Neat Gardens

It's often difficult to know when to plant your seeds and seedlings.  The packets that seeds come in often give some idea of when the best time will be but as most seeds will be planted out in the spring, this can be a tricky time as a late frost can happen almost any night without warning. 

When to plant seedlings is a little easier because they tend to grow first of all indoors and so by the time you plant them out, it's a little warmer.  If you live in a climate where spring often appears late, you could consider first planting the seeds in containers indoors and then planting out the seedlings once the frost threat has completely gone for the year.  Planting out seedlings gives you the advantage of being able to plant them in the place where they'll grow without needing to "thin" or "space" them differently once they've grown a little.  They'll go straight into the places where they'll grow.  Another thing you could do when planning your seeds indoors is to use little biodegradable pots so that you plant only 1 or 2 seeds in each pot and let them grow, then when you transfer them outside, you plant the pot into the ground so you don't disturb the fragile root system, and the pot will just disintegrate into the soil over time.

When you are reading the packages that your bulbs come in and in particular when to plant them into the ground, remember to take into consideration the weather in your area.  The bulb companies are using a generic weather guide that is not good for all gardeners.  If the bulbs need to go into the ground before the frosts start, and you know you're likely to have a frost a month before the bulb companies tells you to plant the bulbs, plant them early!  The important point isn't the month, but rather the instruction to plant before the first frost.

When to plant things in your garden can be tricky dilemma when you first start planting a yearly garden, but keep a journal of what you planted where and when, and what happened, and you'll find that after a couple of years you'll know exactly when it's safe to plant each of you seeds, seedlings and bulbs out into the garden.