Vegetable Sowing Chart for Northern Hemisphere

Northern Hemisphere

Artichoke, Globe

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: July-September

Temperate: October-March

Cold: January-April

Artichoke, Jerusalem

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: February-May

Temperate: March-May

Cold: February-June

Asparagus

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: November-January

Temperate: December & January

Cold: December & January

Bean (dwarf)

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: August-April

Temperate: March-August

Cold: April-July

Bean (climbing)

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: August-April

Temperate: March-July

Cold: April-June

Bean (broad)

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: October-December

Temperate: September-December

Cold: August & September, December & January

Beetroot

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: August-April

Temperate: January-September

Cold: March-August

Broccoli

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: September-February

Temperate: June-November

Cold: May-August

Brussels Sprouts

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: None

Temperate: June-September

Cold: April-August

Cabbage

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: August-April

Temperate: December-October

Cold: February-September

Cabbage (Chinese)

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: January-December

Temperate: January-October

Cold: February-September

Capsicum

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: January-September

Temperate: February-June

Cold: March-May

Carrots

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: January-December

Temperate: January-September

Cold: March-August

Cauliflower

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: July-August

Temperate: June-September

Cold: May-July

Celery

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: July-October

Temperate: February-August

Cold: March-June

Choko

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: January-April

Temperate: February-April

Cold: None

Corn

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: January-August

Temperate: March-July

Cold: April-June

Cucumber

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: January-September

Temperate: March-July

Cold: April-June

Eggplant

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: March-September

Temperate: March-July

Cold: May & June

Endive

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: September-February

Temperate: February-September

Cold: March-August

Kale

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: None

Temperate: July-October

Cold: May-November

Kohlrabi

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: August-November

Temperate: July-September, January-March

Cold: July & August, February-April

Leek

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: October-December

Temperate: March-October

Cold: April-September

Lettuce

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: January-December

Temperate: January-December

Cold: January-December

Okra

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: February-August

Temperate: March-June

Cold: April-June

Onion

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: August-November

Temperate: September-January

Cold: October-February

Onion, spring

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: January-December

Temperate: February-November

Cold: February-October

Parsnip

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: September-February

Temperate: January-September

Cold: February-August

Pea (dwarf)

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: January-September

Temperate: August-February

Cold: November-March

Pea (climbing)

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: January-September

Temperate: August-February

Cold: November-March

Potato

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: August-March

Temperate: July & August, January-March

Cold: February-June

Pumpkin

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: January-August

Temperate: March-June

Cold: April-June

Radish

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: January-December

Temperate: February-November

Cold: March-October

Rhubarb

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: August-November

Temperate: February-June

Cold: March-June

Shallot

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: August-January

Temperate: August-December

Cold: July-November

Silverbeet

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: January-December

Temperate: January-September

Cold: February-August

Spinach

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: October-January

Temperate: August-December

Cold: August-February

Squash

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: January-August

Temperate: March-June

Cold: April-June

Swede

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: August-October

Temperate: July-September

Cold: February & March, July & August

Sweet Potato

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: January-August

Temperate: March-May

Cold: None

Tomato

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: January-December

Temperate: February-June

Cold: March-May

Turnip

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: August-November

Temperate: July-October

Cold: January-March, July-September

Zucchini

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: January-September

Temperate: March-July

Cold: April-June

Vegetable Sowing Chart for Southern Hemisphere

Southern Hemisphere

Artichoke, Globe

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: January-March

Temperate: April-September

Cold: July-October

Artichoke, Jerusalem

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: August-November

Temperate: September-November

Cold: August-December

Asparagus

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: May-July

Temperate: June & July

Cold: June & July

Bean (dwarf)

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: February-October

Temperate: September-February

Cold: October-January

Bean (climbing)

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: February-October

Temperate: September-January

Cold: October-December

Bean (broad)

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: April-June

Temperate: April-July

Cold: March & April, July & August

Beetroot

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: February-October

Temperate: July-March

Cold: September-February

Broccoli

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: March-August

Temperate: December-May

Cold: November-February

Brussels Sprouts

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: None

Temperate: December-March

Cold: October-February

Cabbage

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: February-November

Temperate: June-April

Cold: July-March

Cabbage (Chinese)

