Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 14, 1991                   TAG: 9103190120
SECTION: LAWN & GARDEN                    PAGE: LG-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By CHARLES STEBBINS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

KNOWING WHEN TO PLANT CRUCIAL TO GARDENING SUCCESS

There's a time to plant and a time not to plant. And in Western Virginia, any time of the year is planting time for something.

Domestic, or cultivated, plants have varying tolerance to cold and heat. Vegetable plants especially must be planted at different times in the spring depending on how hardy they are.

Kale, for instance, can stand considerable chilly temperatures and can be planted in March. It will grow well into the fall.

The tomatoes, on the other hand, are tender and should not be set out until the weather is warm. And once the chilly breezes of fall begin, the tomato is finished.

In Western Virginia warm weather generally comes in middle to late April, although in some areas it may not really warm up until May.

To get the best results, gardeners should plant according to the cold tolerance of the crop. A listing of the hardiness of plants can be obtained from any office of the Virginia Tech Extension Service in any county and many of the cities throughout the state.

Vegetables are the plants that vary most in cold hardiness. Nearly all annual flowers must be planted in the spring, although a few, such as the sweetpea and impatiens, need to be planted much earlier.

Some of the more common vegetables that can be planted in March are beet, broccoli, cabbage, carrot, collard, kale, lettuce, onion, English pea (southern pea must go out later), potato, radish, spinach and turnip.

Those that should not be planted until late April include bean, celery, corn, cucumber, eggplant, all kinds of melons, southern pea, pepper, pumpkin, squash, sweet potato and tomato.

Some of the tender plants that can't be put out until it's warm are usually planted as seedlings. The seeds are started inside in late January, February or early March so that plants will be 6 inches or so high by the time it is warm outside.

Plants in that category include broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, eggplant, parsley, tomato, strawberry and pepper.

Several other plants can be planted as seeds outside in May. But to give them a head start, set them out as seedlings instead of seed. These include melons, squash and sweet potato.

The Virginia Tech Extension Service points out that in western Virginia, the average date of the last frost in the spring is late April or early May. The average date for the first frost in the fall is around the end of October.

Summer is not the only time to grow a garden.

A fall or winter garden can be grown with the more hardy plants such as kale, onion sets, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards or mustard.

Seeds of these are generally set out in July or August. This means they will mature in the fall before freezing weather. With a little protection from the elements, they will last well into the fall.

Vegetables are not the only crops planted in the fall. That's also the best time to plant trees and shrubs. Deciduous plants - those that lose their leaves - can be planted with bare roots, provided they are dormant. But evergreens should always be moved only with a ball of soil around the roots.