Too Late to Start Seeds?

[Bloo]

hi i live in zone 6 (CT)

is it too late to start my seeds for Tomato and Pumpkin?

I will order them and start them next weekend.

I am new here and thank you!

[redbrick]

You may be pushing the envelope with the tomatoes, but I think you'll be ok. I started mine in the middle of February, but many people think that's too early.

As for the pumpkins, you will probably want to wait until about three weeks before you plant them outside. For best results plant them out when the soil temp is 60. Please note, that's soil temp, not air temp! I realize how vague that guideline is, so try thinking Memorial Day, or even later.

Hope this helps!

[Bloo]

You may be pushing the envelope with the tomatoes, but I think you'll be ok. I started mine in the middle of February, but many people think that's too early.

As for the pumpkins, you will probably want to wait until about three weeks before you plant them outside. For best results plant them out when the soil temp is 60. Please note, that's soil temp, not air temp! I realize how vague that guideline is, so try thinking Memorial Day, or even later.

Hope this helps!

yes very helpful thank you-i will have all supplies ready so when the tomato seeds arrive they will get planted inside asap

do you mean dont start the pumpkins inside until 3 weeks before Memorial day?

thanks for the tips :)

bloo

[flowerpower]

I start my pumpkins around the 2nd week of May and plant outside around Memeorial Day.

[stonysoil]

i found a great economical way starting my seeds in newspaper pots.. i purchased this wopoden mold that makes newspaper pots about the size of peat pots... it is a way to recycle old newspapers and roots go right through while pot decomposes in soil adding organic matter

[Bellepepper]

We participate in the Community gardening class at our local Community college. The instructor won't let us start our tomatoes until the middle of March. (next week). However, I started some of mine here at home in Feb. Will be interesting to compare the plants started in Feb to the March planting.

[Bloo]

thank you all! i am glad i can still get a good start with seeds-i placed an order for a few kinds (including that giant pumpkin, max?-lol i dont have room for that) over at the rareseeds site. looking forward to gardening (or should i say rock collecting?) this year.

bloo

[redbrick]

Well, it IS true, the first harvest you have will probably be a stone-crop! It was for me, anyway.

[mrtomatoexpres]

no go right ahead its not to late for tomatoes. i started my tomatoes,peppers,eggplants in mid march. i put mine in a big clear plasticbag it get hot in there and humid. i open it a little to let some of the heat out so i do not cook them. :)

[flowerpower]

I am still going to start a few more tomato seeds. I found an envelope of "old'' seeds. I'm sure some will germinate and I only need a few. The heirlooms are doing well and I'll probably get volunteers in the garden.

[KimB]

I'm zone 5. Last year I was too ill to start any of my seeds until the middle of June. Even though I transplanted the tomatoes on July 4th, they grew like weeds! I had plenty of tomatoes within a month after that and tons the rest of the season. Had I not experienced it myself, I would never believe it! The only plants that didn't produce as much as usual were the melons, though I still got 2 ripe ones off each vine. I only planted a few things because I was so discouraged about the late start; now I know to just go for it.

[Cheri Cason]

i found a great economical way starting my seeds in newspaper pots.. i purchased this wopoden mold that makes newspaper pots about the size of peat pots... it is a way to recycle old newspapers and roots go right through while pot decomposes in soil adding organic matter

Where did you purchase that? Do you have a name brand I could search for?

[justdoit]

Hi... I'm new to this forum, but just had to comment on this. Take your zone into consideration when deciding when to start seeds. I noted that the advice to wait until mid May was from someone in zone 4. I am in zone 6 (Southern MO)... I would be (if I still did it) starting my melons, cukes, pumpkins, etc., right now. I don't bother anymore. Once it is safe to plant tomatoes out they will do just fine pushed about an inch into the soil. I gave up making "hills" because of soil drying too fast. My grandfather taught me to dig out a huge hole, place 2-3 shovels of composted manure in there...cover with soil, making a flat topped hill and plant on that, but our whole garden is amended with compost and manure.

