Did I start my seeds to early?

Hi all... Newbie here.

Did I start my seeds to early? Last weekend I planted some tomato, lettuce, basil, cucumber seeds in those little window seal type greenhouses - you know the kind that you toss water on the little pellet and you have instant dirt.... Anyway I come home today, and these things are little sprouts already. I thought it would take closer to two weeks for them to sprout. I will be a container gardener, but do you think I started them too early??? This is my first year growing anything beside a tomato, and I'm a little nervous. Also, should I have just direct sown my lettuce???

Hi! What growing zone are you in....do you know? I garden in the NE so the advice might be a bit different for NC. Do you get frost where you are? You want to find out what your last frost date is and back out from there.

Tomatoes take 6-8 weeks. So you back out 6-8 weeks from your last frost date and start your tom. seed. In MA, I start mine in mid March....so you might be okay.

The last frost date is important b/c you don't want to put your plants outside before that...or a hard frost could damage or kill them.

The nice thing about pots is if the plants get too big...you can put them out on the warmer spring days and just bring them in at night if it's supposed to be cold.

You'll want to transplant your seedlings into a bit of a larger pot when they get their first set of true leaves...not the little side leaves you see now...and/or when the roots start to fill up the pellet.

FYI-cucumber seeds can be direct sown in the garden...or your larger pot..they grow easy and fast. Lettuce could have been direct sown too...but can also be started early indoors.

Hope that helps!

>>tomato, lettuce, basil, cucumber seeds

Tomatoes are typically started 6-8 weeks before your last frost date (10% chance).

Cucumbers only need 2-3 weeks before your last frost date. They also are one of the hardest to grow indoors without supplemental light.

Lettuce can be grown through light frosts.and is a cool weather crop.


Looks like Charlotte, NC is early to mid-April, so I think it's early for the cukes, maybe just a tiny bit early for the tomatoes, fine for the Basil if you plan to grow it in a windowsill until it's warm enough to bring outside, and finally the lettuce I think you could get a crop or two. I don't know how fast it gets hot there.

Finding your last frost date, then working the lead time back to your seed starts is very important here. Would be advisable to check with an experienced gardener, garden center sales rep, or Extension Service people to help you with this. This person should be "local" to your particular area. Hope this helps.

Thanks so much for all your thoughts... My zone is 7B. I thought I might be a little early, and probably am. BUT, at least I can leave the car out and put the containers in the garage if I need.....

Welcome Steph,

I live just east of you and you are fine starting seeds now. April 15, is generally our outdoor planting safe date. If you are going to sow directly, I typically wait untill May 1st. because the ground temperature is warm enough for better germination. You will need to supply supplemental lighting or your plants will become leggy. This is a good article for you. I built the PVC rack.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/464/

You said you will be container gardening. I recommend using an earthbox for the tomatoes. It requires less water and nutrients. But if you are just using a 5 gallon bucket, be sure to drill your drain holes about 2" up on the side of the bucket instead of the bottom. This will keep a bit of a sump to help from drying out. Here you can see plans for building your own earthbox if you're handy.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-your-own-Earth-Box/

As a newbie, try to keep it simple. If you have trouble with your tomatoes feed them Miracle-Gro tomato food (Oh, I can hear the groans now) but it works and is easy.

Again, Welcome, and most of all, have fun.

JB

Feldon,
I did a "wrong" thing. I planted okra seeds I didn't think would grow at all. I had intended to plant them in the fall, and had soaked them for 2 days. They started germinating (little white noses in the black seeds!) and I dumped them outta the cup, dried them out, and stored them until now. Well, I soaked them all over again, then planted them. Again, not expecting them to do anything. Well....

THEY ALL CAME UP! I now have about 20 okra seedlings that are getting their 2nd set of leaves. They are about 4" tall, growing under flourescent lights with the tomato seedlings.

The "WRONG" thing I now realize I did was planting them waaaaaaaaaaaay too soon for our Zone 9A. Is there any hope of keeping them going (they really are healthy) until the proper plant out date here? Which is sometime in April-May or whenever it gets REALLY, REALLY hot?

Linda

Okra likes VERY hot temperatures. It is one of only two vegetable crops that thrive in Houston in July and August (the other is Cowpeas). Okra will grow slowly or not at all until daytime temperatures are 85-95 degrees.

I would wait until late April or May, presoak seeds overnight and then sow them directly outside. Okra seeds are very large and so have a very high germination chance. That and Okra is really just a glorified cultivated weed! :)

Hi there!

I'm in zone 7 too. I'm going to be starting my tomatoes and peppers next weekend, since our last frost date is approx April 15th. I always wait to plant them in the ground until at least until Mother's Day weekend, as peppers don't like cold feet. I will harden them off around the end of April though, and will be fine in a sheltered area until planting time. I wish you lots of success!

Kathy in Delaware