Starting Garden Plants Early

It is effortless to grow.

Starting garden plants early.

Week 11 impatiens more perennials. As a general rule your plants will survive those late frosts without a hitch if you cover them with anything sheets buckets plastic mulch anything so be prepared with sufficient materials to do so and watch the weather reports. Week 13 onions shallots and slow germinating perennials. We want these plants to be blossoming by the end of may.

Another reason to start your garden early is to have something fun to do in the winter months. Plant seeds inch deep every 2 inches in rows 12 to 18 inches apart. You can plant them right in the garden and so avoid disturbing the young plant s roots. Thin the sprouts when they are 1 to 2 inches tall to every 4 inches.

When more than one crop is planted after another it s called succession planting. Burpee offers a variety of seed starting kits that include trays with cells expandable coir pellets a tray to set them on and a clear lid to hold in humidity during the early stages. Spinach prefers an area with morning sun and afternoon shade and is best planted in early spring while temperatures are still cool about 1 week after the last frost has passed. Remove flower stalks the first year to allow the plant to develop.

Week 12 petunias profusion zinnias. Harvesting can begin in the second year after the plant is established. Once you get your bed established you can look forward to a rhubarb harvest every spring for decades. Week 15 gazania calibrachoa.

Plant dormant crowns in early spring. An alternative to using the kits is to purchase biodegradable pots that break down in the soil.