• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Home Garden Joy
  • Home
  • How to Garden
    • Garden Pests
    • Plant Diseases
    • Plant Profiles
    • Raised Bed Gardening
    • Seed Starting
    • Tools & Equipment
  • Vegetables
  • Fruit
  • Herbs
  • About
    • Books & Classes
      • Herbalism Classes
      • Books for Christian Herbalists
      • Privacy Policy

Time to Start Vegetable Seeds

February 24, 2014 by Jeanne

Is it time to start vegetable seeds in your area? For me, the time to start vegetable seeds can be anywhere from February through April.
time to start vegetable seeds

Time to Start Vegetable Seeds

This weekend marked the start of gardening season here at Seven Oaks. I ordered seeds from  Burpee: celeriac, leeks, broccoli rabe, cherry tomatoes (none of these seeds were available at the local big box stores.)  I planted a tray of bell pepper seeds, as well as Beefsteak and Early Girl tomatoes, eggplant, and basil seeds. The rest of the seeds are planted outdoors, directly sown into the ground, except for the cherry tomato seeds, but they will take a week or two to get here. In the meantime, the others have been planted.

.

Harden off seeds outside before transplanting into the garden.

Harden off seeds outside before transplanting into the garden.

.
My seed-starting light table was my husband’s invention. He purchased a plastic utility shelving unit from Lowe’s and hung fluorescent lights under each shelf from chains. I hook the lights up to a power strip, and the whole thing runs by a timer. It wasn’t expensive and offers four shelves for starting seeds.
The most difficult aspect of this seed-starting unit is keeping water from dripping down onto the lights. I solved that problem with a combination of trays to catch the water and extra tiles from the kitchen floor tile boxes that we saved.  We have plenty of extra tiles, so I took three for each shelf and placed them under the trays. They work well as long as I don’t unleash a flood of water; only trays will catch that much water!
.
.seedstarting2
I also took cuttings from my pink and burgundy African violets this weekend.  You can start African violet leaves by immersing them in water, or dipping the cut ends of the leaf stems in rooting hormone, then planting it in moist, sterile potting soil. Keep the humidity high and don’t let it dry out. I originally started these leaves in water, but they were slow to grow, so I dipped the end in rooting hormone and planted them in pots under the plant lights. African violets love artificial lights, especially the proportion of bright, steady light I keep on my seeds, so I hope they will start easily.
We now have a free Seed Starting Guide on Home Garden Joy, so if you are looking for more information on starting seeds, check it out!
.
.

This weekend also gave us much sorrow….Razzlebear, shown above, died on Sunday morning. As some of you may remember, he was the first cat that Shadow found on one of our walks.  Raz was feline leukemia positive. It’s a horrible disease. It destroys the cat’s immune system over time, making them susceptible to cancer and infections.  Raz was almost three years old, much, much too young to die, but feline leukemia takes its toll on the animals and eventually, neither antibiotics nor anything helps them fight off the infection. He died in his favorite spot, in a warm, safe place, only minutes after my husband last checked on him.  It was certainly better than the life he would have had if we hadn’t found him huddled in the ditch three years ago; I doubt he would have survived the winter that year.
.
.
We’ve buried my little baby Raz next to my first cat, Baloo, behind the forsythia hedge, with many tears and farewell wishes. He was my sweet cat, my cuddle boy, the cat who loved nuzzling into my lap in the evenings. He liked to garden with me, too, and would lay down next to me outside whenever I worked in the garden, “helping” me plant bulbs or seeds.  When we found the litter of kittens, they followed Raz around and copied whatever he did, so much that we called him “Uncle Raz” and told the kittens he was their uncle. Strangely enough, as my husband dug the hole to bury Raz yesterday, two of the “nephews” came by and lay down nearby to watch. It was as if they knew he was gone.
.
post signature

Filed Under: Seed Starting

Previous Post: « African Violet Problems
Next Post: How to Plan a Raised Bed Vegetable Garden »

Primary Sidebar

Let’s Connect!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

As Seen in Porch

 As Seen in Porch

We were featured in Porch.com and answered reader's questions about indoor plants.

Explore All Gardening Articles

Latest Articles

  • Sunscald on Tomatoes: What It Is and How to Prevent It
  • Herbal Profile: Growing Calendula
  • Battling Anthracnose: A Cucumber Grower’s Guide to a Sneaky Fungal Foe

Herbalism Classes & Supplies

Goods Shop by Herbal Academy – botanically inspired products

Disclosure

Home Garden Joy participates in two affiliate programs: Amazon and The Herbal Academy. Home Garden Joy earns a commission from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate. As an Herbal Academy Associate, HGJ also earns a commission when you sign up for classes or purchase herbs or supplies from The Herbal Academy. Herbal information and recipes on this site are provided for educational purposes only.

Footer

a close up of a cucumber leaf with anthracnose

Battling Anthracnose: A Cucumber Grower’s Guide to a Sneaky Fungal Foe

If you’ve ever stepped into your garden and noticed strange brown spots or sunken blemishes on your cucumbers, you might be facing a common but troublesome fungal disease known as anthracnose. Caused by Colletotrichum orbiculare, anthracnose thrives in warm, humid conditions and can quickly spread across your crop if not addressed early. This year in…

Read More

cucumbers and tomatoes in harvest basket

How to Grow Cucumbers: A Complete Guide

Learn how to grow cucumbers in this complete guide. I’ve grown cucumbers my entire life, and I still marvel at the prices of them at the supermarket. I can only imagine that we’re all paying for the transportation, for cucumbers are some of the easiest vegetables to grow. In fact, you may find yourself muttering,…

Read More

small round eggplant

Growing Eggplant: A Guide for Gardeners

Growing eggplant (a small garden devoted to fresh, seasonal edibles) is relatively easy in zone 7, where I garden, but combating the bugs is another story. Growing epplant in pots, containers, raised beds, or garden soil is all possible if you are willing to go the extra mile to control its nemesis, the Colorado potato…

Read More

cherry tomatoes in various stages of ripeness

Volunteer Plants – Nature’s Unexpected Gifts

Volunteer plants are one of nature’s most delightful surprises. They spring up unbidden, often in places we didn’t expect—cracks in sidewalks, corners of compost piles, or nestled beside a stone foundation, like the vibrant coleus seedlings growing near my deck shown in these pictures. These botanical freeloaders aren’t weeds; they’re plants that have reseeded themselves…

Read More

  • Privacy Policy
  • About
  • Awards

Copyright © 2025 Home Garden Joy on the Foodie Pro Theme