Seeds to start 6 weeks before frost (now)

Starting seeds in peat pods and Aerogarden

Saturday, February 21, 2026

There are several varieties of herbs, veggies and flowers that can be started this week indoors.  Many are the same that you could have started last week.  Planting another round will extend the harvest.  I like to start every 2 weeks for succession planting for things like spinach and lettuce.  The other option is planting different varieties of the same vegetable or fruit that have different days to harvest.  We are getting more of the summer lovers and less of the cool season crops.  Shortly, it will be time to start seeds outdoors for cool season lovers.  

For our zone 7 garden, here are the ones you can sow indoors now: 

Herbs 

*Borage

*Chives

*Feverfew

*Lavender

*Lovage

*Oregano

*Parsley

*Red Shiso

*Rosemary

*Sage

*Salad burnett

*Spearmint

*Stevia

*Thyme

*Valerian

*Woad

Veggies/Fruits

*Alpine Strawberries

*Amaranth

*Artichoke

*Asparagus

*Basil

*Broccoli

*Cardoon

*Cauliflower

*Eggplant

*French Dandelion

*French Sorrel

*Huckleberry

*Kohlrabi

*Spinach

*Cabbage

*Lettuce

*Okra

*Parsnip

*Peppers

*Red Malabar Spinach

*Russian Tarragon

*Tamarillo

Flowers and Ornamentals

*Allyssium

*Blazing Star

*Blue Fescue

*Castor bean

*Celosia

*Coleus

*Cosmos

*Daisy

*Delphinium

*English Wallflower

*Forget-Me-Not

*Fountain Grass

*Heliotrope

*Hibiscus

*Hollyhock

*Love-in-a-Mist

*Lupine

*Verbena

*Datura

*Salvia

*Marigold

*Milkweed

*Morning Glory

*Pepper, Ornamental

*Petunia

*Phlox

*Statice

*Sweet Pea

*Sweet William

*Torch Lily

*Verbascum Mullein

*Zinnia

*Black-eyed Susan

*Safflower

*Snow-on-the-Mountain

*Nigella

*Painted Tongue

*Pincushion flower

We have less spring crops on the list as it is time for the warmer loving crops to get started.  For more on cool season gardening, see A spring edible garden. At this point, we are adding more of the staples of the summer garden like tomatoes, basil, peppers and eggplant.  For more on summer gardening, see  All about the summer edible garden 

For indoor seed starting how-to and tips:  Indoor seed starting how to and tips

For making your own seed starting pots:  Make your own peat pots 

You can sow directly outdoors spinach, lettuce, mustard greens and peas.  These can be sown as soon as the soil can be worked.  If you have a portable cover for them, they will sprout and grow faster.  Otherwise, they will germinate when the conditions are right naturally.

If you are transplanting seedlings from indoors to outdoors, be sure to harden them to the conditions they will be transplanted to.  If in a greenhouse, cold frame or hot bed, you can take outdoors when temperatures are warm or maybe an unheated garage if the temps are close to the covered location you will be placing them.  "Hardening off" seedlings 

Now, if only spring would come!

Seeds to start indoors 7 weeks before last frost (now)

Starting seeds in peat pods and Aerogarden

Sunday, February 15, 2026

There are several varieties of herbs, veggies and flowers that can be started this week indoors.  Many are the same that you could have started last week.  Planting another round will extend the harvest.  I like to start every 2 weeks for succession planting.  The other option is planting different varieties of the same vegetable or fruit that have different days to harvest.  For our zone 7 garden, here are the ones you can sow indoors now.  

