Gardening in Western New York can feel like a race against the calendar. Spring arrives when it feels like it, and our outdoor growing season is short enough that timing really matters. That’s why seed starting indoors is such a game changer, but only if you start the right thing at the right time.
The easiest way to build a seed-starting plan is to anchor everything to your average last frost date, then count backward based on how long each crop needs indoors. Extension-style guidance commonly recommends using your local frost dates as the foundation for a seed-starting schedule, so seedlings are the right size when outdoor conditions finally cooperate.
For the Buffalo area, the Old Farmer’s Almanac planting calendar lists an average last spring frost of April 30. Your yard might run warmer or colder, and some years are earlier or later, but it’s a solid planning date.
For most WNY gardeners, planning for late April to early May is realistic. If you’re cautious, or your garden stays cooler longer, plan closer to early or mid May. Your schedule doesn’t have to be perfect, it just needs to keep you from starting too early and babysitting seedlings for months.
Seed packets often say, “start indoors 6 to 8 weeks before last frost.” That’s helpful, but transplant timing matters too. Warm-season plants like tomatoes and peppers don’t just need frost-free nights, they want warmer soil and more stable temps. And fast growers can outgrow their pots fast if started too early.
A reliable approach is to group plants by how long they need indoors.
Late January is early, and that’s the point. These crops take a long time to size up, so starting them now gives them a real advantage.
If you’ve ever wondered what to start indoors in January, this is your short list. Most other vegetables will be happier waiting until February or March.
February is when seed starting begins to feel exciting. You’re still ahead of the season, but not so early that everything becomes a long-term houseplant.
Peppers and eggplant are the big ones here. They’re slow to grow, and they tend to need more indoor time than people expect.
Using late April or early May as your planning window, here’s the general flow:
Tomatoes are often started around 6 to 8 weeks before last frost, which puts many WNY gardeners in March for tomatoes, and late February into March for peppers.
These are classic “don’t start too early” crops. They grow quickly and can get stressed or root-bound in pots if they sit indoors too long. Many extension sources recommend a shorter indoor window for cucurbits compared to tomatoes and peppers.
If you’ve tried seed starting and felt like it turned into a mess, it usually comes down to one of these.
Cucumbers and squash are the biggest offenders. They may sprout quickly and look great at first, then suddenly they’re tangled, floppy, and unhappy because they’ve outgrown their space. Wait until late March or early April for those.
In February, a sunny window is usually not enough. Seedlings stretch toward light and get thin and leggy. A basic grow light setup doesn’t need to be fancy, it just needs to be consistent and close enough to keep plants compact.
Seedlings don’t want soggy soil. Aim for evenly moist, not drenched. Overwatering is also how a lot of beginners run into damping off and fungus issues.
Indoor seedlings aren’t used to wind, direct sun, or temperature swings. Hardening off means easing them into outside conditions gradually before transplanting. Extension resources regularly highlight this as part of successful indoor starting, not an optional step.
You don’t need a greenhouse. Most people do great with:
If you want the simple version:
Start small, get a few wins, and you’ll head into spring feeling ready instead of behind.
