my last frost date is may 15th but i do not put my plants into the containers until june 1st.
i only grow vegetables and my timing is different for the plants. hot peppers go in about feb 22nd. eggplants on april 1st and tomatoes april 15th.

I wintersow my tomato seeds now, and they seem healthier than those I started under lights or hot house ones. I watch the weather forecast, and when the projected 10 or 15 day forecasts show definite warm trends I sow the seeds. Most of the time that's around mid to late March. When I transplant them out in mid May (mine go in the ground), they're usually only 5 or 6" tall. By August, they're generally a good 6' tall and really productive.

Here's a good seeding trick I got from a GW friend: Sow tomato seeds into 16 oz. cups. As they sprout and grow, thin to one plant/cup. It will look lost in that huge cup. As it grows taller, just add a little more potting mix to the top of the cup. Additional roots form from the now soil-covered part of the stem. They're still tiny when transplanted to their final growing place but their roots are awesome.

Karen

karen - winter sowing. -- i often want to try that but i am not sure when to put them outside. i have seen othe posts whee people put the seeds in plastic gallon milk containes which is what i would try but i never knowwhen to put them outside.

about the 16oz cup. i have heard that before. when you use that cup how much soil do you put in the cup to begin with?? my only question with this method is that since the seedlings need about to be placed about an inch below the lights how is that done if the cup is that tall??

I fill the cup up to maybe 2/3 before starting. Then I add a couple of tbsp. of potting mix a couple of times as they grow. In your area you could wintersow them probably about the end of March, first of April. You ought to try a few that way, just for fun. But remember, they'll be light weight and blow away easily. I put my cups in a bin (holes drilled in the bottom for drainage) and weigh down with bricks in the bottom. Then the bin lid goes on (holes drilled in top to allow rain to water them, and retain humidity)) and then outside. These don't go under lights, they go out in Mother Nature's light, the sunshine!

For hardy perennials (hardy in MY zone) I now use milk jugs exclusively. Got go out in the snow beginning in Dec or Jan. These will give you more of an idea.



Milk jugs in snow


Spring

i got it, thanks.