What I Plant and When I Plant It

I have been asked many times for a list of what I plant in my Zone 5 vegetable garden. Honestly, I've never made a list because a) I'm not that organized and b) a lot of what I planted kept changing year after year. But I'm pretty sold on most of the varieties of vegetables and herbs I grow now and it's seed ordering time, so I thought I'd write out a list here on GreenLifeNH, so others can benefit too.

All of my seeds come from High Mowing Organic Seeds in Vermont. I love that they are local, organic, and, honestly, I've just had the best luck with their seeds. I recommend High Mowing one hundred percent and always have, but now we have partnered with them, so if you buy your seeds through the above link, you will help support GreenLifeNH at the same time.

If you want advice on starting seeds, please check out my post, Seed Starting 101.

** The name in parentheses next to each vegetable is the variety I grow and the #number is the catalog number for High Mowing Seeds**

Mid to Late March, I plant the following seeds indoors:

• Peppers (King of the North #2800, Sprinter #2779, Picnic Orange #2810)

• Eggplant (Diamond #2471)

• Cilantro (Santo #5050)

• Kale (Red Russian #2530)

At the beginning of April, I plant the following seeds indoors:

• Broccoli (DeCicco #2300, Covina #2303)

• Brussels Sprouts (Divino F1 #2293)

Mid April, I plant the following seeds indoors:

• Tomatoes (Brandywine #3050, Mountain Merit #3029, Black Cherry #3004, Amish Paste #3020)

• Mesclun Mix (#2620)

• Basil (Genovese #5000)

• Parsley (Giant Italian #5104)

As soon as the soil can be worked in the Spring (i.e. when I can dig into the dirt with my fingers and not feel ice), which is usually around early to mid-April, I plant the following seeds:

• Carrots (Negovia #2324, Dolciva #2334, YaYa #2336)

• Kale again (and transplant from inside)

• Spinach (Space F1 #2879)

• Beets (Detroit Red #2280, Shiraz #2262)

• Snap Peas (Cascadia #2762)

• Snow Peas (Mammoth Metling #2740)

• Transplant the Brussels Sprout outside

After the last hard frost (a "hard frost" or "killing" is when the temperature stays below freezing for a longer period of time, usually at night), usually by early May, I plant the following outside:

• Dill (Bouquet #5060)

• Transplant Basil, Cilantro, and Parsley outside

• Another planting of carrots, beets, snap peas, spinach, and mesclun

After the last frost (as in, it's not going to be cold at night anymore), usually in mid-May, I plant the following seeds outside:

• Beans (Provider #2210 and Royal Burgundy #2230)

• Another planting of Mesclun

• Parsnips (Hablange #3188)

• Mesclun and transplant earlier Mesclun planting outside

• Mustard Greens

• Potatoes (German Butterball #84020)

At the same time, I plant half of the following seeds indoors:

• Cantaloupe (First Kiss #2633)

• Pumpkin (New England Pie #2840)

• Butternut Squash (Waltham #2940)

• Zucchini (Green Machine #2890)

When it is consistently warm outside, usually in early June, I plant the following seeds outdoors:

• The other half of my cantaloupe, pumpkin, butternut squash, and zucchini seeds and/or transplant the seedlings from my indoor sowing (this is to ensure a harvest)

• Transplant Tomatoes outside

• Transplant Peppers outside

Continual Harvest

I continue to plant carrots, mesclun, beets, and kale throughout the summer. If it is too hot to start greens and kale outside, I start them inside or under a tree. Sometimes I manage a second planting of broccoli, snap peas, and some herbs as well. In the fall, I plant garlic and kale.

I hope this inspires you to start planning your garden. I like to put all this information into my calendar so I can easily plan when I need to get into the garden. And, again, please use this link to buy your High Mowing seeds. It won't cost you any extra, and it will benefit GreenLifeNH. :)

- Hannah