Radish

Variety: Rover

When to plant: April 2

Days to maturity: 21

Planting and care: Plant seeds 1 inch apart, ½ inch deep, in rows 10 inches apart.   Keep the soil moist, but not soggy.  The seeds should germinate in about 4-10 days.  After germination, continue to provide water regularly.

 Harvesting: Radishes will be ready to harvest 3-4 weeks after planting.  Loosen the soil from around the radish and gently pull it out.  After the first harvest, a second round can be planted because radishes are a very fast-maturing crop.  

 

Beets

Variety; Boro

When to plant: April 2

Days to maturity: 50

Planting and care:  Plant seeds 2 inches apart at a depth of  ½ inch.  Keep the soil moist, but not soggy.  The seeds should germinate in 1-3 weeks. Soaking the seeds for 24 hours prior to planting will speed germination.  After germination, continue to provide water regularly.

Harvesting:  Beets will be ready to harvest in about 55-60 days, once they reach a few inches in diameter.  Loosen the soil from around the beet and gently pull it out.  Beet greens are also edible.  

Plan 2

Kale and bunching onions

This bed will contain 2 rows, with 18 inches between each row. 

 

Kale

Variety: Winterbor

When to plant:  April 2

Days to maturity: 60

Planting and care:  Sow ¼ inch deep, 12 inches apart, in rows 18 inches apart.  If you start the first seed 6 inches from the wall, you will end up with 5 plants.  Keep the soil moist, but not soggy.  The seeds should germinate in about 7-10 days.  Continue to provide water regularly after germination.

Harvesting: You can begin to harvest kale after around 50 days.  Using a clean pair of scissors, cut the leaves down to about an inch above the soil.  Cut the outer leaves and allow the inner center leaves to grow.  The kale will regrow for multiple harvests.

 

Bunching Onions

Variety: Nabechan

When to plant:  April 2

Days to maturity: 60

Planting and care:  Sow ¼ inch deep, ¼ inch apart, in rows 18 inches apart.  Keep the soil moist, but not soggy.  The seeds should germinate in about 7-10 days.  Continue to provide water regularly after germination.

Harvesting: You can begin to harvest bunching onions after around 60 days.  Gently pull from the ground and trim roots down to about a quarter inch.  You can also snip the stems and allow them to regrow for multiple harvests.
 

Late Spring/Early Summer

 

After harvesting your spring crops, amend your soil by adding compost and mixing it well with the existing soil.  This will add nutrients to the soil for your next crops.

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Plan 1 (follows radishes and beets)

 

Peppers and tomatoes 

Planting date: May 23

This bed will contain 2 rows, 20 inches apart.  Peppers and tomatoes are planted as starts rather than seeds.  They should not be planted until the threat of frost has passed.  Plant 3 pepper starts, 8 inches from the long wall of the bed, with 20 inches between each plant.  Plant 2 tomato plants, with 30 inches between each plant.  Space the row of tomatoes 20 inches from the row of peppers (or 8 inches from the other long wall).  Water generously after planting, and continue to water regularly.  Be sure to water the roots and keep the leaves as dry as possible. Continuously wet leaves can lead to disease, especially in tomato plants.  Tomatoes and peppers will need to be staked or caged for support.

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Tomatoes: 1 Celebrity (Days to maturity: 72)

                   1 Washington Cherry Tomato (Days to maturity: 60)

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Peppers: 2 Flavor Burst Bell Pepper (Days to maturity: 67-87)

                1 Nassau Cubanelle (Days to maturity: 64-84)

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Plan 2 (follows kale and bunching onions)

 

Bush Beans and Swiss Chard

This bed will contain a row of swiss chard and a row of bush beans, 20 inches apart from each other.

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Swiss Chard

Variety: Bright Yellow

When to plant:  June 1

Days to maturity: 57

Planting and care:  Sow 1/2 inch deep, 3 inches apart.  Keep the soil moist, but not soggy.  The seeds should germinate in about 5-7 days.  Continue to provide water regularly after germination.