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: January-December

Temperate: July-April

Cold: July-March

Capsicum

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: July-March

Temperate: August-December

Cold: September-November

Carrots

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: January-December

Temperate: July-March

Cold: September-February

Cauliflower

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: January-April

Temperate: December-March

Cold: November-January

Celery

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: January-April

Temperate: August-February

Cold: September-December

Choko

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: July-October

Temperate: August-October

Cold: None

Corn

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: July-February

Temperate: September-January

Cold: October-December

Cucumber

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: July-March

Temperate: September-January

Cold: October-December

Eggplant

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: September-March

Temperate: September-December

Cold: November & December

Endive

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: March-August

Temperate: August-March

Cold: September-February

Kale

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: None

Temperate: January-April

Cold: November-May

Kohlrabi

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: February-May

Temperate: January-March, July-September

Cold: January & February, August-October

Leek

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: April-June

Temperate: September-April

Cold: October-March

Lettuce

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: January-December

Temperate: January-December

Cold: January-December

Okra

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: August-February

Temperate: September-December

Cold: October-December

Onion

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: February-May

Temperate: March-July

Cold: April-August

Onion, spring

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: January-December

Temperate: August-May

Cold: August-April

Parsnip

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: March-August

Temperate: July-March

Cold: August-February

Pea (dwarf)

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: March-July

Temperate: February-August

Cold: June-October

Pea (climbing)

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: March-July

Temperate: February-August

Cold: June-October

Potato

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: February-September

Temperate: January & February, July-September

Cold: August-December

Pumpkin

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: July-February

Temperate: September-December

Cold: October-December

Radish

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: January-December

Temperate: August-May

Cold: September-April

Rhubarb

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: February-May

Temperate: August-December

Cold: September-December

Shallot

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: February-July

Temperate: February-June

Cold: January-May

Silverbeet

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: January-December

Temperate: July-March

Cold: August-February

Spinach

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: April-July

Temperate: February-June

Cold: February-August

Squash

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: July-February

Temperate: September-December

Cold: October-December

Swede

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: February-April

Temperate: January-March

Cold: January & February, August & September

Sweet Potato

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: July-February

Temperate: September-November

Cold: None

Tomato

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: January-December

Temperate: August-December

Cold: September-November

Turnip

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: February-May

Temperate: January-April

Cold: January-March, July-September

Zucchini

Tropical / Sub-Tropical: July-March

Temperate: September-January

Cold: October-December

Food Gardening In Small Spaces

If you live in an apartment or only have quite limited space to grow your food plants, don’t despair. There are numerous solutions to gardening in small spaces.

Space can be at a premium, especially these days when apartments and condos are so popular. A simple solution for those wanting to grow at least a few basic herbs and vegetables is to grow in containers.

Maybe you don’t have the time to maintain a large vegetable garden, or you have a physical condition that prevents you bending down or using the usual gardening tools. Whatever the reason, container gardening can be a great way to produce some of your organic food needs.

You will be pleasantly surprised to learn how many plants will grow quite happily in containers, providing you give them what they need.

And in return you will get wonderful organic food, filled with life energy. I think that’s one of the things I love most about organic gardening – that I can pick something that I know has grown with no chemicals and eat it within 1 – 20 minutes. It’s something nutritionalists and the like don’t seem to consider – the value of the life energy from that plant becomes part of your life energy when you eat it.

It’s little wonder that there are so many health issues these days. People end up eating more and more processed foods that are unrecognizable from their original form. But that’s a whole other topic....

While container gardening may have its limitations, there are some great benefits.

• You have the advantage of being able to bring containers indoors through the coldest part of winter, prolonging the season.
• Your pots / containers can create a focal point on a balcony or patio area, adding interest, colour or foliage.
• Planters can be made from just about any type of container that holds soil and allows adequate drainage.
• Potting mediums are easy to work with as they are the correct pH.
• Weeds are much less likely to become a problem.
• Less likely to be attacked by snails, slugs, insects or soil borne diseases.
• The tiniest space – even a windowsill can be used to produce some fresh herbs

Soil

You need to purchase premium potting mix for growing in containers. Don’t be tempted to use soil from the garden in your pots as it will become compact and heavy, not allowing water to drain well. A premium potting medium is a must. It is lighter and so provides excellent drainage.

You will need to provide all your plants nutrients as most potting mixes do not come with organic fertilizer. Remember that more is not better when it comes to applying fertilizer. Too much fertilizer in contact with your plant’s roots will burn them. Always follow the directions on packaged fertilizers. There are many organic fertilizers available to choose from so look for blends suited to the type of plant you are growing - leafy, flowering, vegetables, etc.

