Garden Center at West Cleveland #3820

The Home Depot Mother's Day Sale
The Home Depot Mother's Day Sale is the perfect time to help Mom upgrade her garden. We've got discounts on popular brands of herb plants, small plants, and those details that make a garden special: garden decor, planters, and flower pots. If you're unsure 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 online.



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

Plant Hardiness Zones Explained
The first thing you should know when planting spring flowers, veggies, 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 plant hardiness zone map and learn when to plant seeds.

For example, you could plant bell pepper seedlings 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. Always read your seed packet for details. If you start seeds a little 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 thrive in this region, and most of them can get an early jump on growing indoors before spring really moves in.

Also, check out cruciferous veggies and certain herbs 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.

Plant Seeds Outside With Direct Sow
Planting seeds with the direct sow method, right into the soil, is another option. There's less planning and tending than growing indoors. If you like to go with the flow, follow the instructions on your seed pack and try it.

Your seeds might struggle to grow or get washed away, or rodents or insects might eat the sprouts. But if you're really lucky, you might get strong sprouts, perfectly spaced and ready to grow all spring. The reality of your sown seeds will usually be somewhere in between, and spreading out tiny sprouts throughout the soil isn't so bad. You know those sprouts are hardy and primed to survive, although there are no guarantees.

Start Seeds Indoors
If you'd like more control over your seedlings' journey or you're eager to get growing, start your seeds indoors instead. In general, you can plant seeds indoors about a month before you can do it outside. Like direct sow, you push the seeds into the soil as directed on the seed packet, but that's where the similarities end.

You're responsible for giving them quality substitutes for sunlight and rain. Keep your seeds warm with heating mats and grow lights, water them carefully with a spray bottle or watering can, then thin them as they germinate in groups of three. Give them a boost with a gently blowing fan as they lengthen into sprouts if you'd like. Harden them off to get them used to outdoor conditions, then transplant them into your garden when they're big enough.

Transplant Young Plants Into Their New Homes
Carefully take your seedling out of the container. A good way to do this is to turn it upside-down or sideways and gently squeeze the plastic to break the seal. If your transplant grew in the garden, dig deeper than you think with your garden trowel and leave plenty of room around the stem. You don't want to damage the root ball. Place it into the hole you dug for it, even with the surrounding soil.

Protect Your Garden With Mulch
Finish your planting by following it with compost and mulch. Mulch controls weeds and keeps the soil moist. Compost enriches the soil so your garden can grow even better. It may help foster larger plants that bear more fruit and flowers. 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
Late winter into early spring is an exciting time in the world of gardening. Don't miss a minute of growing season. Plan your garden and landscaping, prepare to fertilize your lawn, and browse our garden center pages to find inspiration on which spring flowers to plant when the weather warms. Shop for the soil, fertilizer, and seeds you need in the aisles of your West Cleveland Garden Center, online, or on our mobile app. Let's get growing together.