🪴Professional Guide to Garden Timing (What I Tell My NYBG Students)
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Last week we explored choosing the right plants for your garden. Today, I want to share how I turn my plant wishlist into an actionable plan that makes our gardens more successful. It all starts with what I call the Big 3 Questions (When is it going to be planted? How much to grow? Where is going to live?), let’s tackle the first one now: WHEN to plant. Just like a chef’s kitchen runs on perfect timing and temperature, your garden thrives when plants go into the ground at just the right moment. Let me share how I break this down in my own garden:
Heat-Demanding Crops (The Searing Wok) These heat-lovers need soil temperatures of at least 50°F at 4 inches deep. While Mother’s Day was traditionally our planting signal here in Westchester, our warming springs have shifted this earlier by 1-2 weeks in recent years. These include:
- Tomatoes (including our greenhouse favorites, Black Krim and Sungold)
- Melons and cucumbers ​
- Summer squash and zucchini ​
- Basil (plant near your tomatoes for a perfect pairing!)
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Temperature-Flexible Plants (The Gentle Simmer) These hardy plants can handle some temperature fluctuations and even a light frost. I start these in mid-April, but here’s a pro tip: plant them again in August-September for a fantastic fall harvest. Just remember to keep them well-watered during late summer planting:
- Beans
- Kale (gets sweeter after a light frost!)
Cold-Tolerant Vegetables These vegetables actually prefer chilly weather, making them perfect for early spring and fall gardens. In our Westchester climate, I plant these when nighttime temperatures consistently stay above 25-28°F, typically around late March for spring crops:
- Lettuce
- Spinach and radishes (perfect for succession planting)
- Snap peas (the best early garden snack!)
- The Brassica family (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts)
Quick Tip: For fall planting of brassicas, timing is everything. Plant these in mid-summer and let them mature as temperatures drop – a touch of frost actually triggers them to convert starches to sugar, making them sweeter! Next week, we’ll tackle the “HOW MUCH” question so we can ensure that we aren’t buried under an avalanche of zucchini or starved by a drought of cucumbers. ​ All the best, Nick ​ P.S. Dreaming about your spring garden in this cold weather? Our organic seedling pre-orders are available now. Put in an order for access to a wider variety and than we will see in-season and that early season discount! |
Homegrown Nurseries
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