How I Plan My Garden Part 3: When do I start my seeds?

In Part 2 I decided what I wanted to plant, based on my big picture goals.  In Part 1 I took a good look at last year's garden to decide what I want to repeat this year, and what I want to change.  I'm ready to buy seeds.  I know what in planting and how many, but when do I plant?

Good news!  Starting seeds happens progressively through winter and spring, depending on the type of seed, not all at once.

Most seed packets include basic instructions around planting time, and many of these instructions reference your "last frost day" or planting before or after "all danger of frost."  Thankfully, that's an easy to find date.  It's the day in spring when you're likely to have one last frost before temperatures stay above freezing for good. Type your zipcode into a calculator like the one here at Dave's Garden and then take note of the date around the 30% chance, to be safe.  Once that day comes, you'll need to look at your weather forecast to see if it's really the last chance of frost, but for now it's a date to count back from so you'll have plant-able seedlings when the time comes.

I mark this day on a wall calendar, and mark every week before it, going all the way back to midwinter.  This way when I read, "start 6 weeks before last frost" I can easily flip to the week marked six and make note of which seeds need to be started then.

Last year I bought a nifty "perpetual calendar" from Fruition Seeds that gives space for three columns after each date.  Each column is a year, so I can easily move information over from one year to the next.  You can see entries here for two years, last year and this.

I sort through all the seed packs, find the information on when to start, and then write it down on that week.  This way, I only have to figure this stuff out once and then look it up each week, instead of counting on my memory (dangerous) or re-sorting through seed packs every week wondering, "do I need to start any of these today?" which would certainly take a lot of the fun out of this hobby.

Once they're all noted on the calendar, I physically lay the packets out in order of planting week.  Once they're in order, I put them back into storage in order, behind little cards noting the date.  Every week I check the calendar "what do I get to start this week?" and then go into the seed box to pull out a preset collection of seed packs.  I also write planting dates on the calendar, and hardening off dates 2 weeks before each planting date.

So what about seeds whose planting date references something other than last frost?  Like tomatoes, which are to be planted, "once the soil has warmed to 50*F" or "once the nighttime lows are reliably over 50*F."?  Sure, when the time comes I can read a forecast and a soil thermometer with the best of them, but without a time machine I can't then go back 8 weeks and tell myself, "time to start the tomatoe seeds."  This is where it's great to find other local gardeners.  Ask in local online gardening forums and in local garden shops,* "When is it safe here to plant tomatoes, beans, peppers, etc?"  

If you are starting with seedlings, not seeds, it's still good to organize your purchasing and planting around a calendar.  peas and greens can take some frost or even snow, especially if you're directly planting the seeds into your garden, but tomatoes and peppers need to wait until much later.  There's never just one day to put in the full garden if you're growing more than one kind of vegetable.  I find it's well worth it to spend a few hours on a winter holiday break to set up the calendar just once, and then follow the plan from there forward.

A few words about aquiring seeds:  Seeds last for years.  Don't feel you have to use up the whole packet the same year you buy it.  Store what you don't use this year for the future.  The most important thing about seed storage is keeping them dry.  Save silica packets (those little rectangles that say "do not eat") from shoes, vitamins, etc and put them into the same well sealed container as your seeds.  For really long lasting seeds, store the sealed container in the freezer.  How long seeds last depends on the type.  There are lots of handy charts for that, including this one from The Spruce.

If you are purchasing seeds, buy them from a reputable seed company or that local garden shop.  I've heard a lot of stories of people getting screwed buying seeds from amazon or ebay.  Personally, I wouldn't.

There are lots of free seeds in the world!  Starting with that packet you saved from last year.  Save the seeds you grow.  It's a huge topic, and the process can be very different from one plant to another, but tomato, pepper, and dried bean seeds are among the easiest to save and a great place to start.  You may also have a local seed library.  Ask around, do an internet search.  The added benefit of getting seeds that your neighbors have grown out and donated to a seed library is that you know for sure that someone has grown them successfully in your area.  I start the calendar process with the seeds I already own, as that helps me figure out what's missing that I'll need to find or purchase.

