The aspect of gardening that I've found to be the trickiest is figuring out what I can plant each month in my area (zone 7). I'm relying on the charts online from seed companies, farmer's almanac etc and the excel program from burpee. But they don't seem to agree much. One chart will say I can plant brussels sprouts now another says I'm too late. There is also disagreement over when I can direct sow vs. plant transplants.
October 16th is my first risk of frost date. I'm planning on planting kale, collards, mustard greens, swiss chard, beets, french breakfast radish and daikon radish all as direct sown seed. I wanted to plant carrots and brussels sprouts but I'm too confused by the charts to know if they will do well. I'm not even sure if the vegetables I plan on planting will do well.
Another issue is that a seed company chart will say a type of vegetable is ok to plant but then when I look at the varieties they offer I see phrases like "heat resistant" that makes me think it's not a good choice for a fall crop.
My impression is that knowing what to plant when is not an exact science- is that correct? As a new gardener it is more frustrating than weeds and slugs and the heavy amount of learning I need to do. I am a little desperate because my confusion has led to missing opportunities to plant.
-
onlylobster
- Full Member
- Posts: 42
- Joined: Sun Jun 14, 2015 2:35 pm
- Location: New Jersey
Figuring out when to plant is not easy even after you have been doing it awhile. I don't have frosts but I do have some seasonal plants.
Some things like broccoli, kale and Brussel's sprouts have to be started now from seed. so they will mature in the cooler months. Sometimes if I count on just one batch of seeds, something may happen to them and I will miss my planting window. So, I divide the seeds I need and plant them a couple of weeks apart hoping enough of them will take and survive. Over time I have figured out more or less when most plants can be started. It helps to keep a journal from year to year. I have one for this year on the forum. I am not good about recording in the book but I am better at labeling so I label my pots and plants, just in case I forget to put it in the book. I have a planting calendar with the dates I planted the seeds and the expected days to maturity. I also note thing that happened like unexpected storms, whitefly invasions and unusually hot days. It helps with future planning.
Otherwise you can still do transplants.
Some things like kale and broccoli will survive in snow.
New Jersey has a couple of zones and some microclimates which would probably account for some give in the planting dates given by different sources.
You can always look for the Master gardeners in your area find publications on line about selecting cultivars, when to plant and how to grow and manage your garden.
This site has planting dates for zones 6 and zone 7
https://www.ufseeds.com/New-Jersey-Veget ... endar.html
https://njaes.rutgers.edu/pubs/fs129/
Some things like broccoli, kale and Brussel's sprouts have to be started now from seed. so they will mature in the cooler months. Sometimes if I count on just one batch of seeds, something may happen to them and I will miss my planting window. So, I divide the seeds I need and plant them a couple of weeks apart hoping enough of them will take and survive. Over time I have figured out more or less when most plants can be started. It helps to keep a journal from year to year. I have one for this year on the forum. I am not good about recording in the book but I am better at labeling so I label my pots and plants, just in case I forget to put it in the book. I have a planting calendar with the dates I planted the seeds and the expected days to maturity. I also note thing that happened like unexpected storms, whitefly invasions and unusually hot days. It helps with future planning.
Otherwise you can still do transplants.
Some things like kale and broccoli will survive in snow.
New Jersey has a couple of zones and some microclimates which would probably account for some give in the planting dates given by different sources.
You can always look for the Master gardeners in your area find publications on line about selecting cultivars, when to plant and how to grow and manage your garden.
This site has planting dates for zones 6 and zone 7
https://www.ufseeds.com/New-Jersey-Veget ... endar.html
https://njaes.rutgers.edu/pubs/fs129/
-
jal_ut
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 7447
- Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:20 pm
- Location: Northern Utah Zone 5
You say: " I'm not even sure if the vegetables I plan on planting will do well."
Welcome to the great gardening game. What you say is true even for those of us who have gardened a long time. Due to the variety of the seasons, one never knows for sure what Mother Nature will have in store for us. I am going to make some suggestions:
!. Plant what you like to eat.
