Those of you that subscribe to Johnny’s Seeds will have already receivers this, however, I thought I would share this seed starting calculator. You put in your last day of frost (March 28 for lower mainland, according to West Coast Seeds) and it gives you dates to start seeds, from Artichoke to Zinnias and most things in between.
I apologies for the long link. I would be interested in hearing from others if 1. March 28 is the last day of frost in Comox and 2. This calculator is accurate according to their own seeding schedule.
Thanks for posting the interesting seed planting calculator. It is very extensive. I use the one provided by West Coast Seeds and it, too, uses March 28 as the last day of frost for ‘South Coastal’ BC. I believe would include the Lower Mainland, which likely has a slightly earlier last frost day than our area (Huband). Another site, Plant Maps, suggests that the Comox/Courtenay peninsula has a last frost date of April 1 - 10 (British Columbia Interactive Average Last Frost Date Map). As a result, we plant according to the West Coast seeds chart (i.e., March 28 date), but start many seeds in our greenhouse, and use raised beds and row covers outside. We have been successful so far. Of course, Comox itself seems to be a bit warmer than where we are located.
Best to keep your own records for the last frost date. For example, last year for me it was April 10th in Comox. Everyone will be slightly different but if you have adequate cover for seedlings, a few days either way won’t make a big difference. If you don’t have cover available then best to err on the side of caution. The timing for starting seeds needs to take all these factors into account rather than just the last frost date.
The seed starting calendar is interesting but I wouldn’t start tomatoes before peppers. Also, the rule of thumb I use for planting out these heat loving veggies is 10C at night rather than a frost related date.
In case you don’t read Donna Balzer’s blog, here’s an interesting site she posted regarding where to buy seeds: https://app.seedlinked.com/
I like to stick to the local seed companies, but there is a lot of good info about different varieties of vegetables and people’s experiences with them.