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When's the earliest you've had sprouts?

14 years ago

Last year I got a pretty late start, most of what I sowed was in Feb-March. For those of you who've been putting out seeds since December...what's the earliest you've had sprouts?

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Comments (11)

trudi_d
14 years ago
End of February, and it's usually a dianthus.
token28001
14 years ago
My first record of sprouts last year was Jan 21. I had a lot of them.

Here's what I had by the first week of February.

Trailing carnations
dianthus - pinks maiden, sweet william, albus
alyssum (sprouted in early Jan, mostly dead)
bee balm - violet queen, lemon mint
salvia - blue bedder, rose queen, blue queen
larkspur - earl grey
coreopsis - red
hollyhocks - white, indian summer, yellow, double yellow, rose, mixed
echinacea - Tennesseensis, magnus, bravado, paradox, white swan
nicotiana - purple, sylvestres
shasta daisy mix
columbine - purple, burgundy
white lancer lily
cupid's dart
linaria
foxglove - white/purple
poppy - unknown red
hibiscus - giant red
rudbeckia - goldstrum, autumn colors
maltese cross
scabiosa - cream, white
sea holly
mountain bluet
buddelia - black knight
lambs ear
catchfly - blue angel, german
liatris - white
dame's rocket
jupiter's beard
agastache - white
Queen Anne's Lace
mock orange
beauty bush
lettuce
salad bowl lettuce
spinach
red cabbage
golden acre cabbage
red carrot
autumn king carrot
virginia stock
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diggerdee zone 6 CT
14 years ago
Looking back through my records, my earliest sprouts in the last few years was February 15th. Lettuce and spinach.

I don't sow until mid- to late January, though, not in December. These February sprouts were sown on January 30th of that year.

:)
Dee
tiffy_z5_6_can
14 years ago
QM,

You should also consider the zones of gardeners in relation to when they start seeing sprouts. I am in a USDA 5 and the earliest sprouts for me come about in the third week of March.
quilt_mommy
Original Author
14 years ago
tiffy - Yes, you are right, and I am. :) This is just a fun post out of curiosity!
token28001
14 years ago
We had a nice warm spell last January where the day time temps were in the mid to upper 60s for about a week. That set things rolling. Then we had snow at the end of February and March. This year, there will be no warm spell. Hopefully by the end of the week, we'll be back to normal with 50s during the day and upper 20s at night instead of barely breaking the freezing mark and low teen nights.
gardenluv
14 years ago
Mid Feb here. It is usually allysum dianthus and poppies or hollyhocks.
terrene
14 years ago
Ditto what Tiffy said. Not only does zone matter, but also the specific location of the containers. Containers that are put in a sheltered location, against a house foundation or near a stone patio/wall, with a sunny Southern exposure, will sprout earlier.

My first sprouts are usually about March 21st.
quilt_mommy
Original Author
14 years ago
Ditto what I said. :)
shinyalloy_5
14 years ago
March 6th for me, had a warm week and voila sprouts all at once.
english daisies
gazania
asters
centaurea
one tricolored daisy
and a jug of chrysanthemum that didn't make it through the winter
highalttransplant
14 years ago
Last year was my earliest germination yet - February 21st. Usually, it's the last week of February - first week of March.

Pretty early for a zone 5, huh? It's because I'm at almost 6,000' elevation.

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