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You can get started gardening now
The amount of daylight we are experiencing is increasing every day, possibly making you develop the urge to garden. Yet that might not be the best idea since our chances for frost are not over.
On average, the last date for a frost (temperature at or below 32 degrees Fahrenheit) is between April 15 and April 22. Yet a light frost can occur after those dates. Therefore, when deciding to start your garden, it is best not to place any plants outside until after those dates.
At this time, the best thing to be doing if you are a true fan of gardening is to plan your garden and start growing any plants you can indoors. When planning your garden, you need to determine how big of a space you have for your garden, what you want to plant and when the item be planted.
The size of your garden determines how many different varieties of plants you can grow. Make a list of the different plants you want to grow, their spacing requirements, light requirements and when the best time to plant them is. It might be of some help to actually draw a diagram of your garden at this stage to get a visual idea of what your plan of attack will be.
Once you know what you want to plant, start looking for seeds. While looking for seeds, make a list of when those plants can be planted. Realize that not all plants can be grown indoors and transplanted and that not all plants can go into the garden at the same time. Take for instance sweet corn. Sweet corn is a warm-season plant that does not grow well during extended cool spells. In comparison, cool-season vegetables like broccoli and radishes can be planted early.
A way to speed up your time from planting in your garden to harvesting your wonderful produce is by starting your seeds indoors. Starting Seeds Indoors is an excellent Extension publication that you can obtain online for free from Purdue University to help you get started. It provides you with steps on how to get the garden started, what and when to plant the seeds and how to transplant them into the garden. The Starting Seeds Indoors publication can be found at https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/HO/HO-14-W.pdf.
To assist those with gardening questions or wanting to learn more about a particular garden plant, Purdue Extension is pleased to be offering the Digging Deeper: Virtual Garden Series for eight weeks on Tuesdays from 12-1 p.m. This program series starts on March 16 and is completely free.
The weekly agenda includes:
March 16 How to Start Seeds Indoors
March 23 Soils: Preparing Your Garden for Planting
March 30 Best Practices for Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplant
April 6 Best Practices for Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage
April 13 Best Practices for Beans and Peas
April 20 Best Practices for Berries
April 27 Best Practices for Herbs
May 4 Best Practices for Cucumbers, Squash, Melons
Register for the program at http://tinyurl.com/digdeeper21. Links to the recordings will be sent for each session to all registered participants, so register even if you cant participate in the live program.
Visit www.extension.purdue.edu/putnam or contact the local Extension office at 653-8411 for more information regarding this weeks column topic or to RSVP for upcoming events.
Upcoming Events
March 10 Wild Eats: Cooking for Flavor and Safety Fish, 3 p.m., pre-register at https://tinyurl.com/wildeatswebinar
March 16 How to Start Seeds Indoors - virtual on Zoom - 12 p.m., pre-register at https://tinyur.com/digdeeper21
March 22 ServSafe Food Managers online exam, pre-register by March 12 at www.purdue.edu/servsafe
March 23 Soils: Preparing Your Garden for Planting - virtual on Zoom - 12 p.m., pre-register at https://tinyur.com/digdeeper21
March 24 Understanding the Opioid Crisis - virtual on Zoom - 2 p.m., pre-register at https://tinyurl.com/opioidcrisisclayputnam
March 30 Best Practices for Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplant - virtual on Zoom - 12 p.m., pre-register at https://tinyur.com/digdeeper21
April 2 Extension/county offices closed for Good Friday holiday
April 6 Best Practices for Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage - virtual on Zoom - 12 p.m., pre-register at https://tinyur.com/digdeeper21
April 13 Best Practices for Beans and Peas - virtual on Zoom - 12 p.m., pre-register at https://tinyur.com/digdeeper21
April 20 Best Practices for Berries - virtual on Zoom - 12 p.m., pre-register at https://tinyur.com/digdeeper21
April 27 Best Practices for Herbs - virtual on Zoom - 12 p.m., pre-register at https://tinyur.com/digdeeper21