You guys must be warmerrainbowgardener wrote:skoorbmax - I know the stores about now are full of seed starting stuff, just another way they lead people astray. You are actually getting kind of a late start. I planted pepper seeds (indoors of course) in Jan, because they are slow to sprout and grow. You can plant them now, but be prepared to be getting your first peppers about the end of your season. You might want to just buy some pepper plants this year.
I've never grown cauliflower, but it is a brassica, in the same family with broccoli. It is a cold weather crop, very tolerant of cold and frost, but doesn't like heat very well. I planted broccoli also in Jan and transplanted the plants in the ground several weeks ago. They've been snowed on a couple times since then and are fine. I'm a bit south of you, so my season may be a little different from yours.
You are a little behind on tomatoes, but not as badly. Corn and beans you can plant directly in the ground after all danger of frost is past. Squash, melons, cucumbers you can plant directly in the ground after all danger of frost is past AND the soil has warmed up some, or you can start it indoors just a couple weeks ahead of your last frost date.
I guess I must be late on a few things, though. It slipped my mind entirely while watching the snow fall! last year I started seedlings now and it was definitely not too early for tomatoes and cucumbers because they were leggy but perhaps that was more lack of light than anything else (grew them by windows with a mirror). Some of the tomato seedlings in the stores in May were much larger, though.I'm hopeful that with 2X40W flo lights I could get some better growth. Maybe use the same lights for lettuce throughout the winter...?