READ my guide to seed starting HERE.

When do I transplant my container-grown seedlings?  This guide is for starting from seed. Starting your seeds in pots or pellets can give you a head start on growing without taking up room in the garden. The time to transplant varies from plant to plant…also with how much room you have in the garden. You’ll watch them outgrow their pots, and decide if it is time to put in the garden or transfer to a larger pot.

Where to put my seedlings while growing? : If starting for Spring, it is usually best to start your seeds indoors or in a greenhouse. Sometimes the weather cooperates and I can start my seeds outdoors during the day and then bring them indoors for shelter at night. If starting any other time of year where it is generally warm outside, the ideal place to raise seedlings is in a partially shaded area, outdoors, with NO hot afternoon sun. If birds or pests are going to be a problem, you can start them in a sunny windowsill indoors until they are more established or cover the seedlings with screen or mesh.

2022 update: I actually used an indoor grow light setup for the first time this Winter/Spring! If you want to see it, check out my Garage Seed Starting Setup

Where can I buy high-quality seeds? See my list of seed sources

Bare root planting! Visions in my head of climbing roses and delicate fruit blossoms! January can be one of our coolest months of the entire year which means it is perfect for getting outside and doing some pretty strenuous garden tasks (remember, zone 10b doesn’t really freeze or get snow). For all us Southern California gardeners, it’s time to plant your bare root trees and shrubs. It’s also time for pruning your existing fruit trees. I truly enjoy gardening this time of year. In fact, back in 2016, this was the month that we built our very first raised bed garden. Cheers to a new year!

This month I continue many of the gardening tasks from January. Planning the garden, purchasing any bare root plants, or finishing the pruning of our fruit trees to prep for Spring. 

This time of year is all about watching the weather. Last year, I tried pushing the limits on seed starting, a cold front came in suddenly, and many of my seedlings became stunted. Pay close attention to the weather and keep up on my newsletter and website for tips on seed starting.

Depending on weather, April might be more ideal than March for starting those heat-loving summer vegetables. As always, pay attention to weather predictions and plant accordingly.

May is a great time to catch up on sowing any plants you realize you forgot! It’s also nice and warm for direct sowing a lot of heat loving vegetables, like the ones on this list HERE.

June is a beautiful time in the garden—quite possibly the most beautiful. Everything is growing. The sweet peas are on their last flush, the roses have graced the garden with their perfume, and the summer vegetables are truly teasing us with anticipation. It’s easy to get distracted and stop sowing seeds. While I don’t consider this month a major seed sowing month, I do like to keep up on my succession sowing or quickly start any vegetables I might have forgotten.

Maybe take a little break and enjoy all your hard work. The summer garden is bountiful, and the temperatures are too hot during the day to do much gardening. Besides, some succession sowing, I keep it pretty simple in July. 

You are probably thinking ‘it’s too early to be starting any cool season crops!’ Well, let me share my experience from previous years: I used to start most of my Fall seeds on Labor Day weekend—things like heading brassicas, sweet peas, artichokes, etc. Overall, that turned out to be excellent timing for everything EXCEPT my broccoli, romanesco, and cauliflower.

Brassicas that form heads need a period of cold to grow properly. The idea is to get the plants big enough that, by the time cold hits our zone, they will be ready to form beautiful heads! Therefore, I like to start those vegetables in August.

Herbs:

parsley

basil

You can use this opportunity to start some “second wave” summer plants. Since our summer temps last well into October, many of these plants will still be able to produce.

We have made it! This is the major push for starting cool season crops from seed. Last year I started peas of all kinds, leeks, calendula, asian greens, kale, cabbages, and lettuces (only ones that form heads) at this time and was so pleased with the results. In fact, the only thing I would change is to start MORE. I had forgotten some vital veggies like bok choy.

cornflowers (bachelor button)

sweet pea flowers *transplant in october

calendula

chamomile *started September 26th, did well.

stock

pansies 

herbs:

cilantro

dill

parsley

chives

 

CHECK OUT my Fall & Winter Gardening Guide

October is filled with so many cool seeds. First off, I sow my fava beans directly in the soil (for some reason I don’t have issues with them and bugs) at the beginning of the month. Second, it is garlic planting month!!!

October 20, 2020 I planted out ranunculus corms, daffodil bulbs, and anemone corms undeground. They bloomed beautifully! Get the guide -> HERE.

Fall sow poppy seeds for early Spring bloom.

 

This is when I usually heave a sigh of relief. There is no more major seed starting, the garlic is in the ground, and the weather starts to cool down. We are well on our way to being able to sit back and enjoy the Winter garden. As things slow down, I start to let my imagination run wild—dreaming of next Spring’s garden plans.

November is the month of direct sowing. *remember my notes on direct sowing above*

Last December brought some refreshing rain. One of my favorite things to do is watch all the delicious greens dripping in raindrops. This time of year I usually start immersing myself in seed catalogs and planning the Spring garden. Most of the gardening tasks involve cleaning and ordering. Last year I did start my pansies inside during this month, and they performed so well for Spring that I decided I would do it again.