Rabu, 18 Februari 2015

Tomato seeds: when to start them in your area

Start tomato seeds indoors or in a greenhouse before planting season. When spring comes, seedlings will be ready to plant outdoors. Plus you'll grow a more successful crop than if you sow them directly in the garden.

What's the best seed starting date?
Start too early and your plants will outgrow their pots quickly and become leggy, root-bound, and weak. They’ll spend their first weeks in the garden regaining strength, rather than producing new leaf growth and flowers.

Start your seeds late and you can have a delayed crop.

By mid-winter, most gardeners are itching to get growing. Have patience to not start too early.

Start dates differ from region to region
Timing your tomato seed starting is not a one-size-fits-all. Much depends on your climate.

How to know when to start tomato seeds

Try these 2 easy steps to calculate the best time to start your seeds where you live.
  • Determine the last frost date for your region. If you’re not sure, contact your local extension office. You can also view the freeze/frost information provided by the National Climatic Data Center. Select your state from the drop-down list. On the opened chart, choose the city closest to you. You’ll see the average last frost dates for spring (and first frost for fall) dates – among plenty of other data.
  • Count back 4-6 weeks from the last frost date for your region to know when to start your tomatoes.
Plant your tomato seedlings outdoors 1-2 weeks after the last frost date
Waiting longer to plant after the last frost date will reduce the chance of losing your tomato crop to freeze and will allow the ground to warm – which is the kind of environment in which tomatoes do best!

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