Best Times to Plant Vegetables- Vegetable Planting Calendar

Spring is a lot of people’s favorite time of year to start their garden.  You go to the greenhouse and pick out your plants then dig up the soil, if you haven’t already, and plant away.  Water, weed, repeat and ultimately harvest.

The best time to plant in the spring is right after the last frost for your area.  If you jump the gun and plant too early you will inevitably have to have plenty of newspaper or other lightweight material to cover your plants to protect them from being damaged by the frost.

Vegetables to plant in the spring include: Corn, peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, lettuce, okra, brussels sprouts, cabbage, onions, cucumbers… well, actually the list is just about endless for vegetables that go into the garden in the spring!

Indoor Vegetable Gardening

A lot of vegetables can be reseeded or planted as you go every year to lengthen the amount of harvest and the harvest time.  Corn can be reseeded every two weeks in consecutive rows to spread out the time and increase the amount that you can harvest every year.  Broccoli is the same way, as well as cabbage.  Planting extra plants staggers the harvest and increases the joy of eating what you have grown.  Not to mention the amount of food that can be canned or frozen!

Summertime planting can be a little tricky but don’t ever be afraid to experiment to see exactly what will and will not grow in your garden.  Just because it won’t grow well for one gardener doesn’t mean that you won’t be successful with it.  A lot of plants just don’t do well in the summer time because of the heat and humidity but toward the beginning of summer, in June and July, you can always go for that second planting of beets and carrots.  They can take the heat and humidity like a bunch of little troopers and will produce a nice crop that will keep well through the winter.

Fall planting can be almost as busy as spring.  Another go round of lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, turnips, carrots, spinach and even broccoli can survive fall planting in most of the growing zones in the mid and southern US.  You may have to do an occasional light covering with newspaper or another light weight material to protect them from light frost but they will keep on going until at least the first heavy frost.  A nice layer of mulch to provide some warmth is also a very good idea when caring for your fall vegetable plants.

Some fall vegetables will even be kicking and still producing in the winter time if you plan it right and keep them covered from the elements like snow and wind.  Cold frames are a great invention for when you are still in the mood to harvest and eat the freshest vegetables.  They protect your plants from freezing and your longing to garden fulfilled even through the long dead season of winter.

How to Plant a Raised Bed Vegetable Garden

How to Plant a Raised Bed Vegetable Garden

A raised bed vegetable garden is easier to plant than you think. Let’s get you up and running.

First, you’ll need a few supplies:

1. A good soil
2. Rot-resistant lumber like cedar or a wood-plastic composite
3. Galvanized screws
4. Drill
5. Level
6. Saw (optional if you purchase pre-cut pieces of lumber)

Now, step into your yard and find a nice, level spot. Make sure it’ll get lots of sun, preferably at least eight hours of sunlight daily. A good size would be about four feet wide, at least six inches deep, and as long as you can spare the room for. You want to keep the width under control to make sure you can easily access the middle of the bed. For depth, most vegetables grow well in six inches, but if you can space it, go deeper and you can grow vegetables like carrots and parsnips.

After you’ve selected a great spot and have some dimensions in mind, it’s time to get to building that raised bed vegetable garden! Throw down some newspaper or landscape fabric to smother the existing vegetation in the area you’ve picked out. Assemble the frame by cutting your lumber to the correct dimensions and attaching them with a simple butt joint at each corner using a drill and galvanized screws.

You’re almost done. Use the level to make sure your frame is level on all sides, this is important in order to make sure you don’t have any water run-off issues. Finally, fill in the bed with your soil and maybe some left-over coffee grounds.

That’s it, now you can level out the soil and start planting seeds!

Vegetable Gardening and Insects That Can Help