Great video watching on the first day of spring. 40 degrees air temp. Compost bin at 85 degrees F. Very pleased with the compost Temp. Have onions seeded and up. Going to start peppers this week. Sure looking forward to direct seed in the garden beds! Excited thanks Gardener Scott!
my soil is jumping between 37 and 41 this week. Decided not to risk it and wait until this snowstorm passes. Midatlantic spring is always a guessing game though. 70 one day, 30 the next. I have some indoor peas ready to go out, and some scallions
I live in the middle of an orchard, the heater fans come on once the pears bloom, if it ever freezes, which it will here through April. Excited to use this as an advantage for my gardening! I haven't done any gardening here and we've been here 3 years..
Great Show Thank you - We all need to Work for wisdom keep teaching about culture - Keep sharing and reporting, stay free. Independent press is critical to staying free.
There are some great suggestions there. I wouldn't have thought corn would be included here. Parsnips can also be sown in winter to let them germinate once the spil warms up. For the last couple of years, I've been sowing mine in November/December
Dad got me into gardening back in the 60’s. Corn (#8) was the only one that surprised me. Thank you for the additional info! Best wishes, Kate in Olympia, WA - 3/12/2022.
GM Gardener Scott ☕️. Starting some plants indoors, winter crop & those that take longer growing days. We’re also a short summer . The next 2 weeks or so we’re ranging nights from tees. Twenties & up to mid 30s🥴. My greenhouse is 80* today. So tempted to go gung ho but know better😉. Have a great day from Nevada 👵🏻👩🌾❣️
Great information, especially for us northern folks! I didn't know that about corn! Last year I planted a spring garden April 3rd (day before Easter) and it did wonderfully, especially the peas, potatoes, kale, chard, onions (starts) and lettuces!
Hi Mala! Thank You for all this great information! I wish the seed companies would just put soil temperatures on their packages. I had forgot that I have a soil thermometer. Since I just put in 3 new raised beds this year I can direct seed some vegetables.The weather is so different where I live than where I used to live. I went from zone 9 to zone 7. UGH!
As a child I was always taught to plant potatoes before Easter. But you know I have succession planted potatoes like carrots or rutabagas and it's turned out to be a really nice harvest. I payed attention to the variety and my first and last frost date. I can see how it gets confusing sometimes but if you take your time and don't rush it. I agree with you Scott it will be a successful season. I don't know if that's an old wives tale about Easter and potatoes but I grew up in Kentucky and that's a whole other grow zone as well. My zone now here in Custer SD is 4B.
Yes, here in zone 5a we always planted spuds on Good Friday. I'm changing that family tradition this year. I'm starting a week later and planting an inch deeper. Also planting by the moon on April 21st and its in zodiac sign of Capricorn which is said good for roots as it is an earth sign. Last year we had some hard freezes and ran crazy covering. Some greens got nipped, but did ok. Also Easter moves around a lot.
Hello Gardener Scott, thank you for this video about starting seeds. It has always been iffy on timing as to when I start my seeds. This video has given clarity to seed starting. Also, a good resource is the Farmers Almanac whereas you can type in your zip code and download their seed starting guide. I am starting my onions indoors today 😊Happy planting!
I checked my 9b micro culture areas in my yard on about January 20th and found that bed #1 was 45 degrees, bed #2 was 40 degrees and bed #3 was 36 degrees. Sunlight, shade and raised bed positioning can make a big difference even on a small property.
I did some rather scientific statistical analysis of weather forecasting. The only thing I looked at was the temperature predictions exactly 14 days in advance. My main goal was just to move back the ' last frost date' by 2 weeks. In other words, if your last frost date is April 14, and the 14 day forecast on April 1st shows April 14 at 33 degrees or above and all the days between April 1st and April 14.. you are generally about 99.5% safe to plant everything outdoors on April 1st. While they can be pretty spotty on precipitation 14 days out, they are really good at predicting temperatures, and more than 50% of the time they were wrong by more than 2 degrees, they were forecasting under the actual temperature. If you have plastic row covers, you could use the same thing even 14-28 more in advance of your last frost date.
Already have peas and radish in the raised beds. Soil temps are around 45 degrees. I have broccoli 🥦 that was started indoors. It is now transplanted out and about 6-8 inches tall. I put cloches on if our nighttime temps drop below 30 degrees. I have planted Laxton #9 and Dark Perfection on a cow panel trellis. They are all doing well. Thanks for the video.
I love your videos!! One note for others- he is a great speaker, very thorough, etc, but does speak a tod slowly (for clarity, tec, i get it!). Remember youtube has an option for speeding up a video, I love the option when I just want to listen to him but am not ready to sit down and take notes (at which point, I do keep it at normal speed). That's all 😁
I live near St Louis and I have already planted spinach, peas and broccoli . I know it is a risk but our Springs are getting shorter which means the weather is getting warmer sooner. If I wait there is a good chance these crops will bolt before they mature. I figure the worst that can happen is I will have to replant them.
in the Netherlands we have a really short season, like yours probably (I am guessing) and always have to start indoors, esp chili peppers and bell peppers as there's not enough time and now i don't have a veg patch anymore and no greenhouse and a north facing garden I find new challenges ;-)
It's only short for those hot weather plants. We (I assume the climate just over the channel is similar to ours in southern England) have an amazingly long growing season for things like cabbage etc. Focus on the positives haha.
