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Starting Seeds Indoors and Outdoors Now

Joanne Taylor's photo
Philadelphia Gardening Examiner

It’s time to collect egg cartons and small cardboard containers for sowing seeds indoors.  Starting vegetables or flowers from seed saves money. A pack of seeds can produce hundreds of plants and most times cost less than a dollar.  Here in the Philadelphia area grocery stores, drug stores, home improvement stores, and garden centers, there is a great selection of seeds to choose from right now. As far as buying seeds vs. buying starter plants; remember, a garden supply retailer may carry only three to four varieties of marigold or tomato plants, but they may offer ten to twelve types of marigold or tomato seeds.

SOWING SEEDS INDOORS

Here in Philadelphia’s Zone 6, you can begin planting seed as early as March, indoors and outdoors.  Different vegetables are planted at different times. As a general rule, you should sow vegetable seeds indoors four to six weeks before the last frost date, which in Philadelphia and the Tri-state area, is around May 15-31; so it’s time to start sowing.  Seeds should only be growing inside for about four to six weeks before transplanting outdoors. Seedlings that are left to grow indoors too long become leggy, weak, and difficult to handle. The seed packet is your best guide for determining exactly when to sow seed directly into the soil. Note that different "perennial" seeds may require different germination procedures,which includes soaking times and sowing temperatures.  Also, different seeds sometimes require different sized containers to start growing indoors. You can even make your own seed containers from newspaper.   As long as you pay attention to light, soil, temperature, and moisture, planting success should come easy.     

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You can force annual flowers to begin blooming earlier in the growing season by sowing your seed indoors in a sunny window in early spring.  Annuals such as geraniums, verbena, impatiens, salvias, coleus, lobelia, zinnias, and marigolds, as well as many other varieties are easy to start indoors. 

If you see a particular seed that you just love, buy more than one pack.  Just remember to look beyond the pretty pictures on the front of the packet and pay attention to planting instructions.  Don’t forget to check the expiration date on the package and try not to purchase seeds that are more than a year old; although the truth is, cool temperatures and dry air with very little humidity are ideal climate conditions for seed storage. Flower seeds and vegetable seeds will remain good and useable for some time if stored under proper conditions. Once the last frost has passed, it’s safe to transplant seedlings outdoors.   

The timeline for vegetable seed planting outdoors varies.   

You can plant these vegetable plants directly in the garden now:  Leeks, Onions, Cabbage, Broccoli, Collards 

You can plant these vegetable seeds directly in the garden now:

Mid-March to Mid-April

Peas, Onions, White potatoes, Turnips, Cabbage, as well as, Collards, Kale and  Mustard Greens. 

Late March to Late April

Shallots, *Spinach, Bokchoy, Parsley

Late March to Mid-May 

*Lettuce, *Radishes, *Beets,*Carrots

*To extend harvest, seed every two weeks 

Each vegetable seed packet has specific planting instructions.  For example; a pea seed should be planting at a depth of about 11/2 inches, yet beets are planted at a depth of a 1/2 inch.  Also, make sure your vegetable garden has well-drained soil and receives at least 6-8 hours of sunlight each day.   

Click below for more information on seed starting from Burpee Seed Co.:

Seed Starting Part 1

Seed Starting Part 2

Seed Starting Part 3

The gardening season is fast approaching; please feel free to subscribe to the Philadelphia Gardening column today. From growing annuals to zucchini, you can find it here; and it's free; just click the subscribe button at the top of the article.

You can also find me on the Web at:

Time to Sow Seed
Time to Sow Seed
Photo credit: 
Joanne Taylor

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, Philadelphia Gardening Examiner

Joanne is a gardener by trade for 23 years. She's won Blue and Red Ribbon Awards in gardening competitions held by Philadelphia's Horticulture Society, has judged their City Gardens Contest, and also taught at the Philadelphia Flower Show. She is the author of "A Down to Earth Bible Study." www...

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