Container plants need watering more frequently than normal garden plants, and as a result the water leaches away fertilizers. So container grown plants benefit from liquid feeds on a regular basis throughout their growing season. You can purchase organic liquid fertilizers if you don’t have room or time to make your own. Use them for foliar feeding and drenching the soil around your plants.

Watering

Because container plants are above ground the sun and wind will dry potting soils out quicker than plants grown in the ground. During summer you will need to take care that your pots do not dry out.

Water containers when the soil dries out to a depth of 1-2cm (1/2 inch). Apply water with a soft flow to be gentle on your plants and the soil. In really hot weather I usually re-water about 30 minutes after my initial watering. This is beneficial in containers as plants cannot always take up the water quickly.

It is important to make sure that your containers have adequate drainage or your plants will suffer and ultimately die if the roots are permanently sitting in water. If your containers sit on the ground, bottom holes may not drain readily.

If they are on a patio or are just off the ground, there should be no problem with bottom holes. If you’re not sure, make side holes or sit the pot on up off the ground on bricks or pavers.

Pieces from an old broken clay pot or fly wire placed over the drainage holes will keep the potting mix from packing around the holes and reducing drainage, as well as keeping it in the pot.

You can add some mulch to larger pots in summer to help prevent them from drying out. I like to use pea straw.

Choosing the right plants

When you’re growing in containers you will need to look for varieties that are the most suitable for growing in small areas. Many herbs make excellent container specimens. Try growing several together in one pot that like similar conditions.

As for vegetables you could start with some of the smaller vegetables such as radishes, lettuce, onions, capsicum or chillies, eggplant, short varieties of carrots, bush beans etc. Container planting is ideal to try out some companion planting techniques. You’ll have better success if your plant combinations are happy ones!

You can even grow tomatoes in pots. Look for smaller varieties such as cherry tomatoes or bush tomatoes that don’t require staking.

If you plant in three weekly successions you may be able to achieve continuous production of some plants, such as lettuce and radishes.

Strawberries grow well in containers, particularly hanging baskets if they are not allowed to dry out.

Location

Choose a position for you container plants where they get about six hour sun each day, preferably morning sun rather than afternoon sun.

You may also need to protect your plants from falling over in strong winds. If you have many pots they might provide some protection for each other. Place the tallest plants along walls or trellises.

And if you do have a trellis you can also try some climbing plants providing there is enough support. You might like to grow a passionfruit if you have a sunny wall. Or what about snow peas or sugar snap peas?

If space is really at a premium then you do really need to think about growing vertically. There are dwarf varieties of many fruit trees now that will happily grow in a good sized pot. You could espalier your fruit tree along a trellis if you have one.

Get creative. Hanging baskets could give you extra plant space for strawberries, cherry tomatoes or a basket brimming with herbs.

Many conventional gardeners find themselves with more than just a few plants growing in containers. I wouldn’t think of any other way to grow mints as they are just impossible if they escape into the garden. And how many people have the space for a full grown bay tree, when they only use a few leaves each week?

Tips For Container Growing

• Use a premium potting mix
• Add a slow release organic fertilizer when you pot up your container
• Also add water crystals to help keep the soil moist
• Re-pot your plants each spring to encourage vigorous growth (add slow release fertilizer every spring when you re-pot)
• DO NOT OVERWATER – allow the soil surface to dry out between watering
• And DO NOT ALLOW TO DRY OUT
• Keep new growth trimmed to promote bushiness
• Choose a sunny position – at least 4-6 hours a day

Yes, container plants take a little extra care, but we are well rewarded with our bounties. Try growing a few pots together. They look great and they provide a suitable micro-climate for each other. Good luck with yours!

Organic Food Profits

As a beginner to organic gardening you probably won’t have an excess of produce in your first growing season. If you have extra produce that you can’t use fresh, you can try your hand at freezing, bottling, canning, dehydrating and storing.

If you still have an abundance of produce – well done. You are clearly an excellent gardener. Friends and neighbours will be delighted with any organic food you are willing to share with them.

If you decide you want to grow much more produce than your family can use, you’ll be thinking about selling your excess. You need to research your country’s laws for organic certification.

In most cases it takes three to four years of growing to strict organic regulations before you can be certified as organic. In the mean time you can still sell your produce, but you must not call it organic until you are legally certified, but you can say that it has been grown without chemicals.

Of course the main benefit in getting the rubber stamp for organic certification is that your customers have the security of knowing that you definitely grow organically and so you can ask a far greater price for your wonderful, healthy food.

