![]() You might even have some crops ready to harvest from the previous season's growth. ![]() This doesn't mean that you'll have nothing to do as there are plenty that can be sown indoors. With plenty of crisp, frosty mornings to contend with only the hardiest of vegetables can be sown outside in January. You can then plan your growing space and your growing calendar to ensure a diverse and manageable harvest of veggies direct from your garden. But where do you start? The best place is at the kitchen table armed with a pencil, calendar and our guide on when to grow vegetables. An absolutely ideal time this year is March 11 & 12.With hundreds of different varieties and types to choose from growing your own vegetables can be hugely rewarding. The first thing I actually plant inside is my onions. Potatoes like to go into a cold soil, but young leaves should be covered if frost threatens. Carrots can also be planted early, but they should be covered for another month to thwart the carrot weevil. There are many plants that don’t mind a bit of frost-peas, snow peas, lettuce, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, Napa cabbage, beets, parsnips, turnips, radishes, Swiss chard, kale, pansies, snap dragons and sweet peas. Further south, you can begin much earlier. Here, in New England, we can’t do a lot in the garden before April. Tender, warm-weather individuals I generally buy from garden centers as they usually have a decent selection if you get a good jump on the season. ![]() Tall plants should be put in the back (north) so they won’t shade the shorter ones. If you want to sow different vegetables in the same bed, think in terms of height. A star goes in if I’ve already manured it and it’s also a way to keep track of different varieties and where they have been put. I always draw it in the previous fall and put a check in each bed as I add lime. The map also allows me to keep track of other things. Look in catalogues and gardening books for lists of the vegetables that are related, such as tomatoes, potatoes and peppers. I’m not interested in making it easy for either bugs or diseases to find their favorite plants from last year. I have my beds on a three year rotation, according to plant families. I draw the beds as best I can (not being an artist) and I have them numbered for confirmation. I have a spiral notebook in which I keep my plans from year to year. I stay away from chemicals and “quick fix” additives.īack to the map (how I do get off track sometimes!). This is in addition to either old manure or compost. I want the trace minerals that are an essential part of good health to be included in my vegetables so, at planting time, I sprinkle greensand, azomite powder and kelp meal on all of them. A nearby farm could have some old manure available at a reasonable price or check with your local garden store for bagged material. Most of my beds are about three feet wide (except for the ones up against the outside fence which I can only access from one side-these are preferably only two feet wide). Keep the beds relatively narrow you want to be able to comfortably reach into the middle while sitting or kneeling nearby. One of the easiest ways to plan a garden is to build raised beds far enough apart to mow in between them. Companion Planting Chart and Guide for Vegetable GardensĪfter deciding where the garden is going to go, it’s time to make a map.
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