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seeds starting seeds inside, question

Hey, for those that start seeds indoors, I was wondering if there is a calculation as to the timing between starting in doors and transplanting outside. I know many people just start January 1st, as I did last year, but many of us are in different climates..

so I was just curious if there is some reasons behind when you all start

thanks


xo nicole
 
Look up your average last frost date and start your seeds about 6-8 weeks before that and you should be fine.


Alan
 
I know where I live, the climate is always crazy. We had snow coverage in October already. We also had our last freeze in May this year. So, its kinda hard to judge. And the almanac isnt ALWAYS right. I just wait until it gets warmer, and play the inside/outside game every day. Tiring as HECK, but its worth it!!
 
Well I can start chinense in jan, but annuums on the other hand would just be out of control if started that early. so it prolly depends on the type of pepper.
Kevin
 
thanks guys,. this has all been helpful!!

if anyone else reads this, please continue to respond! Everythings helpful!!

xoxz
 
Nicole...it all depends on what you are going to do with the seedlings...planting seeds to grow is different than planting seeds for seedlings to sell...the link below will tell you the average dates for temps below 36F, 32F, and 28F for the 90, 50, and 10 percentiles.

http://cdo.ncdc.noaa.gov/climatenormals/clim20supp1/states/NY.pdf

my last frost dates are March 12th, March 29th, and April 16th for the 90th, 50th, and 10th percentiles...I shoot for an April 15th plantout for myself...

If you are growing the plants to sell, and you have room in a grow area that is inside you can start nearly any time...

as was stated above, plant your chinense first, then the annuums...for the plants I sell in the spring (usually available by March 15th), I start the chinense seeds January 1st..for plants I grow for myself, I start seeds the end of January...
 
Hi Nicole,

The rule of thumb I use is start Annuums 8 weeks before last frost date, 12 weeks for all others.

Good luck with your garden this coming season!
 
Nice chart AJ, definitely saving that one.
It marks my last frost date as being about 2 weeks earlier than I thought.
Heh, I'm still not planting outside until the 1st of may, so I'll be starting my chinenses early february, and my tomatoes and annums early march.
 
here's the link to the site AJ posted for NY, home page with all states listed.

http://cdo.ncdc.noaa.gov/climatenormals/clim20supp1/states

for our area, last possible frost is July 1st, first possible frost is August 22. :(

Great resource, Thanks, AJ!
 
Just my opinion but, last frost doesnt mean much..If I put my small plants out before LOWS are 50's it will stunt them.
 
Ya, I wouldn't risk it either. I usually wait about a month after last frost for the ground to warm up enough to plant.
Like many others I start chinenses in January and annuums Feb-March
 
Here in Michigan, I abide by the rule of no pepper or tomato plants in the ground until Memorial Day weekend (late May). Most years, I still have to cover tender plants due to a late frost in early June. Last year was an exception to that rule because it was a very warm May. I planted on May 19th (with much consternation and viewing of the weather channel) and we never did have a late frost. Plants took off right away.

The 2009 growing season was quite the opposite. Cold, wet spring followed by an unusually cool June. I planted the end of May per the above "rule" and we had a heavy frost June 6th. I utilizied every piece of ground cover I could find to protect the plants and I still lost some. The plants just sat there doing nothing until July, when the soil temperatures finally warmed up. Even with that, the growing season and harvest was terrible.

Mother nature is not always systematic!
 
Every year I watch tonnes of people here plant on May 24 weekend and most years they have to re-plant everything weeks later, which is great when you're in the plant selling business :) I personally wait until nearly July here to plant chiles, which really seem to hate coolish soil.
 
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