[Brook]

Generally speaking, tomatoes should be started 6-8 weeks before last frost in your area. So that's the determining factor. Depends a lot, too, on variety. Obviously, a short-season tomato which gets started late will still bear fruit. But a late season variety, planted late, might not.

Here in central Kentucky, I've transplanted as late as mid-July, with long-season varieties, and still harvested a crop. So all figures should be taken merely as guidelines until you develop benchmarks for your own garden.

Unless you have a very short growing season, it doesn't make sense to pre-start cucurbits like pumpkins. For starters, they are very sensitive to root shock, even when started in peat or newspaper pots. Plus, if you experiment by prestarting some, and direct sowing some, you'll find that the direct-sown vines quickly catch up with, and often surpass, the started ones.

[Brook]

Just Do It: Far too much is made of zones, when, in fact, for vegetable growers they are the next best thing to useless. The important dates are first frost and last frost, as they determine when, and what, gets planted.

FWIW, the zones relate only to a plant's ability to over-winter unprotected. Vegetable growers, 99% of the time, are not worried about that because even plants that are naturally perennials are treated like annuals (i.e., peppers, runner beans, etc.)

Cheri: The newpaper pot makers are handled by several seed houses and specialty shops. However, they sell for from 12 to 15 bucks. You can do the same job with a can of veggies, however.

If you want directions for making newspaper pots, just give a yell.

[redbrick]

Brook, it's an honor to "meet" you. I've really enjoyed your magazine articles. Does this count as a brush with celebrity?

I hadn't given zone relevency much thought, but what you said does make sense. However, let me offer this thought: Vegetable growers can use zone information when planning for overwintering, such as cold frame "winter gardens". Just my two cents' worth.

[Brook]

Brushing me as a celebrity and a buck means you can buy a cup of coffee, Andy. But thanks for the kind words.

To a certain degree, what you say about zones is correct. However, the zones, as applied to a plant, refer to its ability to winter over unprotected.

Unprotected is the key word. When you use cold frames or other season extenders you are, in effect, changing the zone by creating a micro-climate. So it still takes a lot of experimentation to figure out what will grow with what sort of protection.

It's also important to realize that the key ingredient in plant growth isn't so much warmth as light. I recommend Eliot Coleman's "Four Season Harvest" for a lot of great info and insights into winter gardening.

[mrtomatoexpres]

its true flowerpower you plant some plants and you have more :confused: i just pot them up or give them away. hey redbrick. what did the lord say. i think he forgot to put the brain in me for writing. so it do not cook them :confused: :rolleyes: oh well it was to say so it does not cook them :D

[Cheri Cason]

If you want directions for making newspaper pots, just give a yell

Ok, you may consider this a "yell".. :)

[Bloo]

ack 5 years later and the same ?

Memorial day here is in 3 days I am in zone 6, CT-I have some pumpkin and zucchini seeds-is it too late to start them in peat pots? and/or can I just plant them in the ground?

I will buy plants if it's too late just need some advice if you can give it!

Thanks!

bloo :)

[Sueboo]

Bloo - I say go for it in starting your seeds. Yes it's late, but seeds aren't so expensive that you need to feel like you are wasting money. Just take every vegetable as a "gift" from mother nature and know that next year you will be starting sooner.

If you feel anxious about the time it takes to maturity from the seeds, visit a local nursery and buy a few seedlings as "insurance" in case your seeds just take too long.

Best of luck, and more importantly - ENJOY the process! :)

Oh - and I almost forgot - Welcome to iDig! :)

Sue

[Bloo]

Bloo - I say go for it in starting your seeds. Yes it's late, but seeds aren't so expensive that you need to feel like you are wasting money. Just take every vegetable as a "gift" from mother nature and know that next year you will be starting sooner.

If you feel anxious about the time it takes to maturity from the seeds, visit a local nursery and buy a few seedlings as "insurance" in case your seeds just take too long.

Best of luck, and more importantly - ENJOY the process! :)

Oh - and I almost forgot - Welcome to iDig! :)

Sue

I'll do that !

Thanks Sue! :cool: