The advantages and disadvantages of starting seeds early

[splash79]

I'm new to starting things from seed and thought this might be a helpful topic for others who are also new. I'll use my info as an example, but figure the overall discussion could be useful for all zones.

I'm in the midwest, zone 6 and I'm about 7 weeks out from my last frost date and 10 weeks from my tomato plant out date. I have held off starting my tomato seeds because I feel like it's too early, but started my pepper seeds earlier this week, even though my plant out date for them is 12 weeks out.


For those more experienced in starting from seed, do you see the 6-8 weeks for tomatoes and 10-12 for peppers as something you strictly follow or is it more of a guideline? Besides being able to plant out early, do you see any advantages to starting seeds earlier? What are the disadvantages, besides overly large, root bound plants and frost/freeze risks, that you've discovered when you've started earlier?

I think us newbies ask and read about those timelines for starting seeds, but it isn't often explained WHY we start tomatoes and peppers at those times, besides the obvious risks I mentioned above.

[Hellmanns]

I have been a market gardener for decades. For open field plantings, late March sown tomato seed will crop "within" 2 weeks of early February sown seed. The increased light and day length makeup the difference.

Years ago, my grandmother always sowed her tomato seed to an outdoor "bed" on April 10th. Not a day earlier, nor a day later. Those tomatoes always began ripening late July or early August.

[jmsieglaff]

I follow those guidelines fairly closely and it seems most do. They've become guidelines because it works best. Start too early and you've got the problems you mention. Too late and you're behind the eight ball which can be a bigger problem for very short seasons. Either far north or far south because it gets too hot. Where I am I'd much rather start 2 weeks late than 2 weeks early, I have a long enough season and don't run into summers that are too hot. The late started plants do catch up to earlier starts fairly quickly. A root bound unhappy plant will need to recover. People with short seasons may have no choice but to push the envelope some.

[drew51]

I have established my own times to plant, and will adjust as the years go by. Right now I start peppers March 1st and Tomatoes March 15. I have lights so I could even start them earlier. I have a cold frame so I can get them out before plant out date. Well in your zone (my zone too) it helps to have a head start as some do develop late in the season, the bigger you can get the plant the better. Especially with peppers who seem to hit their stride about the first frost date! Well OK they do start producing before that, but you want to make sure you have decent size at the start. . Putting them out early is a mistake too. It sets them back if chilled. Anyway so I can get them out early in the cold frame they are fully acclimated by the time of plant out. I don't lose time if we have a cold spring, they just stay in the cold frame longer. This system has worked well for me.
Plant out here is around May 15th, but my plants are outside by April 15th , if not earlier.
The cold frame gives me 20 degrees. So when it's 50F outside it's 70F in the cold frame.

[bughunter99]

The biggest advantage and one reason I do it, is that if you start seeds early, you still have time to replace plant losses if something happens, or to reseed if you get a dud pack or they don't sprout. Another advantage is that it can extend my season a few weeks. This can make all the difference for some varieties in the area that I live in.

There really are no disadvantages from my perspective if you don't mind a house full of seedlings. Just because I start them early does not mean that they all go outside at the same time. I put out a few at a time and never more than I can protect if frost is forecast. I also keep a few extra seedlings from my thinnings in reserve as well.

Once it is time to plant out, I watch the ten day forecast closely and plan accordingly. I have never lost a spring plant to frost, however I am not planting out hundreds of tomato plants and my livelihood does not depend on them so I can afford to push the envelope around that.

Oh and the other advantage? The annual satisfaction of a successful early planting despite all the people telling you that you were doing it wrong, tomatoes in late June when your neighbors wait until late July, and of course an earlier end to the winter blues by bumping up spring activities a few weeks.

I am zone 5b. My peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, herbs, kale, chard and some annuals are all started!

Stacy

[splash79]

Excellent posts so far. I'm finding it very helpful to read about the real-world reasons that people do or don't start seeds early.

[Cole_Robbie]

So much depends on the weather.....

[Worth1]

For me sowing seeds is about 8 to 10 weeks before plant out.
The reason is the bigger the plant at plant out the more chance for the plant to grow and have bloom set before the hot weather hits and causes blossom drop.

There are no disadvantages for me.

Worth

[joseph]

I experience only advantages to starting tomatoes early... I have tried direct seeding tomatoes many times with extremely poor results every time. It's too hard for me to find tomato seedlings in a field full of weeds. The bugs eat the heck out of them. Transplants start out with a 6 week head start on the weeds and the bugs.

The highest market prices for tomatoes at my farmer's market are paid for the first fruits to show up at market. Loosing 2 weeks worth of tomato income would suck.

[Hellmanns]

Originally Posted by joseph

I experience only advantages to starting tomatoes early... I have tried direct seeding tomatoes many times with extremely poor results every time. It's too hard for me to find tomato seedlings in a field full of weeds. The bugs eat the heck out of them. Transplants start out with a 6 week head start on the weeds and the bugs.

The highest market prices for tomatoes at my farmer's market are paid for the first fruits to show up at market. Loosing 2 weeks worth of tomato income would suck.

That is very true about the higher prices..

