When to start seeds indoors in Colorado

Q: I’d like to start some vegetable seed indoors this year to save some money. When should I start?

A: My go-to answer is sow your seeds indoors about 6 weeks before you plan to plant them outdoors. For example – Cool season crops like lettuce is usually planted outdoors in the garden by early April. Counting back 6 weeks you would sow the seed indoors by mid February. On the other hand, tomatoes typically get planted out in late May so they would be sown indoors in early April.

Now this is a general rule of thumb with plenty of exceptions. Some plants take much longer than 6 weeks to grow to size and others only need 2-3 weeks so be sure to read the instructions on the back of the seed packet before sowing. In my experience, sowing too early results in leggy, overgrown plants that never really do well once planted outdoors.

Read our Q & As with Keith Funk answering common Colorado gardening questions here. You can also hear him on the Garden Wise Radio Show on Legends 810AM.