New Member from the Middle South.

Hey guys, I'm Stephen. I've posted before in the general area but I thought for my next set of questions it may be better to ask other people in my area. I tend to other think things before I do them. So I'm trying this idea of just doing something and don't expect it to be perfect. Well I've been reading about seed starting. I narrowed down a date to start all the seeds I'm starting in the basement.

First off the seeds I am planning to start are Broccoli, Cucumbers, Lettuce, Melons, Peppers, Spinach, Tomatoes, and various herbs.

I have the idea of starting cucumbers and melons on April 4th and everything else on March 25th. Then transplanting everything May 5th. The only thing I didn't plan to start indoors were the pole beans.

Do these dates make sense? Should I start pole beans inside as well?

When can I go ahead and get the dirt put into the boxes?

Thanks all for the advice ahead of time I look forward to your responses.

Can't edit post from my IPad. Should have specified I live in NC Zone 7a. In Westfield so sort of in the mountains.

Hi! Welcome to the forum! Sometimes if you use a different browser, edit and other things will show up. I miss a lot if I use Firefox on my Android tablet but when I'm in Chrome I can do everything.

Stephen, do you have the book All New Square Foot Gardening? If so, look in the back of the book and it tells you when to start different seeds based on your last frost date. Do you know your last frost date?  If not Google 'last frost date' and you'll see different websites that you can use to find it.
CC

I have three dates 10% 50% and 90%. Is the date that important. When I calculated them seemed like they were all pretty close in timing. So I thought I could just do them all at the same time.

I use the 50% because my sfg is right next to the garage were all my equipment is. I can easily toss row covers, plastic or windows on to the beds if need be. I guess it's a matter of your risk tolerance and how prepared and/or interested you are to follow through when inclement weather hits.

Use whatever you're most comfortable with and have fun with it. All 3 is fine. It'll keep things interesting.


In my SFG right now I have all the cold crops.  That would equal your broccoli  lettuce and spinach. 

The warm weather crops, peppers and tomatoes,  have been seeded, sprouted and are in my window until Memorial Day, which is around when I will also direct seed cucumbers. If I did melons anymore they would be here.

Good questions! Keep them coming!
CC

Hi Beebass... I'm in 7a/8b, about 40 miles north of Atlanta. It was supposed to be in the 30's here last night. It was 48. According to NOAA, we'll get down to 34 tonight & 36 tomorrow night. Then I'll start planting outside.

Keep in mind that spinach, broccoli, & lettuce are more suited to the cooler weather. So don't be too disappointed if they bolt pretty quickly now that it's starting to warm up...

Everything sounds good on dates... I personally would start them a little earlier, but I want them big when I plant them. And I AM further south than you.

I would wait until the freezes are over before putting the MM in. That way it's as warm as possible. Many beans, etc. won't germinate until the ground/soil/MM is at least 60 degrees.

On the pole beans - I suppose you could start them inside, but they don't transplant well...

Hope this helps! If you look at the beginning of every month, I put out a list of what can be seeded & planted for the month.

AtlantaMarie wrote:I would wait until the freezes are over before putting the MM in.  That way it's as warm as possible.  Many beans, etc. won't germinate until the ground/soil/MM is at least 60 degrees.

On the other hand, getting the mix made now will allow all the little microorganisms to multiply some before planting or seeding.  Like Marie stated, wait until the soil has warmed before transplanting or seeding.