Have a bunch of cold weather crops in trays in a cold frame to give me more space in the grow room. Already have lettuce and spinach growing in a cold frame from transplants, plus planted some carrots, beets and radishes. looking forward to my first fresh salad.
Where I live in England (Derbyshire), I don't get a last frost until May 1 - 10, so I start a lot of my crops indoors as it's even too cold in the greenhouse (unheated)
already got my carrots in and radishes in. in nc we had a random 20 degree night after a month of over 45 degree night temps. so frustrating. i covered mine up in hopes to keep them. but with radishes being a 1 month crop. its fine if they don't grow nothing really lost. I was just getting impatient and really needed to grow something lol
on experience it really where u live and depends on cold weather conditions if you really want to plant watch your 10day forecast and once it hits above 50 on average then you till your land up wait a few day then plant your seeds works every time
Swiss Chard is a Bad Ass plant! I have been growing Swiss chard all year long in a pot out in the elements. I'm in Georgia zone 8b and the swiss chard in my micro climate garden can handle light frost and my summer heat; although in the summer, I do move the pot in an area to receive only morning sun bc it will bolt! 😎 P.S. My dogs love Swiss chard too!
Howdy Gardener Scott and fur baby!🙂 Another good post...next year I'm going to try your info on sowing the onion seeds and letting them germinate when they are ready. I've got two sowing of carrots and turnips growing. I also have lettuce and beets growing. I cover the lettuce when it drops into the 20s and low 30s. And guess what? I harvested my first potato the other day. I was messing around in the fall looking for hot spots around our yard to grow in over winter. I had a few seed potatos I put under a layer of compost on the north side of the house in full shade. They grew even with lows in the upper 30s!! They grew until we got ice that knocked them back. The other day a squirrel was digging around and uncovered a tatar...there's tatars under there!😃 In the south I think everyone tries to grow collards...they are so delish!🤤 Sorry about the long comment. Thanks for adding to my gardening skills!🙂 Enjoy gardening!😃
Thanks great information I really need it to grow in containers the green stock and assorted other containers this really helps me a lot thanks again happy gardening to you
This is awesome! I was thinking about starting some cold hardy veg to put outside before the frost.. Thanks for sharing all this great info. Season extension is crucial here in zone 4a 🌱💕
All good things to know ☺. Earlier this past week, I soaked the pea pods until they expanded and planted my Brandywine seeds. As you say, the instructions can be a tad vague, but mine do say, and is on par with what I've read elsewhere. Seeds came from Ferry & Morse, but bought them locally. 7-10 days to germination, 80-100 days to harvest (we have roughly a 179 day growing season) and they say planting directly is May/June, which is when I plan to transplant them outdoors. Come mid to late April, I'll begin to prep the grow bags with amendments and bring them out to warm up in the sun as by then, I hope it's not so wet and in the 60's at minimum during the day. Right now, it's still cool, upper 40's to low 50's during the day and the overnight lows are mostly in the upper 30's to mid 40's, so the danger of frost is passing as I type. We hit 10% chance of frost on April 4th. The 50% chance was March 10th. I'm going to harden them off in May as that's when it gets warm enough for them to begin that process and by mid to late May have them transplanted if possible.
I scattered a mix of Oxheart carrots, Daikon radishes, and Purple Top White Globe radishes onto a bed last year in January, thinned them in March, and harvested in May. We get a lot of swings in temperature, and usually a snow or two in spring here in East Tennessee, but these roots grew just fine.
The problem with spring gardening is the extreme temperature range. Even when started indoors many plants such as broccoli die in a hard freeze but bolt when it gets warm. Our latest freeze can easily be April 22, but by that time we are also having plenty of 90s. Meanwhile we sometimes reach 80s in February. Winter and spring vary significantly from year to year so you never know what to expect.
Mr. Scott just found your channel. Enjoying your advice. I live GA and I’ve had no success with cucumber. I haven’t have luck with a trellis. Any advice you can give to help me be successful would be grateful.
I start cucumbers seeds in good amended soil beneath the trellis and train the vines up as they grow. They can decline in hot summer temps and may benefit from shade cloth draped over the trellis to reduce the afternoon heat.
I agree with Scott, they need shade. Also there is a big difference in growth habits among varieties. I've had some that look anemic they were small pickles and others more like an English cukes perform like a jungle vine. Keep them moist , not wet and cool them off.
Gardner Scott i live in northwest indiana, crazy temps at this time, would you recommend still planting peas, radish, spinach, beets and carrots around 2-3 weeks before last frost date (which i am showing will be April 23rd) I am planning on doing most of those plants in raised beds and containers except the peas. I also wanted to ask you what your favorite pea is to plant. thanks again for all of you information so happy to have found you!
You can, and consider hoops and plastic to help keep the plants warm when the crazy temps hit. It's normal for me to get wild swings around the last frost and planting early always works for me. Containers can often be moved into protected areas if it's really crazy. I like Oregon snowpea.
