Time to Get Planting! Tips and Tricks

Samantha Zale

Now that spring is in full swing, we can start getting plants into the ground for the growing season! Don’t forget, if you ever have any questions getting started with your garden and especially with watering needs, visit your garden center to pick the brains of those folks. At this point, our garden beds should be amended and ready to go. Also, have your fertilizers and root stimulators standing by.

One of the most useful steps before you even start to dig holes is drawing a map, basically a layout, of the space with the approximate locations of the plants. This provides you with a couple of things. First, it gives you a good visual for space needed between plants. Most of the time on plant labels there will be some dimensions that give the plant the right amount of space from its neighbor. Paying attention to spacing is important because it reduces the risk of pests and diseases, especially in edible gardens. The second thing the map does is it gives you a reference for later on in the season when those labels that we put in the ground next to the plant have decided to disappear. Besides the labels that often come with the plant, there are many styles of labels on the market, from basic plastic ones that can be written on, to more durable decorative options. Don’t be intimidated about drawing a map of your garden, it can be super simple. Something as small as a 3x5” notebook can work just fine for these purposes.

One important detail to remember when shopping for plants is to pay attention to how much sun the space will get throughout the day so the appropriate plant can be purchased. Also look for other things around the space that may impede sunlight. For example, the southern side of your house will typically see the most sun throughout the year, along with the west side in the summer months. Now, if there is a large tree nearby that may block out the intensity of the sun a bit and it would no longer be considered full sun, it’s just something to keep an eye out for. Generally things like tomatoes, peppers and petunias need full sun, which means 8+ hours a day. Annuals, like impatiens, and perennials, like Heuchera, need more shade, 4 hours or less of direct sun. If shade plants were to see sun, ideally it would be either earlier in the morning or later in the evening only for a couple hours at a time, that is when the sun is the least intense.

Now that it’s time to get planting, we can take a quick look at some highlights that should be getting started at this point. Edibles- after the last frost of the season, it’s time to get those tomatoes and peppers in the ground, along with herbs, berries, beans, squash & eggplant. Cool season crops like lettuce and kale may have a few weeks or more in them, but they will start to fizzle out when the weather heats up. The same for annuals like pansies, which can be switched out for impatiens and vinca in shady areas, petunias, zinnias, daisies or other of the countless options of sun-loving annuals. One thing to keep in mind if the goal is to grow veggies from seed for the fall season, those seeds will typically need to be started by the end of July to be ready to transplant to the ground by mid to late August.

If we are looking to get vegetables like tomatoes and peppers, why do we need to worry about pollinator plants? Pollinator plants help to support pollinator populations by incorporating Missouri natives back into our landscape. These plants are the back bones of wildlife gardening, as they attract beneficial wildlife, while adding beauty and function to our outdoor spaces. Bringing in pollinators to your garden is super important for our ecosystems and to help us get those tasty tomatoes and peppers at the end of the process. Bee Balm and Salvia are popular pollinator plants to name a few! Now, it’s time to get out there and get those gardens planted!