A friend asked to know when I start my seeds, so here it is! I base my seed-starting times on the "weeks before average last frost date" chart in the Square Foot Gardening book. I have them permanently in my iCalendar so I never forget when it's time to get started!
Lots of people do things differently, like starting tomatoes way earlier, but this seems to work for me. I don't have any grow lights and put everything in my south-facing windowsill, so I don't like to start too terribly early. My plants still get "leggy" but if I turn them every couple days, they seem to get a lot sturdier. Anyway, based on the average last frost date of May 10 in Edmonton (NOT May long weekend as so many suppose!), here are the dates around which I generally try to start plants. It's not an exact science - I haven't had time to start my "feb 15" stuff yet, and it's obviously almost a week later. It'll happen. Also, this is not an exhaustive list of plants, since I don't grow everything.
Early February: seed onions inside
February 15: seed broccoli, cabbage, parsley inside
March 22: Seed first lettuce inside
March 26: Seed tomatoes and peppers. (I usually start a few of my tomatoes earlier than this)
April 5: transplant broccoli and seed peas/kale/spinach OUTSIDE. (Obviously this is dependent on the absence of snow. But broccoli can withstand up to -4 degrees C so don't be too afraid to put it out! If it snows, just put a row cover on it. Mine got frost-bitten last year but they all survived.)
April 19: Seed beets/carrots/lettuce OUTSIDE, transplant lettuce
April 25: Seed squash inside
(this includes all pumpkins, zucchini, etc. Theoretically you can start them earlier but it's not really worth the counter space they take up, since the bigger they are, the longer they take to get growing properly after transplanting in the garden.)
May 3: Seed cucumbers inside
May 10: Transplant tomatoes, squash, and onions OUTSIDE, seed beans straight into the ground OUTSIDE. (only if it's warm; beans will rot if the soil is cold and soggy)
May 17: Transplant cucumbers outside
May 24: Transplant peppers outside
That's it! I hope you find that helpful.
I was mulling over a conversation I had the other day with a friend who wants to start gardening. I was showing her my seed-starting stuff and my specially mixed potting soil and she was very excited to get started. But after she left, I realized that I forgot the one piece of advice that every gardener tells someone who's just starting -
START EASY!
So here's my not-really-sage advice. Feel free to ignore it, but I'm pretty sure it has merit.
1) Make a SMALL plot.
Whether this is digging up your current soil or putting in a small raised bed, do it small. I promise you that the first year, you will have a TON of weeds (unless you buy weed-free soil from the greenhouse, but that's kinda pricey). You WILL regret digging up half your yard at one time, unless of course you love weeding so much that there's nothing else you'd rather do all summer. I, on the other hand, must also keep small boys from maiming each other while maintaining my garden, so I'm VERY glad I started with two raised beds and added more in subsequent years.
2) Make a SMALL grocery list.
Go into your first garden knowing that what you're going to plant is probably going to work out. For example, if you plant eggplant, celery, cauliflower, and peppers in your garden, you may have some success. But frankly, in central Alberta, you'll probably just get leaves and immature veggies. On the other hand, if you put in carrots, lettuce, zucchini, and a few tomato plants, you'll probably feel so happy at the end of the summer that you'll be dying to put in more garden space for next year! This will also help convince those skeptical spouses/children/neighbours. When they see that stuff is actually growing and that you really can eat it, they'll probably give you the green light. Heck, they'll probably give you next year's grocery list. :)
3) Buy transplants.
Yeah, I know it's more expensive. But seriously, if this is your first crack at gardening, it makes sense to avoid the sometimes-finicky seeding part. Let the pros do that and then reap from their labor by buying a nice big tomato plant. Take the year to learn how to feed and water your plants. Those things are rather important. And you'll feel AMAZING when your neighbour compliments you on your tomato crop. Next year, you can grow it from seed with the confidence that you actually know how to keep it alive in the summer.
If I've forgotten something, feel free to comment. But I hope that helps!
