New at Vegetable gardening Need advice

I love the flavor of heirloom tomatoes and I'd like to start some from seed. My question is it too late to start some seeds indoors. I live in Andover, Mass.
Thanks,
Sherri

Sherri, what zone are you in and when is your last frost date?

You ideally should start them 6-8 weeks before your last frost. I think you have plenty of time still.

Kelly

Sherrie Dam the torpedos and full speed ahead it is getting late but you still have time. Watch the days to plant out and avoid the ones that are described as very late. Maybe some of the Russians. Maybe to late for the Brandywines though good luck.

Hi Kelly,
It looks like I'm in zone 6 I'm close to the NH border. Do you think that if I plant heirloom plants it will be ok? I'm not sure if I can find any place that sells heirloom plants but I'll try.

If it's too late to start seeds, lots of places online sell plants if you can't find any locally. When you find a place be sure to check them out here in the Garden Watchdog. There are good companies and not so good ones and the GW is an awesome resource to check a company out before you spend your hard earned $$$.

http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/

You'll want to make sure all danger of frost is past before you put those 'maters out unless you are able to protect them. I grow mainly heirlooms and there are so many varieties to choose from. If you still decide to start seeds, just stay away from the long days to maturity ones like eweed said - like the Brandywines and such. Good luck!

Hi Sherri, I would check your local nurserys for the actual plant. I was able to purchase Brandywine from a local nursery in my area, (New Bedford, MA). Not a Lowes or a Home depot, but an actual nursery. Good Luck

What tulipfairy said! I found yellow brandywine tomatoes at my local nursery. The local nursery had quite a few heirloom seedlings for sale and all of the tomatoes we bought from them have done fantastic.

Lowes didn't have many heirloom types, but they do have some New Mexico Green Chili peppers though which has made me a very happy camper.

Hi Tulipfairy and the rest of you!
Thanks for the info. I hope to heck I find heirloom plants they said the end of May. Let's keep our fingers crossed!
Thanks again!

Hi, SherriKat. I'm just to the north & west of you, on the other side of the NH/Mass border. That makes me Zone 5b.

I started my tomatoes in the middle of March. All but 3 of them are heirlooms, and they are huge already - today I potted them up for the second time. It's probably a bit too late, but if you have enough space in your garden for an experiment, and a local source for heirloom tomato seeds, why not try? I think the fun of gardening is all about taking chances and being open to whatever happens.

I got my info on when to start which seeds from the NH Cooperative Extention - I'm sure the Mass Extension would have info specific to your area. Organic Gardening magazine also has a great chart that has you fill in your last frost date (get that from your Extension) and it calculates all the right dates for all sorts of veggies for you. You can then print your own personalized chart. http://www.organicgardening.com/feature/0,7518,s1-5-19-212,00.html

I've bought seedlings from nurseries in past years. After last year's debacle with Late Blight on tomatoes, I was eager to start my own this year. I'm sure they've enhanced the normal precautions, but I'd still stay away from the major chain stores (Home Depot, Lowe's) - that was the source of the infection last year. Local nurseries might be more likely to have unusual/heirloom tomato seedlings, too. Agway is a good option, too, if you have that on your side of the border - it's a farm & garden type of store.

- Tricia