I started my seedlings around the middle of June, but your season will be a bit longer than out here. I usually get a killing frost around the end of November and if lucky the first week in December. When I lived in town it would be around Christmas and later some years. I sprout the seeds in the house this time of year and repot them when first true leaves show and set them on the front porch for a couple of weeks and they get morning sun till about 1000am and if all is going well I put them on a shelf in the garden that has a bit of shade till ready to plant.
Yeah, I am concerned about alfalfa too, but I am going to try it and hope I don't regret the decision..
The fungicide I use is sold at Home ★★★★★ and, I think it is called Garden Green, but I'm not sure of the name.. it is supposed to be ok and environmentally friendly. A guy here on the forum uses a weak solution of clorox and I use his formula on a plant before I pull it and then again on the ground where the diseased plant was. My son uses the Home ★★★★★ stuff on his lawn where fungus spots show up and it stops it by the next day and starts growing again within a few days.
I've never grown Amish Paste, but Rutgers has done extremely well for me when we plan on canning a lot. It is a determinate and will not survive the heat, but produces a lot in one harvest.
