what size pot to start seeds in??

[~gd]

I know little about Ohio climate but it sounds to me that you are starting way early and your starts are going to be very root bound when the soil is warm enough to plant out. Normally i would use solid flats but in your case the flats could be a solid mat at planting time which is a P.I.T. A. to work with. If open flats are used the roots will auto air prune. Also plants that spend too long in flats tend to be tall spindly and weak stemed as they fight for light. I use 3 parts soilless to 1 part VERY WELL AGED AND SCREENED COMPOST. If you use something like chemical nutrtents in the water dilute it so that it is half strength or weaker. you do not want a lot of growth in your starts, you want small sturdy plantsl

I'm only starting a few plants in about 2 weeks - onions, asparagus roots, mainly and chives in about 3 weeks. The bulk of my plants, according to my Mother Earth News garden planner, won't be sown indoors until March & April.

Well I was going by what you wrote " I'm starting 300 plants inside in January," and January is just about gone....~gd

 

[sleuth]

I know little about Ohio climate but it sounds to me that you are starting way early and your starts are going to be very root bound when the soil is warm enough to plant out. Normally i would use solid flats but in your case the flats could be a solid mat at planting time which is a P.I.T. A. to work with. If open flats are used the roots will auto air prune. Also plants that spend too long in flats tend to be tall spindly and weak stemed as they fight for light. I use 3 parts soilless to 1 part VERY WELL AGED AND SCREENED COMPOST. If you use something like chemical nutrtents in the water dilute it so that it is half strength or weaker. you do not want a lot of growth in your starts, you want small sturdy plantsl

I'm only starting a few plants in about 2 weeks - onions, asparagus roots, mainly and chives in about 3 weeks. The bulk of my plants, according to my Mother Earth News garden planner, won't be sown indoors until March & April.

Well I was going by what you wrote " I'm starting 300 plants inside in January," and January is just about gone....~gd

Oops. That should have said February.

 

[ducks4you]

They aren't the cheapest but I really like those flat pots that expand after you plant and water them. You need to transplant but not when they are tiny and vulnerable. Also, put 3 seeds in every pot, except for really hardy seeds, like turnips. At some point you have to choose, if they all grow, and "snuff out" all but the strongest. I use the leaves of seedlings to hold and transplant.
I'm starting inside planting sometime in the next week. I've never started cold weather crops inside--this year will be a first. I'm being selective about my tomatoes--I've saved seeds the lazy way--they're in the bed from last year, and I've collected the old tomatoes to use their seeds bc the cold has already stratified them. Fix the bed later.
Once I start tomatoes it will be about weekly plantings, staggered. In April, I'll move them to my east facing, non heated, windowed porch, as my spring greenhouse. They get lots of good lighting there and can adjust more easily to cool nights.

 

[moolie]

I start my seeds in plastic SOLO type drink cups with a drainage hole poked into the bottom, plus whatever leftover pots I have from purchasing plants here and there in years past.

I use trays from IKEA from the kids' section to hold them, each tray holds 12 cups. The drink cup size is about 10-12 oz, depending on what I can find cheap each year.

For most plants, I transplant right from the drink cup to the garden, for tomatoes sometimes they get big enough to go into larger pots (again recycled from years past).