I'm itching to get started. When to start plants indoors.

[Ohio Tiller]

The original question was about when to start seeds indoors. Potatoes wouldn't be started indoors. I do start potatoes outdoors about a month ahead of my average last frost date, which makes it about mid-March for me too.

Yeah but then it branched off into everything else!

[littlelizzy123]

I start some seeds indoors because I do not have a long growing season here in high plains desert mountain Colorado, with a very cool spring, a hot and dry summer (usually with water restrictions, hooray for mulch and drip lines!), and a (usually) long warm fall. Then, BAM! Winter! I don't usually have that long cool fall that some veggies need to mature, and my spring is so cold, I can't start things directly in the garden like the seed package wants me to. Some seeds go directly into the garden though, my peas, beans, lettuce, corn, carrots, turnips, cucumber, potatoes, spinach, zucchini, and mache. I start my broccoli, celery, chard, leeks, onion, peppers, squash, tomatoes and watermelon indoors.

I would pay strict attention to your seed packets. I once thought to myself, broccoli always takes 6-7 weeks indoors. But the broccoli I had bought was a super quick grower and only needed a few weeks inside, per the packet directions (that I did not read). I ended up with long, leggy, overgrown plants that were not happy when I put them outside. Lesson learned.

But I myself love indoor seed starting. My hubs built me a beautiful seed starting rack, complete with 4ft ballasts he reclaimed from a job site he was working on. The building owner was going to throw them away! A mix of cool and warm white light, and I have my own little jungle in there! Remember how you used to run out and look at your seeds every day to see if they've sprouted? I love it! And I get to do it every day in my own house, earlier! I have to use a lot of tricks to make things ripen before the frosts come. I have to warm up parts of my garden with clear plastic, start seeds indoors, use row covers, a cold frame made from old windows that my hubby found for me, etc. But I like it and find it to be worth the effort. I also really like the varieties I get to try when I start my own seeds, rather than the 2 tomato varieties I can find in the garden stores around here.

[DoubleDogFarm]

The original question was about when to start seeds indoors. Potatoes wouldn't be started indoors. I do start potatoes outdoors about a month ahead of my average last frost date, which makes it about mid-March for me too.

True potato seed late Jan - early Feb.

Eric

[Cola82]

Just chiming in to ask when we would start beans? Around the same time as tomatoes? Later?

[rainbowgardener]

Beans are rarely started indoors, because they are very quick growing and don't need a long season, so there would be little advantage to it. If you were going to start them indoors, it would be later than tomatoes, because they need the soil warmer and grow so fast. If I were going to do it, I would probably do it like I do squash, no more than a week ahead of my average last frost date, maybe on the date. But really, I wouldn't do it, just plant them directly in the ground. Beans do need to soak overnight before planting.

[applestar]

You could probably sow fava beans outside soon... But I suppose you weren't asking about them.

[Cola82]

Cool, thank you. The ground won't be ready for another month or two, and I did see on the packet last night that it didn't recommend starting indoors so I didn't put any in my cells. But I actually trust you two more than a seed packet. ;p