Depends on where you are, what your last frost date is, and the varieties of seeds you are growing. My last frost date is May 10, so I'm about 3 weeks out. Couple days ago it was in the upper 60's, today I woke up to about a half inch of snow and still falling, lol.

I would say probably too late on the tomatoes and peppers. Those can be 6+ weeks before your last frost. You might be able to do some broccolis that are short season meant to be eaten more like early florets. Not sure about the head stuff. I'm not proficient with head broccoli, but I know others around here are.

I do small plantings of basil up till it gets too hot for them to want to start up, then press my luck with starting again in later summer in pots to carry into fall and indoors into winter as I can. So for me late June or early July gets too hot, and it lasts sometime into August before I can start again. I grow a standard sweet basil and an Italian lettuce leaf basil.

I often do some succession plantings of kale in the spring. Right now I have the first round out under the caps for about 3 weeks, the next round just about ready to plant out, and when I do I'll direct seed in the last spring round. I have been trying out a kale mix this spring. Mid to late August I'll do another round of seedlings and direct seed of a winter hardy kale. I bet you have time to start a round indoors and also do a direct sow.

Thanks for the input. BeesNeeds - I never had the chance to start any seed indoors as I normally do, and it's either try to start something late or buy all my vegetable starts which I'd like to avoid.

John, I seem to remember having that experience as well, simply by allowing a volunteer tomato seedling to grow to full size and comparing it to what was started early. You do get earlier tomatoes if you start them at the right time for sure. I don't grow a lot of tomato plants because I don't have enough sunny areas to use, so I don't mind buying some organic starts. On the other hand, I do grow about 15-20 pepper plants and I'd rather not have to purchase all those. Unfortunately, I think the tomatoes will catch up and do well as you've suggested, I wonder about the peppers though? They are pretty slow growing, yes?

If your tomatoes are fast, you might have luck with them :) But peppers are often slower than tomatoes. Again, depends on what kind you are growing. Ive grown ones that had a 14 week start, this year one kind is a 12 week, the other ones were 8 week. I've seen hybrids that are supposed to be more like 4-6 week with some of the sweet peppers, but I haven't tried them. Pepper Geek has a Youtube channel, and they have a few videos on things like how to get them to sprout/start quicker, grow faster, quicken fruit maturity.

Thanks BeesNeeds - I may experiment for future reference and buy some peppers starts and try to find out which peppers have a shorter start period. I will take a look at that YouTube video too.

Do you have a pepper variety to recommend that you really like? And do you remember any varieties that are good with an 8 week start? I grew Carmen last year. I think I saw organic Jimmy Nardello available at my nursery.

Peppers grow more slowly than tomatoes, but you get fruit faster. I planted out peppers and cherry tomatoes two months ago. I have banana peppers one finger long already, and just have tomato flowers. The tomato plants, however, are larger. Same thing happens every year.

I have a lot I like, lol. This years 8 week starts are Yellow Monster, a sweet; and Aji Amarillo, a seasoning hot. I'm particularly excited about the Aji- it's for a couple of my favorite Peruvian dishes and I have to order paste or dry. So I want to grow it. Pepperonchini- but my seed was poop this year and I was afraid of that.

I would have to go back through planting notes to find out weeks on other faves. Corno di Toro in both colors- almost grew them this year, but the Yellow Monster was older seed and I wanted to use it up. Fish, Black Hungarian, Urfa Beiber, Aji Limon, Peach Habenero, Potato/Farmers Jalapeno. That last one I got seed one year and it was great and I haven't seen it from a good source since. Sigh. There was a chocolate sweet in there too that was really good. Jimmy Nardello was OK, but that year was also the carrot peppers and Black Hungarian. Black Hungarian won the year.

I fiddled for a decade or so with trying out and testing way too many peppers, lol. I did it with tomatoes too- each year I ran a bunch of a color. The tomatoes settled out fairly quick for me for what I want for my processors. Those are supposed to flush sort of all at once, so their seeding start time is defined. The snacker is often a longer season bearing and I like to change it out a bit still.

April 18, 2022

I planted 4 rows of 4 ea in a row of tomatoes. Dester, Mortgage Lifter, Brandywine Sudduth, and Marianna's Peace. Also 2 rows of Peppers, Jimmy Nardello and Lipstick.peppers. We'll see how these do. I only grow seedlings in a South facing window and I'm thinking that while the sun will keep getting reduced as leafs form on the trees I'll be able to set them out for a larger percentage of their young lives. I wouldn't put peppers out till June 1 so I still have almost 6 weeks till then. I put 2 tomato or 3 pepper seeds in each of the cells of a 36 cell tray.

