Get Ready for 2022 Spring Garden

Today, I received a question. "Can I start planting seeds now?" Hold your horses! Too soon! I have been gathering seeds and planning for the past couple of months. I am so ready to start planting seeds. I just can't wait anymore! But hold on!! Don't waste your seeds, money, and your energy... or your back! It's too cold! In our area, (North side of Pahrump) we were experiencing hard freeze for the past couple of weeks. If you plant right now, nothing will germinate! But the pigeons will thank you though... That's not what you want. 
So, here's some information that I would like to share with our Poof Dirt Farming families & friends.

First, "you must plant seeds according to the soil temperature. The soil temperatures will be approximately the average of the high and low air temperatures for the week, if the soil is in full sun. You can also use the low nighttime temperatures as your guide." (UNR Extension)

I have been logging our high and low temp to see where we are right now. For example, this week's average temp is 42.1F at our location. Almost there, but not quite... So here's the list of seeds that you can start thinking about growing in the next few weeks if everything goes well. 
Germination temperature (F) guide for Vegetable seeds:
Lettuce 40-80
Pea 40-75
Cabbage 45-95
Carrot 45-85
Cauliflower 45-85
Radish 45-90
Spinach 45-75

Now, if you have a greenhouse or thinking about starting seeds indoors, below is the list of seeds that you can start this month (January). 

Bell Peppers: 1/20 ~ 2/3
Celery:  1/20 ~ 2/3
Eggplant:  1/20 ~ 2/3
Oregano:  1/20 ~ 2/17
Rosemary:  1/20 ~ 2/3
Thyme:  1/20 ~ 2/17

I planted a lot of seeds in late fall which did not germinate in time. However, I started to notice that beets are germinating slowly but surely for the past couple of weeks. Strange things happen! 

As much as I want to plant seeds, I must wait for a while... However, you can plant flower bulbs and certain flower seeds now! At Poof Dirt Farms, we are working on installing chicken wires around the garden to keep rabbits away, laying down irrigation lines, and building trellis and structures for vine plants, building a new plot for livestock feed, etc...

What's on your agenda this month? Get ready! Spring is not too far.