If you haven’t already, it’s time to start thinking about your garden! Avid gardeners know this already, but many plants need to be sown indoors before planting them outdoors. Why? Well, because many of the things we like to eat are not indigenous to the US. They come from other parts of the world where there is more sunlight and growing seasons are longer. The perfect example of this are tomatoes. They come from Central and South America. If you wait until the ground gets warm enough to plant them in the US as far south as Oklahoma, they will take so long to grow that the first frost will likely kill them. The same is true of many flowers. The solution is to start growing them indoors, then transfer the plants outside when the weather warms up.
The question is . . . which plants need to be started inside, and which can you wait until the ground warms up? Well, this depends upon where you live. Different regions have different planting schedules. If you live in Middle Tennessee, you’re in Zone 7. To make it easy, we have made a schedule for you of the most popular fruits and vegetables, when to sow them indoors and when to plant outside. NOTE: Cabbage and many flowers need to be sown indoors in January! So if you’re serious about planting them, you need to do it in the NEXT THREE DAYS. If you don’t know how to sow plants indoors, check out this post which tells you everything you need to know: Spring gardening made easy
Frost dates
The most important thing to know is when the average first and last frost dates are. For Middle Tennessee, these are:
Average Last Frost: March 15
Average First Frost: October 15
Vegetables
| Vegetable | When to Sow inside | When to plant outside | |||||||||
| Artichokes | Last two weeks of February | April | |||||||||
| Broccoli | February | March 15 through end of April | |||||||||
| Cabbage | January | Second week of February through second week of March | |||||||||
| Cauliflower | February | March 15 through end of April | |||||||||
| Celery | Last week of January through first two weeks of February | March and first week of April | |||||||||
| Eggplants | Last week of January through third week of April | March 15 through first week of May | |||||||||
| Bell Peppers | Last week of January through third week of April | Last week of March through first two weeks of June | |||||||||
| Tomatoes | February 20th through May 20th | Last week of March through first two weeks of June | |||||||||
Flowers
| Flower | When to Sow inside | When to plant outside | |||||||
| Aster | Last two weeks of February | March 15 through end of April | |||||||
| Begonias | January | March 15 through end of April | |||||||
| Blue eyed daisies | January | March 15 through end of April | |||||||
| Calendula | January | March 15 through end of April | |||||||
| Chrysanthemum | Last two weeks of January through first two weeks of February | March 15 through end of April | |||||||
| Cornflower | January | March 15 through end of April | |||||||
| Dahlias | February | March 15 through third week of April | |||||||
| Daisies | Last two weeks of January through end of February | March 15 through end of April | |||||||
| Four O’Clocks | Last two weeks of February through first two weeks of March | March 15 through end of April | |||||||
| Geranimum | January | March 15 through end of April | |||||||
| Impatiens | January | March 15 through end of April | |||||||
| Marigolds | February through first two weeks of March | March 15 through end of April | |||||||
| Morning Glories | February | March 15 through end of April | |||||||
| Nasturtium | February | March 15 through end of April | |||||||
| Pansies | January | March through first week of June | |||||||
| Petunias | January | March 15 through end of April | |||||||
| Phlox | January | March 15 through end of April | |||||||
| Snapdragon | January | March 15 through end of April | |||||||
| Stock | January | March 15 through end of April | |||||||
| Verbenas | Last two weeks of February through first two weeks of March | March 15 through end of April | |||||||