How To Plant a Spring Garden

I’ve gotten lots of questions regarding gardening and how to begin growing food. Even though I’ve been gardening for years, I have avoided creating any blogs or videos about it because I feel inadequate to be sharing. I’m not an expert by any means, and I have learned more through experience and growing up watching my mom garden. I don’t have any tried-and-true resources to guide you to, just encouragement to get out there and try it! You can read all the books and watch all the youtube videos but you’ll never truly know how it’s going to turn out unless you try it yourself. While books and resources have their place and certainly are important, in my opinion, trial and error are the best garden teachers there are.

Trial and error are the best garden teachers there are.

In this blog post I’m going to give you the basics about planting in spring, which is quite different than planting in summer. Folks tend to get really nervous when I talk about planting in March and April and are quick to to assure me it’s much too cold. Indeed it is, for most crops! Summer crops like peppers and tomatoes are still safe and warm inside, growing strong until the threat of frost is past. But in early spring, as soon as the ground can be worked, many cool weather crops are ready to be planted, and that’s what we’re going to talk about today!

The information here may vary depending on what zone you live in. I live in the northern midwest so our spring comes much later, while those of you in the south may already have warm weather. I will guide you to find the best dates for planting based on where you live.

Know your zone

There are two important things you need to know when it comes to planting your garden, and that is your planting zone and the average last frost date for your zone. Click the buttons below to calculate yours. Once you have this information, you are ready to begin planning your spring garden!

find your USDA plant hardiness zone

Calculate estimated planting dates

Keep in mind that these are just estimates. Knowing these dates is a good starting point, but over the years you will learn the true weather patterns of your area and can better determine when to plant.

what to plant in spring

Spring planting is a lot different than summer planting. It’s not quite time for tomatoes and corn yet, but instead it’s the season of light and detoxifying foods. Unless you are far down south, in spring you want to plant quick growing frost-tolerant crops. Brassicas like broccoli and cabbage will benefit from being planted in spring as well, so that they can do most of their growing before the harsh summer heat.

There are also select crops that can be planted in early spring for a summer harvest like chamomile, calendula, potatoes, and various flowers. Again, this will vary according to your zone. I’m in zone 6b and this is a peek at what grows in my spring garden:

Direct Sow:

Lettuce (Red leaf, green leaf, romaine, baby)

Spinach

Kale

Radishes (red, easter egg, french breakfast)

Peas (shelling and sugar snap)

Scallions

Root vegetables (beets, turnips, carrots)

Kohlrabi

Herbs (Chamomile, calendula, cilantro, parsley, dill)

Potatoes

Transplant:

Onions

Cabbage

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Established:

Chives (a perennial)

Rhubarb (a perennial)

Garlic (planted in the autumn previous)

Perennial herbs (oregano, mint, lemon balm, catnip, etc)

Some crops can be planted in early spring and won’t be harmed by a little bit of lingering cold, like frost-tolerant radishes, snap peas, or lettuce. Other crops need to be planted in late spring, closer to your average last frost date. Most seed packets will tell you exactly when to plant the seeds, for example “plant 4-6 weeks before your average last frost date” or “start indoors 4-8 weeks before your average last frost date” or “plant as soon as the ground can be worked”. You can then do the match according to your planting zone and plan your planting from there.

Summer crops like tomatoes, cucumbers, and non-hardy herbs like basil aren’t safe to plant until the risk of frost has passed for the winter. In my area that typically means Mother’s Day, but for those of you in warmer climates, that may be sooner. Quick-growing spring crops will be out by the time your summer crops need to go in.

Where I get my seeds

There are many great places to purchase seeds from. I like to purchase from a variety of small companies online as well as my local garden centers. I always make sure my seeds are organic and haven’t been treated with any unnatural chemicals.

Botanical Interests

High Mowing Organic Seeds

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange

Renee’s Garden

If you can’t order online for whatever reason, check to see what your local gardening center has to offer. Here is a list of small seed companies that you can check out as well.

how to plant

You can see above that I direct-sow most crops, while starting a few indoors. In my zone, I have no problem starting greens from seed, so to save space indoors, I simply direct-sow most of those crops. Root vegetables also need to be direct-sowed to avoid disturbing the roots, or else you may end up with wonky carrots and wacky radishes!

Onions, cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower however are extremely long growing crops that need those extra few weeks indoors in order to produce a proper harvest in time. It’s much cheaper to start your own transplants, but if you run out of time or have trouble getting them going, you can also purchase these from local garden centers.

Most, if not all, seed packets will have all the planting information you need on the back on the packet- from the seed depth, when best to plant, whether to start the seeds indoors or not, row spacing, etc. If not, a quick visit to the website you bought from will lend you the answer. A good rule of thumb is to plant the seed at a depth of two-times the width of the seed. For example, smaller seeds like lettuce, should only be covered by 1/8 inch, while larger seeds like peas need to be 1 inch below the soil.

While I do get seeds from a variety of places, my favorite are always from Botanical Interests because they have the most in-depth information on and in the seed packet. They also have a great blog on their website. I never feel lost when planting seeds and I always know that I’m getting the best planting information and the best quality seeds from them. If you are a beginner, check them out!

Most importantly, keep in mind that it’s really hard to mess this up. Yes you will have seeds that don’t germinate or things that don’t grow well, but you are bound to get something out of your garden. If not food, at the very least more knowledge that you can use the next time around. Plant, water, weed, wait patiently, and watch them grow.

I am so excited for everyone starting off on their own gardening journey! Get out there and try it, whether you think you have a green thumb or a black one. Gardening is filled with many losses but also many victories. Again, trial and error is your best teacher. Praying a bountiful and fruitful harvest for you all!