When to Plant Vegetables Outdoors

You can plant vegetables outdoors year-round. Pick the proper vegetables for the ideal season and be sure that the crops are properly hardened off before planting them. Grow cool-weather crops throughout the autumn, spring and winter seasons and warm-weather crops throughout the summer. The usage of this cold-frame — that is a box-like structure with a transparent glass or plastic top — is ideal for extending the growing season and protecting vegetable crops throughout the coldest weeks.

Spring

Plant non-bolting lettuce varieties, beets, cabbage, rhubarb and Swiss chard outdoors as soon as the ground is workable in early spring. It is ideal to plant right prior to a gentle rain, but be sure to water the crops in just in case Mother Nature changes her mind. Protect plants from late spring frosts or unexpected cold snaps with a row cover, which is a lightweight polyester or polyethylene fabric which light and water may penetrate.

Summer

Plant tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, corn, beans, cucumbers, melons, squash and zucchini plants in late May or early June. Continue putting these warm-weather crops during the next week of July. Pick varieties based on the number of days it takes for them to grow until it is time to harvest the crops they produce. As summer progresses, choose varieties that grow fast. Find this advice on the side of vegetable seed packets or about the number tags which come with young plants.

Fall

Plant young starts of broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and kale from late August during mid-October. Direct sow carrot seeds in the backyard or sow carrot seeds in peat pots, peat pellets or toilet paper rolls cut in fourths and filled using a seed starting mixture. Transplant the carrots into the garden in the containers they’re growing in so you do not disturb the tiny roots which are forming. Peat pots, peat pellets and even toilet paper rolls biodegrade when they’re planted. These materials help to enrich the soil the dirt in your lawn.

Winter

Plant seeds of lettuce, spinach, peas, asparagus, arugula, potatoes and onions from late November at the end of February, but don’t expect to see a lot of growth until the weather warms up. Frequently seeds sown throughout the wintertime lie dormant until spring arrives. When winter-sown seeds start to grow, the resulting plants are hardier and rapidly outgrow their spring-sown counterparts. Faster germination and development is easy to achieve using a cold frame to guard the winter-sown vegetables.

See related