Spring planting schedule

In reviewing the past three years of blog entries, I have realized that I am further behind this year than the last two. The first year of garden blogging, I had started seeds the first week of March. By the end of the first week of May, we were beginning to harvest greens by the gallon. Granted, there were a couple of things that were started too early, like the Morning Glory that grew about 3 feet tall before it could be planted outside. But overall, it was a very successful year.

So, in order to prevent falling behind in the future, I am clearly laying out my recommended schedule for early spring planting. For the benefit of anyone who may want to follow my guidelines, our average last frost date is about May 1, though we have had frost warnings up toward the end of May the last two years.

- Start greens inside(*) the first or second week of March (lettuce, chard, kale, spinach), continue every two weeks
- Start transplanting greens from lights into the garden the second week of April, preferably under row covers
- At the end of March, begin planting directly outside, greens, peas, and hardy root crops (need to determine if some things should always be started inside in soil blocks)

I am still in the process of discovering how many greens need to be started every two weeks in order to have a continuous supply of greens throughout the year. I suspect it will be 4-8 plants of each variety for our family of four.

*start in soil blocks, or in plastic bags (paper towel on one side, in and out of refrigerator) then transfer to soil blocks