Garden Center at Jasper, GA #8413

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 young veggie plants and spring flowers when the frosts are through and the ground thaws. You might even want to directly plant organic 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 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. Always read your seed packet for details. If you start them later than recommended, it's not ideal, but it will likely even out as time passes.

Gardening in Your Growing Zone
The Mid-South is in Zones 7–9, with coastal regions being warmest and the zone number decreasing to an 8, then a 7 as you go up in elevation to the foothills of the Georgia mountains. Just check your planting zone, then consult the seed packet for the most accurate instructions for each plant. If you know you're in a micro-climate near a wetland, valley, or lake, zoom in on the USDA planting map for exact details down to street level.

In balmy Zone 9 on the coast, you can begin planning and planting indoors in January if you'd like. Zones 8 and 7 generally have a slightly later recommendation for indoor starts. Cruciferous veggies and garden favorites, like cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes, all do well when started inside your home. Greens like spinach, artichokes, and fragrant herbs, including oregano, basil, and parsley, also don't mind an early beginning. You can sow flower seeds and watch them mature under the grow lights, too. Whatever you choose to grow, tend them carefully and transplant them when the threat of frost is gone for the season.

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 pouch and try it.

Your seeds might struggle to grow or get washed away, or critters 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 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'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 sunlight and rain. Keep your seeds warm with heating 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
By now, your plants have three or four real leaves — they'll look different from the miniature seedling leaves. When you're not expecting soaking rain, and the ground is warm, look into transplanting your small plants into their new outdoor home. "Transplant" means that you put these small plants straight into pots or garden soil. 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 your flower bed with compost and mulch. 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 and stronger plants that bear more fruit and flowers. 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 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. 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, seeds, and soil you need in the aisles of your Jasper, GA Garden Center, online, or on our mobile app. Let's get growing together.