Figuring out when to plant a particular vegetable seed can be frustrating. Seed catalogs give the number of days to harvest, but not exactly when to plant the seeds. That date varies with your location. The good news is that seeds can be grouped into roughly three categories: spring, summer, and fall.
Spring vegetables are those that can tolerate some cold, but not much heat. They include cabbage, beets, turnips, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower, snap or English peas, and most of the greens, such as mustard and spinach. These vegetables are planted about three weeks before the expected end of freezing temperatures.
Summer vegetables are the ones that do not handle cold well but can handle some heat. Corn, beans, melons, cucumbers tomatoes, peppers, and similar vegetables are planted when all danger of frost has past. There is a date called the “last average frost date” for each area. That is the date that the danger of frost is, on average, over. Of course, a late freeze can come, but it is usually safe to plant on the last average frost date.
Finally, fall gardens are the ones where you use those “days to harvest” information. You can plant all the vegetables in the fall, but you have to work harder to figure out when to plant them. Find out the average first frost date for your area. You can usually find that out from your County Extension Agent. Take the days to harvest, count back from the average first frost date, and then plant your seeds on or around the resulting date. You usually have a range of dates to plant, from a week before the day you counted to a week after it. Plant too early, and the plants will not grow in the heat. Plant too late, and a freeze will kill your plants before you have a chance to harvest the vegetables.
Transplants are special. The time to harvest for tomatoes and peppers is almost always given for transplants, not seeds. If you plant to start these or other plants from seed, you will need to set up your nursery early. Seeds should be planted about six weeks before the transplant date. Transplants need to be hardened off before being put in the ground or they will die. You do this by leaving the plants outside for short periods of time, then gradually lengthening the time they stay outside. At first you bring them in after a couple of hours, but by the time you are ready to plant them, they stay outside all day and only come in at night. The process takes about a week.
Figuring out when to plant a particular vegetable seed can be frustrating. Seed catalogs give the number of days to harvest, but not exactly when to plant the seeds. That date varies with your location. The good news is that seeds can be grouped into roughly three categories: spring, summer, and fall.
Spring vegetables are those that can tolerate some cold, but not much heat. They include cabbage, beets, turnips, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower, snap or English peas, and most of the greens, such as mustard and spinach. These vegetables are planted about three weeks before the expected end of freezing temperatures.
Summer vegetables are the ones that do not handle cold well but can handle some heat. Corn, beans, melons, cucumbers tomatoes, peppers, and similar vegetables are planted when all danger of frost has past. There is a date called the “last average frost date” for each area. That is the date that the danger of frost is, on average, over. Of course, a late freeze can come, but it is usually safe to plant on the last average frost date.
Finally, fall gardens are the ones where you use those “days to harvest” information. You can plant all the vegetables in the fall, but you have to work harder to figure out when to plant them. Find out the average first frost date for your area. You can usually find that out from your County Extension Agent. Take the days to harvest, count back from the average first frost date, and then plant your seeds on or around the resulting date. You usually have a range of dates to plant, from a week before the day you counted to a week after it. Plant too early, and the plants will not grow in the heat. Plant too late, and a freeze will kill your plants before you have a chance to harvest the vegetables.
Transplants are special. The time to harvest for tomatoes and peppers is almost always given for transplants, not seeds. If you plant to start these or other plants from seed, you will need to set up your nursery early. Seeds should be planted about six weeks before the transplant date. Transplants need to be hardened off before being put in the ground or they will die. You do this by leaving the plants outside for short periods of time, then gradually lengthening the time they stay outside. At first you bring them in after a couple of hours, but by the time you are ready to plant them, they stay outside all day and only come in at night. The process takes about a week.
