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Figured seed starting trays were a gimmick until my tomato row proved me wrong
I always thought those little peat pellet trays were just garden center upsells, so I direct sowed everything in my raised beds last spring. After losing about 60 percent of my pepper seedlings to a cold snap in early May, I tried a cheap 72 cell tray on the windowsill in March and got almost every seed up. Now I'm wondering how early I can actually start here in zone 6b without the plants getting leggy, so any tips would help.
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faithjones4d ago
Read a bit from an extension agent last year about timing seed starts by the frost date instead of a random week in March. The trick in 6b is counting back about 6 to 8 weeks from your last frost for tomatoes and peppers, and keeping the lights really close to the seedlings so they don't stretch. A cheap shop light almost touching the tops works better than a sunny window for stopping leggy growth. Also brushing your hand over the plants for a minute a day is supposed to make the stems sturdier.
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