Key Take Aways
Slow-growing, long-season vegetables benefit most from being started indoors.Start tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, onions, cauliflower, and celery indoors 8–12 weeks before your last frost.Direct-sow fast growers like cucumbers, squash, carrots, and beets outdoors.
It’s hard to even imagine spring when the temperatures are still frigid, and there’s a fresh layer of snow on the ground. However, these chilly weeks are a crucial time in the world of seed starting because certain vegetables need a little extra time to really thrive.
We’re talking root development that should begin in January or February. And while you can always purchase starter plants, starting plants by seed in your home is often a much more cost-effective alternative.
We asked two gardeners which vegetables you need to get a jumpstart on planting right now, and we suggest heading to the store for these seeds, along with fresh trays and soil, this weekend.
Meet the Expert
Teresa Sabankaya is an Advanced Certified Green Gardener and the author of Modern Floriography.
Rebecca Sears is a gardening expert at Ferry-Morse.
Why Certain Vegetable Seeds Need a Head Start
Nailing the best timing for starting vegetable seeds indoors all hinges on knowing your region’s last frost date. The ideal time ranges between 6 to 12 weeks before the last frost date, depending on the vegetable. In other words, you’ve got to count backwards.
“When planning your indoor seed starting, the key factor to consider is how long each crop needs before it can be transplanted outdoors and still finish a full season once planted,” says Rebecca Sears, gardening expert at Ferry-Morse.
She notes that long-season vegetables, as well as vegetables with slower root development, are the ones you should start from seed closer to 12 weeks before your region’s final frost date. Vegetables with slow root development typically form deeper vertical roots rather than shallow horizontal roots. Long-season vegetables have a longer growing period before they can start producing.
Advanced Certified Green Gardener Teresa Sabankaya also prioritizes starting these two categories of vegetable seeds first.
“They need a head start on their growth, so they should always be the first to start—usually in January,” she says.
Vegetable Seeds to Start ASAP
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Dmytro Skrypnykov / Getty Images
Here’s a compilation of which popular vegetable seeds Sears and Sabankaya say to start planting inside come January or February:
TomatoesEggplantPeppersOnionsCauliflowerCelery
“[These vegetables] are all happy to be started indoors, as it gives them a head start in a safe, controlled environment,” Sears says.
Which Vegetable Seeds Can Wait
If you have grand plans for a sprawling vegetable garden, vegetable sprouts will quickly take over your entire home if you try to start all of them indoors.
The good news is that Sears and Sabankaya say vegetables like cucumbers and squash can still thrive if you wait to start them until late spring. You can even wait to plant them in your garden until mid-summer.
“Crops such as cucumbers and squash can be started indoors closer to the expected last frost date and still thrive once transplanted, because they develop quickly and benefit from warmer outdoor soil,” Sears explains.
Other vegetables, like beans, corn, and root vegetables like carrots and beets, actually prefer a direct-sow planting method when conditions are right. This means you can hold off on starting them indoors entirely.
Have Fun With a Few Wildcards
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Aleksandra Pavlova / Getty Images
If you’re new to the world of starting seeds indoors, Sabankaya suggests choosing basic vegetable seeds that are easy to start.
Watching several of the varieties you plant start to sprout will motivate you to keep up the effort. However, you should also plant a few seeds that are a bit unique and exciting to you.
“I love shopping for seeds and selecting varieties that are tried and true but also some new ones,” she says. “A good mix of both offer sure-fired success for me and a little challenge too.”
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