A voice from another continent and perhaps another climate (zone 6a/5b).
It's taken me some years to realize what the optimal approach is. And some set-backs as well.
1) You have to know what you are after. Early harvest or maximum yield. Profit or pleasure. Or a long lasting season.
2) You have to know the conditions very well and adjust to them. Of course, taking the current weather into account. Every year is different, at least here.
And that's it. There's no "prescription" that works for anyone. I have learnt to sow tomatoes for my garden (1800 ft a.m.s.l.) app 3 weeks before I sow seeds for my friends at altitudes of app 600 ft (Feb 15 resp Mar 8). I plant out seedlings with a lot of flowers and some fruits up there. And I get first ripe tomatoes at the same time as my friends, sometimes even earlier, even though I plant them out later than them. I tried an early plant-out last year (Apr 7). The plants got almost frozen when a wave of chilly weather came. They survived okay, but they stalled for over a month. And they did worse than those I planted out on May 17 all the season.
Milan HP
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