Backyard Hobby Farm: Spring 2013 Part 2 - Seedlings

Back in February we were antsy to get started planting, so we started by looking up the average last day of frost for Colorado. We read that mid-April to beginning of May is a good bet and we figured that since it has been so warm the last couple of years this seemed reasonable. Having never started any plants inside before, we did some research and bought a rack, lights, heating pad, and seeds. We were ready to go!

We started two rounds of plants inside from seed. Here are some pictures of our starters:

 

The first round was planted March 3rd and the second March 17th. The seed packets said to start them 4-6 weeks before transplanting outside. The timing was perfect!

Well, not so much. We have had snow three of the last four weeks and rain the fourth week. This is wonderful since we need moisture desperately, but horrible considering that we need to get our plants in the ground. 

Last Sunday, before the rains, we decided that we couldn't wait any longer if we wanted any of our plants to survive. They have been hardening off for about a week and a half, working around the frosty days, so they should be ready to go. 

We already decided to consider the first round of seedlings as practice for the second round for a few reasons:

1. We knew they were started too early

2. We didn't have the lights set up early enough, lending to leggy plants. 

Therefore, if they all die after transplanting we still have round 2!

Here is our garden now:

We shall see if they survive!

Meanwhile, after all the trouble we have had with the weather and the plants getting too big, I tried to find the website that we used for the last day of frost to see if there was any other information that we may have missed, but . . . I can't seem to find it! Well now what? 

I obviously needed a better source, so I looked up the last day of frost from our extension office and found this instead: May 2^nd for 50% confidence, May 12^th for 80% confidence, and May 18^th for 90%. I guess the old saying to wait until mother's day is pretty accurate after all. Next year we will know better than to start plants indoors the beginning of March. Live and learn. 

We had fun watching the plants pop out of the dirt anyway!