When Asking, “When should we start a home garden”, we might mean: When should we plant or transplant our garden outside? The answer to this question may be an extremely valuable piece of information, but there is more to consider.
- Does an outside garden really begin with planting (or transplanting)?
- What do I want to grow?
- Does My Garden need to be outdoors?
Discovering the true answer to when to start a home garden begins with asking the right questions.
Considering indoor gardening, indoor seed starting, and local growing seasons – you can start some type of gardening today. The more quickly you start gardening the more experience and knowledge you will cultivate. Outside planting or transplanting for a particular plant is generally determined in relation to your local first and last frost dates.
The best time to start a garden was months ago, the second best time is today.
I am a believer in the idea that the fastest way to becoming a successful home gardener is experience. I have written more on being successful when starting a home garden in my post Starting A Home Garden: Don’t Let It Die On the Vine. (Looking for something more practical?: How To Start A Home Garden: The Practical Step-By-Step Guide).
Let’s take a closer look at when to start an outside or indoor garden and what you might need to consider for your personal scenario.
When To Start An Outside Garden
The first step in answering the question of when to start an outside garden is determining what you truly want to know. An alternative to this question would be to consider if an indoor garden is a better fit for you. We will explore indoor gardens later in this article.
What You Truly Want To Know
When Should I Plant Seeds Or Transplant Plants Outside?
The answer to this question varies based on plant type and your local climate.
Frost Dates
Generally speaking, outside planting is done in relation to the last spring and first fall frost dates. Continue on to the local climate section to learn how to determine what your local climate and frost dates might be. We will discuss spring and fall garden planting later as well. These sections should give you a better understanding of how planting for different plant types relate to these frost dates.
Soil Temperatures
You may see some gardeners refer to soil temperatures. Ultimately, we are determining this in a broader sense by focusing on frost dates. However, this is an option and it may increase your chances of success to ensure the soil temperatures match what is preferred by the specific plant (especially when dealing with temperamental plants or varieties).
Phenology
The use of phenology is another way to determine this. You can do this by observing occurrences in the environment and using nature’s cues to know when to take action in the garden. For example, you might look for dandelions to bloom before planting potatoes. You can learn more about planting using phenology on the almanac’s website here.
When Should I Plant My Seeds For An Outside Garden?
I make a distinction between this question and the last question for one main reason: most plants can be started indoors and transplanted later. This can extend your growing season.
If the chosen plant is a good candidate for transplanting you can usually start the seeds indoors much earlier. This allows you to transplant more mature plants outside when the climate allows, giving you a headstart. It can also help you manage your garden space by allowing you to start a plant indoors before the plant it is intended to replace has finished producing.
We will look at indoor gardens and starting seeds indoors for transplanting further in another section.
When Should I Plan My Garden?
Now (sorry, I know the “do now” approach probably gets a little old). Ideally, for an outside garden, you should plan a spring garden many (3 – 4+) months before the last frost.
In the case that you are starting seeds indoors to extend your season, this alone must be done many months before the last frost. How long before the last frost depends on what you are planting.
If you do not plan to start seeds indoors early, you will still need to prepare the ground or containers for planting. Also, other crops that do not do well with transplanting, such as carrots can be planted 10-12 weeks before the last frost.
Depending on what you are planting, planning for a fall garden may be more pressing. For spring garden planting, many plants can be planted later in the spring (or even the summer) and you can still have a successful, albeit shortened, season. In the fall, you are hoping your plants can produce before the frost kills the plant or stops it from producing further.
Determining Local Climate Information For Gardening
If you intend to have an outside garden, it is imperative that you start to learn your local climate. As mentioned before, outside planting is generally done in relation to the last and first frost dates.
To know when this occurs, many gardeners and gardening resources use USDA Plant Hardiness Zones (or “grow zones”), which define regional climate zones.
What Grow Zone Am I In?
There are many maps and resources to help you determine which grow zone you are located in. The USDA has a tool where you can enter your zip code here. Use this zone information paired with other gardening resources (or commonly the back of seed packs) to determine when to plant a specific plant or plant variety.
When Are My Frost Dates?
The last frost date is generally between February and May, this is the date that will determine your spring planting. The first frost date is generally between August and December, this is the date that will determine your fall garden, or how long your plants might continue to live or produce outside. You might be unlucky enough to only have a growing season of a few months, or you might be lucky enough to live in a zone with no usual frost dates at all.
You can use your grow zone determined earlier to look up your average frost dates. For example, this tool on almanac.com allows you to easily get your frost dates and to see how long your growing season is.
It is important to remember that each year and growing season is different. You will need to monitor your local weather as the growing seasons begin and end. It may be necessary to plant later this year or take further steps to protect plants in a season where the frost date is much later.
When To Start A Spring Garden
For spring garden planting, timing isn’t as pressing. You can honestly put off starting a spring garden until it becomes a fall garden, but it will shorten your growing season and each passing month will restrict what plants you can successfully grow.
That said, the best time to start a spring garden is whenever your earliest desired plant can be started. This is why the type of plant and its variety is an important part of determining when to start a home garden.
| How Early To Plant/Transplant Outside | Crops |
|---|---|
| 12 (or Less) Weeks Before Last Frost | Carrots |
| 4 (or Less) Weeks Before Last Frost | Beets, Broccoli, Cabbage, Potatoes |
| 2 (or Less) Weeks Before Last Frost | Arugula, Brussel Sprouts, Lettuce |
| After Last Frost | Basil, Beans, Marigold, Mint, Squash, Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes |
| 1 (or More) Weeks After Last Frost | Watermelon |
| 2 (or More) Weeks After Last Frost | Cantaloupe, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Peppers |
When thinking about a spring garden you might be thinking about your nightshades such as tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants. You might also be thinking about melons, cucumbers, or squashes. For all of these, you will want to transplant outside 0-2+ weeks after the last frost.
