It’s time to start thinking about ordering seeds again! For a home garden, we like to keep it simple. Most plants for your garden such as tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. are best bought as transplants (baby plants) that are already started for you. You can buy transplants locally in the spring at places like Agway, Nanticoke Gardens, and the local farmer’s markets in the area.
Last year, Farmer Cynthia made this wonderful guide for VINES gardeners about what crops are best grown as transplants vs. direct seeding:
Some plants you might want to transplant are lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and herbs. Don’t worry about buying them now: you’ll want to wait until late spring for these!
Many seeds, however, can be direct seeded (planted right into your garden). In early spring, you can direct seed the following:
Early Spring – Direct Seed
-Carrots
-Beets
-Spinach
-Peas
Early Spring- Transplant
-Broccoli
-Cabbage
-Cauliflower
-Lettuce
Late Spring- Direct Seed
-Squash
-Beans
Late Spring – Transplant
Tomatoes
Peppers
Eggplant
You can buy seeds in many places, like local home goods stores (Agway, Tractor Supply, Lowes), or order them online from places like Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Seed Saver’s Exchange, Truelove Seeds, or Burpee.
Buying seeds and planning your garden can be really fun and exciting, but it doesn’t have to be complicated! Feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions or need advice, we are happy to help!