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Planting times for garden vegetables is not as easy to determine as it might seem. When is the best time to plant the vegetable garden is the reoccurring question that circulates around gardening circles everywhere. The answers vary because it depends on the specifics of the area a person lives in within the planting zone, when the soil warms up, the average date of the last frost, and the pH balance of the soil to be planted. When these elements align in the proper configuration, the planting times for garden vegetables has arrived.
The United States Department of Agriculture publishes a climate zone chart that is very useful in determining the plant hardiness index because it is based on the winter minimum temperatures. It is not accurate for determining planting times. The best example of the USDA Climate Zone's drawback is the fact that it has the Olympic rain forest in the same zone as the Sonoran Desert! Rainfall patterns, humidity, summer highs, and length of the growing season are all important factors on what and when plants will grow in an area.
A further breakdown of those same factors needs to be applied to the specific planting location. Individuals living in a geothermal area will find they can up the planting times for garden vegetables by several weeks of the suggested planting times for garden vegetables listed on the seed packages. The soil is warmer than even that of the property not on the warm side of the divide. If the area to be planted is protected from winds and pounding rains, the planting times for garden vegetables can be earlier also. Another consideration is the pH requirements of the garden vegetables to be grown.
Testing and adjusting your soil to achieve the proper pH balance for the vegetable to be grown needs to be factored in to the planting time schedule.
Knowing the average length of the growing season for your specific area is one piece of information needed when deciding what seeds or vegetable plants to buy. Each seed package has the days to maturity printed on it, along with the seed planting depth, spacing, and suggested planting times for the garden vegetable. Calculate backwards from the first frost date for the location to determine if the growing season will be long enough for the garden vegetable you are considering planting. If the growing season is long enough, you will also have the planting times for garden vegetables of that variety for the garden. Finally, the pH requirements of the vegetable you are wanting to plant must be taken into account. Test the soil and make whatever adjustments required to meet the plants needs.
Figuring out the planting times for garden vegetables is a little more complex than looking on the package or a gardening book; but, once you know the details of your particular planting location, you will find your choices are easier to make and the results are rewarding.
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Author Bio Box: Patricia Wainwright
Get all the facts about vegetable gardening and gardening articles at GreenThumbArticles.com!
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