Garden Center at Pinellas Park #289

It's time to start thinking of spring. We're here to help you prepare for fragrant breezes, sprouts poking up, and warmer temperatures. Planting seeds indoors with grow lights means you'll be ready to transplant spring flowers and young veggie plants when the ground thaws and the frosts are through. You might even want to directly plant seeds into the earth.

Plant Hardiness Zones Explained
The first thing you should know when planting vegetables, spring flowers, and other seeds is your planting zone. Every location in the U.S. and its territories is sorted by climate. Find your zone on the USDA growing zone map and learn when to plant seeds.

For example, you could transplant bell peppers outdoors in mid-March in Zone 10, but not until the end of May in Zone 4. You'll have good results with plants that have your zone number or less. In other words, a Zone 6 garden can support plants listed as Zones 1–6. You can plant seeds indoors roughly a month before you can plant them outside, or direct sow. Always read your seed packet for details. If you start plants later than recommended, it's not ideal, but it will even out as time passes.

Gardening in Your Growing Zone
In the areas of Zones 9 and 10 stretching across the Southeast, you can begin planning and planting indoors early in the year. Your odds of frost are low in this part of the country, but not zero. Be mindful of cold snaps and cover any early-riser bulb plants or sprouts during cold times.

Growing season begins early and ends late in this part of the country. The climate and weather make it easy to get and keep a beautiful garden going. A wide variety of plants, flowers, and veggies thrive in Florida and southern Georgia. If you've got good soil drainage, you can even grow citrus trees. You'll have excellent results with peppers of all colors and heat levels, including jalapeños, bell peppers, and more. Cucumbers, zucchini, squash, and pumpkins, which are direct sow only, will flourish. Tomato plants will yield thriving fruit and leaves, as they're tropical in origin and are happiest in the heat.

Start Seeds Indoors
You can save money and gain the satisfaction of growing your garden from seeds by starting them indoors. We've got all the seed starter supplies you'll need. For best results, you'll want warming lights or a warming mat to go with your seed tray or planter pots. If you're planting a larger garden, use seed trays — like the ones you see sprouts in at your Pinellas Park Garden Center — to make it easy to stay organized and plant tiny soil plugs later. You can also use pots with potting soil and seed starter mix.

Measure your finger to use it as a ruler. In general, you'll plant 3–5 seeds, then press them into the soil to the depth you need with your finger. Mark where you planted the seeds with a toothpick or plant tag. That way, you'll know where your seeds should pop up, and you'll know they're not weeds. Otherwise, it'll be a surprise when the sprouts push out of the soil.

Sprouts
Prepare your seed sprouts for outdoor life while they're still indoors. These micro-seedlings are fragile — only an inch or so high, with the tiniest seedling leaf or two — but they're resilient. Seedlings don't get all this pampering in nature, so they can handle more than you think. However, don't go overboard, as your sprouts are still babies. You can even use an oscillating floor fan on low to mimic the wind and strengthen their stems.

Harden Your Seedlings
When you're hardening your sprouts and gradually introducing them to the outdoors, be flexible. Keep an eye on your baby plants. If they're looking rough, don't push them. It’s ok to roll back a step or two if need be: Bring them inside overnight or put them in shady places instead of direct sun. As always, make sure they're watered just enough, but not too much. Take wilted plants inside and give them a good drink, making sure they're strong before setting them outdoors again.

Transplant Young Plants Into Their New Homes
You've raised your baby plants from seeds, watched them sprout, and carefully hardened them off to brave Mother Nature. By now, your plants have 3 or 4 true leaves — they'll look different from the miniature seedling leaves. When the ground is warm, and you're not expecting soaking rain, look into transplanting your small plants into their new outdoor home. These large seedlings that are ready to be planted can also be called "transplants" or sometimes "starts." In cases where you direct sowed, you may still want to shuffle plants around for the best sun and spacing. That's also a transplant situation, as is repotting plants into larger pots.

Protect Your Garden With Mulch
Finish it off with mulch and compost. Compost enriches the soil so your garden can grow even better. It may help foster stronger and larger plants that bear more fruit and flowers. Mulch keeps your soil moist and controls weeds. Compost and mulch can be purchased in-store or created at home. The next time you're looking for "mulch near me," stop by the Garden Center to get the perfect amount.

Greet the Spring
Early spring is an exciting time in the world of gardening. Don't miss a minute of growing season. Prepare to fertilize your lawn, plan your garden and landscaping, and browse our garden center pages to find inspiration on which spring flowers to plant when the weather warms. Shop for the fertilizer, soil, and seeds you need in the aisles of your Pinellas Park Garden Center, online, or on our mobile app. Let's get growing together.