I built a hot frame last year which worked good for tomatoes but no peppers ever sprouted in it. Zucchini, and brassica's did fine. As I remember I planted the tomatoes on April 1 and they got too tall for the 12" high sides of the HF. This year I planned on not using it because of health problems and having to dig it out two feet deep and hauling a foot of fresh horse manure to put under the foot of topsoil. I like to try it as a cold frame even starting this late.

You are not too late at all. I am in Maine and generally follow this: https://www.mofga.org/resources/gardening/seed-planting-calendar/?fbclid=IwAR18b0Sz1mEycrCRI5oJEa-eHNlYjHheCYBd1ixB11IAMcV_0ym9ffGY4qU

Do you have a Heat mat? If you don't use a heating pad. Peppers need heat or you may wait a long time. I planted 23 march on top a heat mat and the jalapeno's are to a point they could be planted outside and were the fastest to germinate, while the California wonder was slower to germinate but has faster growth and would be ready in a week if I had to plant them. So if you plant them now on a heat mat they should be ready by jun 1.

There are some which are a real challenge and require 80 to 90 degree's to germinate like the Carolina reaper , but I have an ace up my sleeve. A local feed mill owner has a fetish for peppers so he has someone grow over 300 different varieties to sell at his own business. Over 340 varieties for 2022 so a usually spend $50 there on peppers. I always buy the winners of last years pepper judging contest held in the fall organized by the mill owner and his pepper club.

Broccoli could be planted for late Summer to avoid July heat. Kale is so easy, will grow until full Winter.

Peppers and Tomatoes could be grown to be planted in 6 weeks. You will get food, maybe a few weeks behind other transplants. Why not see what you can find with transplants, you only have so much Summer? Carmen and Jimmy Nardello are two excellent types.

Dan - I never thought about that, but you’re right, peppers definitely grow slower, but they start producing flowers sooner than tomatoes.

BeesKnees - thanks for the varieties that produce a transplant in 8 weeks. It won’t help me this year but I’ll look for seed next year.

You have Peruvian dishes that you make? I’d be interested in hearing about it. My DD just came back from a trip there.

So after 10 years of testing tomato/pepper varieties, what are your favorites?

John, Sounds like you are off to a good start to the season. Love your idea about the hot frame, was it The Victory Garden that suggested that? Are you growing any varieties that you grow every year?

Thanks for the link, Jake. Nice to hear from a Maine gardener.

Kevin, yes I use a heating pad when I start seeds. Like others here, sounds like you have a big sunny garden and you love peppers and tomatos too?

So when you say you always grow the winners of the contest, are there varieties that you grow every year?

Robert - I may buy transplants and start from seed and see how I do. And I definitely will be buying Nardello and Carmen, but they are only offered in one organic nursery that is quite expensive, so I would like to also start some from seed so I can reduce the expense.

You are all lucky you must have big sunny gardens to grow so many varieties etc. I have a small raised bed vegetable garden that became too shady and too much competition from tree roots, so I end up adding only a few tomato plants and about 15 peppers plants to my front perennial bed which is my only full sun.

Otherwise, I’d grow a whole lot more of both.

Thank you!

prairie - My grandparents had a hot frame when I was a kid. Later I dug out the topsoil and then separated the foot of manure to the garden and then went to a barn and got fresh horse manure and refilled it a couple of times for my mom.

Last year i hauled the manure on top of the car and after a heart problem don't think that's a good idea to repeat this year.

I guess I wasn't very clear with my previous post. I listed some of my fave peppers from previous years that I could recall off the top of my head, but would have to look up what weeks they are. I know Fish is longer than 8 weeks. Had cherry bombs/devils kisses one year, those were great picklers. The sweet chocolate I couldn't remember earlier is Chocolate Beauty. I don't grow standard jalapenos or most of the rest of the typical profile of the New Mex peppers because I can find them really cheap and in plenty around here so I don't use the garden space on those. This year I'm growing a big round of sweet peppers because I'm out of dehydrated and frozen sweet pepper. Maybe if the nursery has pepperonchini I'll pick a few up since my seed didn't come up. There's a lot of peppers that didn't make the cut every year too- for every 1-3 peppers I liked enough to do again, there were probably 3-6 that just weren't. Other peppers produced better, or were tastier, ect.

Out of the tomatoes I would for sure have to pull some notes. I did different color years for a while, then a couple years of running the winners against each other. Whites, blacks, greens, and for the most part mulit-colors got dropped. Pretty much all of the cherries and other small ones got dropped too. A couple of the yellow and orange ones still get used for the snacker, sometimes I'll pick up a something from the nursery. This year it's an old fave from seed, Juane Flamme. The two tomatoes I've been sticking with for processing for a while is Cuor di Bue, an Italian heart, and Gilbertie, an Italian paste. I dehydrate a lot, can some tomato products and smoked tomato juice. This year I'm only doing a couple twins of the processors since I still have pretty good stock in the larder.

