169 Days of Bliss

 January excites me to no end thinking, planning and praying about my gardens.

I can't wait to plop that seed into the earth and wait for the MIRACLE. It is indeed a miracle, you know.  

 

How can you not look at this and marvel at the goodness of God?

So, WHEN can you start? Well, some garden enthusiasts start now! Indoors, of course. But, let's calm down, and take a look at the recommended time to start your seeds indoors.

Indoor planting time for seeds varies wildly from two to sixteen weeks. So, you can't just plant all your seeds at once and expect a good result. If you plant too soon, the plant will outgrow it's tiny pot and you will either have to keep re-potting it or loose it altogether. I know from experience.

A good plan is to look at the recommendation from your seed manufacturer. Generally in the seed catalog or on the seed packet is a time to plant calculated by that particular seed's growing/harvest time.

 Here are a couple of planting charts:   MU PLANTING CHART , JOHNNY'S SEED PLANTING CHART

It tells me exactly when to plant the seed, when to transplant it outside. Some plants can go out BEFORE that last frost date (April 26). Others can go out on or a range of dates a AFTER last frost (Apr 26).

GENERALLY SPEAKING you can plant most seeds indoors FOUR TO SIX WEEKS PRIOR TO THE LAST FROST (April 26). So that magical six week indoor planting date is MARCH 15.Which is close to that historically proper date to plant potatoes--March 17--St Patty's day. Which means we have 169 days to garden to our hearts content.

So, from now till then spend your time planning and plotting what you're going to grow, where you're going to plant it, how you're going to not only harvest but PRESERVE it for next winter's consumption!!