Garden Center at Medina #3833

Gardening Sale for Mother's Day
Our Mother's Day Sale is a great time to help Mom upgrade her garden. We've got discounts on popular brands of herb plants, decorative plants, and those details that make a garden special: flower pots, planters, and garden decor. If you're not sure of the right present when searching for Mother's Day gifts, a gift card always works. Shop The Home Depot Mother's Day Gardening Gifts Sale from May 2nd to May 12th in-store or on our mobile app.



It's time to start thinking of spring. We're here to help you prepare for sprouts poking up, fragrant breezes, and warmer temperatures. Planting seeds indoors with grow lights means you'll be ready to transplant young veggie plants and spring flowers when the ground thaws and the frosts are through. You might even want to directly plant seeds into the earth.

Plant Hardiness Zones Explained
The first thing you should know when planting spring flowers, vegetables, and other seeds is your planting zone. Every location in the U.S. and its territories is sorted by climate. Find your zone on the USDA zone map and learn when to plant seeds.

For example, you could transplant bell peppers outdoors in mid-March in Zone 10, but not until the end of May in Zone 4. The plants that'll thrive in your area are in your zone, and all the zones numbered less than that. In other words, a Zone 6 garden can support plants listed as Zones 1–6. You can plant seeds indoors roughly a month before you can plant them outside, or direct sow. Be sure to read your seed packet for details. If you start seeds later than recommended, it's not ideal, but it will likely even out as time passes.

Gardening in Your Growing Zone
The Midwest is mostly Zones 6 and 7 throughout Indiana, Michigan, and Kentucky. You’ll find pockets of Zone 5 and stretches of Zone 4 in the Upper Peninsula. In Zones 5 and 6, the outdoor growing season doesn’t begin here until mid-March or even April, although you can plant some veggie seeds halfway through February. Warmer Zone 7 can start planting earlier, and Zone 4 much later on. Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, and other classic garden crops will do well in this region, and most of them can get an early jump on growing indoors before spring really moves in.

Also, check out certain herbs and cruciferous veggies if you're ready to get planting. This includes kale, broccoli, and cabbage. Greens like spinach, artichokes, and fragrant herbs, including basil, parsley, and oregano, also don't mind an early start. The main concern is waiting until the frost has passed for the season, so planting seeds outdoors as direct sow is later here compared to farther south.

Start Seeds Indoors
You can save money and gain the satisfaction of growing your garden from seeds by starting them indoors. We've got all the seed starter supplies you'll need. For best results, you'll want warming lights or a warming mat to go with your seed tray or planter pots. If you're planting a larger garden, use seed trays — like the ones you see sprouts in at your Medina Garden Center — to make it easy to stay organized and plant tiny soil plugs later. You can also use pots with seed starter mix and potting soil.

Measure your finger to use it as a ruler. In general, you'll plant 3–5 seeds, then press them into the soil to the depth you need with your finger. Mark where you planted the seeds with a toothpick or plant tag. That way, you'll know where your seeds should pop up. Otherwise, it'll be a surprise when the sprouts push out of the soil.

Sprouts
Prepare your seed sprouts for outdoor life while they're still indoors. These micro-seedlings are fragile — only an inch or so high, with the tiniest seedling leaf or two — but they're resilient. Seedlings don't get all this pampering in nature when they volunteer and grow wherever they please, so they can handle more than you think. However, don't go overboard, as your sprouts are still babies. You can even use an oscillating floor fan on low to mimic the wind and strengthen their stems.

Harden Your Seedlings
When you're hardening your sprouts and gradually introducing them to the outdoors, be flexible. Keep an eye on your baby plants. Bring them inside or move them to a shady spot if they're looking rough. As always, make sure they're watered enough but not drowning. Take wilted plants inside and give them a good drink, making sure they're healthy before setting them outdoors again.

Transplant Young Plants Into Their New Homes
You've raised your baby plants from seeds, watched them sprout, and carefully hardened them off to brave Mother Nature. By now, your plants have 3 or 4 true leaves — they'll look different from the miniature seedling leaves. When you're not expecting soaking rain, and the ground is warm, look into transplanting your small plants into their new outdoor home. These large seedlings that are ready to be planted can also be called "transplants" or sometimes "starts." In cases where you direct sowed, you may still want to shuffle plants around for the best sun and spacing. That's also a transplant situation, as is repotting plants into larger pots.

Protect Your Garden With Mulch
Finish off your garden with compost and mulch. Compost enriches the soil so your garden can grow even better. It may help foster stronger and larger plants that bear more flowers and fruit. Mulch keeps your soil from drying out and controls weeds. Mulch and compost can be purchased in-store or created at home. The next time you're looking for "mulch near me," stop by the Garden Center to get the perfect amount.

Greet the Spring
Early spring is an exciting time in the world of gardening. Don't miss a minute of growing season. Prepare to fertilize your lawn, plan your garden and landscaping, and browse our garden center pages to find inspiration on what to plant when the weather warms. Shop for the seeds, fertilizer, and soil you need in the aisles of your Medina Garden Center, online, or on our mobile app. Let's get growing together.