There's quite a few things you can plant in the soil right now here in Michigan. Beets, turnips, kale, chard, broccoll raab, potatoes, celery, cilantro, carrots, lettuce, peas, radish, collards, leeks, onions, mache, arugula, cabbage, carrots. . . For some, like radishes and lettuce you might want to plant every couple of weeks.
I watch 2 main gardeners for my Zone 5a. Gardner Scott and MIgardener. The latter is a MI Gardner and he had done a video on early spring sowing. So excited about the info from both garden gurus that I can't wait to start. I have a tricky micro climate because I'm in low pocket and get some sneaky late freezes.
Yup! We still have a couple ft of snow here and expecting a little more this week. I've had good success direct sowing some of these as soon as the ground is workable. 🌱💕
@@zarahsgarden2097 we just got more snow here today in South Central Michigan. It's really beautiful out but I can't wait to really get out there and start digging in the dirt. So glad I managed to get the winter sowing done.
It's going to be awhile before I fire up the tiller, considering the record cold and rain with snow. Be careful when you're planting corn, soil temperatures are very important. Seed prices are always going up and cannot be wasted on poor timing.
Corn is very picky about soil temperature in my experience. Last year I planted some during the first weekend of May then planted some more 2 weeks later. The first planting didnt do very good at all but the second planting done great. Same variety of corn, done everything the same with the exception of planting time.
I’ve seen many who germinate it in trays and have success planting out on frost free date. I’m very tempted! I think, if I did this before each planting out day, I could get two harvests. Seems like a great year to try it.
When measuring soil temperature; how deep does the probe have to go? Thank you - Nevermind, Scott, you & Siobhan MacLeod answered this in the earlier comments ❣️
Thanks for this video, the temperatures are especially helpul. I have a greenhouse and I am trying to extend my growing season a little more each year. I figure it's warm in there, I have to be able to start things sooner, but like you say the seed packets don't provide all the information we need. Have you had any luck growing celery?
I live in a low area subject to extreme freezes eventhough it gets pretty hot during day in zone 5a. Would you suggest planting in raised beds with plastic or frost cloth over hoops for ease of care and success? I just don't think plants can handle 24° +/-. It's tricky here because the days can be quite hot, it's like a desert in the Midwest. I'm up for new ways like winter sowing, don't want to waste them, but I do want to see better crops because it gets hot here. I could use cheap off brand seeds, but you have only one shot a year and if it works and I didn't plant enough--Ugh! Thank you for all these ideas about winter early spring sowing!
@@GardenerScott I pushed a few nasturium seeds in the soil that were laying out all winter. We will see what they do. Thanks for the info. Getting plastic tomorrow as I think it will be needed to start early. Thank you.
I have kohl rabi seed so i'll sow them now. I already sowed my kale and germinated nicely. i always wanto grow corn but the harvest is not worth it . can i sow my beans and peas in a northfacing side of my garden?.
Thank you for your expertise:-) I have problems with slugs, snails, and moles in my raised beds. There is no debris in our yard, however the garden sits 40 ft from Forrest like setting. The slugs eat all the new starts, I try everything? Any pointers I might be missing 🤔
@Gardener Scott Thank you, I have beer traps out now, slug bait. I'll try the cardboard, I'm sure it'll help. Just don't understand why there's so many of them. Wish the moles would eat them. I'd like to get a couple ducks, just not sure where to keep them. Thank you
If you are growing mustard for seed, you can treat them as a self seeding annual. You need to wait till the pods dry. When you harvest, you'll definitely lose some seeds to the ground. Those seeds will sprout the next spring.
Gardener Scott have you bought any seeds from Rohrer seed. If not, please check them out. Rohrer always puts a free pack of seeds in with every purchase. Not long ago I bought Kentucky Wonder planted 14, 13 sprouted 93% rate. What do you say not bad?
Do you have any videos on growing peppers from seeds? I have tried everything and just cant get seeds to sprout? So many different UA-cam techniques. Heating seeds, soaking in H202? What works?
I don't have a dedicated pepper seed video but I do discuss them in other videos. They are one of the few seeds that I do use a heat mat for. Germination can be slow, especially for hot peppers, so I leave the humidity dome on until the plants are growing well. Other than that I don't do much different from my other seeds.
I've already planted the seed potato size that were from the garden in the soil a few days ago and covered with grass mulch, found some more sprouted potatoes that got covered up. Can I just set them under the mulch on top of the ground? I live in northern California near Oregon, what seed companies should I buy from that have open pollinated seeds, plus what plants should I buy as hybrid or whatever?
@@GardenerScott The bin has me intrigued. I've not been able to find one I enjoy for storing my seed packets. I use different size glass jars also for my harvested seeds. Random chemistry glassware at times also XD. My gardening adventure started because I was to cheap to pay for essential oils and I had plenty of distillation apperatus'.
@@ronaldhiser860 - I am not able to spend much $ but wanted a way to store my seeds along w planting instruction for each seed type. To do so I used a simple 3 ring binder w plastic sleeves for each variety. That has helped me.
