Monthly Tip

If you start your seedlings too soon, they can get leggy and overgrown before it’s time to plant them. Tomatoes reach transplant size in 6 weeks, peppers take 8–10 weeks, and cucumbers take just 4 weeks. Plan when you want to transplant into the garden, then calculate backward to figure out when to start seeds. Our vegetable planting chart recommends transplanting tomatoes in May, so start seeds 6–8 weeks before, in March to early April. The hottest varieties of peppers need a long growing season for the pods to ripen. Start peppers earlier, mid-February to mid-March. Wait until May to start heat lovers like cucumbers and melons.

More Information: Growing Transplants from Seed