When to plant outdoors in the Pacific Northwest

I am a Seattle resident in Zone 8. I am trying to calculate when to sow seeds indoors so that the plants that will be moved to a cold frame after they have germinated and been potted can be transplanted outdoors. The germination instructions indicate that you obviously should transplant after the last frost. The question is what date gardeners typically use as an assumed date so they can calculate when to sow the seeds.
Any information would be greatly appreciated

 

According to a chart I have, I last frost date for Seattle is March 25th.

 

Based on everything I could find I was guessing 3/30 (no information is very exacting). I have based my germination plan on that with the understanding I could slide the dates. This is my first time to put a growing plan together so your input is greatly appreciated.

 

Look at this site- http://westsidegardener.com/quick/timetable.html. Seattle metro based veggie gardening calendar. The other great resource, more detailed is The Maritime Northwest Garden Guide published by Seattle Tilth. Month by month, veggies and flowers, lots of good resources.

 

I took a look...This is great, thank you.

 

Nightshade need more time indoors, before transplanting, if you are concerned about frost under your cold frame, place a wreath of Xmas lights around the inside peimeter of the frame....4-8 weeks for night shade, squash in situe,
peas carrots no transplanting. Is the terroir adequate for veggie proliferation?

 

cbale224
I seem to remember someone saying Mothers Day but I can't remember if was for a specific plant or not. But, given the unusually hard winter we had, that might be a safe date. Call your local WSU Master Gardeners. They would have better ideas on 'which plants when' for your particular area.
Barbara LLoyd - Anacortes

 

Remember, that heat loving veggies, need more time in a climactically controlled environment, ie tomatoes and peppers should stay indoors for a s long as the cold weather persists, and so on...

 

Keep in mind that just because there is no frost doesn't mean that the soil is warm enough. In Vancouver you usually don't put out tomatoes until at least mid May. That would also apply to planting things like beans and corn, which like warmth. Peas can be planted much earlier and could actually be planted quite soon. :)

 

I am on Southern Vancouver Island and a week ago planted peas and spinach. I have raised beds so the soil is a little warmer and drier.

 

In addition to using raised beds enclosing vegetable plots with hedging and fencing is a good idea.

Warm soil in a warm, quiet setting is good not only for vegetables but for vegetable gardeners.

 

Too early here around Nanaimo / Ladysmith. We should thaw out by late June I reckon. This is what we woke up to this morning.

Cheers, LPN.

 

Get out the skis ! !

I'm here on the sunny Saanich Peninsula where we didn't get even a trace of snow. I have my first row of peas in the ground, along with spinach and a few radishes. ( raised beds ) It's still around freezing so Spring seems a ways away yet. It's almost March so it won't be long now. :-)