Since I have such a small area, I bought plants that were about 4 inches high each - except for the peppers - those I started from seed in February - I will know next year to start even earlier though.
I have two 8 X 20 areas that produce all the veggies we can eat. I give away tomatoes and other veggies. My Simpson's' black seed leaf lettuce got pulled up today and some plants were almost 4' tall. Everyone in our neighborhood had that for salads more than once.