Herbs 

*Borage

*Calendula

*Chervil

*Chives

*Lavender

*Lovage

*Oregano

*Parsley

*Rosemary

*Sage

*Stevia

*Thyme

*Woad

Veggies/Fruits

*Amaranth

*Artichoke

*Asparagus

*Beets

*Broccoli

*Cardoon

*Cauliflower

*Chard

*Eggplant

*French Dandelion

*Huckleberry

*Kohlrabi

*Spinach

*Cabbage

*Lettuce

*Okra

*Parsnip

*Peppers

*Tamarillo

Flowers and Ornamentals

*Blue Fescue

*Castor bean

*Celosia

*Coleus

*Cosmos

*Verbena

*Datura

*Salvia

*Ageratum

*Aster, China

*Corn Cockle

*False Queen Anne's Lace

*Sweet Annie

*Bells of Ireland

*Calendula

*Cardoon

*Bachelor's Button

*Globe Amaranth

*Joe Pye Weed

*Kale, Ornamental

*Larkspur

*Marigold

*Monarda, Bee Balm

*Pepper, Ornamental

*Petunia

*Phlox

*Iceland Poppy

*Ptilotus

*Sanvitalia

*Statice

*Strawflower

*Sweet Pea

*Black-eyed Susan

Many of the veggies and herbs listed are cool season producers.  For more on cool season gardening, see A spring edible garden. This week several are added that are staples of the summer garden like tomatoes, peppers and eggplant.  For more on summer gardening, see  All about the summer edible garden 

For indoor seed starting how-to and tips:  Indoor seed starting how to and tips

For making your own seed starting pots:  Make your own peat pots 

If you are transplanting seedlings from indoors to outdoors, be sure to harden them to the conditions they will be transplanted to.  If in a greenhouse, cold frame or hot bed, you can take outdoors when temperatures are warm or maybe an unheated garage if the temps are close to the covered location you will be placing them.  "Hardening off" seedlings 

I also sowed lettuce seeds and snow peas in my outdoor pots this week.  For the lettuce, I put them in the pots that I can cover with my portable greenhouse cover in case we get another deep freeze.  You can plant them in uncovered pots and they will sprout when the conditions are right.  Spinach and kale seeds can also be planted outdoors now.

Now, if only spring would come!

10 easy, productive veggies to grow this year

Spring garden with chives, spinach and lettuce in the foreground

Saturday, February 14, 2026

So you want to try your hand at gardening and want to start with the easy ones.  What would those be?  Here are my top 10 easy crops to grow.  All can be grown in pots or the garden.

Basil-this herb is great in salads, sauces, and pesto.  Just plant it in a sunny location and forget it.  Basil thrives on neglect.  Only thing it doesn't like is the cold.  Put out after all danger of frost has passed.  Basil basics-harvesting, preserving, growing basil

Chives-another care free herb.  Wonderful in salads and on potatoes.  A perennial that comes back year after year with pretty lavender blooms in late spring that are pretty adds to home grown salads.  Gives you the taste of onions with continuous harvests.   Add chives to your garden

Dandelions-a super nutrition green that was brought over by European immigrants.  New leaves are great in salads, mature leaves are tasty wilted, and roots are great dried and used as a coffee replacement.  7 Ways Dandelion Tea Can Be Good for Your Health  Just make sure you only use dandelions that have not been sprayed with chemicals.  There are also cultivated dandelions with larger leaves and sweeter taste available.  Grow Cultivated Dandelions

Egyptian walking onions-my favorite onion to grow.  These guys are perennials.  They continue to multiply underground or by the bulbets they sprout on the tops of their leaves in early summer.  With their curly tops, they remind me of Medusa!  The bottoms get the size of leeks and have the taste of white onions.  The tops I use like chives.  Egyptian walking onions

Garlic-typically planted in the fall.  They can also be planted in the spring; the bulb just won't grow as large as when planted in the fall.  Garlic has not only wonderful taste, but a plethera of health benefits.   For more on garlic, see  Time to plant garlic! With growing tips...... 

