Seed-Starting Tips for Southern California

It ’s April , and as the soil starts to warm up up after wintertime , it ’s time to get your vegetable seeds planted . The tricky question is when to plant . The Los Angeles region alone has over eight different Sunset zone , not including the San Diego and Santa Barbara area . Since most seed packet boat are written for cold mood , it is exceedingly difficult to picture out the best time to plant in our region . Here are some tips and tricks to use to find out when to implant your seed .

1. Many of what are considered spring veggies are actually winter veggies in Southern California.

April is a good sentence to look at starting summer crops from seed or else , like summertime squash , sunflowers , St. Basil the Great , pepper , Lycopersicon esculentum , and beans . Vegetables such as lettuce and peas are better sow in in gloaming for wintertime crop .

2. Ignore the seed packet.

The timing on the come packet is untimely , unless the seed company has a description for warm clime . ( Renee ’s Garden Seedsis one exception that actually provides seed start out dates for quick climates . ) Also , consider buying seed topically . If you buy seeds online , try seed vendors that are in California , because they loosely farm varieties better suit to our mood , and they should have them for sales agreement at the correct prison term of year . If you buy seeds in person , try a small local nursery rather than a foodstuff store or computer hardware store , because the folk there are more likely to be able-bodied to tell you what seminal fluid should be set in your specific area of California , and at what time .

3. To decide when to plant, take a look at the thermometer and weather predictions.

Seeds wo n’t sprout well below 60 ° F , and their optimal germination temperature is around 80 ° degree Fahrenheit . However , in our dry climate , I recommend start earlier , closer to the 60 ° F to 70 ° F mark , because the breeze gets very dry as it warms up , and the lack of moisture will make it hard to start seed unless you irrigate every 24-hour interval . In the interior zones , where the weather is colder at night and dryer overall , it is sometimes light to get a head start by starting seeds indoors in a cheery window or under grow lights .

4. Don’t plant all your seeds at once.

Try staggered plantings , every two weeks or so . This gives you a well opportunity of winner , as well as the possible action to have a longer harvest home time of year regardless of weather , especially with things such as ascendant veggie , where you harvest the whole works and therefore do not get extra yields .

Rachel Young is the former Director of Horticulture and Garden Operations at Descanso Gardens in La Cañada , California .

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