@@Thankful_. Now that is a genius idea. I have a photo organizer like everyone else does, I questioned Scotts because my slots are color coded and my case itself is slightly different. I really like your setup through, that is quite ingenious.
I went out yesterday to plant some beet seeds, but the soil in all my beds was frozen solid. Only about the top 1/2 was not. Can you still put the seeds down if conditions are like that, or should I wait a bit longer? NY Zone 5b.
@@GardenerScott Thanks so much. The waiting is killing me. Hopefully, Nature will finally teach me patience--one of the many things we can learn from gardening.
I apologize for the confusion, do I plant bok choy out doors 3 weeks before last frost? if they can handle 45 degrees, or 7.2 c, and if it frosts before last frost date in those 3 weeks does the seed simply not grow, and if it does what happens? because frost means below 0 c right?
Check your seed packet for the recommendation. Bok choy is usually started outdoors after the last frost. A frost can happen near 0C and that can kill the young plant.
Do you grow shallots and when do you plant them? I’m North and west of you, in the BC Kootenays- theoretically zone 7 or 7B - I’ve had good luck with garlic bulbs planted in early Oct and I’m wondering if that’s an indication that I can start shallots the same way? If I can find shallot bulbs, that is…
I've grown shallots with spring planting. In Zone 7 you can do a fall planting similar to garlic. Four to six weeks before the first freeze is a good time.
Number 1: tomatoes. Number two: Sweet corn. Number 3: Go home Me, you're drunk. 🤡 Edit...HEY! you actually threw corn in there. Okay, I really am drunk, I guess. I had no idea you could do that.
Never had any luck with Broccoli seems im to late in the season and its bolting never forming theese tight bunches that we call broccoli. This gave me the interest to give them another go. Still have two months to the last frost approx. Im getting unpatient 😂
Yippee! It's February in western Washington. Soil temp is 45-50 at 4am (don't ask why I'm awake) lol...
Here’s the list: (be sure to listen for the details!) Beets, bok choi, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, collards, corn, kale, kohlrabi, lettuces, mustard, onions, parsnips, peas, radish, rutabagas, spinach, Swiss chard, turnips. Bonus indoor crops: cabbage, cauliflower, celery, potatoes.
This is perfect, thank you!
Your soil temp in relation to the seed packet “code language” explanation finally made it all clear to me. Thank you!!
I grow in raised beds. After I plant early I cover the beds with a light weight fleece blanket.
Great video watching on the first day of spring. 40 degrees air temp. Compost bin at 85 degrees F. Very pleased with the compost Temp. Have onions seeded and up. Going to start peppers this week. Sure looking forward to direct seed in the garden beds! Excited thanks Gardener Scott!
Cilantro, Parsley and Chives are also cold hardy.
I can hardly wait! IT is like a PAIN, yearning to get back out in the garden again (snowing hard outside right now here in Georgian Bay Ontario)
I love leaving up tp five plants go to seed as it's so rewarding harvesting all those seeds, which are a free gift from Mother Nature.
my soil is jumping between 37 and 41 this week. Decided not to risk it and wait until this snowstorm passes. Midatlantic spring is always a guessing game though. 70 one day, 30 the next. I have some indoor peas ready to go out, and some scallions
I live in the middle of an orchard, the heater fans come on once the pears bloom, if it ever freezes, which it will here through April. Excited to use this as an advantage for my gardening! I haven't done any gardening here and we've been here 3 years..
Broad beans also if you like those. They're always my first things to peek out of the ground 🙂
Great Show Thank you - We all need to Work for wisdom keep teaching about culture -
Keep sharing and reporting, stay free. Independent press is critical to staying free.
Brilliant mate, and such good varieties to sow in colder temps. We have had it real mild this winter just a ton of rain
There are some great suggestions there. I wouldn't have thought corn would be included here.
Parsnips can also be sown in winter to let them germinate once the spil warms up. For the last couple of years, I've been sowing mine in November/December
Perfect information! Just saved me a lot of research
Dad got me into gardening back in the 60’s. Corn (#8) was the only one that surprised me. Thank you for the additional info! Best wishes, Kate in Olympia, WA - 3/12/2022.
GM Gardener Scott ☕️. Starting some plants indoors, winter crop & those that take longer growing days. We’re also a short summer . The next 2 weeks or so we’re ranging nights from tees. Twenties & up to mid 30s🥴. My greenhouse is 80* today. So tempted to go gung ho but know better😉.
Have a great day from Nevada
👵🏻👩🌾❣️
Great information, especially for us northern folks! I didn't know that about corn! Last year I planted a spring garden April 3rd (day before Easter) and it did wonderfully, especially the peas, potatoes, kale, chard, onions (starts) and lettuces!
Thanks for the video. I checked my soils temp online. Sitting at 32. Warm weather in the forecast. It’s about to be on.
My last frost date was 2 days ago. I'm dropping seeds today!
Had no idea that onions could be wintersown! Thanks 🌻
Hi Mala! Thank You for all this great information! I wish the seed companies would just put soil temperatures on their packages. I had forgot that I have a soil thermometer. Since I just put in 3 new raised beds this year I can direct seed some vegetables.The weather is so different where I live than where I used to live. I went from zone 9 to zone 7. UGH!
dear Scott, perfect timing, yet again, for this pretty-new 5b northern NM gardener! I appreciate you so much. Thanks!
