Wednesday, March 9, 2011

When to start the seedlings??

A local urban gardener, who blogs at Gardening in the Boroughs of NYC, recently asked whether we'd started our seedlings yet. Good question! Last year at this time, we had already purchased our tomato seeds and I would say by mid-March, our peat pots were on the window sill and little green shoots were sprouting. 
Not this year. We are waiting for two reasons. First of all, we are renovating our kitchen, so our apartment is a wreck and we have no place to safely grow any plants, let alone tender veggies. But we are also waiting until April because we want to start the seedlings closer to when we will put them in their outdoor pots, in late May. Last year, we found that starting earlier didn't make the plants grow better or stronger. In fact, they were  indoors for too long and became long and spindly - not fat and stout.
What about you? When are you starting your plants? When do you put them outdoors?

6 comments:

meemsnyc said...

I have to agree with you on the waiting. The only seeds that I started to sow are the cool crops, and ones that have a longer period before harvest. We started Leeks, brussel sprouts, celery and onions. Next week, we'll start the cool crops, lettuce, spinach, and other greens. PS, thanks for the shout out!

urbangardener said...

Good point about the greens. Last year I bought seedlings from Union Square Green Market. I also dropped a packet of seeds right into a window box in mid-May and got dozens of seedlings - too many! This year, I'll start earlier, and put in fewer seeds!

katethegreatchapman said...

Hi,

I recently moved into an apartment with a garden space and would like to really dig in (no pun intended) to the world of gardening. I have a little experience in gardening but it was mostly pruning, not planning my own space and tending to it, and timing things with the changing seasons etc.

Could I buy you a coffee in Union Sq one Saturday for a quick chat to get any thoughts you might be willing to offer?

Thanks!
Kate

katethegreatchapman said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
urbangardener said...

Kate
I'd be happy to meet to talk gardening. I usually hit the Union Square green market on Saturday mornings.

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