Zone 5b/6 - when should I start my seeds?

[Glassonion91168]

Hi all,

I'm so pleased with my very first crop of tomatoes, that I'd like to start them again in the winter. I think I started them indoors in December. Is that okay for my zone? When's the best time to plant them outdoors? I think I planted way too late.

Thanks!

[tomc]

Hi all,

I'm so pleased with my very first crop of tomatoes, that I'd like to start them again in the winter. I think I started them indoors in December. Is that okay for my zone? When's the best time to plant them outdoors? I think I planted way too late.

Peppers an' paprika can be pokey as heck. I've started my peppers that early. Tomato I would start March 1st. Start with enough so that you can set out to field some sacrifice plants.

Some years you may get them to survive a May 7th plant-out. Other years will need a memorial day plant out.

[rainbowgardener]

December seems like way too early, unless you are just in to growing tomato plants indoors (see the winter tomatoes thread going on now). But for that you have to have a lot of light (supplemental as well as window), a lot of room, and a lot of dedication. Otherwise if you are just starting tomatoes for transplanting outdoors, if you start them too early, then they get too big and you run out of room for them and without enough light they get all leggy and lanky. Then when you try to bring them out to harden off, those leggy tomato plants are very vulnerable to getting broken.... Trust me all this is from personal experience!

I am in zone 6 and I start tomatoes indoors somewhere between Valentines day and the next week. Since your last frost date is probably a little later than mine, tom's Mar 1 date sounds good to me.

How did it work out with the plants you started last December? You've already done it, so you have your own experience to draw on. If you are pleased with how that worked for you, then ignore us. But I'm pretty confused. You said you started them in December and then you said you planted way too late. Those don't fit together real well. How could you plant too late having started so early? Does that mean you kept your tomatoes indoors for six months? Were they fruiting indoors? You can look up the average last date for your area. I usually plant to plant my tomatoes outside soon after the average last frost date, depending on the current weather forecast at the time.

[Glassonion91168]

I looked into it. I planted seedlings indoors late January. I put them in the ground in July! Novice!

[rainbowgardener]

Yeah, that was a very long time to keep them indoors. Late Jan was still early for you to plant tomatoes, but perhaps workable if you like to have big transplants that are blooming already. But they can go outside as soon as danger of frost is past, which for you might be the 1st of May. Don't know why you would have wanted to keep them indoors until July, but live and learn.

[PaulF]

My zone is also 5b/6 and I start most tomatoes indoors in mid- Feb to March 1 depending on how I feel that week. Peppers a week or two earlier. Our average last frost is April 28 with record frost date June 1, so depending on weather forecasts tomatoes all are hardening off May 1 and planted May 8-10 unless it is cold and rainy which means they get planted whenever they can after that.

Do a little research on frost dates, set a tentative plant date and work back 8-10 weeks for seed starting.

[Glassonion91168]

Like I said, it was my first year and I had no idea how to grow them, and at the time didn't even have a place to put them! Now I have a raised bed that gets at least 8 hours of sun and I'm getting more cages as soon as they become available.

I will DEFINITELY do research on last frost dates and count back from then to start new seeds. Thanks so much all!