Every winter, when my garden is just a sad, frozen patch of dirt, I like to curl up with a hot drink and flipping through seed catalogs. There’s something magical about those glossy pages promising lush tomatoes, towering sunflowers, and exotic melons you’ve never heard of but suddenly NEED to grow.
Every page was filled with “must-haves,” and before I knew it, I had circled half the catalog. Instead of narrowing it down like a reasonable person, I convinced myself that I could totally plant everything. A garden bursting with rare vegetables? Why not! A 10-foot-tall corn variety? Obviously! How about a type of zucchini that is so big it is described as “legendary”? Sign me up!
I placed my massive order and eagerly awaited my seeds, dreaming of my future jungle of homegrown produce. Now the seeds have been coming every day.
Then, reality hit. The catalog photos hadn’t fully prepared me for just how many seeds I had ordered. I had somehow ended up with enough seeds to feed a small village.
The most important thing to learn in ordering seeds, especially online, is to whittle down that list several times.
Here is a brief list of when the seeds need to be planted indoors before planting outdoors:
Vegetables
- Tomatoes – 6–8 weeks before last frost
- Peppers (bell, hot, etc.) – 8–10 weeks before last frost
- Broccoli & Cauliflower – 6–8 weeks before last frost
- Lettuce – 4–6 weeks before last frost
- Cabbage – 6–8 weeks before last frost
- Onions – 10–12 weeks before last frost
- Pumpkins & Squash – 3–4 weeks before last frost
- Cucumbers – 3–4 weeks before last frost
- Melons (watermelon, cantaloupe) – 3–4 weeks before last frost
Flowers
- Marigolds – 6–8 weeks before last frost
- Petunias – 10–12 weeks before last frost
- Zinnias – 4–6 weeks before last frost
- Sunflowers – 2–4 weeks before last frost
In Winner, South Dakota, the average last frost date—when temperatures last drop to 32°F—is typically May 15th.
I have planted onions and cabbage, which are cold tolerant in the garden at the end of April, but wait till after mid-May for the warm season vine crops.