Harvest to Table

January is the coldest month of the year in the northern hemisphere. This is the month to get seed catalogs and begin planning the spring garden. Beware of false spring days. Check with the weather service or local cooperative extension for your area’s average last frost date–the last expected frost and the start of outdoor [...]

If snow has fallen on your winter vegetable garden, do not despair. Snow is akin to an insulating blanket and the cool-season vegetables beneath can still be harvested. A killing frost or freeze will do the most damage to your vegetable garden in winter–not snow. Protect crops from freezing temperatures with mulch, plastic tunnels, or [...]

The vegetable garden slows down in November in the Northern Hemisphere. Still, there are important garden building tasks to keep in mind: •November is the time to complete your harvest of late summer and fall crops. • November is the time to collect leaves, grass clippings and small bits of brush for adding to the [...]

As the seasons progress there are several uses for a cold frame. • Start cool-temperature spring vegetable seeds and seedlings in late winter. • Start summer warm-temperature vegetable seeds and seedlings beginning in early- or mid-spring. • Start fall and winter crops under shade cover (replace the frame’s glass or plastic sash with framed shade [...]

One of the most challenging aspects in gardening is to get things started at the proper time. Success in the garden often depends on timing. Planning the work ahead is important. A simple checklist can be used to make sure that everything is started and carried out at the proper time–starting with preparing the ground [...]

As winter weather sets in early this year–just about everywhere, now is a good time to update your garden records from last season and review your garden design. What worked and what can be improved this coming growing season? Now is the time to plan layout changes for the garden and begin mapping our crop [...]

Is it spring? If the weather has settled in your region, now is the time to direct sow warm-weather vegetable seeds. Once the last frost is past, vegetable starts can go into the garden as well. Few seeds will germinate if the soil temperature is below 45ºF (7ºC) and warm-weather crops will not thrive until [...]

The weather in cool northern regions can remain unsettled even in May. Remeber that both the soil and air temperatures are important when planting the kitchen garden. Few seeds will germinate if the soil temperature is below 45ºF (7ºC), and warm-weather crops are not going to thrive until the night temperatures consistently stay above 50ºF. [...]

Starting seeds indoors will give you a head start on the growing season. Starting seed in the garden can be challenging–for the seed, that is: soil too cold or too wet are the chief obstacles to germination. For early cool-season crops try indoor seed starting this year; you can get started this month. Plants that [...]

February is a busy month for the kitchen gardener. In many regions, indoor and outdoor sowing and planting is underway. Some gardeners already have seed in the ground. In the coldest regions, where there is snow on the ground, February is still the time for making plans and preparing for spring. Here are some of [...]