Here's a chart that helps you decide a few things about the veggies you want to grow:
- Whether to sow the seeds directly in your garden vs start the seeds indoors as seedlings that you'll transplant later
- The earliest you can plant each veggie in your garden outdoors
- If you're starting seedlings, how many weeks before transplanting you can start the seeds
- How long they will take from planting to harvest
How to use the chart
- Find your desired veggie in the 1st column
- Decide whether to sow (ie plant seeds directly in outdoor garden soil) or transplant (ie start seeds indoors) based on info in the 2nd column
- If you're sowing directly in the garden, check for the "Earliest Planting Date" and sow anytime after that
- If you're transplanting, check for the "Earliest Seedling Start Date" to determine when to sow your seeds inside. Grow your seedlings for the amount of time in the "Weeks as Seedlings" column, then transplant into your garden (tips on that here). The transplant date should be no earlier than the "Earliest Planting Date"!!
- To find out approximately when your veggies will be ready to eat, add the "Avg DTM" (Days to Maturity) to your planting date
One note of advice for transplants: EARLIER IS NOT BETTER!! It is sooooo hard to wait to get started, but seedlings that have spent too long indoors can get leggy, root bound, hungry and generally less happy about being transplanted. Transplanting seedlings that are a little on the small side is more likely to end with success than transplanting them overgrown.
And finally, a couple simple tips for successful seedling starting:
- light light light light light more light
- temp ~20C is ideal for most seeds to germinate (tomatoes, peppers and eggplants will do better closer to 25C)
- use a soilless seed starting mix (not houseplant potting mix nor outdoor garden soil)
- use containers at least 2" deep for healthy root development (egg cartons are honestly a terrible seed starting container)
- keep seeds consistently moist until they sprout
- once you see green sprouts, don't over-water!!! Let the soil surface dry out completely between waterings
