I am so glad this topic came up. I have found that this could be as simple or complicated as you want it to be. At this time I am trying to get as much planted in the ground before we hit the Equinox. Things planted before the equinox will have lateral growth. After the equinox things are going straight up or what I might call cosmic. At t he end of January we started some lettuce seed in the greenhouse. We pricked them out into flats with 18 plants in a 12x24 flat. We work with the elements based on the way the sun and moon move through the zodiac. With lettuce we tend to work with water and earth element. We prep soil for flats on an earth day. weeding and cultivating on leaf days stimulates movement and growth in the plants. One week before transplanting the lettuce we cut "brownies" by perforating the soil with a knife. This allows each plant to send out a mass of lateral roots. We have found that this greatly reduces transplant shock. In another week we will be starting cucurbit and herb seed. I prepped the soil for squash on a fire a.k.a fruit day. We are in Sacramento so this timeline may not apply to you, but if you are in a colder climate you could just keep the seedlings inside a little longer. I recommend the Stella Natura Calendar as a guide for planning tasks. Hope this is helpful info!