As a child I was always taught to plant potatoes before Easter. But you know I have succession planted potatoes like carrots or rutabagas and it's turned out to be a really nice harvest. I payed attention to the variety and my first and last frost date. I can see how it gets confusing sometimes but if you take your time and don't rush it. I agree with you Scott it will be a successful season. I don't know if that's an old wives tale about Easter and potatoes but I grew up in Kentucky and that's a whole other grow zone as well. My zone now here in Custer SD is 4B.
Yes, here in zone 5a we always planted spuds on Good Friday. I'm changing that family tradition this year. I'm starting a week later and planting an inch deeper. Also planting by the moon on April 21st and its in zodiac sign of Capricorn which is said good for roots as it is an earth sign. Last year we had some hard freezes and ran crazy covering. Some greens got nipped, but did ok.
Also Easter moves around a lot.
Born and raised in Ky. My family and neighboring farmers always planted potatoes around Good Friday, which is the same weekend as Easter.
I live at the other end of the hills and last year was freezing temps and snow Memorial weekend and 90° 3 days later. It was an interesting summer🤦♀️
@@joemachismo6594 last year Easter was April 4th, this year it's April 17th. That's a huge difference for Zone 5.
How do younplant your potatoes?
THANKS this is just want I needed!!!
carrot also could be seeded in fall
Hello Gardener Scott, thank you for this video about starting seeds. It has always been iffy on timing as to when I start my seeds. This video has given clarity to seed starting. Also, a good resource is the Farmers Almanac whereas you can type in your zip code and download their seed starting guide. I am starting my onions indoors today 😊Happy planting!
I checked my 9b micro culture areas in my yard on about January 20th and found that bed #1 was 45 degrees, bed #2 was 40 degrees and bed #3 was 36 degrees. Sunlight, shade and raised bed positioning can make a big difference even on a small property.
I did some rather scientific statistical analysis of weather forecasting. The only thing I looked at was the temperature predictions exactly 14 days in advance. My main goal was just to move back the ' last frost date' by 2 weeks. In other words, if your last frost date is April 14, and the 14 day forecast on April 1st shows April 14 at 33 degrees or above and all the days between April 1st and April 14.. you are generally about 99.5% safe to plant everything outdoors on April 1st. While they can be pretty spotty on precipitation 14 days out, they are really good at predicting temperatures, and more than 50% of the time they were wrong by more than 2 degrees, they were forecasting under the actual temperature. If you have plastic row covers, you could use the same thing even 14-28 more in advance of your last frost date.
My monthly outlook at night.. 40s last week in April
I'm jealous! My last frost date May 21-31.
Already have peas and radish in the raised beds. Soil temps are around 45 degrees. I have broccoli 🥦 that was started indoors. It is now transplanted out and about 6-8 inches tall. I put cloches on if our nighttime temps drop below 30 degrees. I have planted Laxton #9 and Dark Perfection on a cow panel trellis. They are all doing well. Thanks for the video.
I love your videos!!
One note for others- he is a great speaker, very thorough, etc, but does speak a tod slowly (for clarity, tec, i get it!). Remember youtube has an option for speeding up a video, I love the option when I just want to listen to him but am not ready to sit down and take notes (at which point, I do keep it at normal speed). That's all 😁
I live near St Louis and I have already planted spinach, peas and broccoli . I know it is a risk but our Springs are getting shorter which means the weather is getting warmer sooner. If I wait there is a good chance these crops will bolt before they mature. I figure the worst that can happen is I will have to replant them.
I am near St. Louis as well. I think I will do the same as you. Thanks for the push I needed : )
I’m in zone 6band have planted pea seeds in the ground and lettuce seeds in large outdoor flowerpot.
in the Netherlands we have a really short season, like yours probably (I am guessing) and always have to start indoors, esp chili peppers and bell peppers as there's not enough time and now i don't have a veg patch anymore and no greenhouse and a north facing garden I find new challenges ;-)
90 days frost free here in Muskoka.. hbu?
It's only short for those hot weather plants. We (I assume the climate just over the channel is similar to ours in southern England) have an amazingly long growing season for things like cabbage etc. Focus on the positives haha.
Luckily, I volunteer at the local weather station. So I get to see when the soil temperature gets to 50F / 10C.
very useful info...thank you
Have a bunch of cold weather crops in trays in a cold frame to give me more space in the grow room. Already have lettuce and spinach growing in a cold frame from transplants, plus planted some carrots, beets and radishes. looking forward to my first fresh salad.
Great video, Gardener Scott!
Where I live in England (Derbyshire), I don't get a last frost until May 1 - 10, so I start a lot of my crops indoors as it's even too cold in the greenhouse (unheated)
already got my carrots in and radishes in. in nc we had a random 20 degree night after a month of over 45 degree night temps. so frustrating. i covered mine up in hopes to keep them. but with radishes being a 1 month crop. its fine if they don't grow nothing really lost. I was just getting impatient and really needed to grow something lol
on experience it really where u live and depends on cold weather conditions if you really want to plant watch your 10day forecast and once it hits above 50 on average then you till your land up wait a few day then plant your seeds works every time
Swiss Chard is a Bad Ass plant! I have been growing Swiss chard all year long in a pot out in the elements. I'm in Georgia zone 8b and the swiss chard in my micro climate garden can handle light frost and my summer heat; although in the summer, I do move the pot in an area to receive only morning sun bc it will bolt! 😎
P.S. My dogs love Swiss chard too!
