Garden Center at Grand Prairie #507

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

Plant Hardiness Zones Explained
The first thing to learn when planting vegetables, spring flowers, 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 them later than recommended, it's not ideal, but it will even out as time passes.

Gardening in Your Growing Zone
If you're in Zone 6–8, check out cruciferous veggies and certain herbs if you're ready to get planting. This includes cabbage, kale, and broccoli. Greens like spinach, artichokes, early-blooming annuals like marigolds, and fragrant herbs, including parsley, basil, and oregano, also don't mind an early beginning. Traditional garden vegetables like peppers of all kinds, cucumbers, and tomatoes are fine with an early spring or late winter planting 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 start 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 into your garden soil, or using the direct sow method, is an alternative option. There's less planning and tending than growing indoors. If you like to go with the flow, follow the instructions on your seed packet and try it out.

Your seeds might struggle to grow or get washed away, or critters or bugs might eat the sprouts. But if you're really fortunate, you might get strong sprouts, 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 hardy and primed to survive, although there are no guarantees in the long term.

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 rain and sunlight. Keep your seeds warm with heat 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
When your plants have three or four true leaves — different from miniature seedling leaves – transplant them. In quality soil, dig a hole that's the same size as the dirt plug where your transplant has been growing. If your ground soil isn't great, dig a slightly bigger hole and fill the extra space with nutrient-rich topsoil. Apply any fertilizer as directed on the package, either in the hole or on top of the soil after it's planted. Don't apply more than recommended, as you could burn and kill the plant instead of helping it.

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