It is important to know the right time to plant different types of vegetables. The perfect timing ensures impressive output season after season. Contrary to popular belief, spring is not the only season for growing vegetables. This content also has some reference value for raised garden beds.
Vegetables have their own growth conditions! Some vegetables thrive in the warm season (summer), while others are best grown in the cool season (spring and autumn).
By knowing the right time to plant and the right vegetables according to the season, you can disperse the crops and get more varieties from the harvest. Today, we will outline the best vegetables grown according to the season and useful gardening techniques to achieve a good harvest:
Summer vegetables (June to August)
Most of the vegetables you grow in spring should be ready for harvest at the beginning of summer. In June and July, you can start planting cucumbers, crocodile beans, gourds, melons, pumpkins, southern peas, summer squash, sweet potatoes and sweet corn. In July, you can replant cabbage, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower so that you can get enough vegetables in the fall.
By August, the harvest will pick up. Beans and cucumbers are abundant this month. If you plant eggplant and watermelon early in the season, they should be ripe and ready for picking. Peppers, okra, onions, sweet corn, summer squash and tomatoes are also ready to be harvested. August is the best time to replant radishes, lettuce, collards, spinach, radishes and beets.
Gardening tip: If some vegetables begin to droop, use bamboo stakes to keep them upright. Use organic compost to enrich the soil and remove growing weeds. Watering is best carried out in the morning to reduce evaporation. Always check the soil for moisture and watch out for insects, pests and diseases.
Autumn vegetables (September to October)
With the arrival of the cool season, all vegetables that mature in the last weeks of summer should be ready to harvest in September and October. These include lima beans, cucumbers, eggplants, peppers, sweet corn, pumpkins and tomatoes.
In autumn, expect your winter melon and pumpkin to mature. If you replant cabbage, carrot, beet, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, radish, spinach and radish, they should be ready by this time. Some of the best vegetables to grow in autumn are lettuce, spinach and radish.
Gardening tip: Vegetables, no matter how cold resistant, need to be protected from extreme weather. Protect seedlings and winter crops with greenhouse plastic sheets. Rake away dead leaves, rotten vegetables and garden debris. At this point, you can remove the stakes installed in the summer.
Winter Vegetables (November)
Vegetables not harvested in autumn should be ready for harvest in the first week of November or December. Some vegetables can be grown in winter, especially if the frost comes late. These vegetables include broccoli, Brussels sprouts, spinach, cabbage, kale, leek and parsnip.
Gardening tip: If the rainfall is low, water the vegetables regularly. Water soluble organic fertilizer is added every two weeks to keep the vegetables strong and healthy, despite the temperature drop.
Other factors to consider when growing vegetables in season
Suitable for the factory in your area
The United States Department of Agriculture has developed a map to determine the cold tolerance of plants based on the temperature of a region in North America. The same map outlines the coldest and warmest regions in all North America. Region 1 is the coldest, while Region 11 is the warmest.
To ensure a good harvest and avoid potential disasters, check your garden area before listing all the vegetables you want to grow. In this way, you will know which plants can withstand the local climate.
Consider your microclimate
Microclimate refers to the climate of a certain region, not the surrounding climate. This area may be colder or warmer than other areas around it. For example, paved areas such as terraces, driveways, and sidewalks may be much warmer than the surrounding environment because the landscape absorbs more heat during the day. Warm areas are ideal places for planting young plants.
On the other hand, balconies and roofs tend to be cooler than their surroundings because they are above the ground. Balcony and roof also expose plants to frost, dry wind, etc. You can still grow vegetables in these areas as long as you use gardening necessities to protect plants from the wind and dissipate heat.
Soil quality
The annual vegetables bear fruit throughout the season. These plants need fertile soil to keep strong, healthy and disease free. If there are many deficiencies in the soil quality in the garden, the organic matter in the soil must be enriched through composting. Ideally, you want to add compost material when you start a new garden in spring and fall.
Another technique that can improve soil quality is to invest in raised garden beds. If your garden is set on an uneven surface, a raised garden bed allows plants to grow on higher ground.
More importantly, the raised garden bed allows you to better control the soil quality. The raised garden bed can also protect the planting area, especially if your plot is located in a high flow area of the house.
Installation of fence
Some gardeners think that installing fences is a drag, which may be dazzling, but once the destructive small animals come to your blooming garden, all these troubles are worth it. Let's face it, a garden without fence is more difficult to protect from invading creatures and pests.
We recommend that you install fences to protect your precious vegetables! To prevent burrowing animals from getting under the fence, try installing fences above and below the garden.
Growing vegetables according to the season has its challenges, but as long as you know all the important factors that must be considered, you can expect a bumper harvest! If you find these gardening tips useful, don't forget to sign up for our newsletter. You will get amazing discounts on the freshest gardening resources and our best-selling gardening tools.
