Dave, Once again, thanks for your attentive responses. Everyday I am learning something new. I really do appreciate it and would buy you a drink if I could. 1) What's the worse that will happen because I planted too soon? Won't I just start with larger than normal transplants in the garden? 2) What types of containers would you have recommended instead of those kits? Obviously that would mean I would plant fewer items so they could all fit under the same 2-foot growing light. My garage space is limited so expanding my makeshift nursery at this point is not something I am considering (maybe next year depending on the yield I get this year) 3) Understood, but would a good rule of thumb be basically whenever the top of the soil appears dry? 4) So in my case, the cool temps in my garage work out in my favor since I planted a bit too early, right? Or are you implying long-term growth will be stunted? 5) I guess I'll cross that bridge if I ever get to it. I'll regularly post pics in this forum to show my progress. 6) When do you know its time? And is transplanting as simple as using a larger container with the same soil? Why do garden centers sell ready-to-plant seedlings in the same size 6-pack containers that I am using? SusanZone5, thanks for the link to that guide. I will check it out.

Actually, you choose the right time to harvest. When the pods first split. Let them go a bit longer, and they can spill seed. I dry my seeds in the pod inside an open envelope for 24 hrs. before opening and storing. In zone 6 you may have dormants and some semi's that require a cool or dormancy period to germinate. Simply count seeds and record parent history, then store the seed in the fridge in zip bags for at least 3 weeks.

Agree. It isn't a question of picking too soon but maybe using too soon. Any tomato including Roma can be picked anytime after it blushes and it will finish ripening inside. Many of us do this routinely - pick at blush - and it is discussed in great detail on the Tomatoes forum. It eliminates the cracking, bug damage, and disease exposure problems. But then you do have to let them ripen fully inside before using them. But I find that Romas tend to be difficult to peel anyway and they do remain firm - not to mention their lack of flavor. That's one reason why I much prefer other paste varieties. Dave

I wanted to see how my first crop of Spaghetti Squash was doing so I did pick the biggest one i had (yes still on the white side). It microwaved up just fine (I have done this before with storebot ones), but it was harder to get it to flake out the strands -- they were not all yet formed up and had higher water content. It made a good pile if a little slushy -- mostly broken strands. One good thing: it seems that the part that was NOT yet ripe enough to flake into strands can still be eaten in chunks just like a regular squash -- just slice it away from the skin and eat like regular squash or zuchhini. So, if you do not want to get backed way up with a lot of ripe squash, you can pick some early but with a few 'issues'