Hello,

You should be in Zone 7a, or 7b.
I would spend the next two weeks getting your beds ready and by the 15th of April you should be safe to plant almost anything out except for maybe very tender tropicals we use for annuals. I live in Alexandria and start April 1st, but I am also very close to the water which helps me a great deal.

Hello

One of the biggest mistakes would be to be over eager. I've wasted lots of seedlings by putting them in the garden too early.

I live in Owings Mills - Northwest of Baltimore City out in Baltimore County.

The cold weather plants can be planted out now - Cabbage first, then Broccoli, Cauliflower, and Brussel Sprouts. They should do fine even with a light frost. Might not hurt to cover the bed with a light agrifiber which gives 4 degrees of protection but lets in most of the sunlight.

Peas can be direct seeded this week but they'll do just as well if you wait another 10 days.

Heat loving veges such as tomatoes and peppers really shouldn't go outside til mid may at the earliest around here. If you are protecting the plants somehow you might get them in two weeks earlier. I will put my seeds into 4' pots this week and then plant the tomatoes on May 15 and the peppers on June 1.

The Maryland extension services puts out a brochure which I think is available on their website with suggested planting dates for this area.

Best of luck

I put out Broccoli this weekend. I like indeterminate tomatoes so I know I will get them all season long...so I will be patient putting those out. I have a tiny garden this year so I may only get one tomato plant in.

Year before last I lived in Alabama and planted out around April 1st or so...about 10 days too early I found out much to my chagrin. They survived but after much finger crossing and hovering on my part.

It was my first non-container veggie garden and it overwhelmed me. Here's what I planted: (all heirlooms from seedavers.org)

Indeterminate tomatoes:

Stupice (a tasty tomato)
Mexico Midget (a cherry tomato)
Amish Paste (a paste tomato)
Gold Medal (a yellowish tomato)

Peppers:

Beaver Dam
Buran

2 Aunt Molly's Ground Cherries and
2 Watermelon plants (not sure what type...they weren't any good because I don't think I had the soil rich enough for them.)

I don't think I will even think about planting out warm weather veggies here until at least May 5th. I just don't want to risk it.

I learned some valuable lessons. Never put out too early unless your willing to hover and baby your transplants. Tons of compost is almost always necessary. You will never find enough time to weed so mulch your garden well. And start small unless you have plenty of family and friends to give your extra harvest too.

Good luck.

K

PS The most valuable lesson I learned. Never plant a garden near morning glories. ( I didn't know they were there) I had to beat them back EVERY DAY. They vine out and literally grow inches a day! And that's why I HATE MORNING GLORIES!