Where, What and When?
If you’re going to start your vegetable plants yourself and then transplant them outside when it’s safe, you need to know which vegetables to start and when to start them. You also need to have a place to start and grow them until they’re ready to go outside.
Where will I grow my plants indoors?
This can be as simple as a window sill that gets a lot of sunlight, an unused closet with a grow light or you can park your car outside all winter and turn your garage into a winter grow room. How much space you need will depend on how many vegetables you are planning an starting. All vegetables will need light, either sunlight or some kind of grow light. Since you are just starting the vegetables indoors and moving them outside as soon as it’s safe to do so, you don’t have to have enough as much light as you would if you were growing vegetables indoors to harvest.
Green leafy veggies don’t need as much light as vegetables that produce fruit. Fruit producing veggies need more light because they need the energy to bloom and grow the fruit.
What Seeds Should I Start Indoors?
Some veggies should already be growing when it’s time to plant your garden, especially in northern climates that have a shorter growing season. Other vegetables grow and mature fast enough that you can just plant the seeds directly into the ground. You can start ALL your vegetables inside if you want, but that will take more space and some don’t like to be transplanted and will probably struggle and maybe die if you don’t direct seed them.
Common Vegetables To Start Indoors
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- Cabbage
- Cauliflower
- Eggplant
- Kale
- Lettuce
- Onion
- Okra
- Pepper
- Sweet potato
- Tomato
Vegetables That Can Be Started Indoors But Need To Be Carefully Transplanted
- Celery
- Chard
- Cucumber
- Melon
- Peas
- Pumpkin
- Spinach
- Squash
Seeds That Should Not Be Started Indoors
- Bean
- Beet
- Carrot
- Corn
Common Herbs Started Indoors
- Thyme
- Rosemary
- Basil
- Sage
- Chives
- Tarragon
Many of these plants have very fine seeds and require a long germination period. If started early in March, they can be ready to transplant into the garden in mid to late May, depending on the region.
When Do I Start My Plants?
Different plants grow differently, some faster or slower than others. To know when to plant seeds for different varieties there are a couple of things you need to know.
- What is the average last frost date for the region you live in? (You will find this by using the USDA Hardiness Zone Map)
- How long after sowing your seeds will the plants be ready for transplant? (You should be able to find this information in the seed catalog you are ordering your seeds from or online from your seed supplier.)
Example:
The average last frost date in our region, Hardiness Zone 5, is May 15.
Broccoli is a faster growing vegetable, it will be ready for transplant 3-4 weeks after sowing.
I like to make sure my plants will be ready to transplant so I usually give them an extra week. So I will count backwards 5 weeks on the calendar from May 15.
April 10 is when I will want to sow my broccoli seeds.
Some plants grow much slower than broccoli and will need to be started earlier. Sage for example needs to be started 6-8 weeks before the last frost. I would start it 9 weeks to be safe, so March 13.
