I'm in, who else? who's next?
 

When is it time? Planted 3 seeds each in 65 cells of sifted new MG seed starter in two half flats. Not being a practitioner of the dense sowing method, with my skewer in hand, ice cube tray of seeds, labeled sticks, etc, the Mrs. said I was just missing the mask and gloves to make it "surgical". Reordered five kinds that we ran out of (so I don't forget, again). This should let us plant 6 to 9 week old starts any weekend in March, with a 50% LFD of 03/15.

Getting ready to start a bunch too, but I do do the dense method. And peas are needing to go in in the garden already. I am a tad bit concerned that we will be having a long hot summer this year, so want to get a crop of tomatoes in before it gets horrible for awhile.

I started loading up a 72 cell flat of peat pellets with densely planted tomatoes, peppers and eggplants last night. One variety per cell. I'll likely end up with WAY too many plants, but I like that "problem".

Just started using these flats last year when a local Wal-Mart had dozens on clearance for $3 each.

I've already got baby coneflowers sprouted outside in milk jugs, and lots of other perennials that will likely germinate in the next few weeks.

Just the opposite, here. I'm ready for my two month vacation from looking at tomato seeds.

You southerners have it easy ;-) I started thinking about it last weekend, decided this coming one will be the day. Sat Feb 1st, will start my onions.

I'm betting on a shorter winter and earlier spring. We have no snow on the ground, and little/thin ice on lakes and ponds

it's gonna be awhile.....................

I'll be starting mine on Thursday. Thursday, April the 16th, that is...

Peppers will be started March 3 and tomatoes on April 1. Hopefully they'll all go out to the garden on April 28.

But I do have a few things already up and under the lights. Those would be the first round of cabbage and broccoli, the kale and collards, the first round of scallions, a Red Robin and Whippersnapper tomato and one Feher Ozon pepper.

Next up will be the second round of cabbage/broccoli on Feb 5. Peas will go in Feb 14.

[QUOTE=GoDawgs;752991]Peppers will be started March 3 and tomatoes on April 1. Hopefully they'll all go out to the garden on April 28.

But I do have a few things already up and under the lights. Those would be the first round of cabbage and broccoli, the kale and collards, the first round of scallions, a Red Robin and Whippersnapper tomato and one Feher Ozon pepper.

Next up will be the second round of cabbage/broccoli on Feb 5. Peas will go in Feb 14.[/QUOTE]
I was planning to do Spring Collards too. How long to you normally get to harvest them b4 bolting?

I checked my garden notes and fall kale and collards set out the first or second week of September have usually been pulled out in March. To be honest, the fall planting could probably stay in a bit longer but I usually need that bed for something else.

For the past two springs, kale and collards planted in January have been pulled out around mid June. The first cutting from them is usually in April so there's only about a one month gap in having edible kale and collards. I don't think I've ever had any that bolted. They just got to tasting "old" when the heat ramped up so out they came!

I used to grow about six plants of each but that's *way* too much for two people so I started cutting back until now I do only three of each. One [U]can[/U] have too many greens! A friend three miles up the road will take excess collards but she and DH don't like kale.

Sweet peppers are going to hit the soilless mix on Saturday. That is by far the earliest ever for me but I want to see if three weeks head start will have an effect on harvest time. Maybe a larger, healthier plant will reap benefits.

My problem I have with starting the peppers early is I have no place to go with them. Last year it got so cold after I put them outside, nights down to 40, and before they went in the ground the peppers and eggplants got sickly and started dropping leaves. The peppers lost about three leaves from each plant middle; I planted deeply but they still looked pretty sad. They produced at the normal time, but I have to think a moderated/heated greenhouse would allow them to fair better during that in between period and maybe bump the production or make it earlier. I've been thinking maybe this is the year for one of those $200 HF greenhouses. It would be a big investment in space, though, for my back yard.

I think some years it wouldn't matter, but a warm, pleasant spring combined with a plant with a head start might combine for sooner production.

[QUOTE=JRinPA;753004]My problem I have with starting the peppers early is I have no place to go with them. Last year it got so cold after I put them outside, nights down to 40, and before they went in the ground the peppers and eggplants got sickly and started dropping leaves. The peppers lost about three leaves from each plant middle; I planted deeply but they still looked pretty sad. They produced at the normal time, but I have to think a moderated/heated greenhouse would allow them to fair better during that in between period and maybe bump the production or make it earlier. I've been thinking maybe this is the year for one of those $200 HF greenhouses. It would be a big investment in space, though, for my back yard.

I think some years it wouldn't matter, but a warm, pleasant spring combined with a plant with a head start might combine for sooner production.[/QUOTE]

If you have a back porch you can cover it with 4 mil plastic. I have been doing that for years and it really helps when I have plants set out to harden and a cold snap comes along. Even down here in the deep south you can get burned by those things. Just not as often. We usually get burned by too much heat way too early.;)

My first tomatoes are about two inches tall and I have successive plantings still popping up and will have for a while. Since I try to graft all my tomatoes I have to start them about a month early. I usually start my first planting of bell peppers at the same time as they usually take far longer to germinate and grow slower. I will be starting more bells sometime this month to go out in early summer so I can hopefully have some decent peppers at the end of the summer and through the fall.

The biggest problem for me is when we have this constant rain and cloudy weather with fairly cold nights. It causes leggy plants and sometimes even damping off because the surface of the planting medium stays too wet. I start all my small seeds in DE and it has greatly reduced the danger of damping off but increased the need to fertilize my seedlings much earlier and more often.

Bill

Same issues as Bill.