Wednesday, January 11, 2017

When Can I Plant Seeds In The Garden In Utah? Get To Know Your Average Last Frost Date

garden seeds!!

Winter is a great time to plan your vegetable garden and buy seeds.  It's important to prepare for the timing of the plantings as well as the locations.  The calendar for planting seeds directly in the garden revolves around the average last frost date in your area:

-  This is the date marking the end of freezing nights (in late spring).
-  It's safe for the rest of the summer to grow tender plants outside in the garden.  
-  Some seeds can be planted weeks or months before this date and some seeds can only be planted after this date.

Along the Wasatch Front, the average last frost date is around the middle of May.  (Mother's Day is a good way to remember it).   A great way (maybe the best way) to find out the date for your specific area is to ask some of your gardening neighbors.

Once you know the average last frost date for your area, you can plan your seed planting.  Here are some tips:
     - read the directions on the back of your seed packets.  There is a lot of information on the package about how to sow, thin and water the seeds.
     - the seed packets will tell you how many weeks before or after the average last frost date you should plant the seeds.  This will help you with your planting calendar.
      - save the seed packets so you can remember the varieties of vegetables you planted and the dates you planted them.   You can refer to the instructions if needed.  You can make notes about successes and failures.
     - check with your local independent garden center to see if they have a spring planting guide.  It's a chart that tells you when to plant what in your area.  Here is a link to an example of a planting guide from Utah State University.  And here is a link to a post on this blog about which seeds to start indoors and which seeds to plant in the ground.
Here is a picture of some helpful instructions on a seed packet:
seed packets have planting instructions

 seed packets have lots of gardening information

4 comments:

  1. Has anyone successfully grown fenugreek in Utah? It seems somewhat rare to even find seeds available, but I use so much of it, almost every day, in cooking and I no longer live close by any of the Middle Eastern markets---but I did move to a house with a nice backyard that I would like to try a small garden in, and being an herb it seems like it wouldn't take too much space.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for this great question! I've never heard of fenugreek being grown in Utah. This article - http://balconygardenweb.com/how-to-grow-fenugreek-vegetable-gardening/ - explains how to grow it. It looks like it is not hardy so you might want to only grow it in the summer outside. Perhaps you could grow it indoors?

      Delete
  2. I got what you mean , thanks for posting .Woh I am happy to find this website through google. white widow seeds

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for sharing the post.. parents are worlds best person in each lives of individual..they need or must succeed to sustain needs of the family. vladimir vrbaski republika

    ReplyDelete