Year-Round Planting Guide

Peas are planted as soon as the soil can be worked in early spring.

Dedicated gardeners want to be outdoors all year round to experience the pleasures of the soil and planting. Garden activities such as mulching, working with the compost pile, cleaning up plant debris and putting in new vegetables can be done all year round in temperate climates. Gardeners in northern areas find ways to extend the growing season with plastic growing tunnels and cold frames. Whatever the local climate, there is something to plant year round.

Spring

Gardeners in temperate areas do not have to wait for spring thaw to put in a garden. As soon as the soil can be comfortably worked with a shovel, peas, lettuce, broccoli, radishes, fava beans and chard can be planted. Soil that is too clay-like to germinate seeds can be amended with homemade or commercial mature compost before planting. Mature compost contains billions of microorganisms that transport water and oxygen through the soil and bring nutrients to growing root systems. Parsley, spinach and turnips also benefit from an early spring planting date.

Summer

Tomatoes need a soil temperature of 55 degrees Fahrenheit or above to germinate and grow. Gardeners in warm areas of the country start them in April or May, but northern climate gardeners set out tomato seeds and plants in early summer. As the soil warms, squash, beans, melons and corn are planted. Growing corn on mounds with beans and squash creates mutual benefit. The beans climb the corn and provide nitrogen, while large squash leaves provide shade to prevent weed germination. Mulch summer crops to preserve soil moisture and suppress weeds.

Fall

Another crop of lettuce, chard, spinach, beets, parsley, broccoli and kale is planted in fall for a spring harvest in temperate climates. Cold winter weather gardeners plant the same seeds in cold frames, tented tunnel greenhouses, or near the warmth of walls. Plant residue from summer's harvest is left on the ground to decompose or put into the compost pile. Gardeners who practice the "no- or low-till" methods of soil protection prefer to use vegetable plant debris as a winter mulch. Cover crops such as vetch, rye or arugula grown in winter enrich the soil for spring planting.

Winter

Vegetable seeds are sprouted in warm indoor environments to be transplanted into the early spring garden. Gardeners who have cold frames or other types of protected garden spaces continue growing fall crops into winter. Collards are said to have better flavor when they have endured several frosts. Cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower planted in the winter months are two weeks slower to develop than during the warmer months. Carrots are grown in successive plantings all year round in temperate climates. Winter is a good time to pull up all unwanted weeds before their spring germination period.

References

• Texas A&M University Extension; Texas Home vegetable Gardening Guide; Joseph Masabni, 2009
• Oregon State University Extension;Fall and Winter Gardening;