One last word about seeds:  you cannot accidentally buy GMO seeds.  Lots of seed companies state that they aren't selling GMO seeds, with wording that implies that maybe somebody else is, but in reality, GMO seeds are proprietary, and you need to pretty much be a farmer, and definitely sign a contract to buy them.  Please don't just take my word for it, after all I'm some lady on the internet you've never actually met.  Instead, here's an article from the garden professors, and one from gardening know how.  There's lots more out there if you're interested in searching for them.

I hope that this short series has helped you get on top of garden planning.  It can be overwhelming to narrow down what you want and where to start, but once you have a routine down it's very easy to adjust and repeat.  I'm especially hoping this is helpful to all the new gardeners of the last few years, and helps you enjoy more and worry less!

*Local garden shops, not the garden section of big box stores.  Why?  Because the employees there have to be ready to work in any department, and just because someone is working in the garden section that day, doesn't mean it's their area of expertise.  My career is in building costumes for theater, dance, and opera.  I'm an excellent tailor and seamstress, and right out of college I worked in a large corporate fabrics and crafts store.  I could have been a great source of advice for anyone who had questions about sewing clothing.  In two years, I maybe got that question once.  Instead, thanks to that guy Murphy, I got asked about glue, and embroidery, and scrapbooking, which I know nothing about.  My co-workers who could have answered the glue question got the clothing question on my day off.  So if you have a question in a big box store about gardening and the employee doesn't know, don't hold it against them.  You're probably talking to someone who is an expert in plumbing or paint.  Better to build a relationship with the employees in a local garden shop, who focus exclusively on gardening, and garden in the same region as you do.

How I Plan My Garden: Part 2, What Do You Want to Plant?

Part 1 talks about starting from an existing garden, but what if you're planting a new garden?  or your first garden?  Starting can be overwhelming, because we want everything!  Every flower, every fruit and vegetable and herb, and all the trees!  You probably don't have infinite space, time, and money to grow absolutely everything.  Yes, climate and light will eliminate some things from the list but to really narrow it down and still plant a garden you truly enjoy, you'll want to focus on what's most important.

This is the time to think about your big picture questions.  Why do I garden?  Why am I making this garden?  Recognize that you may have different answers for different gardens around your property, and ask them for each.  Give yourself permission to apply different priorities to each garden.  You don't have to make every one of them for pollinators, or strictly organic, or highly productive.  It's your garden.

What do I plant? comes from Why do I garden?  And Why this garden?

For Flavor  This is why so many gardeners start with tomatoes!  Grocery store tomatoes just don't compare to home grown.  If this is you, prioritize growing the fruit and veg that taste significantly better than store bought, and look for varieties whose descriptions mention excellent flavor!  If it tastes the same as what you can buy, you don't need to grow it.

To Save Money  We've all heard the jokes about the $200 tomato, but you really can save money by growing your own over buying.  If this is your goal, look for the most expensive items on your grocery list, and prioritize space for them in your garden.  I recommend growing your own herbs.  One bunch from the store costs several dollars, and I often can't finish a big bunch of parsley before it goes bad.  A pack of parsley seeds costs the same as that bunch and provides years of parsley...and speaking of seed...search for local seed libraries, where you can get a wide variety of seeds for free.  You can't beat free!  If you're more of a flower grower, look to perrenials that you only have to pay for once, and join any local gardening groups in person or online.   Gardeners often give away perennial divisions to anyone willing to come pick them up.

Even garden amendment can be free.  If your town collects branches and leaves, they may well have a pile of free wood chips and a pile of free leaf mold compost for the taking.  

Preserving the harvest can cover your needs for a full year.  You can replace most or all of your canned and frozen vegetable purchases, based on how you strategize your garden.

Save your own seeds to plant the next year.  I've never bought garlic because I save and replant some of what I grow each year.

