Home Vegetable Gardening: A Gardener's Calendar
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About This Calendar
This calendar derives straightforwardly from the "Timing" information on the various individual-vegetable pages of this site, which should be consulted for explanations of how the dates were estimated. Recall, please, what we said earlier: we are not
"master gardeners" and this information is not the result of some vast personal experience--it is derived from extensive review of the literature and examination of local long-term weather
tables. Caveat hortensia.
It is vital to understand that nature is not a factory, with timetables and a noon whistle: dates for doing things in a vegetable garden are, even for the greatest experts, at best
guesstimates based on prior experience that may not be--often is not--applicable to this season.
The weather data used for typical temperatures and such is the fifty-year data from the State weather-data-collecting station in Ritzville, Washington (State), which is a cool U.S.D.A. Zone 6a, very near to the map line separating it from 5b.
As we said on the Introduction page of this site, it is important to avoid worshipping at the altar of
"Zone", because a Zone number does not tell anyone much of anything about a place save the typical coldest winter temperature; places with the same Zone number can have seriously different
climates. The Ritzville climate is, we think, pretty representative--as to temperatures, anyway, even if not necessarily rainfall--of a great many places in the United States. We imagine
that the information on this site is useful, with only minor common-sense modification, to anyone living from Zone 4 to Zone 7, inclusive, and that sure takes in a lot of territory.
The Calendar Proper
Notes:
This calendar does not yet (eventually it will) show dates relating to herbs or to fruits or berries.
This calendar does not show a potato-planting date--you need to ascertain that from your selected seed-potato seedsman. Try to place your order the fall or early winter
preceding, to be sure of getting the types you want.
We have assumed that lettuce and salad greens and radishes are being sown continually the year round, and show no dates for those.
Owing to sheer ignorance, we show no dates for rhubarb (but link excellent information sources on the rhubarb page).
This calendar does not show any harvest-date information.
Finally and again: these dates are approximations, rounded off to two-week intervals. This calendar is a set of rough reminders, not an exact schedule--consult
the various individual-vegetable pages for fuller planning information.
| Approximate Date: |
Tasks(s) |
| January 1 |
Get your seed-starting area cleaned up;
purchase seed-starting supplies as needed. |
| January 15 |
Start artichoke seedlings
Start cardoon seedlings
Start cauliflower seedlings
Start leek seedlings |
| February 1 |
Start onion seedlings |
| February 15 |
Start brocoli raab seedlings
Start cabbage seedlings
Plant sunchoke tubers (if possible) |
| March 1 |
Start broccoli seedlings
Transplant cauliflower seedlings
Direct-seed spring peas (experimental)
Start pepper seedlings
Direct-seed Swiss chard (experimental)
Plant sunchoke tubers (if not yet done) |
| March 15 |
Transplant artichoke seedlings
Transplant cardoon seedlings
Start hardening-off leek seedlings
Direct-seed maincrop spinach |
| April 1 |
Direct-seed fava beans
Transplant broccoli raab seedlings
Transplant cabbage seedlings
Start celeriac seedlings
Transplant leek seedlings
Transplant onion seedlings
Direct-seed maincrop summer peas
Direct-seed Swiss chard (if earlier seeding failed)
Direct-seed sorrel
Start tomato seedlings |
| April 15 |
Direct-seed beets
Transplant broccoli seedlings
Direct-seed summer carrots
Switch from "cool" to "warm" lettuce & greens types
Start melon seedlings
Lay down melon-bed plastic mulch
Start watermelon seedlings
Lay down watermelon-patch plastic mulch |
| May 1 |
Transplant melon seedlings
Direct-seed scallions ("Welsh onions")
Start summer-squash seedlings
Start tomatillo seedlings
Transplant watermelon seedlings |
| May 15 |
Start cucumber seedlings
Start eggplant seedlings
Lay down pepper-bed plastic mulch
Start pumpkin seedlings
Lay down pumpkin-patch plastic mulch
Lay down summer-squash bed plastic mulch
Lay down tomatillo-bed plastic mulch
Lay down tomato-bed plastic mulch
(Think about hardening-off tomatoes in a week or so) |
| June 1 |
Direct-seed non-lima beans (if soil T>60°)
Direct-seed corn (if soil T>70°)
Lay down cucumber-bed plastic mulch
Start okra seedlings
Transplant pepper seedlings (if soil T>65°)
Transplant pumpkin seedlings (if soil T>70°)
Plant sweet-potato slips
Transplant summer-squash seedlings (if soil T>70°)
Transplant tomatillo seedlings
Transplant tomato seedlings |
| June 15 |
Direct-seed lima beans (if soil T>65°)
Transplant cucumber seedlings
Lay down eggplant-bed plastic mulch
Lay down okra-bed plastic mulch
Direct-seed parsnips
Direct-seed scorzonera |
| July 1 |
Direct-seed fall carrots
Transplant celeriac seedlings
Direct-seed Florence fennel
Transplant okra seedlings |
| July 15 |
Start kale seedlings
Direct-seed root parsley |
| August 1 |
Start fall broccoli seedlings
Start Brussels sprouts seedlings |
| August 15 |
Start kohlrabi seedlings |
| September 1 |
Transplant kale seedlings
Direct-seed fall peas (experimental) |
| September 15 |
Transplant fall broccoli seedlings
Transplant Brussels sprouts seedlings
Transplant kohlrabi seedlings |
| October 1 |
Plant seed garlic
Direct-seed afll spinach (experimental) |
| October 15 |
Switch from "warm" to "cool" lettuce & greens types
Plant seed shallots? (evaluate seasonal weather) |
| November 1 |
Mulch asparagus beds for winter
Plant seed shallots (if not yet done) |
| November 15 |
Plan Thanksgiving dinner around your garden produce! |
| December 1 |
Clean up all garden detritus. |
| December 15 |
Happy Holidays! |
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