It's Never Too Early

To start planning your vegetable garden, that is. Although tempting, I don't recommend waiting until the last frost to decide what you'll plant and where you'll plant it. If you have never planted a seed before in your life this is especially important. Over the last couple of years I've noticed that waiting too long to purchase your seeds may result in not getting what you want. I think in part this is due to the economy (people trying to save on food bills) as well as many more people trying to become "green". You can of course order seeds online, but be prepared for the shipping costs to exceed the price of the seeds. If you are a first time vegetable gardener going to the store in late Feb. will be perfectly fine for you to obtain a wide variety of seeds to try. Here in the Mt. Vernon Ohio area are a few of the places I like to get seeds.

1. Glass Garden Greenhouse
2. Country Colors Greenhouse
3. Mt. Vernon Hardware
4. G.R. Smith's Hardware

And of course a host of large chain stores as well. Here are some online places I've ordered from and have been happy with both the variety and service.

1. Burpee Seeds
2. Nichols Garden Nursery
3. Totally Tomatoes

If this will be your first season growing vegetables I suggest getting 3 or 4 different vegetable seeds to try. You may find out you love gardening or you hate it. If you get only a few packets to try you'll still gain plenty of experience and plenty of vegetables! If you've spent many seasons gardening like myself, try some new varieties!! Every year I try several new chili pepper seeds (because these are my favorites!). So go order your seeds and next we'll tackle how to plant them, crop placement, fertilizing and much more!!