seeds – A travelers odyssey

April 06, 2026

The six weeks Melissa and I were traveling occurred when I normally prepare my seeds for planting. I began last year in January planting seeds under “grow lights”. While most of the seeds sprouted, I struggled to transplant them into 3-inch (7.5 cm) pots for the next growing stage. The pots were still under the lights, but only around half of the plants developed their first double set of leaves. Even these struggled when I hardened them off (set outside for a few hours a day) to prepare them for planting in the ground. Those that made it were spindly and slow to mature compared to the other store-bought plants. I had a dilemma. My absence meant I could not take care of any indoor seeds, and my return was two weeks before the last predicted frost. We are in the central Arkansas River Valley in planting zone 7b with an average annual minimum winter temperature of 5F to 10F (-12.3C to -14.9C). This zone is generally characterized by a last frost date around April 15 and a first frost date around November 15. I have tried to use this hardiness scale when determining what and how to plant, but this year I got excited and planted early.

When I went online, I found gardeners rely on the plant-care tags affixed to the plants they buy and one of the items listed is the hardiness zone. A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature which is critical to the survival of most plants. The first hardiness zone map was published in Alfred Rehder’s 1927 book Manual of Cultivated Trees and Shrubs. Rehder and Donald Wyman, of Boston’s Arnold Arboretum, did not have the reach of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), which published its first Hardiness Zone Map in 1965. The USDA system provides a rough guide for landscaping and gardening and defines 13 zones by long-term average annual extreme minimum temperatures. Unless otherwise specified, plants in American context have a “hardiness zone” which refers to the USDA scale. The USDA-ARS, along with climate scientists at Oregon State University, has just released a new plant-hardiness map updating its 1990 Plant Hardiness Zone Map to bring it into conformity with the warming trends that have become so apparent to gardeners.

After deciding to push the hardiness scale, I began last Tuesday determining what seeds needed to go into my raised beds. These were a mix of leafy vegetables like varieties of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and spinach (Spinacia oleracea). Then I planted the first rows of beets (Beta vulgaris, artichokes (Cynara cardunculus). radishes (Raphanus sativus), peas (Pisum sativum), cauliflower (Brassica oleracea), and cabbage (Brassica oleracea). I saved space for a smaller second planting of those vegetables to prolong their production season into the early summer. After Melissa’s success with onions (Allium cepa), I decided to give them another try, planting 50 sets of red onions in the bed I had used for watermelon (Citrullus lanatus). I plan to plant cantaloupe (Cucumis melo) in this bed after I harvest the onions to let it mature in the warmth of the summer. With my seeds in the ground, I need to decide what store-bought vegetables I am going to plant this year.

THOUGHTS: While the hardiness scale warned against planting prior to April 15, my weather app provided a 10-day forecast that predicted the temps would not fall below the 40’sF (4.5+C). Last year we did have a late cold snap where the temps dropped to 30F (-1.1C) on several nights but warmed to 50’sF (10+C) during the day. I protected my plants with ground cloth and uncovered them during the warmer day. They all made it, so I felt confident I could do the same this year if needed. As in life, part of gardening involves using tools (hardiness scales and weather apps) and combining them with intuition and preventative measures. Most innovation comes when we push the boundaries and failure comes from giving up. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

April 14, 2025

It has been an odd planting season (month) this year, to say the least. It started four weeks ago when I went to the soil and mulch supply I had used for the Hügelkultur raised beds last year. I had read that the limbs and wood on the bottom layer would decay over several years and as it does, the soil will sink. At least I did not get the dreaded sink holes that can result when you do not compact the soil into the limbs well enough. I ordered two skid scoops of topsoil but could only get one in my 8×5 foot (2.4×1.5 m) trailer. I realized too late I wanted raised bed soil (a topsoil/compost mix) rather than topsoil. I put the entire scoop into the four raised beds and when I went back for the second load, I changed my order to raised bed soil. I used this to top off the raised beds and put a layer over two additional beds. Melissa is going to scatter a wildflower mix in the bed in front of the house and I was going to put squash and lettuce in the back bed I had used for last year’s three sisters (corn, beans, squash). I misjudged the amount of work this was going to take. After two long afternoons the soil was finally laid down. I breathed a sigh of relief and said, “It’s In”.

When I looked online, I found the Old Farmer’s Almanac says the average last frost date for USDA hardiness zone 7a is between March 22 and April 3. It is Generally safe to plant most garden vegetables after this period, but you need to check local weather forecasts for potential late frosts. We got excited and went to the plant nursery during the last weekend of March and got some great deals on six packs of peppers (Capsicum annuum), tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum), and squash (Cucurbita pepo). I was prepared to put them in the following Monday, but the weather person said there was a “possibility” of one of two frost days (they were right). We put the plants on the porch with Melissa’s succulents where they could get sun and be out of the cold. Melissa was countering the humidity for her succulents, so the fan was running 24/7. The veggies did not like the fan and dried out quickly. We brought them into the house and Melissa babied them. Finally last week I was ready to take the risk and put them all in the ground along with the radish (Raphanus sativus), carrot (Daucus carota), beet (Beta vulgaris) seeds, and a hill each of cantaloupe (Cucumis melo) and watermelon (Citrullus lanatus). I breathed a sigh of relief and said, “It’s In”.

I had worried as I planted the veggies last Monday as several were looking poorly. I mulched and watered them for several days before I bought replacements and replanted five. As the week went on several more withered and died. I removed the store plants and planted seed for several straight necked squash and cucumbers (Cucumis sativus). As I watered this morning, I faced the dilemma of what to do with three tomatoes and two bell peppers that were struggling. It was iffy whether they would survive and if I waited to act it would probably be too late for seed before the summer heat. I went back to the co-op and found a six pack of Cherokee purple tomatoes and two single peppers. That meant I had more plants than planters, but the six pack was the same price as one single (I needed two). I ended up placing two of the tomatoes in the back bed with the squash and found another container for the third. I breathed a sigh of relief and said, “It’s In”.

THOUGHTS: Each time I said, “It’s In”, I thought the job was over. While I could have left the empty containers and garden spaces I was unwilling to do so. I had already invested too much time and energy to quit when I was so close to completing my planting. I did tell Melissa after finishing today that I was not going to buy any more plants. If any fail now their spaces will be reserved for my summer/fall planting. In gardening and life, you need to be willing to overcome initial setbacks. You also need to know when it is time to change strategies and tactics. Doing the same thing and expecting different results rarely works. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.