What seeds are you starting?

[stopschoolpaddling]

We have a 3 tier growing shelf with grow lights in the laundry room. We have started our green peppers and broccoli this week. I need to plant more but I'm not sure just what except more pepper plants and lettuce or spinach. Our broccoli didn't do anything last year and the lettuce was too chewy for my taste. Our garden is new so the soil probably isn't ideal. We moved here in Nov. 09 so last summer was our first garden here. This year we have compost from the chickens and other stuff to add to it. Any suggestions?

[Liberty Belle]

1. Peas grow well in early spring. Also radishes are fast-growing,

3-4 weeks from seed to harvest. Also good to grow pole beans if you have a vertical wall or trellis.
If soil is hard, gypsum can loosen it up. Always wise to do a ph test on soil and figure out if it needs amendments, and what kind.

[creeker]

12. esp. snow peas

[librechik]

2. This year, having lost crop after crop, I am sticking with Mildew Resistant varieties

sick of watching my squashes, pumpkins, even zucchini! turn white and whither away in my backyard veggie space. I usually use starts instead of seed for everything, but can't find starts in the Mildew Resistant varieties. I'm also pretty lousy at starting my own seedlings, too, so hope these work! This is your last chance, squashes; I'll probably give up if I don't succeed this year. I'm also doing de cecco sprouting broccoli, the heads are small but they sprout on the branches all summer long instead of two weeks then over. I had to search websites for these odd varieties.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

3. Got bulbs in the fridge. Lots of them.

[pansypoo53219]

4. i plant in dirt.

i never do well starting early.

[Lasher]

5. Tomatoes.

I favor Celebrity because it's more disease resistant than other popular varieties. Be careful if you buy tomato plants that are already started from seed. Last year some folks around here bought their starts from crooked growers and ended up with gardens full of almost useless miniature tomatoes.

[Chipper Chat]

6. Tomatoes, collards, 4 o'clocks.

Iknow, I know. You cant eat 4 O'clocks.

[bvar22]

7. Hi, neighbor!

:hi:
We are a bit South and West of you, West/Central Arkansas (Mena area).
Our last frost is usually mid-April, but a late April frost is not uncommon.

We are starting broccoli, cauliflower, and peas this weekend.
They survive late frosts well.
We have heated protection for two tomato plants, so we are starting a couple of those.

Tomatoes, squash, melons, eggplant, and beans will follow in a few weeks.

Good Luck.

[stopschoolpaddling]

8. Are you planting them outside?

We have about 4 to 5 inches of snow still on the ground in our garden. I have lots of room under the grow lamps. Should I start them inside? We need to hire someone to rotor-till the garden. Do they do better if they are planted right in the ground or does it matter?

[bvar22]

9. Those we are starting under grow lights,

but we try to transition them to "outside" natural sunlight as soon as they look strong enough.
The transition involves carrying the infant plants outside on their trays during the daytimes when the weather is good. We have some old windows that we use to make a sortof cold frame on the south side of our cabin to keep them warm. We bring them inside at night.

When the chances of a hard freeze are gone, we transfer these heartier plants to the garden.

The more delicate plants (Tomatoes, Squash, Eggplant, Cantaloupe, etc) follow a schedule about 3-4 weeks behind the others.

Some things like beans we just plant in the ground in late April.

This is our 4th season in this area, and we are still experimenting and developing our own method.
Our first year, we started our tomatoes too early, and lost the first crop to a late frost. :(

One question we are still debating:
Should the grow lights be ON 24 hrs, or should a more natural (12 X 12hr) cycle be used for infant plants? :shrug:

[triguy46]

10. No seeds, but I have my onion sets ready....

We really figured onions out last year and we still have yellow ones, 7 months after harvesting.

[ThomWV]

11. Basil, got potatoes out trying to eyes sprouted

[Name removed]

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