Question:
Can corn and bean plants be started inside? Is it too late to start tomatoes indoors? What if I plant their seeds directly into the ground?
Answer:
We have a fabulous new color chart on our Grow It Eat It website that clearly shows when to start your seeds and where indoors or outdoors. Go to: www.growit.umd.edu and click on Food Gardening Publications, then "Vegetable Planting Calendar for Central Maryland." This popular site has a wealth of information for home gardeners from our Grow It Eat It initiative which just started last year. You'll see that some heat-loving plants, such as tomatoes or peppers, are best started indoors to give them a headstart. Sweet corn and beans are among the vegetable happiest when planted directly into the soil outside. You still have time to start tomatoes indoors. If you had been too late, it would not kill the seeds to be planted outside but would result in a later, shortened crop.