There are many other ways to make money from your garden. Craft items are always a good seller at local markets. Be as creative as you can. You will be able to grow many of the things you might need to create gorgeous gifts.

You could create seasonal or holiday themes, such as gifts for valentine’s day, mother’s day, Halloween and Christmas. I’m sure you could come up with thousands of ideas.

How To Have More Vegetables For More Of The Year

Succession Planting is the practice of planting the same type of plant, but at timed intervals – for example a month apart. By doing this with vegetables that you use a lot, you will be able to create a much longer supply for your family.

This works best with plants that grow happily for most parts of the year; or if you’re lucky enough to live in a temperate climate, even all year round.

It works like this. Say you plant lettuce at the beginning of September. You only need to grow a short row because you would plant a second row in early October; then another in early November. By the time you’re planting your November succession, your September lettuce are mature enough to eat (I prefer the type where you pick and come again, rather than harvesting the whole plant). If you keep planting a row of lettuce at the start of each month, you will always have lettuce ready to pick straight from your organic garden.

You won’t be subject to availability in the supermarket or price fluctuations. Now you may not need to plant that often if you don’t use a great deal of lettuce. Or you could plant a similar salad crop in alternative months; perhaps rocket, or beetroot, or different varieties of lettuce. Use your own judgement to suit the needs of your family.

Some plants that work particularly well as succession plants include: lettuce, rocket, radish, spring onions, cucumbers and carrots.

Others that work well in the main growing season include: bush beans, corn, beetroot, broccoli, cabbage, silver-beet and spinach; even zucchini. Try experimenting with various vegetables that your family loves. If you end up with too much you can always give some to friends and relatives.

That brings me to another way you can be sure to get the most from your organic vegetable garden. You can increase the length of your growing season by using different varieties of the same vegetable.

For example, you can put in an early, mid-season and late variety of many vegetables. That way you’ll have more of your favourite vegetables for more of the year, making whatever space you have available more productive.

You will find many fruiting plants are available in early, mid-season and late varieties too – again making it easier to provide for your family from your organic garden.

The real secret to succession (or successive) planting is planning – as with most things in the garden. Keep a garden diary or journal so you know when to put in your next crop. This will also be of great benefit in seasons to come. You won’t have to rely on your memory to see what worked and what could be improved on this year. And you’ll also know what you grew too much of and what you could have done with more of particular veggies.

I find it really joyful to grow my own vegetables from seed, so try saving some of your own seed too and see how you go with that.

Table Preferences : How much do I plant?

How much do I plant?

This section is intended as a guide as our food needs are so varied, depending on how many there are in your family, how many meals you eat at home, how much you like to eat, how many visitors you get.

Then there’s your families personal taste preferences to consider. There’s not much point in growing 10 eggplant vines if only one person likes it. But if you like to make your own batch of tomato sauce to see you throughout the year, you’ll want to grow extra tomatoes, onions and garlic to provide your own delicious, organic ingredients.

The following plant numbers are roughly based on the needs of a family of two adults and two children (assuming your children eat vegetables!), so add or take to suit your own requirements.

Some seasons you’ll end up with an excess of some things. I’ve never found it to be a problem when there are so many great recipes for pickles, preserves or sauces – not to mention my friends and family who are thrilled when I turn up a box of goodies for them!

Of course you will also need to consider how much available space you have. If space is limited grow the things you like most – or vegetables that cost the most if you had to pay for them – or hard to get vegetables, that perhaps won’t be particularly fresh by the time they get to your table.

