Transcript How Do You Know When to Plant Seeds for the Garden?

How Do You Know When to Plant
Seeds for the Garden?
Knowing when to plant seeds indoors or directly in the garden comes with experience,
and this information is often included on the back of seed packets also.
But if you’re planning your garden
before the seeds have been purchased,
this information will help you determine
when to plant seeds for your garden
.
vegetable gardeners can begin to prepare for the
gardening season and get a head start on spring
by starting some crops early indoors.
Transplanting
As the seedlings grow, they will require more space.
Plants not seeded in individual containers must be
transplanted. A common mistake is to leave the
seedlings in the flat too long. The ideal time to
transplant young seedlings is when the first true
leaves appear, usually 2 to 3 weeks after seeding.
Containers should be economical, durable, and
make efficient use of available space. Individual
pots or plastic cell packs can be used.
Another possibility is compressed peat pellets
which expand to form compact individual units
when soaked in water. They waste no space, do not
fall apart as easily as peat pots, and can be set out
directly in the garden. If you wish to avoid
transplanting seedlings altogether, compressed
peat pellets are excellent for direct sowing.
Hardening Plants
Hardening is the process of conditioning a plant for
growth outdoors.
If plants produced inside are planted outdoors
without undergoing a hardening period, their growth
could be severely limited.
Hardening is most critical with early spring crops,
when adverse climatic conditions can be expected.
If seeds are started indoors too soon, the little
plants may outgrow their indoor growing space
and become too leggy.
If they’re planted too late, the seedlings will not
be large enough for transplanting in the garden
when planting time comes round.
Other seeds can be direct-planted right in the
garden
it’s important to know when to plant seeds indoors or in the
garden.
Name
Suggested Dates for seeding Vegetables:
Indoor sowing
Seed depth
Soil temp.
Brussels Sprouts
April 15th
1/4 -1/2 in.
21° C
Broccoli
April 15th
lightly
24° C
Cauliflower
April 15 th
¼ in.
24° C
Cabbage
April 15th
¼ in.
24° C
Celery
Cucumber
March 15th
May 1st
¼ in.
¼ in
24° C
24° C
Eggplant
March 15th
¼ in.
24° C
Leek
March 15th
¼ in.
24° C
Melons
May 1st
24° C
Onions(Spanish)
March 5th
¼ in
¼ in
6Peppers
March 25th
¼ in
.24° C
Pumpkin
May 1st
¼ in
24° C
Tomatoes
April 15th
¼-1/2 in
24°-27°C
24° C
Plant
Ageratum
Alyssum
Aster
Balsam
Begonia
Broccoli
Browallia
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Celosia
Centurea
Coleus
Columbine
Cosmos
Cucumber
Dahlia
Dianthus
Eggplant
Geranium
Impatiens
Approximate Number of Weeks
Before Last Frost Date to Start
Seeds Indoors
Time Seeds to Take to
Germinate (Days)
Temp (°F)
Light / Dark Requirement
8
8
6
6
12 or more
8
12 or more
8
8
8
6
8
8
4 or less
4 or less
8
10
8
12 or more
10
5 to 10
5 to 10
5 to 10
5 to 10
10 to 15
5 to 10
15 to 20
5 to 10
5 to 10
5 to 10
5 to 10
5 to 10
20 to 25
5 to 10
5 to 10
5 to 10
5 to 10
5 to 10
10 to 20
15 to 20
70
70
70
70
70
70
70
70
70
70
65
65
70
70
85
70
70
70
70
70
Light
Either
Either
Either
Light
Either
Light
Either
Either
Either
Dark
Light
Light
Either
Either
Either
Either
Either
Light
Light
Impatiens
10
15 to 20
70
Light
Larkspur
12 or more
5 to 10
55
Dark
Lettuce
8
5 to 10
70
Light
Marigold
6
5 to 10
70
Either
4 or less
5 to 10
85
Either
8
10 to 15
70
Light
12 or more
5 to 10
65
Dark
Pepper
8
5 to 10
80
Either
Petunia
10
5 to 10
70
Light
Phlox
8
5 to 10
65
Dark
Portulaca
10
5 to 10
70
Dark
Snapdragon
10
5 to 10
65
Light
4 or less
5 to 10
85
Either
Stock
10
10 to 15
70
Either
Tomato
6
5 to 10
80
Either
Verbena
10
15 to 20
65
Dark
12 or more
10 to 15
70
Either
4 or less
5 to 10
85
Either
6
5 to 10
70
Either
Muskmelon
Nicotiana
Pansy (Viola)
Squash
Vinca
Watermelon
Zinnia
Tomatoes - Indeterminate & Determinate
There are two basic groups of tomato plants:
determinate and indeterminate.
Determinate, also known as "bush types", set all
their fruit in a shorter period of time, do not need to
be pruned and grow well in a cage. No staking is
required.
Indeterminate tomato plants grow tall and are also
referred to as “staking tomatoes”. They continue to
grow and produce fruit all season long and should be
pruned. Staking is required.
Planting
When the soil in the garden has warmed, about a week after the
last frost date, and once the plants have been hardened off,
tomatoes can be planted in the ground, allowing about two feet
between plants.
Tomatoes have the unique ability to grow roots along their stem,
so as much of the stem of the plant can be buried as possible,
leaving the top two sets of leaves exposed above the ground.
This may seem strange at first, but the plants will grow to be
much sturdier than they would otherwise.
Days to Maturity –
Time from plant set out to first ripe fruits is highly
variable depending on many factors (temp., rainfall,
soil, etc.), so a range is given.
Very Early - 55 days or less
Early - 55-70 days
Mid - Midseason - 70-85 days
Late - Usually over 85 days
Seed collecting- Tomatoes
If you can grow vine ripened tomatoes you can grow
tomato seed.
To get the best seeds you should pick the fruit when
it is somewhat overripe but not going bad.
Mash it and put it in a small container of water and
change water every day.
Stir, shake and drain every day; after a few days it
will have fermented and the seeds will be clean.
The good seeds will sink to the bottom, the pulp and
immature seeds will float to the top, making for
easy separation.
At room temperature fermentation takes about
three days, but this may vary depending on the
temperature and the ripeness of the tomatoes.
The length of fermentation time is critical since too
much fermentation will cause the seeds to sprout
and not enough time will not clean the seeds
properly.
Spread the seeds on paper and air dry thoroughly.
Store in a cool place and the seed will germinate
well for at least five years.