New to vegetable gardening. When is it time to plant?

[cantdrv55]

I’ve prepared the soil so I’m ready to start planting. I read somewhere that it’s too soon in Northern CA. It may rain again this week but it’s been absolutely gorgeous the past few days. Anyway what temp do you start putting plants in? I want tomatoes, celery, bell peppers, berries,squash and carrots. My two raised beds are 6’ X 10’.

[widebody911]

Depends on what you're planting. For NorCal you could have probably planted most veg crops

[VincentVega]

https://www.almanac.com/gardening/planting-calendar

I'm knee deep in starts, might have planted too much this year

[1990C4S]

Go by soil temperature.

[996AE]

In sunny socal I started seeds in greenhouse in Feb.

In ground this past weekend. Lows are 50 so Broccoli, Cauliflower, early girl Tomatoes, Onions and pole beans. Peppers and Cucumbers in April. Only had one spring when a frost got me.

Google search your "zone" for a list of early spring planting.

[supdaf]

also be aware of the "average date of the last freeze." usually after that all is good to plant.

[MBAtarga]

Average last frost date is the important date for many vegetables. Here in ATL that's right around tax day (Apr 15)

Edit: supdaf posted seconds before me...

[Tobra]

I like to start them in containers and wait until I know there is no freak storm of freeze coming.

I am lazy, so I don't usually start them from seeds. Get a small plant, put it in a quart or gallon container and let it get some size before I put it in the ground

[cantdrv55]

I’m going to buy bigger plants so that I don’t have to wait as Lingas to harvest. It’ll cost more but I’m impatient.

I’ll check out the gardeners almanac. Thanks all.

[GH85Carrera]

My grandfather loved his vegetable garden and he raised enough food to feed the neighborhood, and most of the members of Linwood Methodist Church. He had the soil so fertile with worm castings, horse manure and compost all he had to do was throw down a seed and jump back. The seed was growing.

I tried a few times and after a lot of work all I did was feed the local birds and insect population. The farmer's market is so much easier.

Good luck with your garden.

[Otter74]

After the last frost, whenever that is where you are. Here in Chicago I can't even think of planting until May.

[cassisrot]

Talk to your local extension office master gardeners. They will have excellent info on what and when to plant.

[sammyg2]

New to vegetable gardening. When is it time to plant?

I'd say before noon, it gets too hot later in the day

[stealthn]

Depends, it usually says on the packages, but stagger things like lettuce for a month if you plant a lot. Carrots should go in as soon as you can to get the biggest ones by the end of summer. I was going to plant Asparagus but read it takes 7 years :O

[wdfifteen]

When you plant depends on the species and the soil temperature. Google the kind of plant you want to grow and see what it requires. I started tomato and pepper seeds 10 days ago. I keep the soil temperature at 85f. The tomatoes are very happy at that temp, but only one of the peppers has sprouted so far.
The length of day is important. Onions won't mature if they don't have the correct number of hours of daylight.
Day and night temperatures are also important. Tomatoes will grow, but they won't set fruits if the night time temperature drops below 50f.
I suggest doing a lot of research on the plants you want to grow.



!0 days after planting the San Marzano, Jersey Giant, and yellow tomatoes are up and growing, but only one pepper, a King Arthur bell pepper, has shown its head. Habaneros are notorious for sprouting slowly, even at 80-90 degrees.

[stomachmonkey]

Is that what we are calling it now? Vegetables? Not very creative. Spoons was better.

[GH85Carrera]

My wife is a master gardener and has the college certificate to prove it.

She plants stuff that is NOT the common stuff sold at the average local nursery or big box store. All just plants to be pretty, attract butterflies, humingbirds and bees. We had a few Monarch butterflies hatch from cocoons and some other butterflies. Lots of honeybees visit. We have more than a few people slow down and stop in front of the house just to look at the unusual plants and flowers.

We tried tomatoes. The birds just ate them.