LANCASTER, Pa. — You may have spring fever this week thanks to well-above normal temperatures.
While spring is right around the corner, it’s still too early to start planting your gardens. However, this is the perfect time to start planning what you’re going to do this year.
Christa Shoreman is the Master Gardener program coordinator with Penn State Extension in Lancaster. She says once she gets through the holidays, she starts taking an inventory of her seeds and what she needs for the upcoming growing season.
“This is a great time of year to look at your space, figure out exactly what you think you’d like to do, and then seed shopping is so much fun right now,” she said.
Seed packets often come with more than enough for someone’s garden. Shoreman suggests teaming up with friends to share the wealth as you’re getting ready to plan.
She also advises creating a map of your space to plan out what plants and vegetables go where. That way, you know exactly how much to buy and don’t overspend.
When it comes to actually planting later this season, the back of your seed packet often has a wealth of information.
“You want to look for things like the amount of space between the seeds. You want to look for something called the germination temperature,” Shoreman told FOX43. “You want to look for how long from the time you put the seed in the ground to how many days it will be or months until you can pick whatever it is or you expect flowers, and it will also help you know height and width so things aren’t too crowded.”
When you’re looking for things to plant, it’s important to note that our region’s hardiness zone was recently changed from 6b to 7a, which can change some things we’re able to grow due to our temperatures trending warmer.
Other tasks you can do now to set yourself up for success include cleaning any pots or supports from years past to prevent disease.
If you need assistance when it comes to gardening, finding native plants or getting a soil analysis done, Penn State Extension offers plenty of resources for people. You can sign up for webinars, find articles or get in contact with your local master gardeners via their website. Every county in Pennsylvania has a branch from Penn State Extension, and it is free for people to reach out to as they grow their gardens.
If this is your first year getting a garden together, Shoreman says to enjoy it and all the learning that comes with it.
“I would say just get started. Try not to be paralyzed by what you don’t know. There’s a lot of great opportunities,” she said.