Hello again! I’d like to talk about seed starting. I plant a vegetable garden outside every spring. I know, November seems a bit early to be thinking about spring gardening, but I like to start all my vegetable and herb plants from seed instead of buying plants in the spring. It’s much cheaper (unless you go mental with the seed catalogs and order everything in sight, like I do) and you get a far greater variety of plants to choose from. Many of my favorite seed catalogs start arriving in December or January, which gives me plenty of time to go through them and choose what I want. I like to try different varieties each year, but I’ll always make room for my favorites. If you read my post about tomatoes, you’ll know which ones I mean.
I generally grow tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash (usually summer but sometimes winter as well), corn, cucumbers, onions, beans, broccoli, lettuce, Swiss chard, beets, and carrots in my garden. All these different plants require a specific planting time and method. The last frost date here in New England is May 31st, and if you’re from around here you know not to plant anything (cold weather crops excluded) in the ground before then. I jumped the gun one year, only for it to snow the week before Memorial Day, killing everything.
I use fluorescent grow lights for everything I start indoors, and a light, well-draining soil like Pro Mix or Black Gold Seedling Mix. I cover the trays with a dome to keep the moisture in.
I plant onions first every year because they take the longest. I start them in early-to-mid February in the 3" inserts we sell here at Worm’s Way (I usually poke 9 separate holes in each 3 inch pot, and separate them out later when I put them in the ground). This gives them three months to geminate and grow before I plant them outside. Unlike other seeds, onions don't need a seedling heat mat underneath them to aid in germination.
I plant peppers and broccoli next, around the beginning of March. Because the peppers require a heat mat to raise the temperature to around 85 to 90 degrees but the broccoli doesn't, they have to be in separate trays. Broccoli is one of the few plants that can be planted outside before Memorial Day. The end of April is usually a good time.
Then come the tomatoes and eggplant. These have the same requirements, so they can be started in the same tray. Temperatures around 75 to 80 degrees are best for germination. To accurately maintain a specific temperature for your seedlings, I suggest getting a seedling heat mat thermostat. I start my tomatoes and eggplant right around my birthday, March 21 (gifts accepted; send them to Worm’s Way Massachusetts c/o Maryanne).
The last round of seeds I plant indoors are the squashes, cukes, melons, pumpkins, and lettuces. Everything but the lettuce can be planted together around two to three weeks before planting them outside. In my case, that works out to around mid-May. The lettuce doesn't need a heat mat, but the squashes and others will need a temperature around 75 to 80 degrees.
The last things I plant are the vegetables that don't like to be transplanted, and have to be directly seeded. All of your root crops fall into this category: carrots, beets, radishes, turnips, and beans. I employ the "square foot garden" method for carrots and beets, where I plant the seeds in individual square foot sections. I recommend this method if you have limited space for your garden, because you can squeeze a lot of plants in a small area. Carrots only need to be 2" apart, so you can fit 36 carrots in a square foot! I plant beets 3" to 4" apart, and beans 3" apart in rows, with a foot between the rows. Corn can either be seeded directly in the soil or started indoors. If indoors, plant them at the same time as the squashes. Plant corn about a foot apart in rows, with 2-3" between the rows. Because corn is wind-pollinated, always grow it in blocks rather than single rows. It needs to be close together so the pollen will fall from the tassels to the silks. If you're daring enough to plant the seeds directly outside, do as the old-time farmers did it, four seeds to a hole: “One for the cut worm, one for the crow, one for the blackbird, and one to grow”
'Til next time, happy gardening!