GARDENPlants and seeds

Understand Planting Seasons

Understanding Your Plant – Out Date

In any group of gardeners, spring brings out even the most reclusive plant enthusiast. Discussions may turn to things like seed starting and favored varieties. However, almost any gardening discussion will inevitably turn to the best time to plant, with the recommended timeline for the area being fiercely debated, and with good reason- your plant-out date is the foundation of your entire gardening plan, and understanding it is essential to the overall success of your garden.

In order to make a determination of how to plan your garden, you need to take the time to look up the gardening data that is personalized to your particular area.

• Some of the argument between experienced greenhouse and hydroponics gardeners often comes because of a slight difference in geography.
• Frost dates can vary within twenty or thirty miles, especially if elevation is a factor.
• While not all towns are represented with frost data, look for the city closest to you with the most similar growing conditions.
• This will be a good indication of what to expect in your own garden.

Frost dates are not a sure thing. Instead, they are a statistical measure of what is normal in your area. You may actually experience the last frost before the indicated time, or well after, if your spring isn’t acting like normal.

Always have a contingency plan in case things don’t work out as expected, and plan for some row covers for those late and unexpected chills.

• You also need to know what the grow times are for the plants that need to be started indoors, such as tomatoes and peppers. Tomatoes will need to be planted approximately six weeks before your last frost date in order to have sufficient time to mature.

Frost dates can be found on many different websites. One of the most readily used is the frost date calculator found on Victory Seeds which is searchable by state. If your area isn’t represented there, do a quick search with your city name, plus “frost date” in the query box.

About the Author

Whitney Segura is the founder and CEO of Best Garden Gifts, a family owned manufacturer and distributor of greenhouse kits, hydroponics equipment, composting supplies, and garden containers, to customers living in the United States.