Gardeners - with an early Easter, when will you plant?

[Sharon in SC]

I'm trying to help my precious dad decide when it might be safe to plant his garden. He's always used "Easter" as his benchmark but, with it coming early this year, he's a little leary about putting out his plants just yet. How will you guys decide when the time is right?

TIA from Sharon who has a BROWN thumb and knows nothing about these things! :tongue_smilie:

[Mrs. H.]

I never use Easter as an indication, because it always seems to bring with it a cool snap that can kill tender plants. That being said, my grandfather always has his garden in by Good Friday, and even last year when there were below-freezing temps on Easter weekend (in April! In Louisiana!) his tomatoes still grew and produced until the end of October, and mine were done by August.

 

Check out your state's agricultural extension service (google your state's name plus agriculture extension) website, and they will have final frost dates for your area, as well as free newsletters each season with tips specifically for your area and plant suggestions. This is really one of almost every state's most helpful and overlooked free resource.

[Doran]

All states, and different regions within states, have what are called "frost free" dates to use as a guide for knowing when it's safest to plant tender plants. I don't think of the mountainous parts of SC as being the Deep South which you state as your location, so I'll go out on a limb here and recommend that you suggest to him sometime between now and the first week in April. If he has used Easter as his guide, he's actually been starting plants later than necessary, I think, so he may be pleasantly surprised to find that he can start them almost a month earlier without much issue. It depends a lot on WHAT he's planting. If he buys his plants at a garden center, most will have tomatoes, squashes, cukes, etc. staged outside -- which is a good sign that the plants are ready for whatever weather is happening in your area.

 

Hope this helps -- let me know if you have more questions.

 

Doran

[Sharon in SC]

Check out your state's agricultural extension service (google your state's name plus agriculture extension) website, and they will have final frost dates for your area, as well as free newsletters each season with tips specifically for your area and plant suggestions. This is really one of almost every state's most helpful and overlooked free resource.

 

Terrific. Thanks for the recommendation! I'll check this out....

[Sharon in SC]

I don't think of the mountainous parts of SC as being the Deep South which you state as your location, so I'll go out on a limb here and recommend that you suggest to him.....

 

Doran, thanks for the great info. I"ll share it with him! Actually, we are not in the mountainous region of SC but midway between there and "home" to both of us, Charleston (which is, in my mind at least, the epitomy of the "Deep South"). :D

 

Again, thanks for taking the time to help me (and my Dad) out!

[Mrs. Readsalot]

I ususally start planting on tax day. We are near the Atlantic in Maryland so we can plant a bit earlier than the rest of the state. Still I do check the 10 day forcast on that date to double check that my tender tomato babies will be safe. We started heirlooms from seeds this year and our home is looking very green.

[Jennifer in MI]

Up here in MI, I usually use Mother's Day as a cutoff. But, this year, who knows!!?? We're expecting another two inches of snow tonight. Ugh.

 

But, I usually only plant flowers, so what do I know? LOL I'm hoping to put in some veggies this year though.

[KristineIN]

This is my favorite garden planner chart, it's cheap and makes a nice gift for a gardener. I am not affiliated with this person in anyway, I just like the product:

 

http://cdmplanning.hypermart.net/

[Closeacademy]

I would check out the zone guides but a confession here.

 

We planted potatoes, onions and garlic here this weekend. My dh was even tilling in the snow at one point he is so excited about the garden this year. We wanted to get in peas but didn't have enough time.

 

He also got four of those square foot garden boxes made. Did I tell you he was excited?:001_smile:

[Marie in Oh]

but in CA we had our full garden in by the end of March. It really depends on where you are.

[Daisy]

I usually plant the week before Easter also but mostly because that is when I have the time. This year I am waiting until we get back from Oregon which will be the week of April 6th.

[Jenny in Atl]

We are waiting for two reasons - early Easter and drought. I'm waiting to see what the forecast is for rain. Last year was very rough on the veggies and moisture loving flowers; I don't want to make the same mistake this year.

[Sharon in SC]

Thanks, everyone. Using some of the resources mentioned in this thread I've been able to determine that, for our regions, the average last frost date for Spring is 3/10 or 11 and plants tender to frost should/can be planted four weeks after that (4/7 of this year). Again, thank you for your help!