Two to five weeks ago!

May 10th is only a little over two weeks away. Generally you want your transplants to be 6 - 8 weeks old and hardened off by the time you put them into the garden (or outdoor containers.) You that is usually done one or two weeks after your last average frost date.

Go ahead and start them now, with the length of your growing season, you should be able to get a pretty good crop, even of the later varieties.

Hope that helps.

Bets

Sorry, I was going to provide the link to the FAQ Page and forgot to do it.

Bets

Here is a link that might be useful: How do I start tomatoes from seed?

Thanks Bets. I knew that my Long Keepers should have been planted a little while later than my main tomatoes, but could not remember how long.

I plan on planting some in very large pots (25 gallon and larger) and some in 5 gallon buckets. This way I can protect them from frost fairly easy. Normally we have one or two nights of frost and then a few more weeks of good weather. This way I can give them a much longer growing season.

Thanks again,

David

You're late with all. To get a longer growing season it is better to plant them early. It's harder to move mature plants without damaging them.

Taz, I respect your opinion "You're late with all.". However, I never even mentioned when I started my main crop of tomatoes. The plants for my main crop of tomatoes are just fine, not late at all.

As far as my Long Keepers, I never mentioned anything about moving the containers that they will be planted in. I assure you that I do not plan on trying to move a 25 gallon pot that has tomato plants in them.

I do thank you for your opinion though.

Guess I should have said late with all that have not been planted. As for moving them around it's much easier early in the season when plants are still small and can be moved out on bright days and back in when freezing temps come back. I start all my tomatoes from late jan- late feb. Then by late april I have rooted cuttings from most of my plants also. They are all flowering by the time I put them in their permanent home, some with fruit.

taz, even though we are both zone 6 our growing seasons are much different. I live in the southern mountains of West Virginia. Even though our average last frost date is May 10th, where I live we have had snow as late as the end of May. Therefore I do not start my main crop of tomatoes until the middle of March and then that is a couple of weeks early for me. As Carolyn has said, it is better to plant a somewhat smaller plant than to plant one that is too large and the term large being relative to the individuals own growing situation and preference.

Many people in my area wait until Memorial Day to plant tomatoes. Our soil temps really wonÂt be that warm until mid to late May. Last year was a perfect example, many people went ahead and planted early and their plants sulked until the weather warmed up. Which it never really did for us, we had a very cool summer last year.

As far as my Long Keepers, by having them in the large pots I will be able to throw some blankets over them to protect them from our first frost. By doing this I can extend their season by another 2 weeks to a month, depending on the weather. This can make all the difference in the amount of ripe fruits that I can harvest.

My main crop of tomatoes is now in the little greenhouse, becoming accustomed to the outdoor environment. They will be ready to go in the ground as soon as the weather allows.