I’ve recently moved to a new area with a different climate than where I gardened before. How do I know when it’s safe to plant my seeds and transplants this spring?
Your local extension service is one good source of regional gardening information. Your agent can tell you the first frost date and average last frost dates for your locale, as well as recommended varieties. (Sometimes you can find this info on your county extension service’s website.)
MOTHER EARTH NEWS can help, too: See Know When to Plant What: Find Your Average First Fall Frost Date. And did you know about our award-winning Vegetable Garden Planner? It can give you your first and average last frost dates based on data from more than 5,000 weather stations across the United States and Canada and a last frost date map. If you want, the Vegetable Garden Planner will even send you twice-monthly reminders about which crops to sow and plant from your plans. Read more and try our Vegetable Garden Planner free for 30 days.
— Vicki Mattern, Contributing Editor
Photo byFotolia/beerfan
Vicki Mattern is a contributing editor for MOTHER EARTH NEWS magazine, book editor and freelance magazine writer. She has edited or co-authored seven books on gardening, and lives and works from her home in northwestern Montana. You can find Vicki on Google+.