Early planting in a greenhouse
by
Nick Casey
+1
I live in Upstate New York. I would like to know when I should start planting seeds in my Harbor Freight 8 by 6 Greenhouse. I purchased it so I could extend the season but now I am unsure how early I should start. We usually plant banana peppers tomatoes and green beans.
It's going to depend on whether or not your greenhouse is heated. General rule of thumb in a greenhouse is about 6 weeks before you can plant outside. Check out the hardiness for your zone here: http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/. If you have heat in the greenhouse, you can probably plant pretty much all year around.
If your greenhouse is heated, at night, you can start your seeds in March.
I have the same green house and I live in Massachusett. Since mine is not heated, I start my seeds after Valentines Day. I put my seed trays on top of my refrigerator. The heat from the top of the fridge works really well to germinate my seeds. As soon as I start getting growth I transfer my seedlings to a window area in my house. This way I’m ahead of the game. I can usually harden them off to my green house by the end of March. I’m not an expert, but last year my tomatoes plants and cucumbers were insane. I had so many big healthy plants that produced well into the fall. I forgot to say that I do transplant my seedlings to paper Dixie cups before I put them in the greenhous. That way I can avoid all the transplant shock.
Oh my goodness, the snow! Yikes! ☃ Can you tell I am a Southern CA girl??? Lol! What is the temp in the greenhouse? Typically you start 4 to 6 weeks before your anticipated last frost date, but in upstate NY that could be end of May? Check with your local Ag Extension for accurate local information. Found these sites for you, see if they help.
http://www.plantmaps.com/interactive-new-york-last-frost-date-map.php
https://davesgarden.com/guides/freeze-frost-dates/index.php?q=paris+tennessee
https://www.ufseeds.com/learning/planting-schedules/new-york-vegetable-planting-calendar/
http://www.coldclimategardening.com/upstate-ny/online-information-upstate-ny/
Don't hate me, but I went to a local plant sale at my farmers market this morning. I purchased 2 baby tomato plants . . . They are anticipating a short cold snap (if you consider 60's during the day cold (perfect for me, I am still in summer dresses and flip flops, but you should see people! Bundled up like the north pole, what would they do if they lived where it was REALLY cold???) Might get into the 20's at night so I will keep them in my kitchen window till this passes before setting out.