Here is the schedule I follow in Spokane based on a May 15 last freeze date. I have a greenhouse which makes managing larger plants easier. You might want to push it back 2 weeks if you're putting them by a south facing window.
March 1 - 11 weeks ahead of last freeze date
- Clean up greenhouse and get heater set up
- Map out this year's garden plan
- Start seeds for peppers, eggplant and onions.
- Plant parsnip seeds in the garden
March 15 - 9 weeks ahead of last freeze date
- Start seeds for tomatoes, perennials and some flowers (I'm experimenting with wildflower seeds I collected last year so I'll probably plant some trays of those for the fun of it.)
- I'll either start pea plants in the greenhouse or more likely just plant the seeds in the garden. It's so mild this year you could probably get away with it.
- Six weeks is probably more than adequate for starting most tomatoes but I like to make the most of the greenhouse. The bigger they are the more fun it is to give them to friends and neighbors.
March 29 - 7 weeks ahead of last freeze date
- Start seeds for squash, lettuce, kohl rabi and other "cole" crops like cabbage. I might start the cole crops earlier. Every year I swear off growing cabbage, kale etc. because we don't eat them. But the chickens sure do like it.
- I'll probably start a another tragic saga of the giant pumpkin somewhere in here too.
April 26 - 3 weeks ahead of last freeze date
- Go cry on the shoulder of Bruce Metzger from GEM Garden and Greenhouse and ask him why my plants are dying.
- Start seeds for cucumbers.
- Buy some of his starts from his greenhouse and put them in my greenhouse and feel a lot better about the green in my greenhouse.
- Plant pea and lettuce starts being sure to cover them at night if it freezes.
May 15 - historic last freeze date
- Empty the greenhouse and get it all planted except the tomatoes and peppers that really like it warm. June 1 is the usual date to plant out tomatoes and peppers around these parts.
- Beans really do best by direct seeding them into the garden so now is the time to do that. I don't bother with corn anymore. It takes up a lot of space, hogs water and fertilizer and generally disappoints come harvest time.
May 22 - one week before I told everyone on the blog to plant out their tomatoes and peppers
- Plant out tomatoes and peppers because I just can't stand taking care of them in the greenhouse anymore.
The best way to learn is to try and try again.
I tried to leave this comment before but apparently it didn't get submitted...I have a question.
Why start seeds in little containers and then transplant to larger ones indoors (or in your greenhouse)? Wouldn't it be safer to start one seed in the larger pot that it will grow in until you move it outside? Less transplanting that way.
Posted by: Charlie | March 12, 2012 at 11:12 AM