Green beans-come in either bush or vine form.  Like basil, they like the summer weather so plant after the last frost.  Personally, I like the vining beans, called pole beans. Simply provide a trellis for them to climb up and pick frequently to keep them producing.  Bush beans have a flush of beans and then taper off for the rest of the season.  All beans have pretty flowers to boot.  They grow well in the ground or in pots.  For more on beans,  Growing beans

Spinach in a pot

Lettuce-I love fresh lettuce from the garden.  Spring is prime time for the sweetest lettuce ever.  You can grow lettuce even in the summer if you plant the right varieties.  Bolt-free, sweet summer lettuces  The best advice for lettuce is to keep the soil moist and when the temp's rise, give it some sun.  Everything you need to know about growing lettuce  By harvesting the bottom leaves, you can get a continuous harvest for weeks.  Let the plant go to flower and keep their seeds to replant.  Never ending salad from one packet of seeds 

Mustard-a super easy, spicy green to grow.  I love adding new leaves to salads.  Giant Red mustard is a self seeder.  It is one of the first to come up in the spring and self-seeds so you get new plants year after year.  There are many varieties at Baker Creek Heirloom seeds that are sweet and not peppery.  What’s growing in the garden in February?   I grow lettuce and greens both in pots and in the garden bed.

Peas-another easy to grow veggie in the legume family.  I prefer to grow snow peas.  You get a lot more from each plant.  Sweet, tastiness for spring salads.  Peas are planted as soon as the soil can be worked.  I like to plant peas in pots.  Time to plant peas!

Sprouting broccoli-if you love the taste of broccoli, this is one you should try.  You begin getting bite size broccoli florets in summer and continues until fall.  If your lettuce bolts in the heat of the summer, use sprouting broccoli leaves; they taste just like the florets!  Sprouting broccoli- a year round fav

These are my top 10 easiest to grow veggie recommendations.  Try one or two or all ten for your first garden!

What seeds to start indoors now (8 weeks before last frost)

Starting seeds in peat pods and Aerogarden

Sunday, February 8, 2026

There are several varieties of herbs, veggies and flowers that can be started this week indoors.  Many are the same that you could have started last week.  Planting another round will extend the harvest.  I like to start every 2 weeks for succession planting.  For our zone 7 garden, here are the ones you can sow indoors now.  

Herbs 

*Borage

*Calendula

*Chervil

*Chives

*Lavender

*Lovage

*Oregano

*Parsley

*Rosemary

*Sage

*Stevia

*Thyme

*Woad

Veggies/Fruits

*Amaranth

*Artichoke

*Asparagus

*Beets

*Broccoli

*Cardoon

*Cauliflower

*Chard

*Corn salad (mache)

*Eggplant

*French Dandelion

*Huckleberry

*Kohlrabi

*Spinach

*Cabbage

*Lettuce

*Okra

*Parsnip

*Peppers

*Tamarillo

Flowers and Ornamentals

*Blue Fescue

*Verbena

*Datura

*Salvia

*Hibiscus

*Impatiens

*Ageratum

*Aster, China

*Corn Cockle

*False Queen Anne's Lace

*Sweet Annie

*Bells of Ireland

*Calendula

*Cardoon

*Bachelor's Button

*Globe Amaranth

*Joe Pye Weed

*Kale, Ornamental

*Larkspur

*Monarda, Bee Balm

*Petunia

*Phlox

*Iceland Poppy

*Ptilotus

*Sanvitalia

*Statice

*Strawflower

*Sweet Pea

*Black-eyed Susan

For indoor seed starting how-to and tips:  Indoor seed starting how to and tips

If you are transplanting seedlings from indoors to outdoors, be sure to harden them to the conditions they will be transplanted to.  If in a greenhouse, cold frame or hot bed, you can take outdoors when temperatures are warm or maybe an unheated garage if the temps are close to the covered location you will be placing them.  "Hardening off" seedlings 

Most of the veggies and herbs listed are cool season producers.  For more on cool season gardening, see A spring edible garden. 

