I think I'm Early

[ruggr10]

This is the first year I've started plants inside and I think I'm early. What do you think? I'm in Maine, Zone 5a.

I've got sweet peppers, lettuce, rapini broccoli, and most recently peas. In four days some of the peas of 4 inches tall and not leggy. I may just scrap the peas and start them again later. The only plants I can't replace are the peppers as I'm out of seeds for my glow in the dark and amish sweet.

Help me out, tell me I'm not too too early!

[hendi_alex]

I don't think that there is any such thing as too early to start seeds for most plants. If the plants start to get a little size and seem to be getting a little crowded, then upsize the pot. Some years I start my earliest tomato plants in mid December, to go into the ground in mid April. The plants are usually in 3 gallon pots before being planted in the ground.

[hydroguy]

I was wondering the same thing, I had to toss out 16 tomatos last week and start over. Planted on Valentines Day and they were just not going to hold back until time to transplant. Lesson learned and I'll wait until atleast the 1st of March next year.

[rainbowgardener]

Not too early for peas, broccoli, lettuce, I plant broccoli seeds indoors under lights about ten weeks before my average last frost date. They go out in the garden about a month ahead of last frost date... if well hardened off they are quite cold tolerant. It helps them to get an early start because they don't really like hot weather and won't set good heads once it is hot.

Peas and lettuce I plant directly in the ground as soon as the soil can be worked, which for me (zone 6a) was weeks ago. I planted the first cold weather crops outdoors Mar 8 and probably could have done it a week earlier except it was too rainy.

I plant pepper seeds indoors almost as early as the broccoli, but they stay under the lights a lot longer. Peppers are slower to germinate and slower growing, so I give them a big head start. You didn't mention tomatoes, but those I start no more than 8 weeks ahead of average last frost date.

If you are not sure of your frost dates, here's info for various places in Maine:

https://cdo.ncdc.noaa.gov/climatenormals/clim20supp1/states/ME.pdf

use the 50% date and count back from there.

[jal_ut]

Early? I don't know. Usually 8 weeks before planting out time is great for tomatoes.
Cold hardy stuff like peas, lettuce, carrots, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, can be planted directly in the garden quite early.
No need to start them indoors. Although I do see people starting cabbage and broccoli indoors for an earlier harvest.

[PaulF]

The suggested time from seed starting to planting in the garden is 8-10 weeks. I like my plants to be a little larger so I go with the 10 week time frame. A safe planting outdoor time for your location would be maybe the third week of May, so pick a planting date, count backwards 8 to 10 weeks and that would be a good time to start. Studies have shown that smaller plants (8 to 10 " having been transplanted from small containers into a 2" or 3" pot) do better than larger plants. But that is another topic of discussion.

Lettuce and peas I do not start indoors. Peppers I start a couple of weeks earlier than the 10 week time period. Tomatoes and melons at 10 weeks.

[rainbowgardener]

More or less, but it depends on what you are planting. Cold weather stuff like lettuce, peas, broccoli can go in the ground well before the last frost date, so it needs to be started earlier. Lettuce and peas I just plant directly in the ground, but I start cabbage and broccoli 12 weeks before my average last frost date, because they will go in the ground a month before last frost.

I start peppers earlier than tomatoes because they are slower to germinate, grow, fruit.

To do really warm weather stuff like squash, I plant it no more than a week ahead of last frost, because the ground has to be well warmed up, before squash can go in.