As soon as the weather becomes warmer and the days are lengthened with more opportunity, all I want to do is till my soil and start something new. But if I have learned one thing from spring it is that natural transitions take time. Even though the days can be 60 degrees, the nights can still freeze. And frost is not kind to seedlings.
The health and bounty of the harvest is so much greater when I take time to prepare and tend my soil. Soil in the winter is actively resting. Spring is it's time to wake up and prepare for the season of production ahead.
So when soil is ready for planting ? Most vegetables need the soil temperature to be at least 50 degrees or higher. Beans and tomatoes want it to be closer to 60 degrees!
Here is another good resource. The Seattle Growing Guide is part of the P-Patch effort and is a great visual.
For now, I'll keep my seedlings in their greenhouse and get my outside fix by planting pansies and kale.
