Stop This Before Your Spring Garden Falls Behind

Hi everyone! Most gardeners accidentally set their spring garden back this time of the year, not because they forgot something, but because they need to stop something. And the frustrating part is most of these feel like the right thing. So today I'm going to share with you four things that you need to stop doing to get healthier plants and earlier harvests. And the first one is what most people get wrong. Stop planting by air temperature alone. If you're planting just because it feels warm outside, stop. Cold soil can actually rot seeds, stall growth, force seeds into survival mode, especially those warm weather seeds, and then it really slows down your spring garden. For example, if I was to put this cucumber or these cucumber seeds in right after my last frost date, which isn't that what you hear? Plant these after your last frost date. That would actually be a big mistake because after my last frost date, the soil temperature is still very, very cold. It would really stall out the growth of this cucumber. So how you check your soil temperature is you can do a very simple test just by sticking your finger into the soil. If it feels cold, it's definitely not the right time to plant your warm weather vegetables. If it feels warm and crumbly, that's a good sign that it's ready to get your cucumbers, your tomatoes, your eggplant, your peppers, or your cucumber or seeds that grow really quickly in the soil. Now the soil temperature for warm weather vegetables should be around 60 to 70 degrees in order for them to thrive. For cool weather vegetables though, it's an entirely different story. So if you're in an area where you're getting frost, the ground is still cold, you can actually get some of your cool weather vegetables planted when the soil temperature is between 40 and 50 degrees, and then the plants will really take off. Now here in Southern California, we've had some really warm weather, and look how well this lettuce is thriving here in this garden bed. The air temperatures are around 75 degrees, the soil temperatures are nice and cool, but in contrast, if I was to plant these lettuces once the soil temperature is between 70 and 80 degrees, they just wouldn't thrive. So make sure that soil temperature is correct for the type of plants that you're growing, whether they be cold weather or warm weather, and that way they'll take off and your spring garden won't be delayed by you making this big mistake. Now a good way to warm your soil and speed things up just a little bit is to lay a piece of clear plastic over your garden beds or your containers, secure it around the edges with bricks. This will warm the soil and speed things up by a couple of weeks and get your warm weather crops planted just a little bit sooner. Next, stop starting your seedlings indoors too early. Now I know, I know you're excited to get your spring garden started, but if you're in the dead of winter and your frost date is still months away, if you start your seeds too early, this is a problem. What's going to happen is your seedlings are going to get leggy and root bound, like these ones are right here. I really appreciate you watching our videos and one of the biggest ways you can help is to make sure you're a subscriber, especially if our videos are helping you out in your garden. If you start them too early, they're going to get root bound in their seed starting cells, they're going to get leggy, and if you put leggy seedlings out into the garden, yes you can save them by a certain, by doing a certain few things, however they could also be stunted and it could really delay your spring garden. So excitement to get your seed started does not equal good timing. So what you want to do is really be intentional about this. Remember our garden theme for the year, garden like you mean it, grow with intention, not perfection. You definitely want to find out your last frost date by looking at weather.com or using our garden planner to do that and then count backwards the appropriate amount of weeks according to the seedlings that you're starting. For example, if you're starting cool weather vegetables like cabbage, like broccoli, or like greens, those can typically be started indoors about four to six weeks before your last frost date and then you can plant them in the cool soil right around the time of your last frost date. If you're starting warm weather vegetables, for example, cucumbers, you really don't want to start these any more than about three to four weeks before your last frost date. You're going to have big problems with your cucumbers, they'll get leggy and root bound, and then you'll be forced to start all over again, delaying your spring garden. There are some warm weather vegetables though that you can start indoors about eight to ten weeks before your last frost date, such as eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, and a lot of your warm weather herbs. So as long as you're gauging your timing according to the vegetable that you're growing and according to your last frost date and your soil temperature, then you're going to be good to go. Now if you have started some of your seeds too early and they're starting to get leggy, first of all you want to make sure that there is only about two to three inches from the light, but sometimes eventually they do outgrow their seed cells. So what you can do is up-pot them. Now here I just up-potted some lettuce from last week's Seedling Killer video, so go back and watch that. The lettuce stems were getting super, super leggy, so what I did is I dug a deeper hole and planted them deeply in the hole to stem some extra support with extra soil. And look how well they're perking up, so you can definitely up-pot them. Usually one time is good, but two to three times they're going to get quite large if you're growing them inside. So really do try to time your seed starting with your weather and really be intentional about that, and that way you're going to have a much better start to your spring garden. And if you need seeds, we would love for you to check out We've just updated many of our seed collections with some really fun new varieties, including our most popular Spring Garden Seed Collection, which is a great one for you to get started with. 25% off with the code ThinkSpring, and we really do appreciate you supporting our small business and our seed shop. Next, stop planting your tomatoes and peppers during fake spring. The first worm spell does not mean you can plant these in the ground. What you want to do is, number one, of wait until the nights are consistently in the 50s and 60s. This is when the tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant are really going to take off. So what happens is, if you plant your peppers in cold soil before they're ready, before the soil is ready, oftentimes they're just going to sit there. And once the soil and the temperature does warm up, that's when they're going to take off. Now these peppers, I've been overwintering. They've been here all winter long. We've had a very warm winter in Southern California, and since we're still having some cold nights, these peppers are just kind of sitting here. Once the weather warms up, they will start to grow. But the problem is, sometimes they get stunted in the cold soil and then they never take off. So again, be intentional about it. We're not trying to be perfect here, but we're just trying to give our gardens the best chance we have of making it. So why not wait? Instead of slowing your garden's growth down, wait and plant them when the soil temperature and the air temperature kind of coincide, and that way they'll take off, they'll thrive from the get-go, and you're going to get harvest that much sooner. Next, stop leaving your precious seedlings unprotected. When seedlings or seeds are newly planted, they're very vulnerable to birds, to critters, to slugs, snails, and earwigs. And damage at this young stage can really cost you some time, a lot more than damage when their plants are full grown. So what I like to do is set up a tool tent when I first plant some seeds. So go back and watch our tool tent video for how I did that. But basically, tool is a very inexpensive fabric you can buy at most craft stores. It's got small little teeny tiny holes on it, it's like a netting, but it still still allows sunlight to get through, but it protects your plants when they're vulnerable from the critters. So I just drape this over this entire garden bed, and look at how nicely all these little seedlings are growing underneath it here. Now granted, we've had some wind, we've had some hot weather, so my lettuce is actually starting to bolt, but it definitely goes a long way towards protecting them, as opposed to if I didn't have it over them. It's very quick, simple, and inexpensive to install. So make sure you watch that video so that you can save yourself weeks of time, and you don't have to start completely over if your seedlings get damaged. So not only protect them from above with a tool tent, but also protect them at the ground level. I have lots of earwigs and pill bugs. In fact, when I planted these just last week, I saw a lot of those crawling around in the soil. So what I always do when I plant my seedlings, is I sprinkle down some of Monterey's Sluggo Plus. The earwigs, the pill bugs, the snails, and the slugs are attracted to this. It's a bait, they eat it, they go somewhere else to die, instead of chewing away at the base of your plants. And that way your plants can get a really good start, will grow, and then you can harvest them that much sooner, and it doesn't cost you weeks of growth. This spring garden season, I want you to garden like you mean it. Small intentional choices now can save you weeks of frustration, and get you harvest that much sooner. Which one of these are you going to stop in your garden this year? Thanks for watching, see you next time in the garden.