Gardening is a great hobby to learn more about the world, do something with your hands, and grow your own food. It is a worthwhile endeavor to grow your own fruits and vegetables, and it is very fun when you have beautiful vegetation and flowers. When does gardening season start?

You can start indoors in January–February. Starting seeds indoors can lengthen your growing season by giving your plants a head start. Plus, growing indoors can be worth it since you can save money by growing from seed and get a larger harvest. The winter months are also good for fertilizing, preparing and planning, planting cover crops, and planting bushes and trees.

However, in order to do this, you need to have a space with plenty of light, the right temperature, and an area that will not be damaged by water, all of which can be difficult to manage. Creating that space may require spending money. Still, if you already have a garden, starting seeds is usually cheaper than buying fully grown plants.

If you start outdoors, hardy plants such as spinach, broccoli, lettuce, turnips, radishes, carrots, chives, leeks, onions, beets, and cabbage can be directly sown (putting seeds into the ground) in March.

The last frost date in this area is around April 15, which is when plants that need warmer weather, such as tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, eggplant, and beans, can be safely planted. This is when the main growing season begins in northern Alabama. Madison/Huntsville is mostly in the 8a climate zone; however, the northern tip is in the 7b climate zone. Climate zones help gardeners understand when to plant based on the coldest average temperatures in different parts of the United States. Zone 7b means Huntsville is around the middle of the spectrum, slightly on the warmer side, with a medium-length growing season.

So, gardening season for your garden depends on what plants you have (check their recommended planting dates on the Farmers’ Almanac website or on your seed packets) and whether you are planting indoors or outdoors.

If you do not already have a garden space, container gardening can be an easy way to start both indoors and outdoors. You can also try growing plants from scraps. Onions, potatoes, celery, and lettuce can be replanted and grown if you keep the correct part of the plant, which is an easy and inexpensive way to begin gardening.