OT: What seeds are you starting this year?

[SarinaP]

I'm always on the fence about what/how much to plant in the garden. Our dog loves to run through and jump over bushy plants so I've had to reconsider what goes in this year, and where. This month I've started a lettuce box (using an old clementine wooden crate), a couple of melons (Charentais and Minnesota Midget) that I'm going to try to train along our deck stairs, and some cherry tomatoes. The hardest part is being realistic about our weather and how quickly things bolt when it gets hot.

Anyone else starting garden plants this month?

[COGardener]

Since I still have 14" of snow and another 3.5 months till I'm frost free.... Yeah. ... it will still be awhile.

I'll plant onions later this month or early next month however.

[SarinaP]

Tell me more about your onions! I tried growing Walla Wallas and Red Candy last year from sets but the squirrels ate them all! I didn't get a single one! Onion seeds I tried starting in the sunroom got too leggy so I broke down and put out the sets in April.

[COGardener]

That's interesting, even when squirrels were aloud in my yard they never messed with my onions.

This will be the first year that I start from seed as well as sets. I will start some of the seed a few weeks early inside and direct sow the rest. I just want to get a comparison.

[bahamadan]

How long is your time to harvest for Onions from planting the seeds CO? And any varieties you like in particular? I have Walla Walla Onion seeds on hand but have never grown them before.

[Kelby]

Veggies will wait til mid-March for me, last frost is usually late April around here. But I'll be starting tomatoes, cukes, squash, and peppers. Maybe some melons, too.

Soon I'll be starting my pawpaw, persimmons, and oak seeds, though. That will something to do. I need more pots though...

[SarinaP]

Oh right--forgot to mention that I'm doing squash again this year. I love fried squash blossoms! So good with a little goat cheese stuffing or just plain...

[jmaler]

March 1st I will sow 25 Tycoon tomato seeds for early to mid April planting. Cucumber and squash seeds will be sown mid march with frost cloth handy in case of late frost or freeze. April 1st okra seeds will be soaked and sown. Early to mid April the tomato plants will be set out.

My garden is in transition to becoming a fig orchard. I will continue to plant a few things around the fig trees until they shade out the veggie growing areas.

[drew51]

Anyone else starting garden plants this month?

I like to start onions early. So about the 15th I'll start them. March for the other veggies. Well peppers and tomatoes. I'm not experimenting much this year due to having ton's of non gardening projects to do. I will not be around much this year to tend my garden.

[DaveL]

Sarina, last year I started my vege seeds early March. They grew well but I felt when I planted them in the garden they were still a wee bit small. All in all, they caught up and produced well, however it was a bit later in the season. This year I think I start them mid Feb, hoping for a larger plant come planting time.

[jkuo]

I started strawberry seeds last month. Last week, I started asparagus seeds and plopped some starting-to-go-downhill sweet potatoes into pots in an attempt to get some slips started. I'll be starting some cherry tomatoes and eggplant towards the end of the month. I'm still on the fence about starting any more veggies since my veggie garden suffered from a lot of neglect last year.

This is probably the year of establishing the flower garden for me. As I get time, I'm planning on starting shasta daisy, galliardia, rudbeckia, asclepias, monarda, echinacea, zinnia, and marigold seeds.

[SarinaP]

I'm all about the perenials when it comes to flower gardens. Camellias, peonies, roses, irises, daylilies, and coreopsis have all done really well for me over the years and you never have to do anything to them. I am thinking of adding some annuals this year though, like zinnias and marigolds as well.

[Kelby]

Check out these cool acorns I got yesterday. From a Mossycup Oak.

[SarinaP]

Those are so cool!

[drew51]

Wow, they don't even look like acorns! We have some massive ones around here, but they look like acorns! We have some type of red and white oaks around here. The red oak acorns are very bitter, the white are super bland, very different from one another.

[drew51]

Sarina, last year I started my vege seeds early March. They grew well but I felt when I planted them in the garden they were still a wee bit small. All in all, they caught up and produced well, however it was a bit later in the season. This year I think I start them mid Feb, hoping for a larger plant come planting time.

I use a cold frame and can start early. This year though due to having so many figs under the lights, the veggies are going to start later. Hoping to get the figs in the cold frame this year. So I can free up my lights. I usually use the cold frame for peppers.

[DaveL]

Now that's what I'm talking about!

[drew51]

I really like growing peppers
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p...hoto/007-4.jpg

[bahamadan]

What do you use them for Drew? They're one of the few things that do well in containers in our natural heat here, but I seem to always end up letting them peter out eventually because they don't find much culinary use in the kitchen. Anything easy that doesn't require too much processing?

[cjmach1973]

I am starting seeds for my butterfly gardening. Started with Asclepia tuberosa this week. It is an orange flowered milkweed.

[drew51]

Nice looking plant, awesome!

[Sarahkt]

Going to start eggplant varieties, and also a bunch of peppers and tomatoes this weekend (thanks, Thepodpiper!) in these mini homemade greenhouses. Right now they're filling with potted up baby figs, berry cuttings, and pomelo seedlings to graft over.

[cis4elk]

Those are looking good! Nice work.

[Gina]

I just transplanted this afternoon some of my salad greens into a garden bed. Kale, bokchoi, spigarello (perennial 'kale'), chard, and some beets.

I also started tomatoes (Early girl) and peppers (Numex Joe Parkers, pasillas, poblanos, mulatos - all pretty tame). Also have spinach going. And much lettuce.

