Garden Center at Antioch #721

On those beautiful days, clean up the yard before everything blooms in earnest. Many people feel inspired to refresh their outdoor space for entertaining, as well. Plan your garden to make the most of your time and space. Remember to measure your garden so you can find fresh mulch near you as soon as it's available. No matter what outdoor projects you choose to tackle, The Home Depot Garden Center in Antioch can help you enjoy your spring activities to the fullest.

Plant Hardiness Zones Explained
The first thing you should know when planting spring flowers, vegetables, and other seeds is your planting zone. Every location in the U.S. and its territories is sorted into blocks 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. For best results, choose plants in your zone number or less. In other words, a Zone 9 garden can support plants listed as Zones 1–9. You can plant seeds indoors roughly a month before you can plant them outside, or direct sow. Read your seed packet for details. If you start plants a little later than recommended, it's not ideal, but it should even out as time passes.

Gardening in Your Growing Zone
West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia are in Zones 6–8. Cruciferous veggies and certain herbs are ready to grow when you're ready to plant. This includes cabbage, broccoli, and kale. Greens like spinach and artichokes, early-blooming annuals like marigolds, and fragrant herbs, including parsley, basil, and oregano, also don't mind an early beginning. Even in the highest peaks of West Virginia in Zone 5b, traditional garden vegetables like peppers of all kinds, cucumbers, and tomatoes are fine with an early spring or late winter start indoors under the grow lights.

Look up the date of your last predicted frost, then count backward 6 to 8 weeks. That's the time you should sow your seeds indoors. The idea is to have strong baby plants that are ready for transplant at the same time the ground is warm enough. Do your best and enjoy the process – watching your plants grow, bloom, and put out tiny veggies that'll grow to harvest size is part of the fun.

Plant Seeds Outside With Direct Sow
Planting seeds with the direct sow method, right into the soil, is another option. It doesn't give you as much organized planning in terms of reliability and spacing compared to indoor starts. However, if you like to go with the flow, follow the instructions on your seed packet and try it.

Your seeds might get washed away or struggle to grow, or animals or bugs might eat the sprouts. But if you're really lucky, you might get strong sprouts, perfectly spaced and ready to grow all spring. The reality of your garden will usually be somewhere in between, and spreading out tiny sprouts throughout the soil isn't so bad. You know those sprouts are hardy, although there are no guarantees.

Start Seeds Indoors
If you'd like more control over your seedlings' journey or you're eager to get growing, start your seeds indoors instead. In general, you can plant seeds indoors about a month before you can do it outside. Like direct sow, you push the seeds into the soil as directed on the seed packet, but that's where the similarities end.

You're responsible for giving them quality substitutes for sun and rain. Keep your seeds warm with warming mats and grow lights, water them carefully with a mister or watering can, then thin them as they germinate in groups of three. Give them a boost with a gently blowing fan as they lengthen into sprouts if you'd like. Harden them off to get them used to outdoor conditions, then transplant them into your garden when they're big enough.

Transplant Young Plants Into Their New Homes
Carefully take your seedling out of the container. Turn it upside-down or sideways and gently squeeze the plastic to break the seal. If your transplant grew in the garden, leave plenty of room around the stem and dig deeper than you think with your garden trowel. You don't want to damage the roots. Put the plant in the hole and ensure it's even with the surrounding soil.

Protect Your Garden With Mulch
Finish it off with compost and mulch. Compost enriches the soil so your garden can grow even better. It may help foster larger and stronger plants that bear more flowers and fruit. Mulch keeps your soil from drying out and controls weeds. Mulch and compost can be DIY creations, but you can also purchase them in-store. The next time you're looking for "mulch near me," stop by the Garden Center to get the right amount.

Greet the Spring
Late winter into early spring is an exciting time in the world of gardening. Don't miss a minute of growing season. Plan your garden and landscaping, prepare to fertilize your lawn, and browse our garden center pages to find inspiration on what to plant when the weather warms. Shop for the fertilizer, soil, and seeds you need in the aisles of your Antioch Garden Center, online, or on our mobile app. Let's get growing together.