Seattle's zone number can be very mis-leading according to most Seattle growers. It may read zone 8 but your weather isn't typical zone 8 weather..

You have transplants for all in the first list? Even beans and all the squash? It is early to be planting many of those things in your location and especially early for any squash. Even the folks in your area over on the tomato forum aren't planting their tomatoes for another 10-15 days and squash require much warmer soil and air temps than tomatoes do.

Right now you can plant the lettuce, peas, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, carrots, and parsnips. The tomatoes will have to wait and so will the beans, cukes, and the squash will have to wait even longer and that poses a real problem for squash as they don't like transplanting if any size to them. That's why they are usually direct seeded.

Peppers take 8-12 weeks from seed so it is long past time to start peppers from seed. Save the seeds for next year and buy pepper plants - at the right planting time - for this year.

Keep in mind that just because garden centers start selling plants so early doesn't mean it is the right time to plant them. They love customers who jump the gun and then have to buy replacement plants.

Hope this is of some help. Good luck.

Dave

Yes everything in the first list is starter plants ready to be transplanted. Out of the ones ready to go, lettuce, peas, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, carrots, and parsnips, which should be in the deeper 20" bed? I assume the carrots and parsnips for sure.

For the tomatoes, beans, cukes, and the squash, can they stay in their little temporary paper pots and be transplanted at a different time? Or are those now as good as dead and all new ones will need to be bought?

Well the root crops would best benefit from the deep bed. For the rest it doesn't really matter. Your bigger issue is going to be the different nutrient and water needs of the different vegetables. Put the broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts together but not near the beans or peas (they can go together). Put the lettuce by the cukes and keep all the squash plants together.

I guess since you already have the plants you might as well plant them. They will either survive or they won't. You may have to replace them then but you may discover that you don't have room for everything on your list anyway so if something dies off the other plants will benefit from that space.. But you will have learned some valuable lessons in the mean time - Different plants have different needs. Not everything can be or should be planted all at the same time. And what looks like plenty of room now will look like an over-grown jungle in 2 months. :-)

I would transplant the tomatoes into larger pots - no, they can't remain as is - and hold them back for a couple of weeks. But the cukes and zucchini and squash won't survive a double transplanting (into a larger pot and then into the garden) so all you can do is plant them and hope for the best. Next year think about direct seeding them at the proper time rather than using transplants. Same goes for beans.

And this winter take the time to learn about the various correct planting dates for each vegetable for your location and the soil temps needed by various vegetables for transplanting. Do that before you invest in all the plants, ok?

You might also want to learn about pre-warming garden soil methods so you can plant warm summer crops a bit earlier next year. Too late to do that this year as it takes several weeks.

Dave