Harvesting: You can begin to harvest swiss chard after about 50 days.  Using a clean pair of scissors, cut the leaves down to about an inch above the soil.  Cut the outer leaves and allow the inner center leaves to grow.  The chard will regrow for multiple harvests.

 

Bush Beans

Variety: Provider

When to plant:  June 1

Days to maturity: 50

Planting and care: Plant seeds 4 inches apart, 1 inch deep.  Keep the soil moist, but not soggy.  The seeds should germinate in about 7-10 days.  After germination, continue to provide water regularly.

Harvesting:  Provider beans will be ready to harvest in about 55 days.   Gently pluck the flat,  purple and white pods from the plant.  The pods will be about 6 inches long at maturity.  Harvest regularly to encourage new pod set. 

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Late Summer/Early Fall

 

After harvesting your summer crops, amend your soil by adding compost and mixing it well with the existing soil.  This will add nutrients to the soil for your next crops.

 

Plan 1 (follows peppers and tomatoes)

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Turnips and lettuce

This bed will have 2 rows of turnips, planted about 12 inches apart.  The remainder of the bed will be for leaf lettuce.  Leaf lettuce seeds can be broadcast evenly throughout the remaining area.  Be sure to leave at least 6 inches between the turnips and the lettuce.

 

Turnips

Variety: Hakurei

When to plant:  Aug 29-Sept 5

Days to maturity: 38

Planting and care: Plant seeds 1 inch apart and ¼-½ inches deep, in rows 12-18 inches apart. Keep the soil moist, but not soggy.  The seeds should germinate in about a week.  After germination, continue to provide water regularly.

Harvesting:  Hakurei turnips will be ready to harvest in about 7 weeks.  They taste the best when harvested at about 2 inches in diameter. Loosen the soil from around the turnip and gently pull it out. The greens are also edible.  

 

Leaf Lettuce 

Variety: Encore

When to plant:  Aug 29-Sept 5

Days to maturity: 40

Planting and care:  Distribute evenly over the surface of the soil.  Cover lightly to ⅛ inch and firm gently. Do not plant the seeds too deep.   Keep the soil moist, but not soggy.  The seeds should germinate in about 1-2 weeks.  Continue to provide water regularly after germination.

Harvesting:  Your lettuce will be ready to harvest in about 3-4 weeks.  Using a clean pair of scissors, cut to about one inch from the bottom of each plant.  The lettuce will regrow for multiple harvests.

 

Plan 2 (follows swiss chard and bush beans)

 

Carrots and peas

This bed will contain 2 rows of carrots and 1 row of peas, each 12 inches apart from each other.  Start the first row 6 inches from the wall of the bed.

 

Carrots

Variety: Atlas

When to plant:  Aug 4-11

Days to maturity: 70

Planting and care: Plant seeds 2 inches apart, ¼-½ inches deep, in rows 12 inches apart.  Keep the soil moist, but not soggy.  Carrot seeds can take up to 3 weeks to germinate.  After germination, continue to provide water regularly.

Harvesting:  Atlas carrots will be ready to harvest in about 70 days.  Atlas is a Parisian type of carrot, which means they will be similar in size to a radish, instead of long and slender.  To harvest, loosen the soil from around the carrot and gently pull it out. If the top comes off, you can simply dig the carrot out instead.

 

Peas

Variety: PLS 595

When to plant:  Aug 4-11

Days to maturity: 64

Planting and care: Plant seeds 2 inches apart, ½-1 inch deep, in rows 12 inches apart.  Keep the soil moist, but not soggy.  Peas take 1-2 weeks to germinate.  After germination, continue to provide water regularly.

Harvesting: Peas will be ready to harvest in about 65 days.  Use both hands to harvest the pods, pinching the stem of the pod with one hand and gently pulling the pod with the other.  Try not to tug too hard and dislodge the plant.  It’s best to harvest peas in the morning after the dew has dried.