My first year here was an awful year- I changed growing zones and lake sides and am now living in a micropocket and that all just screwed up my timing real bad. All the plants I knew well before just went ptttht with my old timing in the new location. So I went a bit crazy there for a while trying out a whole lotta things every year (thank you seed exchanges), lol. Had the space and all.... but dang, just ended up not needing a big variety or so many bushels of tomatoes every year. Did a lot of experimenting with how to grow here. I got over most of that too and have settled into what works well for me, what the timing of my plants is for my area. It's why I tend to harp a bit about where a person is, different parts of a state can have days to weeks worth of timing differences for a last frost. Like in MA it can range from April 21 to June 30. ME can range from May 21 to July 10. PA can range from April 21 to July 10. If folks are in micropockets or create one that can shift timing more.

Cau cau stew is a staple here. It's really a brothy soup, and originally in tripe- but commonly uses chicken too. I use chicken. Potatoes is the starch instead of noodles or matzah balls like in other chickeny brothy soups. I make a creamy chicken stew, use the peppers in rice, kick some into a beef marinade or stir fry- the stir fry gets frenched potatoes instead of noodles or rice. Cheesy pepper sauce for potatoes(black olives and hard boiled eggs on the side), potato casserole... Peru has a potato and pepper thing going on. Aji Amarillo happens to be a delightful seasoning pepper with just the right taste and heat levels to go into almost anything.

I'm sorry, Bees Knees, I was not clear, I was asking two questions - one if those you started this year that you noticed developed in 8 weeks vs 12 weeks, and in general what your favorite peppers were. No need to go to the trouble of looking it up which were 8 weeks in the past. I don't need that information.

I normally grow only sweet peppers and once in awhile if someone in my family who eats the hot peppers, promises they will eat them all, I'll try something hot. [g] I'll keep in mind that Aji Amarillo, sounds like a good one to try. So your favorite sweet peppers are Fish and Chocolate Beauty? I don't really process peppers or tomatoes. Every year I think I'll try but it never happens. I suppose a big part of that is I don't end up having more than we can eat fresh actually, because my garden is too small.

I do actually use a lot of peppers and potatoes in cooking and beans. Can't take the spice or the heat but I used to love it. It just doesn't love me. [g] Are you in Peru now?

John, no definitely might be better to get someone else to haul manure for you now. [g] A few years ago, my husband and I hauled some in containers in a station wagon from a farm that was 2 hrs away. What an awful ride home...lol. We didn't do that again.

Nah, don't live in Peru. I got a case of the cooking blahs a couple years ago and decided I hadn't mastered South America and some islands enough... so proceeded to learn, lol. Peru just so happended to have a lot for me to love. The little yellow pepper so much so I felt the need to find the seed and grow it rather than keep ordering pastes. My Columbian and Brazilian got good brush ups too. Sooo much love for pao de queijo- little cheese bread balls. I cheat and use the mix instead of making it from scratch. My meats on fire skills improve more every summer. I think I make a pretty good Cuban picadillo now. So many sauces and treatments for meats from all over. Lots of soup varations. Tobago and the Caribbean brought me Tobago seasoning peppers. Those are on the fave list. They are barely on the scoville. Smoked and dried, used fresh, stuffed or like poppers, cooked, pickled. Nice with chicken and fish. Kind of fruity with a habanero feel.

And oh, not all the peppers I listed are sweets. Most of the peppers I've grown have been seasoning peppers- a bit more heat than a sweet, usually around or less heat than a jalapeno. They are great for cooking, and fills the void between no heat sweets and alot of hot sauces and preparations. Often has a lot of flavors that come out more when the scovillle is lower. Fish is a bit hotter than a jalapeno- also has lovely varigated foliage and fruits. Pepperonchini isn't very hot. Aji Limon and Peach Habenero are hots. Aji Limon is hotter and has a lot more bright citrus than Aji Amarillo. Aji Amarillo has more earthy smoky tones under deeper ripness citrus tones. Black Hungarian has grown much milder than a jalapeno for me- but I tend to grow it in afternoon shade because it's black and scalds. So that might have something to do with it. Might also be why I favored the Chocolate Beauty sweet a bit more.

Fave sweets are the Corno di Toros. They are fat, fleshy, horn shaped sweets. 6-8 week (I tend to 6-7 week depending on the forecast), I like them for fresh eating, cooking, canning, and smoking before drying. I've grown yellow and red ones. There's an orange one, but I haven't tried it. I might get some orange seed for next year so I can grow all three colors at once :)

I'm growing Yellow Monster this year instead because I wanted to use that seed up since it was older seed and because of processing this year. It's an oversized bell shape and has a crisper flesh that I prefer for from raw dehydrating for fresh reconstituting and evenly dicing up for the freezer. They also taste good fresh and make for an impressive stuffed pepper.

