Conflicting Seed Start Dates ?

[frjeff]

I am in Zone 5 (Oscoda, MI on Lake Huron)

I am new here and had always heard that the safe outside transplanting date was May 30 (Memorial Day).

Now I am reading that for my Zone the last frost date is April 30.

So, what am I missing here? I cannot determine when to start my seeds (pepper and tomato) indoors unless I know when I can transplant.

Perhaps the ground temp is not high enough until the May date??

Thanks

Jeff

[lily51]

There are differernt "frost free" dates based on %. I go for the 90% chance of frost free date, not the 50% chance.
Here where I am in north central Ohio, I wait until May 20, sometimes Memorial Day, even though the frost free date can be as early as May 15 if you like to take risks here. There have many times I have decided that the weather is just beautiful, so plant on Mother's Day, only to have to rescue them when frost shows up later in the week.

Are there any lake effects where you live that cause a milder clime than other places at your latitude?
And it depends on what you're planting, whether its a cool weather or warm weather plant.

[frjeff]

There are differernt "frost free" dates based on %. I go for the 90% chance of frost free date, not the 50% chance.
Here where I am in north central Ohio, I wait until May 20, sometimes Memorial Day, even though the frost free date can be as early as May 15 if you like to take risks here. There have many times I have decided that the weather is just beautiful, so plant on Mother's Day, only to have to rescue them when frost shows up later in the week.

Are there any lake effects where you live that cause a milder clime than other places at your latitude?
And it depends on what you're planting, whether its a cool weather or warm weather plant.

I'm mainly interested in peppers and tomato transplants and although we are right on Lake Huron (with some lake effect), I'm probably better thinking Memorial Day than Mother's Day - to be safe.

[lily51]

I agree. April 30 seemed really early.

[applestar]

Tomatoes can go in the ground about a week before peppers.

"Mainly"... what other vegs are you planning? For direct sowed seeds, you might find this thread helpful:
http://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/v ... 711#125711

[rainbowgardener]

I'll take the other side. I'm in SW Ohio (Cincinnati), zone 6 B. My 50% frost free date is Apr 15 (50% of the years there's no frost after that). My 90% frost free date is Apr 30. So lots of people don't plant until May.

But those dates are based on over 100 years of historical data. In these global warming times the historical data doesn't exactly apply any more. So if you use the 50% frost free date, your chances are well more than 50% of no frost after that (not 100% to be sure, but the odds are way on your side). And if you harden things off well, watch the forecast, and are willing to get out and cover things when it is getting cold, most plants can survive the nights when it gets down around freezing for a couple hrs at the coldest part and then comes right back up.

Depending on the forecast, I often have tomatoes in the ground before the (50%) frost free date. When it is cold like that (soil not very warmed up) they aren't growing fast, but they are putting down roots. Once the warm up comes, they are well established and take off. Then I am the only person in the neighborhood with ripe tomatoes in June.

[quiltbea]

I'm in Zone 5a in Maine and it seems the starting dates change now and then.
It used to be our last frost date was May 30th.

Now I find its May 15th and in some cases May 10th.

I'm using the earlier date for my cool weather crops because I use heavy row cover and even blankets and towels on cold frosty nites after my seedlings are planted. I'd rather get them a little earlier and make the extra effort at keeping them warm one way or another and I have raised beds in my Square Foot Garden so it makes it easier maintenance. Besides, cool weather crops can take a little frosty nite now and then.

For warm weather crops like tomatoes and peppers, I don't put them out til around June 7th. They'll stop growing if they get too cold even covered and take extra time getting back into their growth than if I just wait a bit longer. They'll have a long season to grow even if I wait a bit longer to plant them outdoors.