For the Environment/Wildlife  This is a fun one, because there is so much out there for you right now!  Look into planting natives, and meadows, and permaculture guilds.  Even if you only prioritize planting for insects, you will benefit the whole ecosystem, because everything else up the food chain eats them.  One of the best things you can do for insect and birds is less.  Less cleanup, less cutback...who doesn't love doing less work and watching more life in the yard?

To Avoid Pesticides  If this is important to you, find one of those dirty dozen lists and prioritize growing anything on it that you love to eat and can grow in your climate.  For instance, bell peppers always make the list.  They are easy to grow in my climate, and I've never had a pest problem with them.  I'm working towards growing all of my peppers for the year, which also goes back to gardening to save money.  I overwinter my peppers, so I've maybe spend $15 in seed and soil over several years.  $15 buys what, a dozen or less organic peppers?  My plants have paid for themselves several times over, even with the cost of the lights they sit under for the winter.

For Family/Cultural Heritage  My father grew up in the southwestern US, and learned to cook Chinese food from a second generation Chinese friend/roommate.  When he moved to Western New York State in the 60s, he couldn't get the foods he had grown up with.  He came here as a young adult a year or so after his parents.  The story goes that he filled his station wagon with coolers full of dry ice and tortillas for his parents and every formerly southwestern friend they had made in the area.  In my childhood, Dad grew many varieties of peppers for both Chinese and southwestern cuisine that couldn't be bought here.  He also got seeds from owners of the local chinese groceries.  My Italian husband's grandfather was one of many Italian immigrants in our area who had the expertise to grow fig trees in USDA zones 5-6.  It's wonderful to grow our own heritage fruits and veg that aren't consistently available in stores.  Seed catalogues have vast offerings, and recently I've discovered a few companies that specialize.  Kitazawa Seed Company is over 100 years old and specializes in Asian vegetables.  True Love Seeds sells seeds from around the globe.  I heard abou them through Soul Fire Farm, an organization I support, who grow seeds of the African Diaspora for them.  These folx are growing peanuts in New York State!  That's some impressive heritage growing!

For Beauty  Grow some gorgeous plants!  Even food plants can be beautiful when presented that way and intermixed with flowers!  or just grow the foliage and flowers!  Just because I'm obsessed with food doesn't mean you need to be!

For Ease of Care  Let's be honest.  Some ways of gardening are back breaking.  I can't speak for you, but I want to live a long life, and garden up to my last day.  I've been reworking a lot around my garden to make it easier as I get older, trying to stay ahead of the curve.  I'm raising beds and widening paths.  Perennials are always less work than annuals.  Keeping up with mulching is easier than weeding.  Meadow plantings and forest gardens practically take care of themselves.  Each time I plant a new bed, I want it to be less work, and less environmental impact, than the lawn it replaces.

For Sense of Place  For me there is something about how gardening connects me to the seasons and the flow of time.  Native plantings also connect me to my place on this land.  Trying to plant so that something is blooming or harvest-able at each day through the year keeps me connected.  So does watching the birds, insects, and other wildlife.  If you have a harvest/bloom gap, look around your area for what others have blooming or ripe at that time and consider adding it.  Use your plantings as needed sources of shade, or wind blocks.  It's also ok to have times of rest in the garden.

To Experiment  In the age of "fake news" its nice to know that we can test nearly every gardening claim.  Someone says, "you have to put this in the hole when you plant tomatoes"  I can plant half of my tomatoes with "this" in the hole, and half without, and take note of yield and plant health over the rest of the summer.  My garden is my science outlet, and if that sounds exciting to you, keep your eye out for places you can do side by side comparisons.  They will help inform your long term success.

For Joy  Enjoy every bit of your garden.  Do the things that bring you joy, let go of those that don't,  If you're satisfied with what you have, don't listen to anyone who tells you it's "wrong."  If you aren't satisfied, visit other gardens, think deeply, find what you need, and if it isn't there yet, add it.  Happy gardening.