Ask a Master Gardener

Planting Dates

3/28/21

In this week’s Ask a Master Gardener article we are going to discuss one question, and it’s one question we get thousands of times: “Is it too early to plant vegetable transplants?” It’s a question that usually starts to pop up in mid-February and continues throughout March.

It seems like, as gardeners, we all have a common malady: we want to get our plants in the ground and our gardens started as soon as possible. It makes sense. Gardening is something that, once it gets in your blood, you just can’t wait to do it again. There’s just something about planting a plant, taking care of it, defending it against attack from disease and pests, and then getting to enjoy the benefits of your efforts. If you are growing flowers, you get to enjoy the beauty of the flowers, butterflies, and bees. And, if it is a vegetable garden, you get to enjoy delicious, healthy, home-grown produce. Either way, it’s a win.

It’s kind of like basketball’s Big Dance, or the playoffs. It’s something we have been preparing for for months and now it’s game on. So, naturally we want to get back in the game as soon as we can, but there’s this pesky little unknown at play: the last freeze date. And it’s a problem because if we plant early and then get a freeze, our garden will be lost or at least damaged. While nobody wants that to happen, we do seem to have an inclination to test fate each year by wanting to plant before we know we should.

If you don’t know, the average last freeze date for us here in NE Oklahoma is April 15th. Notice it says average, meaning we can have last freezes before this date and afterwards. Let’s look at some weather data from the National Weather Service to help underscore why it best to wait till April 15th.

These dates will be reflective of the last “hard freeze” dates (temps of 28 degrees). According to the NWS, our last hard freeze day in 2020 was April 18th. If you planted early last year, you were likely out scrambling to cover your plants to keep them from freezing. But it wasn’t just last year. Here are a few last freeze dates: 2019 - 3/16, 2018 - 4/16, 2017 - 3/14, 2016 - 2/26. Etc. So, two out of the last five years we have had freezes after what is considered the average last freeze date. If you are a gambler (and being a gardener is one of the best ways to gamble) the odds clearly say; wait till at least April 15th to plant.

The other side of the coin is that while we may be eager to get our plants in the ground, for the most part they will just sit there when we plant them early because of the cool soil and air temperatures. They might as well stay in our house and play it safe. Bottom line, waiting till April 15th to plant is a great way to increase your odds of having a beautiful, productive garden this year. 

You can get answers to all your gardening questions by calling the Tulsa Master Gardeners Help Line at 918-746-3701, dropping by our Diagnostic Center at 4116 E. 15th Street, or by emailing us at mg@tulsamastergardeners.org.

Photo: Oklahoma State University Agricultural Communications Services