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seeds michigan and seedstarting

E

ebk637

So im in southeastern michigan and the weather is really strange.
Abnormally warm and extremely mild weather for jan/feb.it was over 50f today.
So my question is.
Is anyone starting seeds earlier this year in anticipation of a mild spring,,?
I planned to start mine the 1st or 2nd week of march but now im not sure.
Maybe start earlier,?
 
We're about to get a little run of 50F weather here. If MI is anything like here,
this is just a tease so you'll get started and then get hammered.
 
What kind of seeds are you starting? I started most of my Chinense and Pubescens almost 2 weeks ago, and I'm guessing my last frost is later than yours.
 
Mid may.2nd week i think.
Habs,white bhuts,aji dulce2,bishops crown,trinidad perfume,rain forest,cheiro recife,guampinha de veado,turks cap jalapenos and some small mater types

Oh,
And some black trinidad scorpions.seeds from a member here.
 
Yeah, pretty much the same last frost. Ours is May 21 on average. You might want to start some of those sooner than later to get ripe pods before the first frost hits. Bhuts, Scorps and such take a long time.
 
I'm in the UP and started Chinense in Mid Dec. Others I'll start in March. I Never trust having an early Spring and plan accordingly. Last Frost for 2011 was the first week in June. I'd already hardened off over 200 plants (peppers and tomatoes) by the end of May and had to scramble to get them back indoors when I saw the Forcast. Low 30's for 3 or 4 nights!

Sucked
 
I also live in S.E. Michigan. Pay no attention to the winter weather as a predictor of what things may be like in the spring. This mild winter probably means we will have a cold, wet and crappy spring! I usually target for plant out on Memorial Day weekend most years. The last two seasons I’ve planted May 20[sup]th[/sup], with my fingers crossed and a wary eye on the weather forecast for frost warnings. The season of 2009, we had a heavy frost June 5[sup]th[/sup], had to pull every drop cloth, plastic, etc. to cover the plants that night! Furthermore, even when planted early, the plants really do not exhibit any significant growth until late June at best. IMO, while the days can be warm, the nights are still often cool and the soil temperatures needs to completely warm up to have pepper (tomatoes too) growth.

That said, I traditional start my Chinese varieties around Jan. 15[sup]th[/sup]. They’re slow germinating and slow growing so this fits with my time schedule. I follow with Baccatum’s, about two weeks latter and Annums about Feb. 15[sup]th[/sup]. They are followed by tomatoes around March 15[sup]th[/sup]. I have a greenhouse window that can hold about eight flats of plants that I begin utilizing when the temperature inside reaches around 80º+ during the day (totally solar heated). They stay there till around May 1[sup]st[/sup] when I can begin working them outside for the hardening off process.

It all amounts to a sort of juggling process in that I have peppers, tomatoes, flowers, herbs (the last two are mandatory to keep the missus happy) that all have to be started, tended and harden off. Last year this amounted to sixteen flats plus a number of small pots. I utilize nothing fancy or high tech. Simple PVC tubing grow stand under two shelves of cheap 4’ T-8 fixtures, two fixtures per shelf, running T-8 6500k bulbs.

My mission is never to have any flowering while inside, simply a matter of getting plants that will eventually be planted in dirt and around 12 or so that go into pots on the deck. The goal is to have pepper plants that are at least 4” tall with good root development and vigor.

Buck77 said:
I'm in the UP and started Chinense in Mid Dec. Others I'll start in March. I Never trust having an early Spring and plan accordingly. Last Frost for 2011 was the first week in June. I'd already hardened off over 200 plants (peppers and tomatoes) by the end of May and had to scramble to get them back indoors when I saw the Forcast. Low 30's for 3 or 4 nights!

Sucked
Click to expand...

LOL. Never trust the weather in the U.P.! Where abouts in the Yoop? Spent a lot of time in the Bergland area as a youngster, family had a cabin/camp (long since sold) on Lake Gogebic.
 
MIPEPPERGUY said:
I also live in S.E. Michigan. Pay no attention to the winter weather as a predictor of what things may be like in the spring. This mild winter probably means we will have a cold, wet and crappy spring! I usually target for plant out on Memorial Day weekend most years. The last two seasons I’ve planted May 20[sup]th[/sup], with my fingers crossed and a wary eye on the weather forecast for frost warnings. The season of 2009, we had a heavy frost June 5[sup]th[/sup], had to pull every drop cloth, plastic, etc. to cover the plants that night! Furthermore, even when planted early, the plants really do not exhibit any significant growth until late June at best. IMO, while the days can be warm, the nights are still often cool and the soil temperatures needs to completely warm up to have pepper (tomatoes too) growth.
Click to expand...

Have you thought about laying some black fabric mulch in the early spring? That should warm your soil temperatures quite a bit and might get you off to a faster start.

I'm a little more south than you guys but I started chinenses, wilds, and pubes about 2 1/2 weeks ago. Starting baccatums today, and then probably annum and frutescens in another week or two.

I think I should probably split the first group up next year, since certain varieties like bhut jolokia, trinidad scorpion, most habaneros, pequin, fatalii, and chiltepin usually sprout within 7-10 days, while others like douglah. congo black habaneros, and some wilds usually take about 2-4 weeks.
 
Another thought about protecting plants outdoors in the early season is using a hoop house. I set one up last spring the end of March and planted tomatoes and chilies inside. You'll probably have to open up one end on sunny days and close it back up about 3 or 4pm so it can generate and trap a little more heat before sundown. I recommend a min/max thermometer inside mounted on the north side of an upright board so sunlight doesn't strike it directly and you get a true temperature reading. For hoops I just use one inch PVC pipe spaced about two feet apart. Bury each end a foot deep and about three feet apart. To stiffen the individual hoops, after setting them up, lay a straight piece across the top of each arch and duct tape them together at that point. Cover the hoops with 6mil clear plastic, leaving at least a foot of overlap on each side. There's not enough room to get inside each hoop house with your plants so I stake down the plastic on the north side with long stakes and put weights on the other sides. Gallon jugs full of water or large rocks work. When I need to water the plants I just take the weights off and slide the plastic over to the other side of the hoops, do my watering, and put everything back the way it was. If you use a soaker hose you don't even need to do that.
 
MIPEPPERGUY,

I live on the outskirts of Munising, about 40 miles east of Mrqt. I'm a little over a mile from Lake Superior
 
Yea, I would get the Bhuts, Habs, Scorps started now. Jalapenos start March 1-15. Small 'maters April 1.

Some great advice on this thread: black landscape material to warm soil, row covers, hoop house, options to juggle plants locations when weather turns bad. Use all the tricks to extend your season.
 
AB - Maybe I will get motivated this year and try your black fabric idea on the pepper patch. If I can find a small quantity of it to try on the cheap, may make for a good experiment. I’m kind of “old school” in that I have never used any plastic mulch in my gardens, strictly organic mulch for weed control. No particular reason, just because.

Stickman – Good idea of on the hoop/hot house. I kind of build stuff occasionally from PVC pipe and may investigate the total cost of doing the entire pepper patch area. Something that could be taken apart for after season storage I’m thinking. Kind of a cool site relative to things PVC:

http://www.pvcplans.com/pvc-pipe.htm
 
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