What to plant for the February edible and decorative garden

Greens in portable greenhouse

Saturday, February 7, 2026

February is the time the garden begins to wake up, readying itself for the growing season in the Midwest, Upper South edible garden.  There are a few veggies that can be seeded outdoors and many that can be started indoors to give you a jump on harvests.  Using season extending strategies can also help you harvest sooner.  

Outdoor seeding

There are a few cold hardy veggies that you can sow outdoors in February.  Just about any variety that touts "winter hardy" are great ones to try in the February garden.

*Spinach seed can be scatter sown and will sprout when the temps are right.  Grow spinach-a super nutritious, easy green

*Peas can be tucked into pots and in the garden.  My granny would plant as soon as the soil could be worked, even with a little ice still in the soil!  My fav are snow peas since you can eat the whole pod.  Time to plant peas!

*Fava or broad beans can also be planted as soon as the ground can be worked.  Grow a European favorite-the fava or broad bean
*This is the time of year that asparagus can be planted as soon as the soil can be worked.  You won't be able to harvest the spears this year, but it gives the crowns the time they need so you can get a few next season.

*Mache or corn salad is also a super winter hardy green that can be sown directly in the garden.   Growing fabulous lettuce and greens

If you have a cold frame or portable greenhouse, you can also sow other cold hardy veggies under cover and they will get sprouting like lettuce, radishes, broccoli, cabbage.  

Cold season crops for your edible garden

 Outdoor seed starting tips 

Outdoor transplants

*Blueberry bushes and shallots when soil can be worked.

*At the end of the month, hardened off veggie transplants of cabbage, endive, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, onions, pac choi, rhubarb, radicchio, scallions, shallots and spinach can be planted outside.  A spring edible garden

*Many herb plants can also be planted at the end of the month.  Chives, fennel, horseradish, parsley and thyme.  Start a kitchen herb garden!

Early March garden

Indoor seeds to start

There are many veggies that can be started indoors.  The trick to indoor seed starting is to not get too anxious and start seeds way before you can plant them outdoors.  Indoor seed starting tips

Seeds to start indoors now are the ones you will plant outdoors at the end of February and beginning of March.  Be sure to harden them off (gradually get them used to the outdoor temperatures) before putting in the garden or outdoor pot.

Asparagus, artichokes, arugula, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, chard, Chinese cabbage, collards, eggplant, endive, fennel, kale, kohlrabi, leeks/onions/scallions/shallots/chives (if growing from seed), cold hardy lettuce, mache, marjoram, mizuna, mustard greens, pac choi, parsley, peas, radicchio, snow peas, sorrel, summer savory, spinach, and thyme.

Indoor sowing/outdoor planting dates

Outdoor planting tips

Be sure to harden off any transplants that you grew from seed before planting in the garden or outdoor pot.  You'll need to get your transplants used to the outdoor temperatures and direct sun.  I like to plant outdoors when the forecast is for overcast skies and warmer temperatures for a few days.

For your portable greenhouses, you can grab plants from there to plant in the garden and start more seeds in the greenhouse.  

You can also use season extenders like portable greenhouses, row covers and cloches to protect your new transplants and give them a warming boost for growing.  The biggest issue with greenhouses and cloches in the spring is they can be 50 degrees warmer inside them than the outdoor air so you have to be diligent in opening them up when the temps start rising into the 40's and 50's on sunny days.  Extend the season with protection for plants

Spring garden prep

Before you start planting, be sure your garden is in tip top shape for the growing season.  Do a soil test to see what nutrients are needed.  Add the nutrients at the beginning of the month so they are available to the plants when they go into the ground.  I like to add fertilizer and worm castings to each planting hole.

The next step in garden production and your nutrition-soil minerals

 Be sure to also apply your mulch on top of the fertilizer and minerals you add to the garden.  This keeps them from being washed off or in the case of nitrogen, being released into the air.  Weed free, self fertilizing, till free garden beds

If this is your first time gardening and want to get started but not sure how, try this blog.  Easy kitchen garden

Happy gardening!