Can’t Wait to Plant?

by Elbonmillfarm In Garden, Winter

I see everyone getting antsy to start their seeds. I highly recommend knowing when your average last frost date is and counting back from this date based on the instructions on the seeds. Here’s a link to the almanac where you can enter your zip code and find your average last frost date.

There are ways to plant a bit earlier than your last frost date though, for those of you who just can’t help but rush things (like myself).

My seed starting greenhouse

Greenhouse/High Tunnels

The easiest (but most costly) way is to have a greenhouse or a high tunnel. You can start your plants much earlier in a greenhouse and give them more time to get larger before you transplant them out doors. You may need to heat your greenhouse though depending on your climate. High tunnels are similar to a greenhouse, except you generally don’t plan on transplanting the plants later. You normally intend to leave them in the high tunnel from beginning to harvest. 

DIY low tunnel protecting my tomatoes from a late frost

Low Tunnels

Low tunnels are similar to a high tunnel but on a smaller scale. Low tunnels are made to cover individual beds or rows. They protect young plants from frost and can trap extra heat like a greenhouse or high tunnel. These are cheaper, and very easy to DIY with pvc pipe and clear plastic. 

Cheap cold frame premise used to melt the snow in my raised bed

Cold Frames

Cold frames are generally used to get seedlings started. It’s basically a very small greenhouse. People often make them out of old windows. They can be as fancy as custom built hinged glass tops that you prop open on especially warm day, or as cheap as old pieces of plexiglass that you lay on top of a raised bed and move when needed. Cold frames can be especially helpful for extending the growing season on leafy greens. 

My raised beds

Raised Beds

I like raised beds painted black. The black heats up the soil faster in the early spring sun, making it easier to risk planting before my last frost date. They also help with drainage meaning young plants aren’t sitting in cold wet soil. Adding a low tunnel or cold frame to a raised bed can easily increase your season by weeks depending on your location. 

Victorian type cloche (not mine, I don’t use them)

Cloches

Cloches are like teeny tiny greenhouses for each plant. My personal opinion is they’re best used on a small scale as more of an emergency type thing. They are fairly affordable to buy or super easy to DIY out of plastic bottles or jugs. I don’t have the time to place and remove a bunch of little greenhouses, but they’re good if you have a tender start by itself somewhere, and a late cold snap is coming that you didn’t expect.

So for those of you just dying to start your seeds right now, hopefully this post can help you know if it’s absolutely too early to start them in your area, or give you a few ways to start early if you just can’t wait any longer!