It’s wintertime; so all the gardening is done for the season.… right?

WRONG! Winter is the perfect time to figure out what you’re going to do about your gardens for spring and summer. Believe it or not, making a decisive schedule of what you’ll be planting and drawing up a blueprint of how the plants will be arranged is as critical as planting your lil’ guys properly.

I’ve been reading a good book called Growing Vegetables by Tony Biggs. Within its pages, it explains what to think about when planning your next garden:

• Determining the best location for your garden.
• Selecting plants that will grow well in that location.
• Sketching a blueprint of the garden for all seasons.

First, I made a list of vegetables I want to plant this year and their optimum planting times for my region (Central Indiana). You can find a general vegetable-growing schedule anywhere online. Regardless of what the schedules online say, always follow the timing schedule on the back of the seed packets. How tragic would it be if you accidentally planted spring corn instead of winter corn during autumn? Seed companies have studied their plants and provide specific growing information on their seed packets. Here is my garden list for this year:

Early Spring

• Carrots (Apr 10 – Jun 1)
• Radishes (Mar 20 – May 10)
• Basil, herbs that deter bugs
• Potatoes (Mar 20 – May 10)
• Onions (Mar 15 – Apr 15)

Late Spring / Early Summer

• Cherry tomatoes (late June) (transplant)
• Green beans (May 10 – Jun 30)
• Bell peppers (May 15 – Jun 10) (transplant)
• Carrots (Apr 10 – Jun 1)
• Spinach (May 1 – Jun 15) (place in a planter)
• Pumpkins  (early June)

Late Summer / Early Fall

• Lettuce (Aug 1-30) (place in a planter)
• Potatoes (June 15-July 15)
• Radishes (Aug 1 – Oct 1)
• Soybeans (Jun 1-5)
• Sweet Potato (Jun 1-15)

In my next post, I will show you how I created my garden blueprint using the information from my schedule. Below is a chart of other plants grown across the country along with their sowing times. I’d love to hear what your plans are for your garden!