Starting Seeds Indoors: When to Plant, What to Plant, and Common Mistakes
It's time to start getting ready for spring! Our Home, Lawn, and Garden Expert, Amy Grisak, walks you through when to plant, what to plant, and common mistakes to avoid.
Start Planning What You'll Plant in the Springtime
This is Amy from North 40 Outfitters, and today we're going to talk about when and what to plant when you're starting seeds for your garden. Now, days are finally getting longer and it is time to start planning what you're going to plant in the springtime by starting the plants that need that headstart before the last frost date hits and the soil warms up. Now, when I'm planning my garden, I take my huge pile of seeds and I divide them into groups. I have the ones that have to be started early, the ones that need a month to six weeks before I'm going to set out, as well as ones that may or may not need to be started inside, and those that I'll direct-seed in the garden. We're not going to talk about those today. We're going to focus on these first two that we need to plant indoors before spring really arrives.
What You Can Plant Early
So, some of the ones that we plant early are things like peppers and onions and basil and sometimes tomatoes, but that one's a little bit of a caveat because not all tomato varieties need to be planted as early as others, because as you know, we have some tomato varieties that'll be mature within 60 to 70 days, and others will take 120. So if you've chosen some that take 100 plus days, which is kind of tough for us in these northern climates, you definitely want to give those a little bit of a headstart.
When You Should Start Your Seeds
When you're planning on the calendar when to start your seeds you're going to take a look at that last frost date or the time when you're going to plant if you're one of us that likes to use season extending techniques and count backwards. When you take a look at the back of the seed packet, it'll tell you how many weeks prior to plant indoors before that last frost date. So with cabbage and broccoli and other Brassicas like that, it's typically about a month. You don't want to start it too early because those plants are going to get too big, and if you leave them in those original containers, it's too stressful and it's too cramped and the roots get stressed and you have an unhappy plant when you put it in the garden, which isn't a good way to start the season.
By giving it that amount of time, even though it might seem a lot, you're giving that plant enough time to mature and to grow large enough that it's going to be a sturdy plan to put in the garden, but it's not going to be too much for its container. If you already have all your seeds, that's great. But if not, be sure to head to the store, gather everything you need, grab your supplies, and get to planting. If you have any more questions or need help visit any of our North 40 stores or see us on north40.com.
-
Jiffy Pot$2.79 - $3.99