Bravo !
Nicely done, thank you!
Thank you
Howdy Gardener Scott and fur baby!🙂
Another good post...next year I'm going to try your info on sowing the onion seeds and letting them germinate when they are ready.
I've got two sowing of carrots and turnips growing. I also have lettuce and beets growing. I cover the lettuce when it drops into the 20s and low 30s.
And guess what? I harvested my first potato the other day. I was messing around in the fall looking for hot spots around our yard to grow in over winter. I had a few seed potatos I put under a layer of compost on the north side of the house in full shade. They grew even with lows in the upper 30s!! They grew until we got ice that knocked them back. The other day a squirrel was digging around and uncovered a tatar...there's tatars under there!😃
In the south I think everyone tries to grow collards...they are so delish!🤤
Sorry about the long comment. Thanks for adding to my gardening skills!🙂 Enjoy gardening!😃
Thanks great information I really need it to grow in containers the green stock and assorted other containers this really helps me a lot thanks again happy gardening to you
Great video. I am going to share it with some friends who are starting gardening.
Our weather is Spring then Hell. Difficult to plan. I keep trying.
This is awesome! I was thinking about starting some cold hardy veg to put outside before the frost.. Thanks for sharing all this great info. Season extension is crucial here in zone 4a 🌱💕
And again thank you
I love you Scott!
All good things to know ☺. Earlier this past week, I soaked the pea pods until they expanded and planted my Brandywine seeds.
As you say, the instructions can be a tad vague, but mine do say, and is on par with what I've read elsewhere. Seeds came from Ferry & Morse, but bought them locally. 7-10 days to germination, 80-100 days to harvest (we have roughly a 179 day growing season) and they say planting directly is May/June, which is when I plan to transplant them outdoors. Come mid to late April, I'll begin to prep the grow bags with amendments and bring them out to warm up in the sun as by then, I hope it's not so wet and in the 60's at minimum during the day.
Right now, it's still cool, upper 40's to low 50's during the day and the overnight lows are mostly in the upper 30's to mid 40's, so the danger of frost is passing as I type. We hit 10% chance of frost on April 4th. The 50% chance was March 10th.
I'm going to harden them off in May as that's when it gets warm enough for them to begin that process and by mid to late May have them transplanted if possible.
Hi Scott, when u measure soil temperature at what depth do u want to measure
I target 4"-6".
@@GardenerScott thanks Scott
Very interesting and informative
I scattered a mix of Oxheart carrots, Daikon radishes, and Purple Top White Globe radishes onto a bed last year in January, thinned them in March, and harvested in May. We get a lot of swings in temperature, and usually a snow or two in spring here in East Tennessee, but these roots grew just fine.
The problem with spring gardening is the extreme temperature range. Even when started indoors many plants such as broccoli die in a hard freeze but bolt when it gets warm. Our latest freeze can easily be April 22, but by that time we are also having plenty of 90s. Meanwhile we sometimes reach 80s in February. Winter and spring vary significantly from year to year so you never know what to expect.
What a great video. Thanks for posting!
Great information! TY!
Excellent video I’m getting excited about spring yummy fresh food
Mr. Scott just found your channel. Enjoying your advice. I live GA and I’ve had no success with cucumber. I haven’t have luck with a trellis. Any advice you can give to help me be successful would be grateful.
I start cucumbers seeds in good amended soil beneath the trellis and train the vines up as they grow. They can decline in hot summer temps and may benefit from shade cloth draped over the trellis to reduce the afternoon heat.
I agree with Scott, they need shade. Also there is a big difference in growth habits among varieties. I've had some that look anemic they were small pickles and others more like an English cukes perform like a jungle vine. Keep them moist , not wet and cool them off.
Gardner Scott i live in northwest indiana, crazy temps at this time, would you recommend still planting peas, radish, spinach, beets and carrots around 2-3 weeks before last frost date (which i am showing will be April 23rd) I am planning on doing most of those plants in raised beds and containers except the peas. I also wanted to ask you what your favorite pea is to plant. thanks again for all of you information so happy to have found you!
You can, and consider hoops and plastic to help keep the plants warm when the crazy temps hit. It's normal for me to get wild swings around the last frost and planting early always works for me. Containers can often be moved into protected areas if it's really crazy. I like Oregon snowpea.
Surprised to not hear Peas. Although I saw a Sugar Snap packet on the table... maybe you're assuming we've got them in the dirt already!
Peas are on the list and I discussed them at about 12:35 in the video.
Do you have to use a special thermometer to test the soil temperature?
It’s listed in the description of the video.♥️
@@deborah820 I wasn’t asking about the thermometer he used, I wanted to know if you have to buy a specific thermometer for the soil?
