Start your engines; it’s seed starting time. This is always the most optimistic time of year for me. No weeds, except for that darn foxtail grass I never pulled and which keeps waving in the wind taunting me all winter long, the deer are hunkered down, the groundhogs and rabbits are hibernating, and,with the expectation of the most perfect growing season to come, no matter how delusional it may be. What follows is a schedule I’ve developed over the past 25 years since moving to my farm to grow baby salad greens for NYC. I was a maniac back then, starting 40,000 seedlings in my basement under florescent lights. Then I would place them on a big sheet of plastic and pull, sliding them down the hill to my greenhouse. There I had a second mini-greenhouse inside (just a bench with plastic electrical conduit bent over into a hoop and loosely draped with clear plastic). Of course I’ve since scaled back and have tried to limit myself to just starting 32 flats. Ah, sweet bird of youth.
SEED STARTING AND TRANSPLANTING SCHEDULE – Zone 6
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FEBRUARY
1st week
Fruit: Alpine strawberries
Vegetables: Corn Salad, Leeks, Onions, Shallots, Parsley, Peas, Spinach
Flowers: Butterfly Weed, Chinese Lanterns, Delphinium, Foxglove, Eucalyptus, Lisianthus, Sweet William, Verbena, Viola
2nd week
Vegetables: Celery, Celeriac, Lettuce, Salad Greens
Herbs: Anise Hyssop, Mustard Seed, Salad Burnet, Chives, Chinese and Garlic Chives, Cumin, Cutting Celery, Fennel, Bronze Fennel, Feverfew, Hyssop, Lemongrass, Lemon Balm, Oregano, Parsley, Poppyseed, Safflower, Sage, Sorrel, Winter Savory, Thyme, Wormwood. Lovage, Lemon Mint, Mugwort, Pyrethrum, Silver Sage, White Sage, Vervain, Skullcap, Soapwort, Speedwell, Toothache Plant, Valerian, St. Johnswort, Angelica, Stinging Nettle, Saltwort, Black Lovage, Anise, Arnica Montana, Bergamot, Betony, Calamint, Catmint, Catnip, Roman Chamomile, Fleabane, Lavender
3rd week
Vegetables: Broccoli Raab, Collards, Kale, Kohlrabi, Lettuce, Mustard, Spinach
Flowers: Ambrosia, Baby’s Breath, Drumstick Flower, Angel’s Trumpet, Gaillardia, Helianthus, Hollyhock, Lupine, Petunia, Prince’s Feather, Rudbeckia, Salvia, Snapdragon, Stock, Verbena Bonariensis, Yarrow
4th week
Vegetables: Artichoke, Cardoon, Beets, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Lettuce, Salad greens, Asian Greens, Swiss Chard
Flowers: Ageratum, Corn Cockle, False Queen Anne’s Lace, Artemisia, Bells of Ireland, Calendula, China Aster, Bachelor’s Buttons, Gomphrena, Larkspur, Bee Balm, Phlox, Iceland Poppy, Ptilotus, Statice, Strawflower, Sweet Peas
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MARCH
1st week
Vegetables: Eggplant, Tomatoes
Flowers: Castor Bean, Celosia, Coleus, Cosmos, Marigold
2nd week
Vegetables: Peppers, Zucchini
Flowers: Bee’s Friend, Kiss Me Over The Garden Gate, Safflower, Nigella, Scabiosa
3rd week Herbs: Basil, Borage, Caraway, Chervil, Cilantro, Clary Sage, Culantro, Dill, Dragon’s Head, Epazote, Marjoram, Perilla, Rue, Summer Savory, Mingonette, Pennyroyal, Roselle, Sesame, Stevia
4th week Vegetables: Okra, Tomatillos
Flowers: Amaranthus, Blue Lace Flower, Hyacinth Bean, Salpligossis, Mexican Sunflower, Nasturtiums, Nicotiana, Zinnia
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APRIL
1st week Transplant: All vegetables, flowers and herbs seeded the 1st wk of Feb
Direct Seed: Lettuce, Salad Greens, Peas, Spinach, Scallions, Shallot sets, Onion sets, Sweet peas, Fava Beans
2nd week Transplant: All vegetables and flowers seeded the 2nd wk of February
Direct Seed: Asian Greens, Carrots, Potatoes, Radishes, Turnips, Spinach, Beets, Chard
3rd week Transplant: All vegetables and flowers seeded the 3rd week of February
Direct Seed: Lettuce, Salad Greens, Spinach
4th week Transplant: All vegetables and flowers seeded the 4th week of February Direct Seed: Beets, Carrots, Radish, Turnips, Scallions, Swiss Chard
