Garden Center at Oxnard #1040

It's time to start thinking of spring. We're here to help you prepare for warmer temperatures, and sprouts poking up, and fragrant breezes. Planting seeds indoors 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 plant organic 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 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. You'll have good results with plants that have your zone number or less. In other words, a Zone 5 garden can support plants listed as Zones 1–5. The timeframe to direct sow outdoors in your garden is often around a month later than the indoor start date. Be sure to read your seed packet for details. If you start them a little later than recommended, it's not ideal, but it should 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 cucumbers, squash, 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 heat and sun, so research to find which varieties can handle the weather before planting outdoors.

An indoor garden of greenery might also be lovely, so create an oasis inside your home. An enclosed 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 annuals or perennials, 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. 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 give it a try.

Prepare to deal with whatever hand nature deals you: You may have no germinating seeds. A critter may eat the tender seedlings. All the seeds you plant in each hole may sprout, so you'll need to choose the most robust sprouts to survive in a process called thinning. Heavy rain might wash away the seeds. But if you're lucky, you'll get strong sprouts that are ready to grow all spring.

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 sun. 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
When your plants have three or four true leaves — different from mini seedling leaves – it's time to transplant them. In quality soil, dig a hole the same size as the dirt plug where your transplant has been growing. If your ground soil isn't fantastic, dig a slightly bigger hole and fill the extra room 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 the plant and kill it instead of helping it along.

Protect Your Garden With Mulch
Finish off your garden 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 fruit and flowers. Compost and mulch 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 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 what to plant when the weather warms. Shop for the fertilizer, seeds, and soil you need in the aisles of your Oxnard Garden Center, online, or on our mobile app. Let's get growing together.