when is the proper time to start a vegetable garden?

Answer 1

Don't plant outside until after the last expected frost date for your area. You can start seeds inside several weeks before that, then transplant them to your garden after the last frost date though.

Answer 2

First off, go here and figure out what zone you are:

(USDA Zone Map)
http://mgonline.com/zone_map.gif

Here is a list of the "Frost Free" dates by Zone:

Last Expected Frost Dates by Zone

Zone 1: June1 - June 30
Zone 2: May 1 - May 31
Zone 3: May 1 - May31
Zone 4: May 1 - May31
Zone 5: March 30 - April30
Zone 6: March 30 - April30
Zone 7: March 30 - April30
Zone 8: February 28 - March 30
Zone 9: January 30 - February 28
Zone 10: January 1 - January 31
Zone 11 Frost Free Year Round

Now you want to check by veggies when to start each one. Most seed packets will say to start them x-weeks before/after the frost day. So just follow the directions. If you can't find the info on the pack, which is very rare, here is a really great worksheet for starting your seeds indoors to help you through this process:

http://vric.ucdavis.edu/veginfo/commodity/garden/springseedschedule.pdf

Answer 3

Any time! A terrifically helpful book will tell you just about everything you need to know:-
'Growing Vegetables by' Joy Larkcom.
There is always SOMETHING you can grow at any time of the year wherever you are unless under permafrost.
If in UK, go to your nearest allotment and look and ask questions!
Conditions each plant needs varies - the seed packet tells you quite a lot.
You can buy veg plants already started off from Garden Centres, but from seed on a window sill is more fun and rewarding and less costly.
The Royal Horticultural Society has a great site (among many gardening ones) - listed below.

Answer 4

No time like the present. There is more to gardening than planting seeds at the correct time for your zone. I garden 365 days a year and I live in the Dakotas where the ground is frozen for half that. Planning is the name of the game. Do your research well in advance, these forums will only slow you down once you have your butt in the air planting seed. RScott

Answer 5

Outdoors, it depends on the type of vegetable, expected time of the vegetable ripening, the weather & what zone you're in.

Cool season plants like lettuce can be started in early spring or in the cooler fall months, but not in the heat of summer because they won't grow well.

If planting tender crops in a zone that has frosts, the planting begins after the last frost date... unless there are provisions made to protect the crop.
Consideration also has to be made of how long the plant needs to develop so it won't get killed by frost before it has developed.

If you're planting in a frost free zone, I would think you can plant anytime under the right conditions.
If you have a greenhouse...you can control most of the conditions & plant anytime & pretty much in any zone ;)

I have been able to continue the growth of carrots & harvested them in the winter in soil next to the warmth of my house in zone 5.

Indoors many root crops can be forced for winter eating. Celeriac will regrow in spring if over-wintered outdoors. But you can also sprout celeriac on a sunny windowsill by half burying it in a pot of damp sand. The tender, leafy shoots that appear will flavor soups or stew. This works with beets (which produce tender fresh greens) and even with cabbage. When you harvest your cabbages in the fall, pull them up with the stem and roots intact and store them in a root cellar or other cool place. (Some say they keep better with their roots on anyway.) After you've eaten a cabbage head, plant the long stem in a sand-filled pot with the roots firmly buried ... little cabbage leaves will sprout all along the stem & can be used in salads.
http://www.kitchengardenseeds.com/tips.html
Good luck! Hope this helps.

Answer 6

Its particularly frustrating to assert without understanding what city and state you reside yet here in Kentucky maximum individuals use a tractor or tiller to plow up the backyard spot or section first. in no way considered everybody use straw until they have been planting grass seed. this is what I recommend. a million: until, or plow backyard spot 2: rake dirt gently throughout the time of backyard section 3: Make rows on your vegetation with a backyard hoe and mark rows 4: Plant seeds in accordance to instructions on packet. 5: Water properly 6: After a pair of weeks you will start to work out growth 7: Use the hoe to cut out weeds and grass that starts off to boost around your crop, only be careful you do not chop down your vegetation whilst doing this. 8: harvest crop and be proud

Answer 7

In spring after the danger of last frost.

Answer 8

early spring. after the frost.