The other two peppers I'm growing this year are aji amarillo and rheza macedonian. Both are seasoning peppers. The aji is hot, the rheza about double a jalapeno in heat. The rheza grows with a lot of corking, so it's to sub out a bit for the potato/farmers jalapeno I haven't found again.

I also sometimes grow out a round of weapons grade hot peppers to make into anti-critter stuff. A little goes a long way. Every once in a while there's a paprika round.

One that I would skip if you see it. Gypsy. I got it as a plant last year and it was underwhelming. I've had better bells and better horns. From seed I would skip most of the whites. I was intrigued for a few packets and though they were nice and kind of novel.. just better others to be had in other colors and kinds.

BeesKnees, that's funny, I have a family member who married someone from Brazil and she brought those cheese balls to Easter last weekend. [g] They do love their meats and she seems to like a lot of rice and beans too.

I enjoy the chocolate color peppers. They do better in afternoon shade? I might try growing in my back vegetable garden that gets some afternoon shade and see if they do better. Black Hungarian sounds like one I'd try too. Corno di Toros sounds great! I think I tried that Gypsy once and had the same opinion. I'd like to hear how Yellow Monster does for you this year. Where do you get your seed?

I have resorted to sprinkling store bought powdered hot pepper to keep rabbits from eating plants. If I put enough on, sometimes it's been effective.

@prairiemoon2 z6b MA At the feed mill pepper sale I just buy the best tasting winners from last season. Nothing memorable sticks in my mind except Beaver Damn, sweet with mild heat but because of the small size nothing I'd plant again. Beesneeds mentioned Corno Di Toro and a cultivar I've been planting every year for nearly two decades. OK green but when red and ripe they are great and I love them. Jalapeno, California wonder, a couple of reds, and yellow are the others I plant every year. I'm planting 3 new types this year with a few of the 340 at the pepper sale and maybe I'll find another keeper.

@beesneeds I never heard of smoked tomato juice and sounds interesting, please tell me more.

I planted two more rows in my seedling tray. King of the North, and Griolla De Cocina peppers. It's going to get hot end of the week, up to 80 or so. I've made up my mind to take the tray out early in the morning and put it in the cold frame. Lots of sun and cheap heat. Force the seeds to sprout. Maybe.

Those bread cheese balls are a treat! Glad she bought them to the party. I have no idea if she meant it this way or not, but I would take it as a big respect and yummy hello there. And probably corner her for how she makes it. Hey, I do a mix and rarely encounter someone else that does them.

Smoked tomato juice. Super basic is why I pick a heart and paste. Sponges and juicers as needed. Take a lotta your processing tomatoes cut up. Smoke them up in pans. Stir them around and smoke more. Put them through a saucing mill to exclude skins and seeds. Take resulting and very hot process with a shot of more acid to be sure. I water bath process under 8 oz jars for ball timing, but I use 4 oz jars.

04/26/2022

Three out 4 varieties of tomatoes started sprouting yesterday after 7 days. Today the 4th variety (Mortgage Lifter) is also sprouting. No peppers have sprouted. This is with out heat mats or lights. In a South facing window with trees leafing out and starting, as usual, to reduce the sunlight. But they spent 4 days out on the porch in +/- 80 degree temperatures and full sunlight.

I'm still expecting; even though it's late for seedlings the many days that I can put them out in the sun will cut the time it usually takes me to grow seedlings.

June 2, 2022

Update on pepper and tomato seeds planted on April 18, see my above post.

Today I set out 2 pepper plants in the garden that I seeded into a 36 cell tray on April 18. They were a King of the North and a Griolla deCocina. They were the biggest peppers in the 16 cells I devoted to peppers. The tomatoes didn't fare as well.

I feel that the peppers didn't suffer from stress. Instead of using a heat mat to keep the seedlings healthy they were planted late they didn't suffer from winters cold; although with our thermostat set at 71 I don't see the problem. But they were set outside in the sun at a young age. Usually I use south window light for lighting which gets less useful as our trees start filling out. But, again, they were out in the sun at a young age. The biggest reason for success, I'm guessing, is that I had 3 layers in each pepper cell. The bottom, Filter, layer was plain peat. The middle layer was straight mushroom compost, and the top, Atmospheric Buffer, layer was again peat. I've been growing tomato seedlings for years in straight peat. Late in the seedling season when the seedlings spend most of there time out side I've added some mushroom compost. In 2021 because of the health scares they got all peat; and did well. This late planting of tomatoes were grown in straight peat; the reason for poor growth. It's apparent that my seedlings would do better with some fertilization in spite of years of success without any more than what is in peat.

For several years I've been setting out tomatoes as late as July 10th. Those tomatoes start producing a lot of big tomatoes on plants without showing any early blight. So I'm going to use the late started tomato seedlings for those plants.