When should I plant to get seedlings ready to be planted by late April early May?

Question

The last frost is usually April or early May and I want to be ready to plant a garden by then. I saved hundereds of seeds from last years Marigolds, Giant Sunflowers, Allysum, Portulaca and a few others. I have a small 4 shelf greenhouse and was given permission from the apartment manager to buy another one. That'll give me 6 shelves for plant trays and the bottom shelf to hold water for temp. management to keep the inside above freezing. I live in a South facing apartment so they will get full sun. Any other tips are welcome.

Answer 1

Start them 6 to 10 weeks before you want to plant them out doors. Do not let your seedlings get any colder than 65 degrees or the will suffer cold shock which may not kill them but will mean far fewer flowers.

I would get some florescent shop lights and hang them over the seedlings. unless you are somewhere where you will get over 14 hours of sunlight on the seedlings in April (and that place does not exist in N. America) they will get leggy and weak. I hang lights on chains with "S" hooks so I can raise them as needed to keep the light no more than 2" from the tops of the plants.

A week or more before you want to transplant the seedlings will have to be hardened off. This means taking them out side for longer and longer periods so at the end of 5 days they are outside 24/7. Until they have been a few days into hardening off keep the seedlings out of full sun.

Answer 2

I usually start my seeds indoors 8-12 weeks prior to last frost of spring. I'm zone 7 and it sounds like you may be as well so that means Feb. February is also the time in which I sow my cool weather veggie seeds outside. Just make absolutely sure you've experienced last frost before putting the seedlings you start inside in the ground.
Good Luck

Answer 3

It's different for different flowers. Here's a website that has detailed instructions for most flowers:

http://www.yankeegardener.com/seeds.html

By the way, the usual advice is to plant "after all danger of frost is past", so I would wait until a couple of weeks after the usual last frost date. You can also keep back a few of your seedlings in case you get zapped.

Answer 4

Marigolds and sunflowers do well direct-seeded, and I have luck with allysum that way as well. Other flowers have varied planting times, so it's best to look up individual plants too.

Answer 5

Go buy one package of each of those types of seeds from a nursery in your area (for ~50 cents each), and read the directions on the seed package. It will tell you exactly when to pot the seeds to make seedlings.

.

Answer 6

early april but don't plant them our to early

Answer 7

early april.

Answer 8

venus fly-traps