Hi. I live in zone 7a. Please advise me when I should plant these vegetables inside and when I can plant them outside:
Peas
Carrots
Swiss chard
Celery
Lettuce
Radishes
Broccoli
Any help would be gratefully appreciated. Thank you.
Margo
Vegetable planting times
click onto the forums and check out the regional gzrden forum that applies to you.
it seems to me that what you are planting are considered cool weather crops and the seeds are planted outside instead of inside but i may be wrong
Margo, you will need to experiment to find what is best for you in a given situation. The general cultural information which relates planting times to frost dates is a good place to start. As Herbie stated most everything on you list is in the plant as soon as the ground is workable category. Which means that as soon as the ground is completely thawed and has dried enough to be friable. Planting in mud is not generally a good idea. Broccoli does better started as transplants about 8-10 weeks before your spring frost date. You would harden them off and target transplant for about two weeks before that frost date. I prefer to start and transplant head letture, but loose leaf does fine direct seeded.
I grow all of those veggies (except celery and chard) outside in cold frames all winter. The broccoli is the only plant in your list that will really benefit from starting indoors and transplanting. Root crops such as carrots and radishes should not be transplanted. If you can give them some protection outdoors you can plant them any time but they will grow slower in cold weather. The most important thing with these veggies is to plant a few seeds every week or two to spread out the harvest. That also protects against your entire crop getting frozen in a cold snap.
Here's some info from your state extension service http://pods.dasnr.okstate.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-1092/HLA-6004web.pdf
Your local extension agent and other gardeners will probably be able to give your the most accurate information for your area.
A late but sincere thank you for your input.
Margo