I chickened out and brought a flat of broccoli, cauliflower, and 3 kinds of basil & thyme inside....trying my hand at winter sowing. I had tiny seedlings just above the dirt the other day...I brought them inside and have created an entire flat of lil monsters! the broccoli grew 1 1/2 inches already! The cauliflower grew an inch and the remaining herbs have all "popped". They may have just waited around and continued growing when it warmed up again in I had left them outside, but no! I had to feel sorry for them....now they're spoiled! Warm and cozy inside growing on the kitchen table in front of huge windows. I really need a greenhouse! :)

I started mine (along with cabbage and brussel's sprouts) inside by first of June and will transplant out this month. Brussel's sprouts will go out this week and others week later. I just prepared beds today. Transplants are few inches tall and got some liquid fertilizer today. Last year I planted out on the first week f august and they did not have enough time before it got really cold so I pushed transplant time up a few weeks this year. I am in southern New Jersey. I am picking spring planted cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower now although broccoli is starting to bolt.

Fencing is really the only thing that deters groundhogs and you need both upright around the bed, and to prevent digging under the fence, either buried or laid flat around the bed. They can climb, so make the fencing either slats or floppy so that they can't scale it. Havaharts have mixed success so you may or may not catch them, and in some states (MA is one I know about) it is illegal to relocate live trapped critters. I refer to broccoli as my groundhog indicator crop - when the broccoli starts disappearing, I go looking for the hole.

No, not normal. At a month old brassica seedlings should be ready or nearly ready for transplanting into the garden. First thing you need to do is get rid of the dome. It is only meant to help germination so once the seeds sprout it needs removed. There are several other things that need answered. What type of potting mix are you using? What are the temps? How often are you watering? What type of grow light are you using? And anything else you can think of that might be important to know about the growing conditions. Rodney Edit: LoneJack's comment wasn't there when I started typing. :)