[1]

NR:
Don't start storage onions past the end of March. They require time to mature and then dry down.

[2]

NR:
Transition to winter varieties in April.

[3]

NR:
Shallots can store in your pantry until June, in other words, much longer than the most long-storing storage onions. This characteristic lends them a defining presence in the gardens of people serious about feeding themselves year round. As with onions, late Feb marks an optimal time to sow, late enough to enjoy more momentum than earlier sowings, but early enough to mature and cure in the heat of mid- to late-summer. Sown as bulbs in Oct/Nov, as distinct from seed, the plants will put on a flush of growth in the spring when they can be harvested as 'green shallots' or left in the ground to grow to full maturity and harvest in July. Fall sowings allow time for next year's winter brassicas to occupy the same beds. You can grab the mature bulbs from a summer/fall harvest and stick them right back in the ground again. If sowing by bulbs rather than seed, the shallots tend to ahve more cloves within each mature bulb; by seed, each mature bulb tends to be bigger and with fewer clove-divisons.

[4]

NR:
Conventional wisdom has it that garlic has to go in in October. Garlic is far more forgiving. if you miss your fall sowing, never mind, sow in early spring for very similar results. Some long-experienced growers hereabouts sow only in spring.

[5]

NR:
By early April, sow enation-resistant varities. Typically direct-seeded in mid-February, you may get an early start by seeding in the greenhouse in late-Jan thru early Feb, then transplanting. If speed to harvest is such a priority, try shorter-season bush varieties. Try sowing peas for fall in the mid-July to mid-August window to harvest in October. Mid-July is optimal because later sowings may well get frozen out - the peas will taste bitter once frozen. The high heat of July is surprisingly not too much of an issue for this cold-loving crop - the small plants don't seem too bothered. By late September, when the plants are sized up and the blossoms are coming on, the temperature has cooled significantly.

[6]

NR:
Sow successions for a continuous harvest. A final end-July sowing will take you up to frost-time: fresh green beans on vigorous plants are quite the treat when everything else summery in the garden is yellowing and slowing down. The plants from a late-July sowing won't be as productive, but they will be the last 'pick-mes' available until the frost comes in. Do not overwater newly direct-sown beans - they will have a tendency to rot.

[7]

NR:
Dry beans are direct sown, if really warm, in late April, but usually in late May. Early to mid-May is ideal. Plant beans of different maturity lengths in mid-May. Past late May, go with a buckskin.

[8]

NR:
Sown in the spring rather than fall, the beans will mature 3-4 weeks later for eating. Can be used as a super-quick early-spring-sown cover crop, turned in, and breaking down very quickly indeed, before a late-spring, early-summer food crop is planted in the same bed. If sowing favas in the fall, try planting into a thick leaf mulch - the favas will come through and your soil will be sheltered from the beating winter rains during the several months that the favas are too small to offer much protection.

[9]

NR:
It is especially important to keep the momentum flowing smoothly for the ‘heading brassicas’ such as cauliflower and broccoli – one reason why growing these plants successfully can prove challenging for the inexperienced gardener. If your transplants get stressed at any stage, cauliflower especially, compost them – they are likely to amount to little. Eratic weather conditions in the spring can confuse the heading timing of thse plants, too – another good reason to make succession sowings - every two weeks if you have the ground to put them into. Some experienced gardeners avoid spring sowings of broccoli altogether, given its all-too common tendency to head up while still a very small plant, at this time of year. Cauliflower, another 'troublesome customer' for many is more predictable with a later sowing in mid-March. Choose varieties specific to the seasons. With the transition to fall and winter varieties sown in May and June, reckon on 2-3 further rounds of sowing.

[10]

NR:
By all means, give this crop a go, but many experienced hands - who have a focus on predictable productivity - find spring broccolis' performance too erratic to justify the space. So very often the plants, confused by changeable spring conditions, will mature a very small head long before the plants have sized up. Home gardeners, of course, may be content to embrace reduced yields, just to have broccoli around. One tack: consider sowing in April or May, somewhere a little cooler, say behind unpruned raspberries, or in the tree -shade of an afternoon sun. Broccoli excels as a fall crop, however, sown in June through mid-July, transplanted by end-August, producing huge heads with lots of side-shoot action, through to December and, of course, it will be sweetened somewhat by the cooler weather where spring-sown broccoli, growing into warming temperatures, is not. Fall broccolis seem only ever to be unreliable if they are planted out a little early and then we have hot temperatures in September, say in the 90s, when aphids will hit the stressed plants hard. Then, of course, there are the Sprouting or Overwintering Broccolis, very different varieties, sown in June, for cropping December thru May.

[11]

NR:
Cauliflower, like broccoli, can be a challenge raised into the spring. Some varieties are very fast, producing smaller heads - so plant them more densely. Where cauliflower really comes into its own is as an overwintered crop, producing huge heads from the new year through to late Spring. Overwitnering varietal choices, offering a broad array of maturities, are available, though they can be difficult to source. Where going with a single variety, Maystar impresses.

[12]

NR:
Grows year round but consider growing it for harvest only in the fall and winter when it tastes much better in the winter when sweetened by the cold and is also not so aphid prone. See winter crop guide.

[13]

NR:
Grows year round but tastes much better in the winter when sweetened by the cold.

[14]

NR:
At only 30 days to maturity, this crop affords much speed and flexibility. Sow as often as your palate wishes. Sown in May through early July, the results will be very spicy and may also bolt quickly. Perhaps find a cooler spot in the garden for them if sowing then.

[15]