If your garden includes cole crops such as cabbage or broccoli, ideally you will start your garden up to 4 weeks before the last frost. If you were to have a crop such as carrots, you might be ready to start your spring garden as much as 3 months before the last frost date.
When To Start A Fall Garden
Winter is coming, this makes the timing more pressing for fall garden planting. For the fall garden the plant that determines how early you need to start may be the one that is the least frost resistant, but it may not be. Some plants are more frost resistant, but have a longer growing period.
| How Early To Plant/Transplant Outside | Crops |
|---|---|
| 9-12 (or More) Weeks Before First Frost | Beets, Carrots, Cucumbers, Kale, Lettuce, Spinach, Tomatoes, Zucchini |
| 8 (or More) Weeks Before First Frost | Beans, Broccoli, Peas |
| 6 (or More) Weeks Before First Frost | Cabbage |
| 4 (or More) Weeks Before First Frost | Onions |
| 2 (or More) Weeks Before First Frost | Garlic |
For a fall garden, you might be thinking of root vegetables, cole crops, and leafy greens. You might not think of other plants like tomatoes or cucumbers, but these can be planted for a fall garden if started early enough.
If you are planting one of these, almost second chance, crops like tomatoes or cucumber you will need to start 2+ months before your last frost date. Honestly, you will probably want to aim for 3+ months to make the production worth the effort. The thing to keep in mind here is the later you plant these, the less time they will have to produce before frost kills them. There are ways to attempt to protect these plants with covering or lamps to artificially try to extend the growing season.
For fully grown carrots, beets, and mostly leafy greens you are also going to want to start 2+ months before the first frost date as well. However, you can start these later and still get significant returns.
When To Start An Indoor Garden
When To Start Seeds Indoors For Transplanting
There are a few reasons to start seeds indoors for transplanting outside.
- Extend your growing season by getting a head start.
- Start plants before space in the garden is available.
- Give plants a controlled head start for the health of the plant.
I will focus on the first one, extending the growing season by getting a head start. If you are starting seeds indoors for one of the other reasons, substitute the time you would like to transplant for the frost date (starting a week earlier than this for crops like watermelon and 2 weeks earlier for crops like cucumber, peppers, eggplants, etc).
Note that not all crops should be started inside as they do not do well with being transplanted. Carrots for example, should be directly sowed where they are intended to grow to maturity.
| How Early To Start Seeds Inside | Crops |
|---|---|
| 4 (or Less) Weeks Before Last Frost | Brussel Sprouts, Cucumbers, Squash, Watermelon |
| 7 (or Less) Weeks Before Last Frost | Cantaloupe |
| 8 (or Less) Weeks Before Last Frost | Lettuce, Tomatoes |
| 10 (or Less) Weeks Before Last Frost | Broccoli, Cabbage, Eggplants, Onions, Peppers |
Crops like lettuce, nightshade plants, broccoli, and cabbage can be started inside 2+ months before the last frost. That is quite a head start.
Some things to keep in mind with starting seeds inside. You want to transplant these after they grow a few leaves beyond the initial seedling leaves. You also want to be careful to not let these seedlings get too leggy (with an excessively long stem).
When To Start Indoor Plants
Now (no really this time)! The biggest advantage to having an indoor garden is you can start it anytime. Where outdoor gardens are very dependent on the climate, indoor gardens have climate control. You can generally control the “sun”, nutrients, temperature, and water very well in an indoor garden.
There is even the option to move away from having dirt in your house by buying or building your own indoor hydroponic garden (just be sure that you enjoy the sound of moving water).
Can I Grow Anything Indoors?
I suppose technically yes, you can grow anything indoors with the right setup. However, it is my opinion that the two biggest disadvantages of indoor gardens are space and lack of pollinators.
Space
Space can be a concern in any garden, depending on your personal scenario. In an indoor scenario, unless it was a priority when selecting the building, adding a garden tends to compete with other modern comforts. As you become more passionate about gardening, growing things indoors tends to take over rooms or even cause spousal disputes 🙂 .
Pollinators
In my own experiences, the lack of pollinators is the most restricting variable to what you can successfully grow indoors. Whether you have noticed or not, a successful garden is actually a busy place. Among the many visitors to your garden, some are essential for your plants to produce. These pollinators, unless you have a unique setup, are not present for your indoor garden.
This is why plants that do not need these pollinators are the most successful indoor crops. Generally, leafy greens or similar plants such as lettuce, arugula, spinach, or herbs are ideal candidates for an indoor garden. Most of these are also relatively easy to maintain.
I have grown things such as cucumbers and jalapenos in an indoor hydroponics system with mixed, but short lived success. To do this, I hand pollinate these plants with a paint brush daily. Ultimately, I was never vigilante enough and did not produce much in the long run. So, you can do this, but it is a lot of work.
Disclaimer: Nothing written here is meant to imply a guarantee or to provide financial advice. It is possible your entire crop fails or that your experience results that are different from the estimates provided here. Please do your own additional research before pursuing anything as a financial investment.