Beans	We usually grow several types – climbing and bush varieties. A seed packet in spring, then another in summer when the last lot is flowering. Grow more if you want to dry some for winter.
Beetroot	12 – 20 plants early spring, the same late spring, and again mid-summer
Broad Beans	Plant blocks of about 2 square meters late autumn / early winter. Grow more if you want to dry some
Broccoli	Twenty or so plants in mid-late summer
Brussels Sprouts	Twelve plants mid-late summer
Cabbage	12 cabbages and red cabbage in spring, plus 20 – 30 small cabbages late summer
Capsicum (peppers)	One dozen plants in spring
Carrots	Plant about a square meter per month, during spring
Cauliflower	20 – 30 plants in late summer
Celery	Around 15 plants, 30 plants if you want a lot for salads
Chilli	2 or 3 plants every other year
Corn	30 – 50 plants (in blocks) in spring, then more throughout summer
Cucumbers	6 plants in spring, then another 6 plants mid-summer
Eggplant	2 – 6 bushes
Leeks	50 – 100 plants, depending on what you use them for
Lettuce	If you eat a lot of salad 6 plants every week most of the year, except mid-winter. Plant extra late in summer for winter lettuces or grow cut & come again lettuce
Melons	6 plants or more! You can grow them among your flowers
Onions	About 400 seedlings + spring onions + chives + garlic
Parsley	A dozen flat leaf & a dozen curly leaf plants – feed well
Parsnips	Parsnip seed only germinates if it is really fresh, so you may have to sow a lot of seed your first time. But then if you let one go to seed and self-sow you’ll always have enough
Peas	At least 3 packets in autumn and 3 in spring – more if you want to freeze some
Potatoes	You’ll need about 200 kg a year. Plant a large sack of seed potatoes. You’ll find you miss gathering some and they will produce some of your next years crop
Pumpkins	10 or 12 vines, include several bush varieties
Radish	Sow a packet of seeds every other month throughout the year
Silverbeet/Spinach	10 – 20 plants, a combination of Silverbeet, spinach & chard
Tomatoes	12 plants (double if you make sauce), 2 grafted plants, a cherry tomato, an egg tomato & a climbing yellow or heirloom variety
Zucchini	2 - 4 plants in spring, 2 mid-summer

How To Grow Perennial Vegetables

All organic gardeners love the time of year when the last frosts have been, the soil is warming up and the daffodils nod their heads, saying that spring is here. It’s time to start planting your annual vegetable garden.

But what a fantastic supplement to the garden would it be if there were vegetables available that don’t need to be replanted each year? You plant them once, then feed and water them and you can just keep picking them year after year.

Well, there are vegetables that you plant in a permanent position and they provide you with food on an ongoing basis. A perennial is defined as having a life cycle lasting more that two years. They generally die back during the cold winter months and emerge the following spring.

So a perennial vegetable is an edible plant that comes back each year. This way you have less to do, you disturb the soil less and your perennials become more drought and frost hardy as their roots grow deeper every year.

Soil Preparation For Perennials

All perennials will benefit from soil preparation that increases the nutrient levels and the moisture holding capacity of their garden bed. I like to grow my perennial vegetables separate from the annual plots, so that I’m not disturbing them on a regular basis.

If you have clay or heavy soils your perennials will benefit greatly if you use raised beds, as most perennials need good drainage to perform well.

Adding humus or compost to the soil will greatly improve growing conditions in heavy soils that dry out in summer, as well as lighter soils. Improving the soil will also increase the life and productivity of your perennial plants.

You want to prepare the beds well in advance of buying your plants. You want to make all of your amendments long before you bring your perennials home.

When you have got your new plants home, this is how you need to plant them into their permanent positions.

• Dig a hole in the soil twice the depth of your plant and fill with water
• Mix in a generous amount of mature, rich, organic material or compost to the soil that you took from the hole
• Backfill the hole with the humus enriched soil. The addition of the mature organic matter provides extra nutrients below the soil that will also have increased water holding capacity, maintaining the moisture available to the roots of these perennial plants throughout the dry summer months.
• Spread a light layer of organic fertiliser on top of the soil to help quickly develop a good root system
• Mulch the soil around your perennials, making sure that the mulch doesn’t come right up to the crown or base of the plant as it may cause your plant to rot

Perennial Vegetables you might like to try – bearing in mind your climatic zone, as some of these perennials are not frost tolerant.

Artichokes, Asparagus, Beans (perennial), Broccoli (perennial), Cardoon, Chard (perennial), Chicory, Chives, Chokos, Corn Salad, Dandelions, Fennel, French sorrel, Garlic Chives, Ginger, Good King Henry, Japanese hornwort, Jerusalem artichokes, Lemon Balm, Lovage, New Zealand spinach, Purslane, Rhubarb, Rocket, Sorrel, Sweet potato, Tamarillo, Walking Onions.

Perennial vegetables are a perfect addition to an edible landscape gardening plan or permaculture garden. Many are very attractive and make excellent feature plants as well as give you food.

Remember that since they will grow in the same soil for many years, it is vitally important that they are given a sunny position, with well-drained soil full of organic matter. Planting perennial vegetables is a truly rewarding investment in your organic garden and you kitchen.

Each year as it warms up in spring, give your perennials a generous layer of organic fertilizer, then mulch with a layer of compost, leafmould or straw – or even better, both.