Nope
I've used meat and candy thermometers before but now use this one designed for soil and compost: amzn.to/3CFvaEF
@@siobhanmacleod7957 a simple cheap meat thermometer should be ok siobhan
Will do!
What about in Michigan is still cold here
There's quite a few things you can plant in the soil right now here in Michigan. Beets, turnips, kale, chard, broccoll raab, potatoes, celery, cilantro, carrots, lettuce, peas, radish, collards, leeks, onions, mache, arugula, cabbage, carrots. . . For some, like radishes and lettuce you might want to plant every couple of weeks.
I watch 2 main gardeners for my Zone 5a. Gardner Scott and MIgardener. The latter is a MI Gardner and he had done a video on early spring sowing. So excited about the info from both garden gurus that I can't wait to start. I have a tricky micro climate because I'm in low pocket and get some sneaky late freezes.
Hi Gardener Scott: extremely helpful video. Comments were great. You've developed a wonderful community of gardeners on your channel.
Yup! We still have a couple ft of snow here and expecting a little more this week. I've had good success direct sowing some of these as soon as the ground is workable. 🌱💕
@@zarahsgarden2097 we just got more snow here today in South Central Michigan. It's really beautiful out but I can't wait to really get out there and start digging in the dirt. So glad I managed to get the winter sowing done.
Can you plant all beans right now? Pinto, green beans, lentils, black beans, etc?
I can't because I'm still six weeks away from my last frost date, but you may be able to.
@@GardenerScott we usually have the last frost in April. So I wasn't sure when to plant beans
After your last frost date, when the soil has warmed to at least 50, you're good to go.
It's going to be awhile before I fire up the tiller, considering the record cold and rain with snow. Be careful when you're planting corn, soil temperatures are very important. Seed prices are always going up and cannot be wasted on poor timing.
Corn is very picky about soil temperature in my experience. Last year I planted some during the first weekend of May then planted some more 2 weeks later. The first planting didnt do very good at all but the second planting done great. Same variety of corn, done everything the same with the exception of planting time.
I’ve seen many who germinate it in trays and have success planting out on frost free date. I’m very tempted! I think, if I did this before each planting out day, I could get two harvests. Seems like a great year to try it.
What plants can handle hot weather year round,?
Generally, it's tropical and subtropical plants.
Is this soil temperature at night or in the middle of the day?
That was my question as well. I'm sure some of my raised beds are close to 40 in the very late afternoon, but it would be brief. Also at what depth?
I measure in the day at a depth of 4-6 inches.
Scott 40 at night or day
@@GardenerScott thank you so much!!
@@GardenerScott Thank you so much! And thank you for the channel!
My last frost date is the middle of March.. it's going to be in the high 80s all this week.
My plants are confused.
When measuring soil temperature; how deep does the probe have to go? Thank you - Nevermind, Scott, you & Siobhan MacLeod answered this in the earlier comments ❣️
Direct sow 6-4 wks before 50% last frost date:
Mustards; leeks; peas; arugula; onions; chives; spinach; kale;
Direct sow 4-3 weeks before:
lettuces; radish
Direct sow 3-2 weeks before:
Carrot
Direct Sow 2 weeks before:
corn; sweet potatoes
Hi Gardener Scott! I’m new here, really enjoying your content! What area are you gardening in?
Thanks. I'm in Colorado.
Thanks for this video, the temperatures are especially helpul. I have a greenhouse and I am trying to extend my growing season a little more each year. I figure it's warm in there, I have to be able to start things sooner, but like you say the seed packets don't provide all the information we need. Have you had any luck growing celery?
I haven't had much success with celery, but I'm trying again this year.
I live in a low area subject to extreme freezes eventhough it gets pretty hot during day in zone 5a. Would you suggest planting in raised beds with plastic or frost cloth over hoops for ease of care and success? I just don't think plants can handle 24° +/-. It's tricky here because the days can be quite hot, it's like a desert in the Midwest. I'm up for new ways like winter sowing, don't want to waste them, but I do want to see better crops because it gets hot here. I could use cheap off brand seeds, but you have only one shot a year and if it works and I didn't plant enough--Ugh!
Thank you for all these ideas about winter early spring sowing!
Most of my growing is in raised beds. In my zone 5b I use hoops and plastic a lot in early spring, but they do need to be opened during the day.
@@GardenerScott I pushed a few nasturium seeds in the soil that were laying out all winter. We will see what they do. Thanks for the info. Getting plastic tomorrow as I think it will be needed to start early. Thank you.
Do you have any recommendations for crops that won't pick up radioactive fallout?
Maybe mushrooms in a basement/shelter
I have kohl rabi seed so i'll sow them now. I already sowed my kale and germinated nicely. i always wanto grow corn but the harvest is not worth it . can i sow my beans and peas in a northfacing side of my garden?.
Peas can handle cool conditions and less sun, but beans should have heat and more sun.
Is this same rule of thumb for raised beds? We are using metal feed/water troughs. Also, we are here in Colorado (Aurora).
The raised beds will probably warm faster in spring. The same guidelines as in the ground, but it may happen sooner.
Thank you for your expertise:-)
I have problems with slugs, snails, and moles in my raised beds. There is no debris in our yard, however the garden sits 40 ft from Forrest like setting.
