When our snow is replaced by slippery mud, it’s a sure sign that spring is almost here!  We are now getting just over 12 hours of daylight per day and that stimulates new plant growth.  It also makes our gardens irresistible on warmer days.  Don’t be tempted to get too ambitious just yet, but there are several jobs that can be done before working in the soil.  Houseplants and indoor sheltered garden plants will benefit from feeding now and some seeds can be planted indoors now..  I prefer to use a liquid fish or seaweed fertilizer for its slow release of micronutrients.

Hidden deep in all that rich leaf litter in your gardens are many overwintering beneficial creatures that need a little more time before they awaken and get to work.  Let them have this time and wait until we pass the freezing nights of April before cleaning those beds.  It’s also important that cold, wet soil not be disturbed yet.  Let the water drain out for few more weeks.  Even walking across a squishy lawn now is hard on the soil and roots.  Still, there are plenty of mud season jobs that can be done now!

What seeds can I plant indoors now?  It’s still too early to start most garden vegetables but a few things will benefit from an early start.  Last article I encouraged starting onion from seeds instead of buying onion sets so you can save some cash and get much better yields of onions.  When they get over 6-8 inches tall in the flats prune them back to about 5 in. tall to encourage thicker growth and use the trimmings like fresh chives!  They get transplanted out before the Summer Equinox (June 20) so they have time to form good bulbs. 

Late March through mid-April is the best time to start peppers (sweet or hot), tomatoes, and cabbage.  Broccoli, cauliflower and many annual flowers (zinnias, snapdragons, cosmos, marigold, etc.) seeds can be started in mid to late April.  Johnny’s has a very good seed starting calculator online that covers every vegetable and flower you might plant.  You simply enter your spring frost free date (I use May 22 in Mount Holly) and the table tells you when to start the seeds and when to transplant them.  Here is a good video about starting your own seeds.  Remember to label every container you plant, including the variety, so you know what’s what at transplant time.

All seeds need a good soil mix to get a healthy start.  Avoid general “potting soil” mixes and use lighter seed starter mixes such as Vermont Compost Fort Vee or Pro-mix BX or HP.  I prefer those made with coconut coir instead of peat moss dug out of ecological vital wetlands. Add a cup of rock phosphate (or bone meal) and ½ cup of azomite or green sand (for micronutrients) to a 5-gallon bucket of dry soil mix to provide your seedlings with the best nutritional conditions for a strong start.  Those nutrients will get transplanted into your garden later and contribute to long-term fertility there.  Moisten and mix thoroughly and let it set for a few hours before putting it into containers for planting.  A 5-gallon bucket of dry Pro-mix, for example, will absorb over 2 gallons of water.

No matter what you plant indoors they will need plenty of light to produce healthy starts.  A south facing window is good but even that can’t provide the 14+ hours of strong light needed to grow indoors.  Grow lights on a frame (homemade or purchased) will work for all your starts of garden vegetables and flowers.  There are many very easy to build light stand plans online (Instructables.com, Pinterest.com, etc.) made from ¾ inch PVC pipe and they are all very inexpensive.  The homemade stand I have (see photo) covers 4 trays and fits on a 6 ft. folding table, but there are smaller models for 1 or 2 trays that might fit your needs and space.  You can hang a 2 ft or 4 ft long fluorescent fixture with full spectrum grow lights in it and connect it to a timer so they get 14 or more hours of light every day.  

Alternately, LED fixtures provide even more light and are more efficient but cost more up front.  I also strongly recommend that you put electric germination mats under your trays for best germination.  Cool temperatures during the critical germination phase can be lethal to seedlings. They cost $25-30 each but will last for years and are a worthwhile investment in your garden. Erskine’s in Chester and Garland’s in Rutland have good stocks of seed starting supplies.

Keep a garden journal.  This is valuable for your own record of what happened, when and what you did.  Even if you have an excellent memory, keep a journal anyway.  Next year it’ll be your goldmine of reminders.  Make it simple and easy – what you did to what plants and the dates. For example:  “4/3/2023  Planted tomato (Juliet) seeds, 24 seeds in 4 6-packs” or “4/5/2023 Pruned raspberries”.  You may add whatever you want such as weather, varieties, soil mix, etc. but keep it simple so that it doesn’t become a chore.  Get a notebook or just use a calendar and start it for the new season.

Composting is one of the most important things any gardener can do.  It’s great for your soil and plants, keeps climate warming carbon out of the atmosphere, and reduces the waste volume going to landfills.