LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – To some readers this question may come across as silly: When is the best time to put in your garden?

They may think it's May; isn’t that the universal put-in-your-garden month?

Well, it depends. If you are somebody whose idea of a vegetable garden is a few tomato plants, some zucchini, a patch of sweet corn and maybe a couple of peppers, then yes, you can purchase those plants in May, “put them in” and you’ll probably get some decent return on your investment, provided you keep the critters away from them and provide regular irrigation.

The same is true for an ornamental garden consisting mostly of blooming annuals.

Anyone who wants to grow a broader spectrum of plants or is not happy with just the standard varieties of tomatoes, squash or bedding plants offered at local nurseries, will soon find out, however, that there is hardly a month when it isn’t time to start from seed, transplant or otherwise propagate something.

Trees, for instance, especially bare root ones, are best planted anytime from late fall until at the latest January or February. 

The same is true for all native perennials, which are crucial in providing habitat to beneficial insects.

Planting during the dormant season gives them time to establish a good root system, enhanced by mycorrhizae, so they can survive our often brutally hot and dry summers without requiring constant “emergency hand watering” in summer.

If you like to eat home-grown broccoli, cauliflower or cabbage, May or June are definitely the wrong time to put those in. They need to be started from seed either in mid to late January and transplanted out in late February to early March.

They also can be grown as a fall or winter crop here. In that case you would start them in the beginning of August for a harvest at around Thanksgiving and beyond.

Mid-February is the best time to seed your peppers and eggplants indoors for transplanting out in May, because they grow much slower than tomatoes and take longer to fruit.

Tomatoes can be seeded in March and be ready for transplanting outside in May.

This is also a good time to direct seed carrots and beets in loose, deeply cultivated growing medium.

The rocky clay soils typical for most areas of Lake County are ill-suited for growing those crops.

If you like the idea of eating homegrown veggies other than tomatoes and want to ensure optimal pollination, but think that this is all too complicated for you, let UC Master Gardeners help you get a head start on your garden this year.

Join them on Saturday, Feb. 11, at 10 a.m. for “Planting for Beneficial Insects” and at 12:30 p.m. for “Starting Seeds of Vegetables and Flowers.”

Both classes will be held at the Agricultural Center on 883 Lakeport Blvd., Lakeport.

Everyone attending the seed starting class will get to take home their seeded growing container.

The Master Gardeners will have their “Lake County Vegetable Garden Guide” hot off the press, as well as the just-published “Lake County Ornamental Garden Guide” for sale as well.

The class fee is $ 5 but will be waived, if you purchase a garden guide.

Please call 707-2636838 if you have questions and to RSVP.