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45 Comments
I germinated mine indoors and then moved them outside to my greenhouse I think they would definitely be farther along if I kept them inside but I ran out of space so out they went.
I love ALL MIgardener videos!
Do you presprout anything? I presprout spinach, carrots and parsnips, then transplant the tiny sprouts into the garden. I even do this in the summer with the latter two because they take forever to germinate in the ground. I get the benefit of quick indoor germination but they don’t take up indoor space.
My corn got taken over by ants! That is a new one for me. Not only did they eat it, they made nests in the kernnels.
Thanks Luke!!!!!
Will you do multi sows indoors? How are you spacing them?
The process of growing indoors, for me is taking a long time, and it's warm where I am currently living. I think it should be warm anyway when people start to grow either indoors, or outdoors. I don't think anyone is going to want to wait longer than they have to by planting in bad weather.
I started to germinate 2 pots of strawberries indoors a while ago. One of my pots already has its second true leaf on many of the plants, and in my other pot well I am still waiting, for the first true leaf to come out. The first two leaves came out in one of my pots, and several of my plants are growing, and I am wondering why it takes, so long to get to the point of transplanting indoors.
I have a big container, and its indoors, so if any of my plants successfully mature enough then I can transplant it.
My sugar snap peas are fine planted out in March, here in the cold and wet UK
I am waiting on moving my peppers and tomatoes out to the greenhouse next week fingers crossed. When I do with what I have out there it will be full so things like lettuce that can start in April in the raised beds will have to wait. I usually have a full 4×8’ bed of lettuce, best way I’ve found is to broadcast the seeds then turn a leaf rake upside down so the tines are pointed up and pull across the bed without any downward pressure. I put a bunch of patches on people’s lawns when I had to fix them after digging up phone cables. Great way to bed seed with out getting it to deep.
Luke I'm in Rochester MI area what about starting peas indoors?
Thank you for all of the great information on gardening!
I started my lettuce and onions inside and my seedlings are extremely leggy they are falling over sad 😞 Can they be saved or should I just start over?
I sowed a few Brussel sprouts last fall. They survived through winter, grew stalks with teeny sprouts on them. Will these produce sprouts big enough to eat at this point, or are they just for the compost bin now?
I put my cold weather crops in the ground, figuring they will come up when they come up. I have a frost blanket over them right now.
Brussel sprouts are 100% a crop to start early with their extended grow time. Had my sister start hers this week too. She suffered with great looking plants that never reached maturity in upstate NY.
mice and voles vicious when comes to early radish seeds early season
Curious. Ever think about using the space under those pallet/tables?
I see an unused space down there. Plants that aren't at risk of the rodent would be useful in that UNUSED space. Think about it 😉
Perfect timing!!! I've been stressing about this exact dilemma. Thank you Luke.
#469 thumbs up. You're welcome. lol thanks for the video.
Thanks, Luke! I was just thinking about this…perfect timing!
I'm in Maine, and I have Beets, Kale, Leeks and Celery growing under lights. I'm going to try to get the beets and the pea (seedlings) in the ground by Apr. 1.
Boy that waiting an extra month is so me right now with my carrots! My radishes, beets, snap peas are all up and growing and look great so far. The carrots? Nada! 😂 Hopefully soon!
We started onions, radishes, beets, tomatoes and green peppers in milkjugs and they are outside. If these don't start very well, we will try it in breezeway again. This is the first time starting them outside. Just don't want to harden them off. It would be easier this way if it works. Next we will plant lettuce, onions, and tomatoes again in case some don't do well or the weather gets them. Luke, please tell us when you are planting things outside because we always start too late. You seem to have it timed right most of the time and Michigan is even colder than where we are.
You can grow them. They are done here my man. Zone 9A. Ain't growing no brassicas now.
I live in CT. We direct sowed raddish, spinach and some sprouting broccoli as a test at the beginning of march. It is about 75% all germinated as of today. (I put a row cover over the soil to help keep heat in).
We had such a warm winter and my garden is just staring at me all ready to go 😂. So tempting to plant something. Have onions and garlic in already. May throw some beets out. Just don't have enough indoor space. Most is taken up by my peppers. Rest of the space is for my tomatoes.
Thanks— I learned stuff!
Darn white butterflies ate my cawliflower, brocolli and cabbage what to do
I love your seeds!! The price is unbelievable and I have so many germinated that I can share with those who can't afford starter plants. Your making a difference to do many people you don't even realize
I've been thinking about experimenting with starting some cold crops in a cold frame {wood frame with a tempered glass window for a top}.
Hehe. I always hit the Like button while the ad is still playing before your video even starts because I know it's going to be a good one. 😂😂
This is great! I live in Tucson Az and we have a very mild winter. We usually get very few freezes (we had 12 days sub 32 this year). Our spring is much different than most of the country. With the exception of El nino years, the last frost date (50/50) is mid February or, if you want better odds (90/10), wait until March 29th. The problem is that the temperature goes up into the 90s in very short order (average date April 8th) so I can't grow springtime cold weather crops. What we for fall isn't much different ('23 had 1 100+ day and '22 had 4). And the weather changes quickly… October 31 is usually quite cold. If the weather cooperates and we have below average fall temps I can plant in early October. But if we have a hot spell that year is done for. I don't know why I didn't think of starting them indoors?! I do it for my spring tomatoes and peppers?! Anyway I want to thank you for making me realize I can also start my winter cold crops indoors.
