We’ve still got weeks (OK months) until our last frost here
in zone 5, but already we have seeds planted inside in containers just breaking
through the surface of the soil.
Creating a planting plan for your garden and figuring out when to plant
each seed often feels like a daunting task.
While many plants do well with an early start in the warmth of your
house, some seeds are perfectly fine, and some actually prefer, to be sown
directly into your garden.
Before you decide to direct sow seeds into your garden,
check the length of your growing
season, and compare this to the growing season required for the produce to
mature (you can usually find this on the back of the seed pack or in a
gardening book). Anything you put into
your garden must have enough time to reach maturity before the next cold season
sets in. Remember that many of the candidates
for direct sowing include plants that can survive in cooler temperatures
(lettuce and peas).
Before I share some of the plants to start outside, take a
look at some seeds that I believe do best started under protection or inside and
transplanted:
- Peppers
- Tomatoes
- Broccoli
- Brussels Sprouts
- Cauliflower
- Celery
- Eggplant
What to Sow Directly
In general, the larger seeds do well planted directly
outside. The rule (mostly true) is to plant the
seed at twice the depth of its diameter, so these seeds are planted deeper and
their roots are thus more protected from the weather: think corn, peas, beans,
and squash. While many of these are available to purchase as seedlings, we’ve
found just as much success with directly planting them in the garden. Starting
from a pack of $3 seeds also can save you a significant amount of money when you compare
this to the cost of seedlings. On the
flip side, the really itsy bitsy seeds (such as lettuce and kale) are also good
for direct sowing since it is difficult to find and plant just a single seed in
a container.
Root vegetables do not transplant well, and are therefore
best planted directly in the ground.
This includes carrots, radishes, beets, and turnips. Since the roots are what create the crop,
bent roots inside containers can cause bent or discouraged vegetables. Many flowering annuals are also wonderful to sow directly into the garden.
No matter whether you direct sow or transplant seedlings
into your garden, make sure you take time to prepare your garden bed before you
plant. Depending on what you did in the
fall, add compost, and plant your seeds according to the directions on the
seeds pack or gardening book, and make sure you wait until the soil warms
enough for each crop: it’s easy to want to get out there in the spring and
start planting, but your plants will be healthier if you plant at the correct
time.
If planting seeds indoors doesn’t work for you, don’t
despair, you can easily plant enough seeds directly into the garden to fill it
up with delicious food. Even if you
start seeds inside, remember that some seeds just do better without being
transplanted and save those seeds for planting outside.
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