I am in Alabama and looking to direct sow seeds into my vegetable garden. One problem - we are expecting 5-6.5 inches of rain over the next two weeks. While there are dry days in there that I could potentially sow, I am concerned about too much moisture rotting my seeds. How much rain is too much rain for newly sown seeds? If I wait until after this rainy spell, I am concerned that it might be getting too late in the season for certain vegetables. I could start the seeds indoors and transplant later but I would rather avoid transplanting if I can.
I would also be worried about the seeds being washed away. Your plants won't survive in standing water. If your beds are well draining, such as in raised beds, they may be OK, but there is still the issue of washing away. I think I would wait to plant or go ahead and start indoors.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/environmental/flood-damage-garden.htm
Is it best for me in zone 4a, to plant wildflower seed now or in the spring?
If you have your site prepared and you have had several hard frosts you can plant them now, provided they are hardy to zone 4. Any annuals I would wait till spring.
Here is more information:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/gardening-by-zone/zone-4/zone-4-seed-starting.htm
Most seed packets recommend planting in the fall or the spring after risk of frost. I am in the northeast, is there a difference between planting seeds in the fall and planting in, say, February if the seeds don’t need to be buried and the surface of the ground isn’t frozen or snow covered?
This is dependent on the plant type and exactly which zone. You will want to follow all instructions for zone 5 since that will dictate what and when you can plant. This information will be on the back of the seed packet. In your area, you will still be experiencing times of frost, so you will have to take into account your last frost date for most seeds.
Right now, carrots should be direct seeded, where as something like peppers should be started indoors at this time. Everything you need should be on the back of the packet of each seed, though, so following those instructions will be best.
Hi, I'm hoping you'll have some ideas/advice about this...I live on thirty acres where the soil is poor (it is a former vineyard so you can imagine how, for decades, it was forced to be a monocrop). I'm only tackling the quarter acre or so around the house, though. The only way I could figure out to create walkable areas was, about a year ago, to cover three-ish foot wide walkways with cardboard, and then cover these with a thick layer of straw. I then placed heavy stones on top. My idea is to come back at that this year, pour some soil into the nooks and crannies of the straw, and then seed into that. Thyme looks like a great idea, but I'm open to other ideas, as long as the species can tolerate the poor soil and the rest of this setup. I'm getting the idea that with pretty much anything I plant, I need to wait until there is no frost danger. Thank you for help.
Thyme is a good one. You can mix some compost into the soil before you drop it in to increase fertility. Here are more ideas:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/groundcover/gcgen/groundcover-for-foot-traffic.htm