It has been an intense winter here in upstate New York—the first truly hard winter we’ve seen in many years. So far, we’ve endured several good-sized snowstorms, long stretches of bitter cold, and the usual seemingly endless cloudy days. But there is hope. We’re now in the first week of February, the days are slowly getting longer, and before we know it, we’ll be back in the garden growing healthy food for our families.
This blog series will serve as a weekly calendar check-in to help you plan for a successful gardening season.
For this series, I’ll be using the planting calendar for the Mohawk Valley, where the average last frost date falls in the second week of May. If you’re farther north (hello, Old Forge!) or at a higher elevation, such as West Winfield, you’ll want to check your last frost date to adjust your planting calendar.
With snow still deep on the ground, our focus for now will be on indoor tasks that prepare us for the growing season ahead.
Inventory Your Seeds
If you’ve been gardening for any length of time, chances are you have a cardboard box—or several—filled with seed packets from previous years. Now is the time to go through them. Sort seeds by type, the year they were packed, and how much you’ll need this season. When stored properly in a cool, dry place (ideally around 50°F with 50% humidity), many seeds will last several years, though some are only viable for a year or two.
Perform a Seed Viability Test
For seeds that are more than two years old, we recommend doing a seed viability test to ensure good results. This simple test involves taking 10 seeds from a packet, placing them in a damp paper towel, putting them in a zip lock bag and keeping them in a warm place. Most seeds will sprout after no more than a week. At that time, count how many seeds sprout out of your group. If seven out of ten seeds sprout, you have a 70% viability rate—meaning you’ll want to plant extra seeds to compensate. Any seeds with a viability rate below 50% should be discarded.
Order Seeds
Now is also a great time to browse your favorite seed company catalogs or websites. The beautiful photos are a great cure for the winter blues and will help ensure you get the varieties you want before they sell out.
That’s it for this week. Next week, we’ll begin reviewing how to start seeds indoors and share more garden preparation tips.