Hello! And happy Spring! Ha! What weather! Mother Nature sure has a twisted sense of humor! But it is officially Spring! And it is officially seed starting time! It’s a wonderfully busy time for all of us gardeners out there who plant their garden seed around now, and then transplant all those young ones out there at the appropriate time.

But when is the appropriate time to set out those transplants? When is the appropriate time to even start those seeds? Should all those different seeds get started now? Or do we still have some time? Or should we hit the panic button because all those seeds should have been started last week or last month?

Well…. It all depends! It depends on the particular kind of seed and, perhaps even more importantly, when that last Spring frost comes. Keep in mind, some of those seeds take more time to germinate. Some seedlings need more time growing indoors. Some transplants can be set out way before that last Spring frost. Other transplants must be set out only way after that last Spring frost and only after that soil has warmed up to about 60 or 70 degrees.

Some like it hot! Some like it cold!

You have heard the saying “Life is a gamble!” Well, so it is with gardening! But when is that last Spring frost? What gardening/growing zone are we? Well, depending on which gardening zone map you use, our area might be zone 3 or zone 4. And this means that the average coldest winter temperatures range between –20 to –30 degrees. (That’s cold!) And so we usually hold May 20th to be the final last Spring frost because that is the average date.

However, during this past winter those temperatures never really got down quite that far to 20 or 30 below zero. Right? Well . . . maybe once or twice! Perhaps it did that in the Adirondack Mountain regions or at my garden in New Bremen, but not here, not in town– luckily!

And just what does that mean for us? Will there be a warmer Spring? A colder Spring? Wetter? Drier?

Remember that saying – Gardening is a gamble? Well, plant too early and a very bad surprise frost can wipe you out completely, those cole crops as well as those warm season crops. Plant too late because you are waiting for that last Spring frost that never does come, and you are missing out on all those wonderful growing degree-days. And besides, all of your gardening friends will be poking fun at you for being so over-cautious!

Yes, gardening is a gamble, but you’ve got to lay down some of those cards and make some plans to start some of those seeds soon. So, some of the stuff that you can start around now: tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, sweet and hot, herbs, some of your flowers.

But wait! Do not even think about starting those seeds now unless you are absolutely, positively positive that you can provide them with the proper temperature, sufficient sunshine (aka light), the right growing medium and containers.

And what about your seed leftover from last year? Is it still good? Well, how did you store that seed? Was it in a cool, dry place, safe and secure from any menacing mice? Is that seed still good, is it still viable?

Keep in mind, every type of seed has a certain shelf life, assuming that those seeds were stored right. Beans, carrots, celery, eggplant lettuce, peas, peppers, and spinach all can last 2-3 years if kept properly. Cucumber and tomato can last 5-10 years. Your Brassicas or cole crops, your beets, radish, squash, and pumpkin can stretch 2-5 years. Onion seed is only good for 1 year.

So is that old seed of yours still good? Should you take the risk of planting that old seed, waiting for it to come up, only to discover that nothing is ever going to come up? Or do you throw all of your old seed away and plunk don’t some serious money on all new seed?

Why don’t you give those seeds a test? For these older seeds, you can check their viability by:

1. Choosing 10 random seeds;
2. Spreading them out on a moistened paper towel;
3. Then covering up those seeds in that moistened paper towel;
4. Keeping them in a nice warm spot for a couple of days.
5. Opening up that towel and checking for what did germinate.

If they all sprout, then obviously the seeds are still good. If very few of them sprout, then the seed viability is on the way out, so chuck them out! Dump those old seeds, and start out fresh! Go to your favorite garden store and spring for new seed. And check out all those new varieties out there! And, yes, I think you’ll find that those seed prices have gone up a bit!

So, what else is new?

Remember – Eat Smart New York!

And – Bye – Talk to you soon!
D