The slugs eat all the new starts, I try everything? Any pointers I might be missing 🤔
You can try slug traps, like wet cardboard, carpet, or newspaper. They will prefer a wet, dark area like a trap and you can reduce their population.
@Gardener Scott
Thank you, I have beer traps out now, slug bait. I'll try the cardboard, I'm sure it'll help. Just don't understand why there's so many of them.
Wish the moles would eat them.
I'd like to get a couple ducks, just not sure where to keep them.
Thank you
If you are growing mustard for seed, you can treat them as a self seeding annual. You need to wait till the pods dry. When you harvest, you'll definitely lose some seeds to the ground. Those seeds will sprout the next spring.
👍
Gardener Scott have you bought any seeds from Rohrer seed. If not, please check them out. Rohrer always puts a free pack of seeds in with every purchase. Not long ago I bought Kentucky Wonder planted 14, 13 sprouted 93% rate. What do you say not bad?
I haven't, but will. Thanks for the tip.
I forgot to mention that I purchased a covered Greenstalk and the soil in it is right at 50 degrees.
How do I know when my last frost date is?
Do a simple internet search with your town and "last frost date".
our last frost date is May 15, but the map shows March-April to sow.
Do you have any videos on growing peppers from seeds? I have tried everything and just cant get seeds to sprout? So many different UA-cam techniques. Heating seeds, soaking in H202? What works?
I don't have a dedicated pepper seed video but I do discuss them in other videos. They are one of the few seeds that I do use a heat mat for. Germination can be slow, especially for hot peppers, so I leave the humidity dome on until the plants are growing well. Other than that I don't do much different from my other seeds.
I've already planted the seed potato size that were from the garden in the soil a few days ago and covered with grass mulch, found some more sprouted potatoes that got covered up. Can I just set them under the mulch on top of the ground?
I live in northern California near Oregon, what seed companies should I buy from that have open pollinated seeds, plus what plants should I buy as hybrid or whatever?
You can plant potatoes that way, but may want to add some additional soil on top. Territorial seed is a good Oregon source.
Not soil related. What container do you store your seeds in there?
I use small glass jars for most of my seeds and store the seed packets in the plastic bin I show in this video.
@@GardenerScott The bin has me intrigued. I've not been able to find one I enjoy for storing my seed packets. I use different size glass jars also for my harvested seeds. Random chemistry glassware at times also XD. My gardening adventure started because I was to cheap to pay for essential oils and I had plenty of distillation apperatus'.
@@ronaldhiser860 on Amazon, it’s a picture organizer. $32.99. I just bought one, works great!
@@ronaldhiser860 - I am not able to spend much $ but wanted a way to store my seeds along w planting instruction for each seed type. To do so I used a simple 3 ring binder w plastic sleeves for each variety. That has helped me.
@@Thankful_. Now that is a genius idea. I have a photo organizer like everyone else does, I questioned Scotts because my slots are color coded and my case itself is slightly different. I really like your setup through, that is quite ingenious.
I went out yesterday to plant some beet seeds, but the soil in all my beds was frozen solid. Only about the top 1/2 was not. Can you still put the seeds down if conditions are like that, or should I wait a bit longer? NY Zone 5b.
You can still put the seeds in but they won't germinate until the soil temperature is appropriate. I would wait a bit longer.
@@GardenerScott Thanks so much. The waiting is killing me. Hopefully, Nature will finally teach me patience--one of the many things we can learn from gardening.
I apologize for the confusion, do I plant bok choy out doors 3 weeks before last frost? if they can handle 45 degrees, or 7.2 c, and if it frosts before last frost date in those 3 weeks does the seed simply not grow, and if it does what happens? because frost means below 0 c right?
Check your seed packet for the recommendation. Bok choy is usually started outdoors after the last frost. A frost can happen near 0C and that can kill the young plant.
Do you grow shallots and when do you plant them? I’m North and west of you, in the BC Kootenays- theoretically zone 7 or 7B - I’ve had good luck with garlic bulbs planted in early Oct and I’m wondering if that’s an indication that I can start shallots the same way? If I can find shallot bulbs, that is…
I've grown shallots with spring planting. In Zone 7 you can do a fall planting similar to garlic. Four to six weeks before the first freeze is a good time.
@@GardenerScott - thank you so much for such a prompt and clear response.🇨🇦👍
👍👍👍👍👍
Sir, you don't mention here, like I will, what Ag hardiness zone you're in. I'm in 5. Either that or i missed it, cuz my attn was consistent.
I'm in 5b.
Number 1: tomatoes. Number two: Sweet corn. Number 3: Go home Me, you're drunk. 🤡 Edit...HEY! you actually threw corn in there. Okay, I really am drunk, I guess. I had no idea you could do that.
🤣🌱
Never had any luck with Broccoli seems im to late in the season and its bolting never forming theese tight bunches that we call broccoli.
This gave me the interest to give them another go.
Still have two months to the last frost approx. Im getting unpatient 😂
I'm in Iowa, and you can't plant corn before last frost. 🙄 You can I guess, but the germination rate will be awful, and there's no reason to.