Also planted peas, and some Romano beans are coming up on their own from the rain last week. The onion sets should go in soon too. I put in some store-sprouted garlic - ya never know with those.

If we get some real rain, I'll plant some squash - zucchini and pattypans, and winter squash - kabocha varieties, tetsukabutos, and maybe butternuts. Also some melons.

If not enough rain... well, maybe not much more than dry-farmed tomatoes...

[figgrower]

I will be growing Maestro peas, Kabocha squash, Cocozelle zucchini, Big Max pumpkins, onions, potatoes, and several tomatoes (Matt's Wild Cherry, an unnamed yellow pear-type, Blondkopfchen, Marrianna's Peace, Sunset's Red Horizon). The peas will go into the ground around Valentine's Day. I will start the tomatoes indoors at the end of February. Onions in March.

[brettjm]

I've not started veggies yet...that comes in a few weeks. I did start some old flower seeds I had. I was absolutely delighted with the germination rates of the old seeds. Black Prince snapdragons, columbine (no germination...yet...takes a few weeks), some black eyed susans, and some echinacea. Hopefully all things the deer won't destroy. We know they don't eat snapdragons here...but everything else we will wait and see.

[fitzski]

Around the 15th I'm going to start some leeks, onions, lettuce and beets in the greenhouse. I'll also plant some carrots, beets and radishes in the cold frames. In mid-March I'll start my tomatoes and peppers and also transplant the lettuce to the cold-frame. In mid-April I'll start my cukes and winter squash.

[drew51]

Sounds good! I start my radishes and carrots outside.I want to try Dr. Pritam Kalia radishes and carrots this year.

http://www.rareseeds.com/pusa-jamuni-radish/

[ers8891]

Im starting some tomatoes in my greenhouse now, all heirloom varieties. I am trying a new one from baker creek black beauty tomato.

[Sarahkt]

"Black Beauty" eh? Well, it must be amazing then. Fruits (especially figs) with that name tend to have great reputations.

[ers8891]

I hope they are good they look it.

http://www.rareseeds.com/black-beauty-tomato/

[aphahn]

Mostly things needing long stratification right now.
Red vinyard peaches
A few Aquilegia
Asclepias halli
Asclepias virdis
Elderberries
Green strawberries
Musk strawberries
Peonia otisii
Wolly blue curls
Dalea purpurea
A dandelion with spotted leaves (yes really)
Early cold frame greens
A few other wildflowers I collected

The shcizandra I started a year ago just germinated too.

Really looking forward to starting several varieties of chilies in a few more weeks. Thanks Dale!

[Thepodpiper]

You are welcome andy, are you going to start some of the pubes? I know you said you grew some before.

[aphahn]

Yeah, I will probably to start them first. I last grew them 20 years ago, and didn't have lights or even a warm indoor growing space then. I'm hoping I can get them to fruit in one season this time. If not I'll see if I can overwinter them dormant.
How long of a season do the baccatums need?

[bahamadan]

Planning to start some Kale, would like to do some Cucumbers as well and possibly Onions and Tomatoes.

[JohnnyK]

No veggie seeds for me this year. I think I went too far with fig cuttings, and now I'm officially out of space inside. Looks like I'll be buying veggie plants in the Spring.

[COGardener]

Thanks to Kelby, Matt, Dale and a few stores in several states, I will be growing a plethora of peppers some tomatoes, cucs, beans, peas, leafy greens, melons, giant 200 pound pumpkins, root vegies, onions, garlic... to much to list the same as most of you.

[COGardener]

Awesome Matt!!! Thank you!!!

[COGardener]

Oh dang Dale!!! Don't forget that I have a rather short growing season, anything past 90 days from flower to harvest is pushing it unless we have another hot mild fall, then maybe 120 days. Plus.... I'm going to be a bit cramped for space this year the way things are looking.

Come on acreage!!!

[BrooklynMatty]

TPP -I sent you a message, i gave away most of my seed stock to 2 lucky gentleman. Trying to determine my stock amounts in a weeks time to see if i can still spare a square.

[cis4elk]

I don't normally plant my starter/transplants until right around St. Patrick's Day.
This year with all the working on the new house, I probably won't start any myself and just buy plants. I plan to just cut up a small garden and grow the bare essentials. A few tomatoes, a few varieties of cukes, and some Black Beauty Zucchini. God that sounds sad..I'm not one for crying but man... Maybe I will try direct seeding some Charmant cabbage and get some green beans going too, normally I start my cabbage and transplant it but it finishes early enough that I think I could actually just plant the seed. I'm going to be missing garden carrots too..crap.

[SarinaP]

Make some carrot pots! I saw a video on a guy who makes one every two weeks for a constant supply... Just a sprinkling of seeds in a 10" pot, then thin them out to about 14-18 carrots per pot. It's genius!

[inkinbrushes]

Trying to take it easy and not get TOO crazy haha but my plan is to do a ton of peppers and tomatoes - thank you Dale for the wonderful seed care package! I have some other things I'm thinking of planting in small bunches as I've never grown them before and have no idea how they will do in my area but things like squash, kale, lettuce, A LOT of flowers to bring in them pollinators, pumpkins, watermelon/melons, and possibly beans. My main focus is peppers and tomatoes because we use them in almost every single indian dish so they'll be a great money saver. For leafy greens such as the kale and lettuce I will be doing those in March - going to try wintersowing a few and starting some indoors - and the peppers and tomatoes really need the heat so likely the end of March/ Mid April.

[Thepodpiper]

most hot peppers need a long growing season so if you are growing any super hots now is the time to sow.