I had planned to plant my tomatoes and peppers in my little window sill propagator today but the weather has put me off, after spending a morning cutting up firewood in the rain.
I always worry at this time of year that I'm not starting plants early enough, it's a fine balance between planting too early and having to keep big plants out of the frost (my greenhouse is unheated) or planting too late and missing out on early veg. I'm going to plant mine one day this week I think.
So a question to you all - when do you plant your tomato and pepper seeds? Do you try to be super early with lots of moving plants around to miss the cold or do you leave it a little longer and not notice any difference? Or does your climate provide other options?
I've got some tomato seed on the go right now, and lettuce too but I think I'll leave it another month or so for the peppers. I find at this time of the year, as well as the cold it's the lack of light that makes them stretch too much. I've done tomatoes lots later than this (like in May!) and I find they catch up very quickly to the early sown ones.
ReplyDeleteI agree, things planted later seem to catch up so quickly, sometimes I wonder if it's worth the effort of trying to start things so early!
Deletechillies I start on Boxing day!
ReplyDeleteThat's well ahead of me then! When do you harvest your first chilli?
DeleteI don't start seeds until some time in April and I think that I would be just as well to sew tomatoes directly in the ground as volunteers come up in the garden and seem to do as well as what I plant in containers to transplant. Peppers just don't do much here until warm weather so I go late on them as well.
ReplyDeleteFor me, in the past I had to have them ready to go out as soon as I could, usually then I would wound up having to protect them from a freeze. This was before I had hoop frames and shade covers. Here the issue of heat is as big as the issue of cold. If I didn't get them out soon enough then the heat would do them in cook the plants and blister the fruits etc. It was most discouraging. Now that I have shade covers, I have time. I don't rush them out. I started my seedlings later this year than I think I ever have. I know they will be fine in the heat because I can shade them.. I also know if I rush them out I will deal with cold which is hard on them. Our climate is so darn extreme both ways. geesh. I am not looking to set out any of my plants till bout April 15th. Where I have started planted I have more seeds to get started yet, so yep this year I am taking my time.
ReplyDeletePlanting tomatoes? I've got five feet of snow outside. LOL
ReplyDeleteI usually start the Tomatoes and Peppers a week ago but I been running behind. Peppers especially seem to take forever to sprout sometimes and grow slowly at first for me. Most of the other stuff I don't worry about sprouting early though.
ReplyDeleteI started in January Kev, with tomatoes peppers chillies and aubergine, and the other day I potted up the tomatoes they now have there true leaves and are about 4 inches tall, I started them in the house and that is were they still are under a grow light panel. :-)
ReplyDeleteI get confused. I read a lot of blogs from the Northern Hemisphere but live in the Southern Hemisphere so am never sure when I should be planting anything.
ReplyDeleteI start some maincrop tomatoes in mid january, plum tomatoes last week and will sow some more maincrop early march, followed by the outdoor girl, legend and beefsteak mid/late march. Peppers next week. have usually started aubergines by now ( might buy a couple of plants later)
ReplyDeleteooh Kev, going to look at some pigs tonight are you excited for me?!
I used to sow our tomatoes mid February but now wait until mid March as they just grow too fast and leggy. Also we can have late May frosts here (rarely) and trying to protect them all when outdoors is a nightmare.
ReplyDeleteI start mine on Imbolc ( 2 Feb) and use the porch and four heated propagators to get them all going. Once they have proper leaves and are about 4 inches tall I put them into coldframes in the polytunnel - this keeps them warm enough to keep on growing.
ReplyDeleteHi Kev. Not commented for a few days but I always read your posts. Been reading that tomatoes are prone to blight in polytunnels because of the hot and moist conditions. Think I will sow some when we can get some compost. Local town haven't got any in yet! Then I will probably try growing some outside.
ReplyDeleteWith all the woodchip you have I'd be looking to build an outdoor hot bed. Get some Kohl Rabi, Cabbage, Cauli, autumn leeks, spring onionsand salad in now. If you're green house is large enough some peas and broad beans sown in old gutters. Build your hot bed and supplement with plenty of fresh manure when they are ready. By the timethe bed as cooled not they will grow on on their own as the weather will be warm enough.
ReplyDeleteI used to start my tomatoes off about know but that was when we lived in the South of England, here in North Wales I'm hanging on a bit later.
ReplyDeleteWith luck the polytunnel will be up properly and in use by the end of March, and I'll get going then with as much as I can and see how things work out.
I think my impatience to get going on the new season will always mean I sow my chillies and tomatoes in early, no matter what the evidence is for whether this does me any good or not!
ReplyDelete