You're smart. I keep trying to harden off my babies only to bring them back in again when we have frost threats. We had a frost last night. Glad I brought them in.

Well, mine are in and out, in and out, right now. Days like today, calm winds, and lots of sun - they are spending the day outside. Days like last Wednesday when 45 mph gusts turned into a downpour, that turned into snow overnight, they hang out in the kitchen windowsill. It will be three or four more weeks until we are past the last frost date, so it will be a while yet before I plant them out. So, no, you are not alone : )

Bonnie

Mine are all out :)in earth boxes. Don't we live close by?

Sumilea

Living in MN, last date approximately May 15-30, all my plants are still in the house..tomatoes, peppers, herbs, flowers. I have babied them so long not willing to risk putting them out too early. Maybe next week or so can get them out for a bit to start hardening off. Around here I'm happy if they're in the ground by June.

Jackie

We have used April 9th as the magic day here
in Northern California for years.

This year we went in the ground
March 22nd and 29th.

Light frost April 11th, but no damage. Plants were hardy

Just for Fun Follow our Weekly video of
the progress on 24 plants

Here is a link that might be useful: Growing Tomatoes for Health and Wealth

I am not only still in the house, I am still in the basement. I am shooting for Mother's day, or maybe the week after. No rush really. Even if its memorial day that is still right on target. (The target is very flexable.)

I guess I can run them out into the shade this week, and duck them into the shed if frost should come.

My plants are much shorter and stockier this year compared to last year, and they are going to look real small when I put them out. Last year I grew them with a light set-up in a bedroom closet (warm) and this year in the very cool basement. I really like the stoutness of this year's plants. Cool growing (with good lighting) is the way to go.

Cool growing has definitely been the name of the game for me too, and I have very good success that way. Like you say, seedlings are hardier and stockier (stout). Mine are spending their first full night tonight outside of the coldframe - they are on the picnic table where they had been all day. It will drop to 47 at the lowest overnight, and that is fine for these cold-hardy mates. It will be back up to 50 by 6 am or so. May is the transition month. But a zone 5-er like the OP should not worry if they are still in the house. Definitely I would re-pot those, though, as it looks overdue, and start giving them short stints outside. You will be golden in no time, tom8olvr. Do not worry if it seems others are ahead on the planting dates.

Mine are inside yet, too. Memorial Day is considered truly safe by many around here. I'll put a few out soon but they will need special care to survive cold nights at least a few times. I can't provide that for alot of them. On nice days when I'm home they go outside for awhile, but this past weekend I was away and they stayed in several days. Some lost their stockiness, but at least they survived...and I got to see my daughter at an event that was very important to her. I'll trade that for leggy plants any time :)

The only way I put things out before 5/15 (I'm in the Chicago area) is in WOWs or my little greenhouse...judging from your picture you have a lot of seedlings so using WOWs might be economically unfeasible for all of them...

I would recommend using flourescent lighting next year rather than a window sill...I have a 3-tier seed starter from GS but used just plain old inexpensive shop lights suspended a few inches above the plants by chains before that...then seedlings won't "stretch" towards the light and become leggy :-)

Heck, i only just got out of the egg cartons yesterday....

They're none the worse for wear, even being crammed in there (about a hundred!) for at least two weeks too long!

Guess i should throw in a plug for Fert-i-lome Ultimate potting mix, fantastic germination, not a sign of fungus problems, and until i transplanted yesterday, they grew that nice without fertilizing. Oh, and credit to i think Bill,(sorry if i'm mistaken) for the egg carton idea that i picked up here, the best way i've found to start 28 different varieties without mixing them up!

I do have a flat of Stupice and Polfast that are ready to be hardened off, but it's looking too bloody cold to bother unless i set up some hoops or something.

I just want to say that you guys have encouraged me to try
and start some things from seeds next year. I have made a
cold frame for growing my seedlings in but was too late to
grow my own plants before it was time to put them in the
ground. I live in Louisiana and it is also hard for me to
imagine that there are people who have to wait unitl
Memorial Day to plant in the ground. If I waited until then
I shudder to think of what I would end up with. My plants
have been in the ground since the week after Easter and
doing well. I am glad I dont have to waith as long as you
guys because I have to MAKE myself wait for warm enough
weather in my climate and that KILLS me!
I would like to post a pic but cant figure out exactally
how can someone tell me how to do so. It shouldnt be that
hard because I am computer savy just cant seem to figure
out where the attachment type thing is for pics????

Candiecane, you can post your photos to Picasa Web Album or Photobucket or a similar site and then use their links for embedding photos into your forum post. I am NOT tech savvy and that way works for me. Perhaps other ways would, too, but I sure couldn't tell you about them. I usually select medium size at Picasa and it gives a decent size pic at GW that loads reasonably fast.

Thanks so much that answers my question. I was thinking
that was most likely the way I would have to do things.
However I have noticed that other people have pics posted
directly in their responces. Possibly someone else will
answer this with a method on how to do so that way.
Thanks!

I planted mine today! Ground temp was 70F in my mounds, so I went for it. I've always used WOW's, last year used some fiberglass cones and they worked very well, so I went exclusively with those this year. I have extra plants still inside just in case.
Advantage of cones over WOW's is that the cones allow some wind to move the plants around a bit, so the stems were stronger on Memorial day when I removed them. But WOW's for me provided more protection when I planted real early, however, I don't do that any more as it lead to more problems for me. The cones can withstand a frost.

candiecane, i use photobucket.com, you just upload your pics there, for free, and copy-and=paste the 'direct link' URL they put right under the picture into your post, and voila! instant picture.

Believe me, if it was hard, I couldn't do it!

Thanks so much I will have to take the time to set up an account with them so I can post a few pics. I am so proud of my garden and want to show it off to someone besides my friends and family!