who's in zone 7?? what's the plan???

[mommymoose]

we're on Long island, and i am looking forward to starting a spring garden.... Thinking of broccoli romanesco and beets-- what else is cold hardy?? I KNow i need to start things indoors, so i am starting to think about it now!!

BUT, i am a total newbie, so Please... help!! i think i have a good place to starts seeds, but i need to figure out how to keep it warm!! I was thinking either in the boiler room, but there would ONLY be artificial lighting there... or maybe in the basement... but it's pertty cold when the heat is off down there...

i haven't heard much about the cooks garden... are they safe to order from??

[AlwaysByMySide]

I'm in 7a. I've got about 20 winter sown containers outside already, going to work on more over the weekend, and am getting my light set up for tomatoes and peppers going inside. I was inspired by the bizarre cold snap we had. Now that it's warmed up a little bit, my bags of soil outside have unfrozen, so I can get more done!

[gardenmom]

I think the first thing I planted last year was peas, followed by seed potatoes, both directly into the garden. I don't do much seed starting indoors, and I'm also on LI. I buy plants of a few difficult things and direct sow about 80% of my garden.

[heather+mike2005]

I'm in zone 7. I'm outside of Philadelphia, PA. Has anyone tried growing tomatoes from seed directly in the ground. If so, when did you do it?

[goldfinches]

I'm moving next month to Zone 7b. I won't have a greenhouse and don't have luck with seed starting inside. I also am probably going to be pushing it for winter sowing. I have a ton of seeds that should be started 6-8 weeks and transplanted.

Have any of you had any luck with direct sowing seeds that typically should be started inside and transplanted?

[goldfinches]

Reviving this thread...

I moved last week and my landlord told me I could have a large area of the yard for a garden!
So - I'm getting ready to start my seeds indoors. I know I'm really late for this, but better late than never.
I have never used grow lights, but plan to set up at least 2 on a shelf for my seedlings. I looked at them at HD last night and they're about $25 each. Yikes!
MommyMoose, grow lights should work fine in your boiler room, according to all my research
I'm planning to make my seed sowing chart today - Yay!
We do have to wait a long time to till the yard, it's so soaked here. I'm at sea level, and with all our snow melting, and rain coming today and tomorrow, I don't see our ground drying up for weeks

[gardenmom]

Originally Posted by heather+mike2005

I'm in zone 7. I'm outside of Philadelphia, PA. Has anyone tried growing tomatoes from seed directly in the ground. If so, when did you do it?

I've done this plenty of times. I don't have written records, but I often plant tomatoes where my peas have been, which leads me to believe it's late May to early June. If you put them in the ground after the last frost date, they will sprout when the soil is warm enough. I'd stick with shorter season varieties to make the most of your season, and start long-season ones indoors.

I also get "free" tomato plants every year that grow out of our compost and from the few ripe tomatoes that hit the ground and don't get picked up. This year I will probably get rid of them to be extra safe about spreading the late blight we had last year, but I usually let a few grow and am pleasantly surprised.

[kcstar]

7b here. I think I'm starting to get some cilantro from seeds I planted last year. I picked up broccoli & cauliflower and planted those out over the weekend. I also started a lot of seeds indoors, and some lettuce, spinach, and kale outdoors.

This is only my second year starting things indoors. The southwest corner of my family room has windows on each side. It gets very bright, so that's where I put my seedlings last year. I had some luck.

I planted a lot of seeds indoors this weekend, some vegetables and many flowers. I still don't have all of the tomato/pepper/etc. seeds started that I want, and I'll probably start some more green onions later, but most everything else is at the quantity I think I can handle.

[Ruthiegirl]

Starting seeds today!

Tomatoes
Swiss chard
Perpetual chard
Basil
Parsley
Onions (little late for these, but will try)
Eggplant (lots!)


I'll give these a couple of weeks and then start some lettuce and spinach. That's all I start indoors. Potatoes, peas, cukes, melons, more chard, lettuce and spinach, squash all go directly in the ground as seeds by late April/early May.