Tips for Every Season
From Our Experts
From Seed to Garden: A Comprehensive Guide to Gardening
January 20, 2023
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june 20, 2023
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From Seed to Garden: A Comprehensive Guide to Gardening
February 20, 2023
Your planting strategy: SPRING 2021
Cole crops like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage can be direct seeded into your garden around April 3, assuming the ground can be worked, but it's better to start them indoors around March 6 and then transplant them into the garden around April 25. Do the same with lettuce and spinach.
Plant onion starts and potatoes around March 16. Sow the seeds of peas (sugar snap at the same time. If the ground is still frozen, then plant these as soon as the ground thaws.
Do you want to grow tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants? Start these indoors around March 6. Then, around May 11 you should start watching the weather forecast and, as soon as no frost is forecast, go ahead and transplant those into the ground.
Now, for all the summer vegetables like beans, peas, corn, squashes, pumpkins, cucumbers, watermelons, gourds and sunflowers, you should plant those seeds directly into the ground around May 15, or if your soil is still very cold, once the soil is near 60° F in temperature. Having said that, we note that your location has a shorter than average growing season. Many summer vegetables need more days to mature than your area will provide. For that reason, we recommend you get a head-start by starting these summer vegetables indoors around April 25, and transplant those seedlings out after the danger of frost is past.
Okay, now here are the cold, hard numbers, along with specific plants:
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Crop Sow seeds indoors Transplant seedlings into the garden Direct sow seeds
Asparagus n/a Mar 31 - Apr 15 n/a
Beans n/a n/a May 15 - Jun 12
Beets n/a n/a Mar 20 - Apr 3
Broccoli Mar 6 - Mar 20 Apr 17 - May 1 n/a
Brussel Sprouts Mar 6 - Mar 20 Apr 17 - May 1 n/a
Cabbage Mar 6 - Mar 20 Apr 17 - May 1 n/a
Cantaloupe n/a n/a May 1 - May 15
Carrots n/a n/a Apr 3 - May 1
Cauliflower Mar 6 - Mar 20 Apr 17 - May 1 n/a
Chard n/a n/a Apr 3 - Apr 17
Collards Mar 6 - Mar 20 Apr 17 - May 1 n/a
Corn n/a n/a May 15 - May 29
Cucumbers n/a n/a May 15 - May 29
Eggplants Mar 6 - Mar 20 May 15 - May 29 n/a
Gourds, Squash and Pumpkins n/a n/a May 15 - May 29
Kale Mar 6 - Mar 20 Apr 17 - May 1 n/a
Kohlrabi Mar 6 - Mar 20 Apr 17 - May 1 n/a
Lettuce Mar 6 - Mar 20 Apr 3 - May 1 Apr 3 - May 1
Mustard Mar 6 - Mar 20 Apr 17 - May 1 n/a
Okra n/a n/a May 15 - May 29
Onions Feb 28 - Mar 6 Mar 16 - Apr 15 n/a
Peas (English) n/a n/a Mar 16 - Apr 15
Peas (Southern) n/a n/a May 15 - Jun 12
Peas (Sugar Snap) n/a n/a Mar 16 - Apr 15
Peppers Mar 6 - Mar 20 May 15 - May 29 n/a
Potatoes n/a n/a Mar 16 - Apr 15
Radishes n/a n/a Mar 31 - May 29
Spinach Mar 6 - Mar 20 Apr 17 - May 1 Mar 31 - May 1
Sweet Potatoes n/a May 15 - Jun 5 n/a
Tomatoes Mar 6 - Mar 20 May 15 - May 29 n/a
Watermelon n/a n/a May 15 - May 29