Planting your vegetable garden at the right time will guarantee a plentiful harvest. When to plant will depend on both your climate and last frost date.
April is the month to start outdoor sowing. Direct sow peas (first early, second early and maincrop varieties), along with radish, spinach and salad crops.
Spring
As soon as spring arrives, it’s time to put on those gardening gloves and begin planning a vegetable garden. While tomatoes and corn might still need time to mature before being planted in full force, now is an opportune time for quick-growing frost-tolerant crops such as lettuce, peas, radishes carrots spinach as well as sowing seedlings of kale broccoli cauliflower leeks onions for an early start during warmer weather conditions.
First step to successful soil gardening is prepping the ground. Remove any large stones from the area and loosen up the soil with a hoe or spade before planting seeds. Mix soil-based compost, council green waste and topsoil into the mix to enrich it further and make growing vegetables easier. A soil test can help identify whether any adjustments need to be made with regards to lime, nitrogen, phosphorous or potassium amendments.
If you want an early headstart on gardening season, starting some vegetables indoors in late winter or early spring can give them time to adjust to outdoor gardens without frost risk – they should then be transplanted outdoors when frost risk has passed. Most vegetable plants need at least a week or two in trays before transplanting outdoors so for best results it would be better if starting them directly in the ground.
Before sowing seeds in your vegetable garden, keep this in mind: successful vegetable gardens need at least six hours of direct sun per day for optimum success. If this cannot be assured in your space, try setting aside areas for tall vegetables (like sweet corn on a trellis ) which can shade out shorter ones when the heat of summer arrives; or grow some cool-season varieties like spinach, radishes and scarlet runner beans which appreciate having some shade during this season.
Companion planting can be an effective way to protect vegetables from pests while encouraging healthy growth. Nasturtiums, for instance, can serve as a sacrificial crop to attract cabbage white butterflies away from brassicas while yarrow and achillea serve as excellent repellents against slugs. As an added measure of protection, adding mulch on top will retain moisture, suppress weeds, and control soil temperatures – providing additional support and keeping pests away.
Summer
As temperatures warm in summer, starting seeds indoors is an effective way to achieve success with vegetable gardening. A garden thermometer will ensure that seeds are planted when soil temperatures are at an appropriate level for germination – giving you an early headstart on vegetable gardening season! When starting tomatoes and peppers from seed it is vital that these be started indoors using row covers or greenhouse protection against frost over night.
July is an excellent month to plant various vegetables. Plant second early potatoes early and maincrop potatoes from mid-May; sow salads and leafy greens such as rocket and mesclun mix; sow summer crops of squash, courgette, and French beans as well.
If your garden contains shaded areas, try allocating these spaces for tall crops like beans on trellises and sweet corn – they won’t shade shorter cool-season vegetables and you can plant more of them! Additionally, try including perennial plants like asparagus rhubarb and certain herbs which produce year after year to add something unique and bring newness and interest into the space.
Autumn garden harvests still bring many nutritious veggies from your plot. Squash and pumpkins thrive in cooler temperatures of fall, ripening as winter begins. Carrots, radishes, lettuce plants can all be planted at this time as well. Incorporating annual/perennial flowering plants such as nasturtiums or marigolds into your edible garden will attract pollinators that help increase crop production for you!
As long as you plan accordingly and know the first and last frost dates in your climate zone, there is never an optimal time or place to begin planting a vegetable garden. By doing so, you’ll maximize your growing season while reaping all its rewards and enjoying homegrown produce year round!
Fall
Your garden doesn’t need to end once summer’s crops have been harvested; fall can actually be an ideal time for planting some vegetables if done with care and planning. With cooler weather and longer days, this planting period should flourish well and still produce harvest before the first frost of the year arrives.
Fall is an ideal season for growing vegetables like kale, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, onions, leeks, fennel and lettuce. When selecting seed packets or starter plants of these crops to plant in your garden, look out for “Days to Maturity” which details how long the harvesting should take and then add one or two weeks for cooling temperatures of fall.
Start vegetable seeds indoors using a fine-textured soil mix such as peat moss and perlite to optimize germination. When the seedlings are ready to move into the garden, carefully transfer them with cardboard between each cell or starter flat – they may take several weeks to adjust to outdoor environments.
Once they are outside, vegetables must be protected from frost by using row covers or cloches to provide shelter from frost. Mulching them with hay or straw mulch extends their growing season further.
As temperatures cool and days shorten, it is critical that vegetables receive adequate watering and feeding. A general guideline is to provide young seedlings and transplants with one inch of water each week, with deeper applications preferred over frequent shallow ones. Furthermore, adding nitrogen fertilizer as a side dressing will further assist maturation before frost comes knocking.
If you want some fresh vegetables all winter long, hardy greens such as kale, chard, bok choy and collards may be just what’s needed! These plants can withstand low temperatures while pairing perfectly with more tender varieties like arugula and mibuna for autumn salads. Or experiment with mixing some hardy greens into an edible landscape! Their nutty flavors pair beautifully with spicy or citrusy basil, thyme or cilantro flavors for an amazing edible landscape experience!
Winter
As summer winds down and your vegetable garden becomes an overgrown mess, you might find yourself asking whether it is too late to try growing winter greens. Actually, now is an ideal time!
As autumn is the time of sowing seeds directly outdoors in cool weather, harvest leafy crops like kale, chard, turnips, spinach and savoy cabbage is available throughout the season. Additionally, you can sow a second crop of potatoes while cultivating tender vegetables under cloches such as courgettes pumpkins and French beans for even longer harvest periods.
Use a soil thermometer to keep an eye on the temperature in your planting bed, as different seeds require specific temperatures in order to germinate and flourish. Sowing timing charts will assist with planning when and how often to plant each crop; while these charts serve as general guidesline in a geographic location, remembering that climate can vary and these charts will need to be modified depending on local conditions.
Plant cool season vegetables such as carrots, radishes and beetroot in August or September for a fresh supply during winter. Other frost hardy veggies like broccoli, savoy cabbage, kale and Swiss chard will also produce harvestable crops by late wintertime.
Fall is also an ideal time for planting cold hardy crops like cabbage, kohlrabi, and rutabagas – they should be ready for harvest in late winter or early spring.
As soil temperatures begin to decrease in autumn, it’s vitally important that plants remain watered in order to remain robust and resilient when the first frost arrives. When sowing seeds individually rather than rows to minimize weed growth and promote stronger more robust crops. It may also be worthwhile adding some organic matter like well-rotted manure or compost into your planting beds for extra resiliency and resilience.
At the close of each season, it’s advisable to cover your vegetable plot with netting or mesh to protect it from birds and other predators as well as harsh winds which could potentially shred leaves and damage delicate vegetable crops. A mesh cover can remain on top of beds all winter long yet be easily lifted for harvesting and weeding tasks.