On Mar 7, 12:18 pm, William Rose wrote:

I hope to plant:
snow peas,
string beans,
romano beans,

All these need to be planted outside at the appropriate time. They do
not transplant well.

early ripening watermelons,
charentais melons,

Because of their taproot, use a big pot and transplant shortly after
they make true leaves. Be extra careful when transplanting, and leave
two plants per pot. You will kill the weakest one
later. You could also condier using those paper pots that go in the
ground whole.

acorn squash,

This too will prefer a bigger pot, though not as fragile when
transplanting as the other cucurbita.

corn,

plant directly.

early, mid-, and late season tomatoes,

These do gain from being grown under lights. 6-8 weeks before
transplanting is fine.

lemon cucumbers,
zuchs and crook-necks,

same as acorn.

sweet, and hot peppers,

I failed repeatedly with these guys, but, they need a warmer
temperature inside and also outside, compared to tomatoes. Still ,they
transplant.

lettuce,

As Sherwin says, lettuce may get shocked if transplanted too early and
end up maturing at the same time as lettuce directly seeded later.

basil,

same as peppers, needs to be transplanted late. Watermelons, peppers,
and basil should be the last (okra and eggplants also may go out last,
but I have no experience with them).

and an assortment of herbs.

oregano and thyme are extremely hardy when established, but put them
out too early and they will die.


I suppose that since the peas, and lettuce will be planted first, they
should be germinated first. The tomatoes are the most important to me,
so I will push them to the head of the line. Early April is my goal to
start planting. I hope to have the garden up full tilt by May.

Any suggestions?

The main reason I like transplants is that I can lay down the mulch
and then plant through it. In a nutshell, transplanting eliminates
weeding. But the season extension adavantages are minimal. Stuff grows
so much better when it decides on its own to get out of the ground.