When Do We Start?

Sorry I was gone so long my peeps. I missed you all. Work travel and the likes. The good news for me was when I got home the office had moved back to Bend so now I am home home home..(when I am not traveling) and my yard looks like the ski slopes so am dreaming ahead.

Last year I started my seeds too late which was in March/April and managed to score ONE whole tomato. I, of course want to start NOW.... when do you think is a good time?

I am getting some rooters I found on sale and there will be no stopping on houseplants once they arrive. (I am buying my own birthday presents so I can get what I want :)


Ginger

Happy Birthday beadmom! We started tomatoes in a greenhouse about the third week of February. I like the small ones because they ripen much faster and they are so good. I only have two plants every season but I had an orange one that I really loved last year.

Thanks Willow. Maybe I can have a greenhouse cleared out by then (I have several buildings in mind...)

Ginger

I am having a small one built pretty soon now. It will be combination tool shed and greenhouse. I can hardly wait.

We started mid February as well for Tomatoes, Peppers the beginning of Feb., Squash was May 1st. We had lots of Toms, not really any squash and about a dozen peppers... plans are different this year.

I started my seeds under a grow light indoors at the beginning of March last year (I don't have a greenhouse ~ YET! ~) Got TONS of grape tomatoes and so many paste 'Margarita' that I didn't know what to do with them. Also got quite a few bell peppers and a slew of hot peppers (serrano, Anaheim, poblano, and jalapeno). All were started indoors and planted out in straw bales on Memorial Day weekend.

Hi outta, glad to see you posting again.

Hey there Sheri, and Hi to Tim! =:0)

Started my tomatoes Feb 9 - waaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too early: ended up with 3 foot plants (but not spindly growth), flowering by the end of April & too cold to go outside.
I asked around this past year & the general consensus is to start them the beginning of March.
IF you have a GH, start them earlier. Mine grew so well due to the light units I have. Germination rate was 100%. Territorial seeds - 3 types: San Marzano, Chocolate Cherry & SunGold. I will be starting more again in March if anyone is interested in transplants.
Also - I had many chile pepper plants, which I became attached to. yummm... In any case I dug them all up for wintering over (Suzy turned me on to a book that gave good info on this). Most Chile peppers are perennial & can be overwintered. They should perform even better in their 2nd & 3rd years. So if you have room, dig them up and overwinter like a geranium/fuchsia.

One year I started in December!

It's been so warm. My peonies are sending up shoots! I may start some seeds now just in case this warm trend continues. I'll put them in the ground before last frost date, in the hopes of getting a jump on things. If it doesn't stay warm, oh well...

Hey Katye and Willow...It's nice to be back after a very loooooong break.

Katye ~ What's the name of the book? And how did you like your Chocolate Cherries? I've been debating that one but am sticking with my grape tomatoes this year (my favs ever!). BTW, the phygelius is AMAZING! What a tough (not so) little plant. I threatened tractor neighbor when he was doing some work for Tim on the slope that if he ran over the plant I would kill him, then revive him, then let my friends kill him. Plant rewarded me with lots of flowers and growth. I'll snap a pic and post it when it's bloomed this summer. Thanks for it!

Gwen the peonies are always up this time of year. The late frosts we have in April will not get them but they will get your veggies.

That's good to know. I didn't realize the peonies came up so early. I actually saw the first shoots before Christmas

Sheri - The Complete Chile Pepper Book by Dave DeWitt & Paul Bosland.

I am biased: love books in hand, and this one is worth having. Lots of useful info in the 336 pages, including information on a huge variety of chiles, recipes as well as cultivation & the like.

Chocolate Cherry: yummy. I will be a repeat customer. 2009 was a decent summer for tomatoes, at least in my garden.
Another variety I highly recommend for our climate is Juliet. looks like a smaller roma - tasty & did well in summer 2008. Yes, I was stunned...

Peonies: this would be a great time to clean up the old stalks/leaves. It's lots easier before the new growth gets in the way.