Welcome 2013!

What better way to welcome the new year than with our 2013 sowing and planting schedule?

Garden Resolutions for 2013:

1. This year we are going to single stem our tomatoes s bit more faithfully
2. We are going to use deep watering in all the beds
3. We are going to rearrange at least one of our beds to make better use of space
4. We are going to add 2 more low tunnels with row covers
5. We are going to turn our compost more often and add more brown matter during the summer
6. We are going to make our garden pollinator-friendly
7. And most importantly, we are finally going to build a new garden gate!

Tentative Schedule:
For our zone (7a), the last frost date is tentatively Apr 15th (but usually comes earlier) and the last frost is October 15th.

For a list of what we may plant, see here.

January 1-15:

• Start onions and shallots indoors

Feb 15-30:

• Start pepper seeds and first set of tomatoes indoors
• 2 Cherokee Purples
• 1 Volunteer
• 1 Blondkopfchen
• 1 Black Cherry
• 1 Costolute Genovese

March 1-10:

• Direct sow lettuce, asian greens, beets, radishes, carrots, turnips, peas, and mustard
• Re-pot first set of tomato starts 
• Start kohlrabi and broccoli indors
• Start second set of tomatoes indoors
• 2 Cherokee Purple
• 1 Costolute Genovese 
• 1 Riesentraube
• 2 Smudges
• 1 Volunteer
• 1 Black Cherry

 March 15-30:

• Transplant broccoli and kohlrabi

April 1-8:

• Re-pot second tomato starts indoors
• Start herbs indoors
• Sow 2nd planting of peas directly in the garden. 
• Sow 2nd lettuce crop and more beets 
• Sow chard

April 15-20:

• Harden off and transplant first tomato and pepper starts (under tunnel)
• Sow pumpkin, winter squash, and cucumber seeds indoors
• Direct sow more lettuce, beets, radishes, carrots, asian greens, mustard greens
• Transplant onions, shallots, kohlrabi, and broccoli

April 30:

• Sow last cool-weather lettuce, wax beans, and green beans
• Harden off and transplant pumpkins, squash, herbs, and cucumbers to the garden if the soil is well warmed (under tunnel)

May 1-15

• Plant flowers

May 15-20: 

• Sow 1st summer lettuce
• Sow 2nd crop of beans and radish in garden

June 15:

• Sow 2nd summer lettuce

July 1-14th:

• Sow summer lettuce
• Sow 3rd crop of beans, 4th crop of radish in garden
• Direct sow fall beans, parsnips, kohlrabi, brussels sprouts, broccoli and radishes
• Sow collards

 July 14-28th (10 to 12 weeks before your first frost)

•  Direct-sow beets, carrots, leeks and scallions, along with more cool weather lettuce and radishes

July 28th-Aug 11th (8 to 10 weeks before your killing frost)

• Direct-sow lettuce, turnips, spinach, mustard, pakchoi and other Asian greens
• Sow more radishes

Aug 11th- 25th (6 to 8 weeks before first frost)

• Sow more lettuce, mustard, and beets beneath the protective tunnel