Chicago Gardening: How Soon Can We Plant?

It’s officially spring, and although the big box stores have had us primed for the season since the holidays, now really is the perfect time to begin thinking about Chicago gardening activities.

Those who plan to do some major outdoor overhauls this year have probably (hopefully!) already contacted some landscapers to begin design work. Those who are looking to add just a little something to their outdoor spaces may be researching what they want to grow. If you’re getting antsy for outdoor gardening, this is a perfect time consider planting seeds indoors, assuming you have decent light inside your home or are willing to set up a grow light configuration somewhere.

But first…!  It’s important to figure out when to seed based on when you can safely transplant outdoors.

Chicago Gardening: Start Indoors!

To give you an overview of what kinds of vegetables you may be able to incorporate in your Chicago gardening routine, take a look at this Chicago-area Zone 5 Planting Guide we’ve created for you. You’ll find 31 of the most commonly grown vegetables in our area. The guide, based on average planting instructions, will give you an idea of:

1. Which vegetables you can start seeding indoors and when
2. Which seeds are directly sown outdoors
3. When you might expect to harvest your vegetables

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Keep in mind that this chart serves as a guide. Different seed companies with different varieties of vegetables will vary in their planting directions, but overall you’ll get a great idea of what to plant and when as you look over the chart. It’s still not too early (or too late) to get going with these plants.

Even if you’ve never raised vegetables, I encourage you to experiment a little with planting items from seed. You might be surprised at the results, and you may equally enjoy watching your little seedling grow indoors during our typically chilly spring weather. And even if you don’t have garden space, many vegetables can be grown in containers.

What You’ll Need

To get started, you’ll need seeds, planting or potting soil and something to plant in, like seed trays. Oh, and water. 🙂

1. SEEDS: You can buy your seeds from your local nursery or gardening center, or look around online if you are especially particular about your seeds. Most garden centers carry non-GMO as well as “regular” seeds, but if you don’t find what you’re looking for, try a search online. You’ll find plenty of suppliers, like Eden Brothers, Annie’s Heirloom Seeds – or check out this article on “The 10 Best Seed Companies for Heirloom and Non-GMO Seeds” (from Small Footprint Family). Seed packs usually range from $1-plus change to several dollars a packet. Nearly all less than $5.
2. PLANTING SOIL: Again, you can buy “regular” potting soil or organic, and can probably get either at your local gardening center. If you don’t have the time, Amazon has both types of soil, as do most of the online gardening stores. You’ll probably spend about $4-10 for soil.
3. SEED TRAYS: You don’t need to get fancy with seed trays. You can get some decent seed trays with biodegradable peat pots for $5-8 or so at Lowes. These trays have a plastic lid to get your soil moist and have 50 spaces for seed starts.
4. WATER

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For as little as about $12, you can get started with something that may prove to be an amazing pleasure to you.

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Let us know on Facebook if you decide to try your hand at starting your plants from seed indoors. We’d love to see some pictures of your project!