Whew!  This took a while to assemble.   First, I had to go through and decide what I wanted to grow this year.  I haven’t nailed down specific varieties yet, just a general idea of what I want to grow.  I am getting close to a tomato grow list though, and my hot pepper list is pretty solid too.

Starting plants inside requires careful timing and preparation.  There have been years where I started them a little too early, and others a little too late.  This year, I hope to hit the sweet spot and have everything just so.  With my interest in growing in cold frames this fall, my grow list is pretty much never-ending.    It’s a lot of work planning this year!  There are the new raised bed vegetable gardens, and then other areas- like I have chosen a space to be a dedicated herb bed, and as such, I’ll be able to grow as many herbs as I want.  So many of those I’m going to try from seed- and some I will buy established plants.  I really want a strawberry bed, but I’m just not sure how much time Andy will actually be able to devote to yard prep this spring- in addition to building and filling my garden boxes with soil.

So for now, here is my growing calendar.  I am using May 15th as my frost-free date when planning my seed starts.  It’s a very rare year we get frost beyond that, and we’ve had years where there hasn’t been frost beyond the end of March, but the plants can be flexible as far as when they get hardened off and planted.  My dates are really approximate, a few days to either side will be okay.

Spring/Summer Sowings:

January 26:  Onions, Leeks, Artichokes, Parsley (all up except artichokes!)

February 12-26: Lovage, Marjoram, Thyme, Eggplant (unsure on eggplant)

February 26: Hot Peppers, Sweet Peppers

March 12: Basil, Summer Savory

March 12-19: Tomatoes

March 26: Chives, Sage, Scallions, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts

April 9: Chervil, Cabbage, Melons

April 23: Cucumbers, Borage, Cilantro

Between April 23 and May 31 the rest of the garden will be direct sown- dill, carrots, beets, spinach, tons of greens, potatoes, peas, beans, radish, etc.

July 12-20 I will sow a round of peas for fall harvest

Planting for Cold Frames:

June 1-15:  Swiss Chard, Carrots, Parsley

June 15- July 1: Beets, Parsley, Carrots

July 1-15: Carrots and Parsley (successive sowings of these ones)

July 1- August 1: Kale, Turnips, Sorrel, Mizuna, Swiss Chard

August 1-15: Spinach

August 15-September 1: Mache, Mizuna, Claytonia, Radish, Endive, Escarole

September 1-15: Arugula, Claytonia, Minutina, Mache, Radish

September 15-October 1: Radicchio

The cold frame crops will be sown directly into the beds set aside for them.   I will also try and add a few lettuces to them, and see how long I can harvest of those.  Once cold temperatures arrive, I should be able to add my cold frames to the beds and thus, my late fall, winter growing will begin.

Up next, I have to physically plan out my beds.  This is going to be tricky.