Just like everything else in life, gardening is something you must plan for. Waiting until it gets warm outside to run to the home improvement store and grab whatever seeds look interesting to you is not enough for a successful growing season, especially as a beginner.
What if the seeds you grabbed needed to be stratified over the winter? What does it even mean to stratify a seed? Was that crop supposed to have been started indoors late winter and transplanted outside as a seedling in spring? If so, would it even germinate if you bought the seeds right now?
It can be overwhelming to consider everything that needs to be accounted for when starting a garden for the first time, so I've broken down the first four things you need to gather information for to have a successful start to your first growing season. Winter is for planning!
1. What is your growing zone?
Knowing your growing zone is crucial to gardening. Your growing zone essentially accounts for the climate where you live and helps establish a standard for what types of crops can grow in that area. Trying to grow a heat-loving crop in a cold region like upper Wisconsin (zone 2) wouldn't bid you much success. Do a simple Google search of "growing zone map USA" and check out the maps to determine which growing zone you reside in.
2. When is the last anticipated frost in your area?
Gardening requires you to move with the natural cycles of the Earth. Knowing when the last frost in your area is anticipated to be can be the difference between life and death for your crops (depending on which ones you pick). Imagine a mild February with temperatures of 50-60 degrees F for 4 straight weeks: you may think "Spring is here early this year!" and go sow seeds outside for some spring crops or flowers. Come to find out, its going to snow that 5th week. Your seedlings may freeze and die and all the work you put in germinating and caring for them the past month was for nothing at all. Google "last anticipated frost [city you live in] 2025" to find this info.
And of course, one of the most important things you will learn as you begin to garden is to pay attention to what the Earth is doing. I will say again, gardening requires you to move with the natural cycles of the Earth. Regardless of what the internet or the news tells you about the weather, pay attention to it yourself! Mama Earth may decide to do something completely different and unpredictable at any given moment! Weather apps and news reports can be helpful but at the end of the day, what Mother Nature says goes.
3. What crops are you going to grow?
You obviously need to figure out what you want to grow in your garden in the spring. But there's more to consider: can the crop you want to grow even survive in your area? Is it a spring, summer, or fall crop? Can it grow in a container or does it need to go in the ground?
Thankfully, just about anything, except for trees, can be grown out of a container (like a garden pot, raised bed, or grow bag), but what you want to grow and the seasonality of the crop matters. For example, a heat-loving, tropical crop like a papaya or mango tree can't be grown in New York. You can incorporate certain techniques to mimic the behaviors of tropical regions, such as having a greenhouse built, but that's a conversation for another blog post once you've gotten more experience. All in all, when choosing your crops, make sure to do some research on if it can be grown in your zone, and if it can, when can it be grown. This will almost always be relevant for botanical fruits (the sweet ones you know like watermelon and blueberries in addition to anything with a seed like tomatoes and zucchini. A botanical fruit is anything that contains a seed in it!).
As a beginner, I would recommend starting with no more than 3 different crops until you learn what you're doing. Too many at once can be overwhelming, especially as the crops get more mature and require different methods of care and maintenance. I also recommend you consider growing some type of flowers and/or herbs to attract pollinators to your garden. No pollinators = no food! Bees LOVE sunflowers and basil based on what I've seen during my 2 years working on a farm, so those are a great place to start. Basil is a common cooking herb that can be used often, so if you don't know what else to plant for the bees, plant basil. WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE WE LOOK OUT FOR THE BEES!
Once you pick your crops, Google "[your choice of crop] seeds" to find seed vendors, or head to your local garden nursery/home improvement store to pick out seeds. The latter would probably be the best option for beginners, as local stores will only have seeds in stock that can grow in that area, you have people to ask for help if you need it, and from my experience, I've noticed that the collection of non-GMO seeds is more prevalent in person than online. It's all up to personal preference though.
4. When and where should you plant your seeds?
This is where knowing the last anticipated frost date comes into play. Certain crops do better when started indoors and are transplanted outside as a seedling as opposed to planting the seed directly outside in its final growing container for the season. Ultimately, every crop can be started indoors or outdoors, but some perform better (and save time) if started indoors first and get moved outdoors as the weather becomes more fitting. The last anticipated frost date will always be the point of reference when it comes to determining when to plant your seeds. Whether it be planted before or after the last frost, this information is included on the seed packets you buy and can also be found online. Starting seeds indoors requires a window with ample sunlight (preferable south facing in the winter) and a nice, humid environment for germination. We'll cover that as we get closer to seed sowing time.
You've got your 1st homework assignment for the winter! Once you determine your growing zone, the last anticipated frost in your area, what crops you want to grow, and when they should be planted, you're ready for the next steps! Be sure to connect with us on Instagram so you know when the next blog post is coming!