Zone 5B Guilderland NY - best time and seeds to plant in new garden early

Hi everyone,
I'm new here and looking for advice and tips on how soon I can start planting a brand new garden and which seeds are best to start outside early.
Thanks for any and all advice!
Everyone have a Blessed and Beautiful day everyday!
All the best,
Gussie

Welcome to the forum!

Usually it is recommended to start seeds outside after the last frost.  Mother Nature is sometimes undependable and will spring a late frost on folks.

I always follow the instruction on my seed packet as for planting.

I would suggest starting seeds for foods that you like.

I feel that lettuce is easy and other folks on the forum feel that lettuce is hard.

I feel carrots are hard to grow though some folks feel carrots are easy to grow.  My suggestion would be to plant some flowers that pests don't like like French Marigolds or Sweet Alyssum.

Hello and welcome to permies!
I see you are zone 5 - that's pretty cold right? The earliest seeds I start outside are hardy ones like some peas, and fava beans, but here it isn't really worth sowing direct until April really. For many US areas that will be far too late! Hopefully someone from your zone will chip in with better advice.

Welcome to Permies Gussie!

I like a skip and a jump from you over in Washington County and usually wait until February to start indoor seeds like tomatoes and such. I start putting out my early outdoor seeds such as peas, spinach, and kale as soon as the ground can be worked (usually in March/April. You want to be past the worst of the frosts).

Are you planning on growing in the ground? I have found raised beds warm up a little sooner in our climate but they require a little advanced planning to put together than just breaking ground.

I rely very much on soil temperature to decide when and what to plant. 7:00 am in the morning is the suggested time to take readings as the solar gain will have cooled and the deeper soil will equalize temperature with the shallower soil. Cold stress is real, more for some plants than others, even shows up in indoor transplants, tomatoes for instance, if they get chilled. I would be very interested to hear from others here on how they get vigorous tomato transplants, mine always seem a bit spindly. They turn into decent tomatoes when put in the garden but are very wind prone early on. I have started doing a tomato volunteer area in the garden, they come up later than I would like but the vigor far surpasses that of my transplants. I like WI 55 tomatoes for my climate in western MN.

Hi Anne,
Thanks so much for your advice. I was trying to reply to you and couldn't see the little up and down arrows and accidentally gave you a thumbs down. I'm so sorry! Is there a way I can delete that thumbs down?
Thanks again and sorry!
Have a Blessed and Beautiful day everyday!
All the best,
Gussie

Anne Miller wrote:Welcome to the forum!

Usually it is recommended to start seeds outside after the last frost.  Mother Nature is sometimes undependable and will spring a late frost on folks.

I always follow the instruction on my seed packet as for planting.

I would suggest starting seeds for foods that you like.

I feel that lettuce is easy and other folks on the forum feel that lettuce is hard.

I feel carrots are hard to grow though some folks feel carrots are easy to grow.  My suggestion would be to plant some flowers that pests don't like like French Marigolds or Sweet Alyssum.

Hi Nancy,
Thanks so much for your advice! Besides peas and fava beans are there other beans and other cold hardy seeds I can direct sow that are relatively easy to grow in my area zone 5b?
Have a Blessed and Beautiful day everyday!
All the best,
Gussie

Nancy Reading wrote:Hello and welcome to permies!
I see you are zone 5 - that's pretty cold right? The earliest seeds I start outside are hardy ones like some peas, and fava beans, but here it isn't really worth sowing direct until April really. For many US areas that will be far too late! Hopefully someone from your zone will chip in with better advice.

Hi Tim,
Nice to meet you neighbor!
Thanks so much for your advice! That's great! I love peas, spinach and kale! I don't have a raised bed, though I thought about it. I want to start small and relatively easy since I'm in my sixties now with back issues!
Have a Blessed and Beautiful day everyday to you and everyone!
All the best,
Gussie

Timothy Norton wrote:Welcome to Permies Gussie!

I like a skip and a jump from you over in Washington County and usually wait until February to start indoor seeds like tomatoes and such. I start putting out my early outdoor seeds such as peas, spinach, and kale as soon as the ground can be worked (usually in March/April. You want to be past the worst of the frosts).

Are you planning on growing in the ground? I have found raised beds warm up a little sooner in our climate but they require a little advanced planning to put together than just breaking ground.

Hi Doug,
Thanks so much for your advice on checking temperature and being careful of cold stress! I'll be sure to check before I start!
You and everyone have a Blessed and Beautiful day everyday!
All the best,
Gussie

Doug McEvers wrote:I rely very much on soil temperature to decide when and what to plant. 7:00 am in the morning is the suggested time to take readings as the solar gain will have cooled and the deeper soil will equalize temperature with the shallower soil. Cold stress is real, more for some plants than others, even shows up in indoor transplants, tomatoes for instance, if they get chilled. I would be very interested to hear from others here on how they get vigorous tomato transplants, mine always seem a bit spindly. They turn into decent tomatoes when put in the garden but are very wind prone early on. I have started doing a tomato volunteer area in the garden, they come up later than I would like but the vigor far surpasses that of my transplants. I like WI 55 tomatoes for my climate in western MN.

Hi Anne,
Sorry again for accidentally giving you a thumbs down by mistake! Thanks for your advice on lettuce and carrots that you find easy to grow. Are you in a similar zone to my 5b? I'll definitely look into French Marigolds and Sweet Alyssum to deter unwanted critters.
You and everyone have a Blessed and Beautiful day everyday!
All the best,
Gussie

Anne Miller wrote:Welcome to the forum!

Usually it is recommended to start seeds outside after the last frost.  Mother Nature is sometimes undependable and will spring a late frost on folks.

I always follow the instruction on my seed packet as for planting.

I would suggest starting seeds for foods that you like.

I feel that lettuce is easy and other folks on the forum feel that lettuce is hard.

I feel carrots are hard to grow though some folks feel carrots are easy to grow.  My suggestion would be to plant some flowers that pests don't like like French Marigolds or Sweet Alyssum.