Start the year off right: get a jump on the growing season.

Spring is just around the corner, and what better way to start it than with seeds? Flipping through seed catalogs all winter has got me dreaming of crisp green lettuce and big, juicy tomatoes. I just can't wait any longer. It's time to get out the trays and potting soft, and start growing.

STARTING SEEDS INDOORS

If you have ever sown a flat of vegetable or flower seeds, placed them in a sunny window, and then watched them germinate, you know how easy it can be. There are plenty of elaborate ways to go about starting crops indoors, and there are even more products out there to help you get things going, but all you really need are some trays, some potting soft, a couple of varieties of seeds, and a window. The most crucial variable--the thing that will determine the success of your project--is soil temperature. Different vegetables like different temperatures--somewhere between 40 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit--but for practical purposes, somewhere around 55 to 65 degrees is a good soft temperature. Putting the flats in a warm room, in a south-facing window should be enough to heat up the soft. If you need an extra boost, there are electric mats specially designed for warming propagation trays (available at Asheville Agriculture Systems for $25). Another tip for getting a good germination rate is to cover the flats with a piece of plastic or place them inside a plastic bag; this will help the soft hold its warmth. Once the seeds have sprouted, the flats can be uncovered and placed in the window. Be careful: once you get started, it can get addictive, which means pots, trays, and flats of little sprouting plants in every sunny window in the house! Maybe it's time to go outside.

STARTING SEEDS OUTDOORS

Cold frames and hoop houses are a great way to take your seed-starting projects outdoors. Cold frames can be built easily and affordably using plywood for walls and a piece of glass as a roof. Hoop houses are made by bending PVC pipes, an electric conduit, or bamboo, and covering this with a sheet of plastic.

(See my Digging In article in the December-January 2007 issue for instructions.) These structures provide a level of protection from the cold, though they aren't always enough. One possibility for providing extra warmth within the shelter is to lay down a bed of fresh manure and cover it with some soft before setting up your hoop house or cold frame. The manure will generate heat as it decomposes. This is referred to in gardening books as a "hot bed" or "hot house." Another helpful tip is to fill up gallon jugs with water. The sun warms the water during the day, slowly heating the space through the night. The hoop house and cold frame can also be especially useful as the plants grown indoors mature and are ready to be "hardened off." Basically, this means acclimating the seedlings to outside weather. By transplanting your indoor plants into cold frames, you will help them assimilate and prevent excessive shock.

PLANNING YOUR GARDEN AND TIMING YOUR EFFORTS

This is the most complicated part of getting a jump on the season, but I'll try to make it easy. According to the Buncombe County NC Agriculture Extension Office, May 5th is the First Safe Planting Day. This year, I'm going to try moving that up a little, and aim at having most of my plants out by Earth Day, April 22nd, as the average last frost date in our region is around mid-April. This knowledge comes in handy when we ask, "What day do I start each crop that I want to grow?" The different vegetables that we grow through the spring and summer all have different germination and maturation lengths; therefore it is necessary to start them at different times if they are to be ready when we plant them on Earth Day. To streamline things a bit, I divide the major crops into three categories" plants that need six or more weeks, plants that need four to five weeks, and plants that need two to three weeks (see table below). The plants that make up the first group are plants that take about six weeks, or sometimes longer, to germinate and then go through an initial growing phase that will make them strong enough to handle lower outside temperatures. This category is generally made of culinary and medicinal herbs, as well as plants in the Brassica family: broccoli, cabbage, and kale. About four to five weeks before Earth Day (between March 18th and 25th), I will begin to sow plants from the second group, plants that average 28 to 42 days before being transplanted. These include cauliflower, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and lettuce. I will also replant some of the group 1 plants so that at harvest, I will have plants at different stages. If it's beginning to warm up and isn't too wet, peas and potatoes can be directly sown into the garden at this time. The third and final indoor planting is done between April 1st and 8th, two to three weeks before our "planting out" day. This group consists of the "quick growers," plants that take 14 to 28 days to reach a breaking point at which any more time spent indoors will inhibit their growth. By starting some plants indoors that are usually sown outside--beans, melons, and squash, for example--we get a 21-day jump on their season, which means a 21-day jump on their harvest. Most often, in early May, I also sow this group directly into the garden, especially the beans and cucumbers. This way I can have two harvests, spread throughout the summer.

If you follow, even loosely, this planting schedule, then sometime around April 22nd you will have a variety of vegetable seedlings just itching to get into the ground. Transplant into your gardens, space according to the seed packets, and mulch them if you wish with straw or rotted leaves. You are now on your way to a happy, vibrant garden, and it is still only early spring!

Turtle is an organic gardener working with plants and people at the Pearson Drive community garden in Montford. The demonstration site for the Bountiful Cities Project, a local non-profit resource for neighborhood gardens and urban agriculture projects. 828-257-4000

Looking for good seeds?

Here a few companies worth mentioning:

Fedco Seed Co.

[phone] www.fedcoseeds.com

Johnny's Selected Seeds

[phone] www.johnnyseeds.com

J.L. Hudson, Seedsman

www.jlhudson.net

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange

[phone] www.southernexposure.com

Stoke's Seeds

[phone] www.stokeseeds.com

Vesey's Seeds, Ltd.

[phone] www.veseys.com

Starting Dates for Spring Transplants:

GROUP 1 (42 DAYS OR    GROUP 2 (28-42 DAYS)    GROUP 3 (14-28 DAYS)
MORE) 6 WEEKS BEFORE    4-5 WEEKS BEFORE        2-3 WEEKS BEFORE
    PLANTING DAY           PLANTING DAY            PLANTING DAY

BROCCOLI: 59-66 DAYS   CAULIFLOWER: 25-45       DRIED BEANS: 25-28
                               DAYS                    DAYS
CABBAGE: 63-75 DAYS    EGGPLANT: 33-55 DAYS   LIMA BEANS: 14-25 DAYS
 CHIVES: 31-56 DAYS    LETTUCE: 25-46 DAYS    SNAP BEANS: 18-24 DAYS
CILANTRO: 49-63 DAYS     PEAS: 35-56 DAYS     CUCUMBERS: 17-21 DAYS
 FENNEL: 42-71 DAYS    PEPPERS: 28-35 DAYS       DILL: 21-30 DAYS
 KALE: 52-108 DAYS     POTATOES: 14-28 DAYS     MELONS: 18-21 DAYS
SPINACH: 56-64 DAYS    TOMATOES: 28-56 DAYS     SQUASH: 14-24 DAYS

Compiled from "The Gardener's A-Z Guide to Growing Organic Food"
by Tanya L.K. Denckla.