How late is too late?
 

All,

Well, I learned this year how early is *too* early (killing most of my
seedlings by putting them out in mid-April), but now I'm wondering...

How late is too late to bother? Should I go ahead and try to start my
cukes and musk melons over again? Should I expect anything out of the
grape tomato seedlings I just planted?

Also, when do *you* start your indoor seedlings? I think I started
mine too early and I put them out too early because they were getting
quite large.

I'll remember any hints you give me until next year... I promise! :)

- John

"ZeroWing" wrote in message
...
| All,
|
| Well, I learned this year how early is *too* early (killing
most of my
| seedlings by putting them out in mid-April), but now I'm
wondering...
|
| How late is too late to bother? Should I go ahead and try to
start my
| cukes and musk melons over again? Should I expect anything out
of the
| grape tomato seedlings I just planted?
|
| Also, when do *you* start your indoor seedlings? I think I
started
| mine too early and I put them out too early because they were
getting
| quite large.
|
| I'll remember any hints you give me until next year... I
promise! :)
|
| - John

John, we always wait until April 15. Planting is our reward for
completing taxes!
Most seedlings take 45 days or so to begin bearing so yes, you
can start over again altho the heat and lack of water makes it a
little more labor intensive.
Raleighgirl

On 2005-06-15, ZeroWing wrote:
All,

Well, I learned this year how early is *too* early (killing most of my
seedlings by putting them out in mid-April), but now I'm wondering...

How late is too late to bother? Should I go ahead and try to start my
cukes and musk melons over again? Should I expect anything out of the
grape tomato seedlings I just planted?


If you don't plant you know you will have 0 harvest. If you do plant
you have at least some chance of harvesting some things. All it can
cost is the seed and fertilizer.

Also, when do *you* start your indoor seedlings? I think I started
mine too early and I put them out too early because they were getting
quite large.

I'll remember any hints you give me until next year... I promise! :)

o

YOu want to plant them indoors about 6-8 weeks before putting them in
the ground. May 1 is my target date so back up to somewhere between
March 1 and 15. I start tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants, but most
other things I just plant the seed in the ground around May 1. It is
better to over plant and have to thin than to get spotty germination.
- John


--
Wes Dukes (wdukes.pobox@com) Swap the . and the @ to email me please.

is a garbage address.

John,

For starters, you might not want to plant all your seedlings at the same
time (kinda like not "putting all your eggs in one basket") -- but trying
to get a jump on the season is a very natural thing. Sometimes it works,
sometimes it does not.

As for starting plants, I try to work back from the optimal (or desired!)
planting date. Sometimes this works out fine, sometimes not. (Are ya
starting to see a theme here?)

I was too lazy to start my own seedlings this year, but I paid the price in
"lack of diversity" -- no matter where I went for plants, once I saw the
"Bonnie's" containers, I knew that I would find the same few varieties of
tomatoes, for example.

I can't advise you on cukes or melons, and when to plant them here, but most
likely someone else can.

I *will* say that when I have started my own seeds, the seed starting kits
like APS have proved to produce seedlings superior to the little peat pot
trays. (Some years, I just don't feel like messing with loose potting soil,
which can play havoc with my asthma. But, then in the fall, I pull up
plants which barely sent out roots past the peat pot "netting" -- which
seems to be fairly indestructible, alas, based on the intact stuff I find in
the compost heap years later.)

So, John, check back with us around Thanksgiving, when our mailboxes are
full of seed catalogues!

Anne Lurie
NE Raleigh



"ZeroWing" wrote in message
...
All,

Well, I learned this year how early is *too* early (killing most of my
seedlings by putting them out in mid-April), but now I'm wondering...

How late is too late to bother? Should I go ahead and try to start my
cukes and musk melons over again? Should I expect anything out of the
grape tomato seedlings I just planted?

Also, when do *you* start your indoor seedlings? I think I started
mine too early and I put them out too early because they were getting
quite large.

I'll remember any hints you give me until next year... I promise! :)

- John