Weekly Planting Guide: How This Weekend's Forecast Will Affect Your Garden

While it’s still too cold to plant your vegetable garden outside in the northern regions of the country, in the South, the end of March through the end of April is ideal. But while familiarity with your hardiness zone and local climate is important for planting a healthy garden, the daily weather also plays a major factor in when you should get those plants in the soil.

With severe weather in store, this weekend won’t be ideal for planting in the South. Not only will gardeners want to avoid the outdoors with heavy rain, hail, wind and tornado threats, but young plants can be easily damaged by severe weather or even become ill from getting waterlogged by excessive rain.

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If you’ve already planted your garden, be sure your plants are properly supported by stakes before the storms arrive, and take an assessment of your garden’s drainage.

Gently aerating the soil around the plants with a pitchfork or garden fork won’t hurt, according to Good Housekeeping. Some gardeners invest in storm covers for their garden to protect their plants as well.

In the Midwest and Northeast, gardeners typically begin their seedlings indoors, and it’s recommended to take them outdoors on warm, sunny days to encourage faster growth and to get them acclimated to temperatures, moderate winds and other environmental factors. But the Midwest will see stormy weather over the weekend as well, so it’s not the time for those baby plants to spend time outdoors.

(MORE: Things You Can Do To Plan Your Spring Garden)

The Northeast will see pleasant temperatures over the weekend, so feel free to take your baby plants out during the daytime, but be sure to bring them in before temperatures dip at night. Those storms will make their way into the Northeast by Monday, so that’s when you’ll want to keep your plants safe indoors.

As the season continues, the weather will become more conducive to planting shrubs, vegetable gardens and flowering plants, so there’s no harm in waiting a few weeks wherever you reside. Be sure to check your local forecast before doing so.