2. Check maturity dates and make sure you will have enough time before frost for it to mature.
3. In the spring find your last average date from local weather records, then plant the early things
such as peas, carrots, lettuce, onions, radish about a week to ten days before that date. You
can start planting the warmer weather types like beans and squash on that date. Cucumbers
a week to two weeks after that date.
4. OK, now remember its always an adventure. Just plant and enjoy! Experiment and learn.
Welcome to the great gardening game. What you say is true even for those of us who have gardened a long time. Due to the variety of the seasons, one never knows for sure what Mother Nature will have in store for us. I am going to make some suggestions:
!. Plant what you like to eat.
2. Check maturity dates and make sure you will have enough time before frost for it to mature.
3. In the spring find your last average date from local weather records, then plant the early things
such as peas, carrots, lettuce, onions, radish about a week to ten days before that date. You
can start planting the warmer weather types like beans and squash on that date. Cucumbers
a week to two weeks after that date.
4. OK, now remember its always an adventure. Just plant and enjoy! Experiment and learn.
-
jal_ut
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 7447
- Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:20 pm
- Location: Northern Utah Zone 5
Another problem you may have is getting the small seeds of many of the cool weather crops to germinate in the heat of summer. You can't plant them very deep and they must remain damp or they will fail. A light mulch and frequent sprinkling should get them to come up. Radish, chard and beets should come right up, but carrots and lettuce will be the challenge. If you have enough space be sure to try some zucchini or crookneck squash.
-
rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
For frost sensitive stuff, you can count back the days to maturity from the frost date. Seed packets will tell you the days to maturity. But none of what you are talking about is particularly frost sensitive. It is not rocket science. There's a pretty big window of when you can plant things and have them still be okay. What would be the "perfect" time to plant will vary from year to year, with what the season turns out to be like.
You can probably start planting your cool weather crops by mid-August.
If you really want to get scientific about it, you could go by soil temperature (get a thermometer and measure the temperature a few inches down). Carrots germinate best when the soil temperature is 60 - 75 (deg F). Kale sprouts best when soil temp is around 70. It should be planted at least 10 weeks before your last frost date. Brussels sprouts will germinate with soil temps anywhere from 65 to 85. They should be planted three months before first frost date, I.e. now. Radishes are very easy and fast. They will germinate with soil temps anywhere from 55 F to 85 F. They only take a month or so to get to harvest, so you will have time for a couple crops.
Here's a nice chart of optimum and range of soil temperatures for different veggie seeds:
https://extension.oregonstate.edu/deschu ... ltemps.pdf
You can see many of these have a big range of soil temps for germination. So they have a correspondingly big window for when they can be planted. And for all these cold weather crops, the end date is not set by frost date...
I really like to plant broccoli, and spinach very late, like mid Oct. Then they start growing for awhile. Once the freezes come, they go dormant. But they are extremely cold hardy and will over winter just fine (even in my zone 6 winters). In late winter when the ground thaws, they start growing again. Then you will have a very early spring crop that will keep going a lot longer, because they have more time before warming temps cause them to bolt.
You can probably start planting your cool weather crops by mid-August.
If you really want to get scientific about it, you could go by soil temperature (get a thermometer and measure the temperature a few inches down). Carrots germinate best when the soil temperature is 60 - 75 (deg F). Kale sprouts best when soil temp is around 70. It should be planted at least 10 weeks before your last frost date. Brussels sprouts will germinate with soil temps anywhere from 65 to 85. They should be planted three months before first frost date, I.e. now. Radishes are very easy and fast. They will germinate with soil temps anywhere from 55 F to 85 F. They only take a month or so to get to harvest, so you will have time for a couple crops.
Here's a nice chart of optimum and range of soil temperatures for different veggie seeds:
https://extension.oregonstate.edu/deschu ... ltemps.pdf
You can see many of these have a big range of soil temps for germination. So they have a correspondingly big window for when they can be planted. And for all these cold weather crops, the end date is not set by frost date...
I really like to plant broccoli, and spinach very late, like mid Oct. Then they start growing for awhile. Once the freezes come, they go dormant. But they are extremely cold hardy and will over winter just fine (even in my zone 6 winters). In late winter when the ground thaws, they start growing again. Then you will have a very early spring crop that will keep going a lot longer, because they have more time before warming temps cause them to bolt.