Garden Center at Atascadero #1031

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

Plant Hardiness Zones Explained
The first thing to know when planting veggies, 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 planting 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. The plants that'll thrive in your area are in your zone, and all the zones numbered less than that. In other words, a Zone 9 garden can support plants listed as Zones 1–9. The timeframe to direct sow outdoors in your garden is often around a month later than the indoor start date. Read your seed packet for details. If you start seeds later than recommended, it's not ideal, but it will likely even out as time passes.

Gardening in Your Growing Zone
This area is in growing Zones 8 or 9, but it’s desert, so utilize greenhouses to grow herbs and vegetables. Native plants like cacti, succulents, and other hardy desert shrubs will easily grow outside. Other beloved garden vegetables love the heat, like squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers. If you start them indoors and carefully introduce them outdoors in the shade, you can enjoy raising vegetables even in a dry climate. However, many spring flowers are sensitive to that much sun and heat, so research to find which varieties can handle the weather before planting outdoors.

An indoor garden of greenery is also lovely, so create an oasis inside your home. A covered porch or sunroom is a great place to encourage plant growth, especially with plant stands and pots of all sizes. Your spring flower seed choices, whether they're perennials or annuals, can also often get an indoor start.

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 space and reliability as starting indoors. However, if you like to go with the flow, follow the instructions on your seed pouch and try it out.

Your seeds might get washed away or struggle to grow, or rodents or insects might eat the sprouts. But if you're really lucky, you might get a strong sprout from each place you sowed seeds, perfectly spaced and ready to grow all spring. The reality of your sown seeds will usually be somewhere in between, and spreading out tiny sprouts throughout the soil isn't so bad. You know those sprouts are primed to survive, although there are no guarantees in the long term.

Start Seeds Indoors
If you're eager to get growing or would like more control in the care and feeding of seedlings, 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 spray bottle 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 root system. Put the plant in the hole and ensure it's even with the surrounding soil.

Protect Your Garden With Mulch
Finish your planting by following it with compost and mulch. Compost enriches the soil so your garden can grow even better. It may help foster stronger and larger plants that bear more flowers and fruit. Mulch keeps your soil from drying out and controls weeds. Mulch and compost 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
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 which spring flowers to plant when the weather warms. Shop for the fertilizer, soil, and seeds you need in the aisles of your Atascadero Garden Center, online, or on our mobile app. Let's get growing together.