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MAY
1st week Direct Seed: Lettuce, Borage, Cilantro, Dill, Chervil, Summer Savory
2nd week Transplant: All vegetables, herbs and flowers seeded in March
Direct Seed: (Soil must be 65F at 9am) Amaranth, Beans, Corn, Cucumbers, Gourds, Melons, New Zealand Spinach, Peanuts, Summer and Winter Squash, Watermelons, Cosmos, Nasturtiums, Zinnia
3rd week Stake: Beans, Tomatoes and Tall Flowers
4th week Direct Seed: Carrots, Beets, Corn, Beans, Pumpkins, Cilantro, Dill, Chervil, Summer Savory
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JUNE
1st week
Indoors: Take a nap
2nd week
Direct Seed: Beans
3rd week
Indoors: Biennial and Perennial Flowers, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Kale, Collards, Brussel Sprouts
Direct Seed: Beans, Cucumbers, Zucchini, Scallions
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JULY
1st week
Direct Seed: Basil, Dill, Coriander, Summer Savory, Chervil
2nd week
Direct Seed: Beans
3rd week
Direct Seed: Basil, Dill, Coriander, Summer Savory, Chervil
4th week
Direct Seed: Beans
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AUGUST
1st week
Indoors: Lettuce, Salad Greens
3rd week
Indoors: Lettuce, Asian Greens, Salad Greens, Spinach
Direct Seed: Rutabaga, Celeriac, Carrots, Beets, Radishes, Turnips, Scallions
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SEPTEMBER
2nd week
Transplant: Lettuce, Salad Greens, Asian Greens, Spinach, Brassicas
4th week
Transplant: Biennial and Perennial Flowers
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I used to use plug flats to start seeds, always with the inevitable wrapping of roots within each cell. Now I couldn’t live without my soil block maker. The roots actually grow to the edge of each block where, believe it or not, there is a tiny air gap. The roots just sit there patiently waiting to be either transplanted into a larger block, a pot, or the ground. Here are a few guidelines, my homemade soil block mixes, and the economical organic fertilizer from Steve Sullivan’s book Gardening When It Counts. It’s a must read for any serious home vegetable grower or small-scale farmer. Oh, and any doom-and-gloomers out there who are worried about survival in the future.
Like most organic farmers, I get the majority of my seeds and supplies from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. Their quality and reliability make up for the added expense and lack of pretty pictures on the seed packets.
GROWING SEEDS INDOORS
INDOOR SEEDLINGS
14-16 hours light daily.
One cold and one warm fluorescent light.
Keep lights 2” from top of seedlings by raising lights on chains.
Thin with scissors.
Pinch back flowers and herbs when 3-6” tall.
Water deeply before setting out transplants.
SOIL BLOCK MIX
3 gallons screened peat moss
1 gallon screened garden soil
2 gallons screened compost (no manure)
2 gallons perlite
2 cups fertilizer
3 gallons water
SOIL BLOCK MIX FOR MINI BLOCKS
2 gallons screened peat moss
½ gallon screened compost (no manure)
¼ cup fertilizer
IN THE GARDEN
HOMEMADE ORGANIC FERTILIZER
Fertilize monthly/Fruiting crops: wait until blossom.
4 parts seedmeal For green, leafy plants, corn and onions add:
¼ part agricultural lime/ 1 part blood/bone meal or wood ash
½ part dolomitic lime
¼ part gypsum Do not add ag/dol limes to potatoes and eggplant.
1 part rock phosphate
½ part kelp
COMFREY TEA -High in potash & nitrogen. Fill bucket ¾ full with comfrey leaves and fill to top with water. Cover and let sit one month. Strain and dilute with equal amount of water.
ALFALFA MEAL – 1 quart per 100 square feet – High in protein. Use to side dress and to activate compost pile.
WOOD ASH – 1 gallon per 200 square feet. Raises pH. Do not use for potatoes. Great for tomatoes.
FISH EMULSION with kelp or liquid seaweed. Dilute as directed and foliar feed.
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May the weather be with you.
– Sheila
My helper, Simone.