People will pay a premium for the first "red" fruit, then they always say the flavor has something to be desired, or it's not as juicy as it should be, or the fruit is kinda' small etc. They will discuss it with the grower on the next visit to the market. The grower will tell them it could be weather related and so on... This goes on until the first REAL tomatoes show up...about 2 weeks. Then the early producer wonders where his customers have gone.

[SEAMSFASTER]

If the goal is total production per tomato plant, I say start your tomato seeds indoors in mid-January. Plants only get rootbound if their pots are too small. I've potted up seedlings as many as three times, up to 4-gallon pots or even 5-gallon buckets (with drainage holes, of course), then transplanted 3-4' tall "seedlings" in Late May and ended up with good-sized ripe tomatoes by mid-June on plants that go on to become enormous and produce 100+ lbs. per plant by the time of first Fall frost.

Two factors to make this happen:

1. Plenty of intense, indoor lighting (or a greenhouse if you've got the $) and warmth; 400W metal halide lights have worked well.

2. Soil temperature must be warm enough (at least 60°F preferred, even warmer for peppers) or the new transplants will not thrive. I think soil temperature is much more important than air temperature at getting the plants off to a fast start (no freezing temperatures, of course). Plastic mulch, or even better, a hoop house or such, can really help get transplants off to a quick start.

I've seen transplants put inside a high tunnel grow three times as fast and produce ripe fruit three weeks earlier than paired plants put in the open field. Likewise, good production continues well into November in a high tunnel, while it to comes to a grinding halt by mid-October in the open field. Physiologically, tomatoes (and peppers) are sub-tropical plants and really don't like to get their feet cold.

Agreed that trying to transplant into the open ground around the last average Spring frost date will get you little if any advantage over waiting for 2-4 weeks until the soil warms up.

If I were only planting 50 tomato vines or so, and had the $ for the extra potting mix and electricity (or a greenhouse), all my tomato plants would be started by February 1st and be in 4-gallon pots by now, growing like crazy, then be full of blossoms by a Memorial Day target transplant date.

Those are BIG if's!

And there are important goals other than total production which each grower considers before placing that first seed in soil.

Here's a picture of seedlings taken on March 27th when it was just a backyard garden:

[peppero]

I start some early (Jan) because I like to have something to fuss over. My main start is the middle of February. Set out is around the first week of April for our area with a little danger for frost until the the 10th. I just like checking on the day to day progress and the sooner the better.

jon

[taboule]

Originally Posted by bughunter99

Oh and the other advantage? The annual satisfaction of a successful early planting despite all the people telling you that you were doing it wrong, tomatoes in late June when your neighbors wait until late July, and of course an earlier end to the winter blues by bumping up spring activities a few weeks.



Stacy

Many good reasons mentioned to start early, the 2 above resonate the most to me. Starting early does wonders to cabin fever and gets you back in the game sooner.

Another: you can get lucky with an early spring, then you're ahead. The key is to stagger the seeding, so you also have some later/younger plants if spring is late, or you lose some early ones. Playing the numbers game maximizes the chances of early and larger production.

[NewWestGardener]

I always find your posts interesting! I actually started to grow Jonnhy's Granadaro F1 after reading one of your posts if I remember correctly. It is an excellent variety.

What is a plastic mulch? Just plastic sheets layed down on soil, or is it like shredded layers of it?

Originally Posted by SEAMSFASTER

If the goal is total production per tomato plant, I say start your tomato seeds indoors in mid-January. Plants only get rootbound if their pots are too small. I've potted up seedlings as many as three times, up to 4-gallon pots or even 5-gallon buckets (with drainage holes, of course), then transplanted 3-4' tall "seedlings" in Late May and ended up with good-sized ripe tomatoes by mid-June on plants that go on to become enormous and produce 100+ lbs. per plant by the time of first Fall frost.

Two factors to make this happen:

1. Plenty of intense, indoor lighting (or a greenhouse if you've got the $) and warmth; 400W metal halide lights have worked well.

2. Soil temperature must be warm enough (at least 60°F preferred, even warmer for peppers) or the new transplants will not thrive. I think soil temperature is much more important than air temperature at getting the plants off to a fast start (no freezing temperatures, of course). Plastic mulch, or even better, a hoop house or such, can really help get transplants off to a quick start.

I've seen transplants put inside a high tunnel grow three times as fast and produce ripe fruit three weeks earlier than paired plants put in the open field. Likewise, good production continues well into November in a high tunnel, while it to comes to a grinding halt by mid-October in the open field. Physiologically, tomatoes (and peppers) are sub-tropical plants and really don't like to get their feet cold.

Agreed that trying to transplant into the open ground around the last average Spring frost date will get you little if any advantage over waiting for 2-4 weeks until the soil warms up.

If I were only planting 50 tomato vines or so, and had the $ for the extra potting mix and electricity (or a greenhouse), all my tomato plants would be started by February 1st and be in 4-gallon pots by now, growing like crazy, then be full of blossoms by a Memorial Day target transplant date.

Those are BIG if's!

And there are important goals other than total production which each grower considers before placing that first seed in soil.

Here's a picture of seedlings taken on March 27th when it was just a backyard garden:

[Worth1]

For your area it would be black plastic sheets you can get at the store.