When to Plant Your Spring Garden

It’s almost time to start putting seeds in the ground for the spring vegetable garden. But not quite yet, I think.

How are you supposed to know when to plant? This weekend is probably a bad idea. The temperature is supposed to dip below freezing Saturday morning. Hopefully, that’ll be the last freeze until next winter.

Old-timers watch for various signs that tell them when to plant. There’s probably quite a bit of wisdom in some of these bits of lore. Some say you should start planting when the scissortail birds begin to appear. Others say to wait until pecan leaves start to bud. Farther south, they swear you should begin planting when you see the first signs of green in a mesquite tree.

There’s an entire community of gardeners who plant “by the moon.” They plant certain crops during particular phases of the moon. The famous Farmer’s Almanac is perhaps the foremost authority on this planting method. I admit, I’m pretty agnostic about the affects of moon phases on planting. But I know people who think I’m crazy for not paying attention to the moon.

Here’s what the Farmer’s Almanac has to say about this topic:

Aboveground Crops

Aboveground crops are those which produce greens, fruits or vegetables that grow above the ground, such as lettuce, tomatoes and peppers. These should be planted when the moon is waxing. The new moon is the best time to plant leafy annuals such as lettuce and spinach, fruits and foods with external seeds should be planted in the first quarter phase.

Belowground Crops

Belowground crops, those which produce root vegetables, should be planted when the moon is waning. Potatoes grow best when planted just past a full moon. During the last quarter phase, the Farmers Almanac says it’s best to avoid planting at all. Instead, the authors say you should work on improving the soil by weeding and mulching.

I used to believe all of that moon gardening stuff is nothing but hocus pocus. A friend of mine grew one of the most impressive spring gardens I’ve ever seen a couple of years ago, and he followed the moon gardening methods religiously. There might be something to it.

Should you plant seeds or buy transplants from a nursery? I almost always plant tomatoes, eggplants and peppers as transplants. These crops take a long time to grow from seedlings to mature, fruit-bearing plants. You would need to plant seeds in January to begin harvesting fruit in the spring. But it’s too cold in January. If you wait until warm weather arrives, your tomatoes, eggplants and peppers won’t start producing until the summer. By then, you may only get a few weeks of harvest before temperatures get too hot and the plants stop producing.

Squash, cucumbers, beans and most of the other spring vegetables can be reliably planted from seed.

Consult the chart below for planting dates recommended by Texas A&M University.