grin)

This post was edited by seysonn on Sat, Feb 22, 14 at 12:44

I have artichoke seedlings growing on my windowsill. I hope to transplant them outside in late March when the temperatures will stay above 28F.

robert2014- I'll be planting things that can handle light frosts. Broccoli, kohlrabi, cabbage, and lettuce I'll be starting early to plant out. Radishes, peas, mustards, beets, carrots, and more lettuce I'll be direct sowing. How soon or late in April I plant depends on the weather.

Rodney

p.s. Yes, Elisa, I can certainly dream. :)

All I have started is peppers and onions. Everything else is waiting until next month or April. (Last years several feet of snow throughout April made me kind of gun shy I guess.) Other then that, the nice thaw has been a great opportunity for all my prep work and now all my "off season" projects are done, just need to add a little more compost here and there and we'll be ready for planting out when I can actually trust the weather.

I did it. I gave in to the temptation of the gorgeous weather and the convenience of running water and here's what I planted:
Fava beans and shell peas out doors under one layer of agribon in zone 6 (where my parents live)
Flats of broccoli, cabbage, and turnips (for the early greens) to take back to my zone 5 garden in WV, to be planted in early April.

Dave, I will report on how the jumping the gun goes!

And Natures Nature -- thanks for the link to the seed starting calendar from Johnnys. It's great to have all the "how many weeks before frost" dates in one place, rather than having to look up each vegetable individually.

Nothing yet here. Still a bit early. AND we have 2 feet of snow on the ground outside.

I have scallions up (indoors), and just started peppers and broccoli. I want to get my peppers bigger for transplanting this year, and the broccoli will go in as early as possible and get some protection. I'll be starting tomatoes in a week.

My bags of compost in the garage are frozen. I put them there so I could make starts with the compost as soil. I wonder if they are telling me something about starting seeds.

Planning is all I've done so far. No orders for seeds made yet, just happy to plan for seed starting in mid- March.

I started peppers a few days ago...but planted seeds outdoors Tuesday, spinach and lettuce. We have been in the low 60s here the past week and all of the snow has melted! I figure the spinach and lettuce will germinate when their ready.

I've got tomatoes indoors to go into the new hoop house in 2 weeks or so. Onions and leeks have been going since mid January. Chard for the HH, hoping to get out there tomorrow to seed in some cool season greens and maybe carrots, but I'm probably dreaming on those. I was quite happy to get out there in the HH this afternoon to cut in my beds and paths. I'll start tomatoes and peppers for the main season in about two weeks and usually put them out the last week of April or first week of May. Cincinnati Z6a.
Phil

And just as I'm seeing grass again, they are calling for another foot of snow this weekend :( Will Spring ever come? I will be getting raspberries and strawberries in about two weeks that will need to be planted... certainly don't want to be out there in the snow!

Hold your horses emorems spring isn't for another 3 weeks! Lol

Agree, Aili,

This is a snap shot at this hour, across USA.

Indoors about a month ago I sowed Mary Washington asparagus in cells, have about 18 seedlings (ca. 75-80% germination), about 6 to 9 inches tall.

Couple pots of parsley and thyme were sown at same time and are couple inches tall.

Bought one of those plastic clam shells of organic rosemary for $2.49 and stripped the stems apart and rooted in water. Now I have 9 four-inch baby plants, sure beats starting rosemary from seed and waiting forever.

Sowed hot and sweet peppers in cells two days ago, also three varieties of tomatoes (some tom seed was nine years old, but it sprouted OK last year...!)

Next on the indoor agenda, maybe: chard, kale, scallions, leeks, bok choy. Also maybe lettuces and spinach.

Outdoor garden is covered with a foot of frozen compacted snow here in mid-Hudson Valley, so my unheated enclosed porch will have to be a surrogate for the cool-weather crops.

I didn't choose when the strawberries and raspberries would be delivered... they are shipping at the right time for planting according to my zone (supposedly, lol) - I AM going to have to do something with them when they get here. The raspberries are going into pots, so I could leave them inside for a few extra weeks if necessary... not sure how to delay the strawberries if everything is still frozen when they come.

Still waiting on some of my seeds, but I have the rest of my seed starting stuff ready to go.

Emorems, how about you contact the company and see if they would consider delaying shipping for another week or two? They might, and if not, at least you tried.

Emorems, you can just loosen the bags that the strawberrry plants were shipped in and set them in a produce drawer in your refrig. That is basically how the plant co. has been holding them dormant prior to shipment. If soil anywhere is dry enough to work you could "Heel-in" the plants by just planting them densely in a hoed trench (25 plants/ft lenght) until you can dig up to transplant.

Just checked the forecast since our snow has already seemed to stop here... looks like the storm moved farther south than originally predicted so we only got another 2 inches or so. Then I see this prediction for March/Spring and I'm a little worried about my plans for planting out. This is the first year that I'm actually prepared to plant things out at the right time and now we're predicted to have a colder/much colder than typical spring. Anyone else worried about a colder than normal spring? I guess this only affects the Z5/6ers in the east.

Here is a link that might be useful: March/Spring forcast

Here near the cooler MA seashore our outdoor planting date for tomatoes, beans, cukes, etc., has traditionally been Memorial Day. We sometimes get a headstart of a week or two during warm sprintimes. Though a bit early by my standards, I weakened and started Hot Peppers, Leeks, and some pelletted Lettuce seeds indoors yesterday, Mar.1. Like many others, I am tired of the winter and over eager to begin. Will start sweet Peppers on April 1 and Tomatoes, April 15. Just tradition here.

Today I started 40 bell peppers, 40 tomatoes and 8 broccoli from seed. Looking to be eating all of these in early July. Next weekend will be another planting weekend.

I am just starting a veg garden in new place with a few firsts. 1.winter sowing many of my vegetables... 2.also am using vertical pallet gardens. So far onions, chives, radish', tomatoes, peppers, parsley crossing fingers..

It looks more like a milk jug garden at the moment. lol

Nothing!

I will drop about 70 something tomato seeds come St. Patty's day, although if this frigid weather doesn't break I may even wait until end of March. I don't want leggy plants. Probably drop 20-30 peppers and eggplants.

As far as other things, no. I want to direct sow most of everything. I don't notice much of a change in end product when I sow these inside and transplant, vs direct sow. Ie: lettuce, peas, radishes, herbs, etc. As far as broccoli and such, I'm only going to do a fall planting this year, as we will be in a new place this spring.

I normally would have started onions and leeks, but once again...new place, not sure how much ground we will be able to work.