I have limited space indoors under my lights. I have found that I’m able to start a lot of my cold weather crops under grow lights and move them out during the day come March when I need to start my tomatoes and peppers. I bring them in when the temps get really cold inside on my table or even in my garage.
What zone are you in? 5b here. 😭
If it’s too cold the seed will rot. The issue we have in upper Midwest is too cold at night. It’s almost impossible unless I use a low tunnel. Even then a quilt is needed at times.
We had way above normal temps all winter now it’s spring we are low 20s at night and barely 35F in the day and our normal should be 45F. We have been having 60-70s. We are expecting 1-4” of snow Thursday and again possibly Sunday.
It’s true that our weather can turn on a dime and temps will be 90F by June. So a lot of covering and uncovering to get cool weather crops here.
If you start cool weather crops indoors they still need to be hardened off also I would think. Maybe ok in a low tunnel. It’s a gamble the way these temps have been the last two years.
My grow room is growing bigger: 4 shelves, 8 sets of lights, 2 heat mats, 4 fans & a germination tent…. so my hubby is building a 2 sided 16×24 green house (he's making it larger then I had asked for)!
Thanks for the helpful video, Luke!
QUESTION: Are Carrots the only veggie not to start ahead, but direct sow them?
》》Sure hope you get time to create a Jicama video. This is the 2nd year I'm attempting them. They have germinated & 1 has the 2nd set of leaves. Last year a nice vine started to grow, (about 6 inches long) then stopped. It didn't die until I threw it in the compost pile in December. But it didn't continue to grow. ??? I had them in a 7 gallon grow bag.
You can also extend the cool season for things like spinach with shade. Last year, I planted it in the shade of my peas, AND had shade cloth over the bed from 10am to 6pm every hot day. I extended the life of my spinach to July!
I'm having trouble getting Tom Thumb Butterhead lettuce to germinate and Pineapple Tomatillo seeds indoors. Do you know what might be going wrong? Oddly the green Tomatillo seed I got from a grocery store fruit are germinating really well. My purple I bought from you is germinating moderately well, but growing more slowly than the green.
It's interesting that you said broccoli can bolt if too warm. I have two seedlings under an LED grow light with leaves on one that curl under and both heads started to separate before they got bigger than about 3 inches. I wonder if the ambient temperature is too warm in the room. I'm thinking I might get a few more of those seedlings and plant them directly in the ground. It has mostly been in the 40s and 50s, especially at night. During the day it sometimes gets into the 70s and we have had a few days in the 80s but not many.
0:00: 🌱 Advantages of starting cold weather crops indoors for better growth and space optimization.
2:29: ❄️ Cold weather crops like lettuce are tolerant to low temperatures, requiring consistent 40-45° for germination.
5:09: 🌱 Benefits of starting seeds indoors for succession planting of cold weather crops.
7:28: ⏳ Advantages of starting cold weather crops indoors
10:14: ⏳ Importance of starting cold weather crops indoors to prevent premature seeding due to temperature stress.
Timestamps by Tammy AI
Great advice! Thanks MIgardener! My lettuce always self-seeds. But I still planted seeds inside, so I'll have a longer lettuce season. Same with kale. But I'm still struggling with cilantro. I did sow them direct this year, hoping for better success. We are fortunate we are having an unusually warm month (March). So I'm hopeful. Always hopeful in southern BC, Canada!
What about the bolting possibilities/vernalization with cool season crops if you plant too early in the spring? Whats the minimum temp allowable in the spring (night/day)? My understanding is with cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and biennials like kale, swiss chard, onions, lettuces that you would want to avoid both too cold and too hot temperatures as both can cause premature bolting. Our last frost date is Mar 28 and I was planning on transplanting my seedlings then, but now I'm not so sure as nights still get down to 5-10 C, apparently several weeks of those low temps arent great for biennials that think theyre already in their second yr of growth 🤔
I need to watch this video about 20 times, because here in short-season Colorado, this is the topic that has ALWAYS confounded me. I get it now. Mostly. Heading back to watch this again (starting at 9:35 minute mark!) immediately lol. Thank you, Luke!
I had to net my lettuce because the sparrows here will devastate your lettuce. They just keep eating it all year long! Voles and ice eat my root veggies cabbage moths eat my brassicas and lygus bugs eat my beans and peas it’s enough! I have the shortest growing sea so in zone 3 and my Mother Nature tax is ridiculous! I have to net everything!
Mouse took out of soil cucumber seeds in the greenhouse two days ago
7b and i started indoors on 1/5. Very, very slow going for the first month, fhen transferred outside during a warmer week in February.
Today, shortly after St. Patty's Day, I've got carrots and parsnips that are getting their second set of true leaves. Hundreds of heads of lettuce, tatsoi, spinach and more greens have been transplanted. Garlic is over a foot tall, the onion sets have sprouted, and volunteer potatos all over the yard.
I have no idea what I'm doing and its so much fun