Garden Center at Freehold #961

Celebrate Springtime Gardening
On beautiful spring days, tidy the yard before everything blooms in earnest. Lawn care is often a priority as well. Don't forget to sweep the gazebo and clean out the shed in preparation for spring, too. No matter what outdoor projects you choose to tackle and which plants you need, you'll find that The Home Depot Garden Center in Freehold is your local plant nursery to help you enjoy your spring activities to the fullest.

Plant Hardiness Zones Explained
The first thing you should know when planting vegetables, spring flowers, and other seeds is your planting zone. Every location in the U.S. and its territories is sorted by climate. Find your zone on the USDA growing zone map and learn when to plant seeds.

For example, you could transplant bell peppers outdoors in mid-March in Zone 10, but not until the end of May in Zone 4. The plants that'll thrive in your area are in your zone — plus all the zones numbered less than that. In other words, a Zone 5 garden can support plants listed as Zones 1–5. You can plant seeds indoors roughly a month before you can plant them outside, known as direct sow. Read your seed packet for details. If you start plants later than recommended, it's not ideal, but it will likely even out as time passes.

Gardening in Your Growing Zone
In Zone 5, which includes parts of Pennsylvania as well as upstate New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, and southern Maine, your best bets for veggies will be root vegetables like beets and carrots, leafy greens including lettuce, and cruciferous veggies like broccoli and kale. You can try squash, but prepare for additional warming upkeep when late frost is forecast. Target planting dates are roughly mid-March through May 1st, depending on whether you're directly sowing them into your garden or starting your seeds indoors.

Much of Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New Jersey, Connecticut, southern New York state, and Massachusetts are in Zone 6, so planting can begin earlier there than farther north. Parts of Virginia are even warmer, coming in at Zone 7. The outdoor growing season doesn't begin until mid-March or even April, although you can plant some veggie seeds halfway through February. Squash, tomatoes, onions, peppers, cucumbers, and other classic garden crops will do well in this region, and most of them can get an early start indoors before spring really moves in.

Plant Seeds Outside With Direct Sow
Planting seeds with the direct sow method, right into the soil, is another option. There's less tending and planning than growing indoors. If you like to go with the flow, follow the instructions on your seed pouch and try it.

Your seeds might get washed away or struggle to grow, or critters or insects might eat the sprouts. But if you're really fortunate, you might get strong sprouts, perfectly spaced and ready to grow all spring. The reality of your garden will usually be somewhere in between, and spreading out tiny sprouts throughout the soil isn't so bad. You know those sprouts are primed to survive, although there are no guarantees.

Start Seeds Indoors
If you'd like more control over your seedlings' journey or you're eager to get growing, start your seeds indoors in your own plant nursery. In general, you can plant seeds indoors about a month before you can do it outside. Like direct sow, you push the seeds into the soil as directed on the seed packet, but that's where the similarities end.

You're responsible for giving them quality substitutes for sunlight and rain. Keep your seeds cozy with warming mats and grow lights, water them carefully with a mister or watering can, then thin them as they germinate in groups of three. Give them a boost with a gently blowing fan as they lengthen into sprouts if you'd like. Harden them off to get them used to outdoor conditions, then transplant them into your garden when they're big enough.

Transplant Young Plants Into Their New Homes
You've raised your baby plants from seeds, watched them sprout, and carefully hardened them off to brave Mother Nature. By now, your plants have three or four true leaves — they'll look different from the miniature seedling leaves. When you're not expecting soaking rain, and the ground is warm, look into transplanting your small plants into their new outdoor home. "Transplant" means that you put these small plants straight into pots or garden soil. In cases where you direct sowed, you may still want to shuffle plants around for the best sun and spacing. That's also a transplant situation, as is repotting plants into larger pots.

Protect Your Garden With Mulch
Finish your garden bed with mulch and compost. Mulch controls weeds and keeps your soil from drying out. Compost enriches the soil so your garden can grow even better. It may help foster stronger plants that bear more flowers and fruit. Mulch and compost can be DIY creations, but you can also purchase them in-store. The next time you're looking for "mulch near me," stop by the Garden Center to get the perfect amount.

Greet the Spring
Don't miss a minute of growing season. Plan your garden and landscaping, prepare to fertilize your lawn, and browse The Home Depot nursery to find inspiration on which spring flowers to plant when the weather warms. For those without lawns, consider adding artificial grass, a pellet grill, or an outdoor rug to your balcony or patio. Shop for the seeds, soil, and fertilizer you need in the aisles of your Freehold Garden Center, online, or on our mobile app. Let's get growing together.