Guides

How to grow a crop, and how to do a job in the garden.

Each one is written from published extension sources and names them at its foot. Every section stands on its own, so read the part you need.

Crop guides

Beans. Beans go in after the frost, once the soil has warmed, sown right where they'll grow. Pick them young and keep picking. Nine minutes to read.
Beets. Beets are sown where they grow, from a few weeks before the last frost. Pull them by size, not by the calendar. 15 minutes to read.
Cabbage. Cabbage starts indoors in late winter and goes out around the last frost. Cut the head when it's solid, before it splits. Seven minutes to read.
Carrots. Carrots go in as seed as soon as the soil can be worked in spring, and again in summer for fall. Getting them up is the hard part: sow shallow, keep the surface moist. Nine minutes to read.
Cucumbers. Cucumbers go in once the frost is past and the soil is warm. Then pick every two or three days, or the plant slows down. Nine minutes to read.
Garlic. Garlic goes in after the first killing frost and comes out the next summer. One clove in, one bulb out. Eight minutes to read.
Lettuce. Lettuce wants the cool ends of the year. Sow it in early spring and again in late summer, a short row at a time, and pick it before the heat makes it bolt. Twelve minutes to read.
Onions. Onions go in early and take the cold. The length of the day decides when they bulb, so pick the right kind for where you live, keep the water even, and cure them well. Seven minutes to read.
Peas. Peas go in early, while the soil is still cold and frost is still likely. The summer heat ends them. Six minutes to read.
Peppers. Peppers go out after the tomatoes, once the nights stay warm. Keep the water even, stake the heavy ones, and keep picking. Eight minutes to read.
Potatoes. Potatoes go in early, while the soil is still cool. Plant certified seed, hill the stems as they grow, and dig once the vines have died back. Eight minutes to read.
Strawberries. Strawberries go in as plants in early spring, as soon as the soil can be worked. Pick off the first summer's flowers, and a June-bearing bed gives its first real crop the next year. Nine minutes to read.
Summer squash. Summer squash goes in once the frost is past and the soil is warm, sown right where it'll grow. Pick it young, every day or two. Nine minutes to read.
Sweet corn. Sweet corn goes in after the frost, once the soil has warmed, in a block of short rows. Pick it at the milk stage and get it cold. Nine minutes to read.
Tomatoes. Tomatoes go out once the frost is done and the soil has warmed. Set them deep, give them something to climb, and keep the water even. Eight minutes to read.

How to

Build a low tunnel. Frost is in the forecast and the tomatoes are already in. Bend a few hoops over the bed and stretch a cover across them. Seven minutes to read.
Cover plants with row cover. Frost is forecast for tonight and the beans are up. Pull a sheet of row cover over the bed this evening, and in the morning pull the sides up to let the air in. Four minutes to read.
Cover your soil for winter. The last crop is out and the bed is bare. Rain and cold will work on it until spring, so get something over it before the ground freezes. Seven minutes to read.
Harden off seedlings. The seedlings are three inches tall under the lights, and the garden is two weeks away. Take them outside before you plant them, a little more each day. Six minutes to read.
Mulch strawberries for winter. The leaves have gone flat and red, and the hard freezes have started. Cover the bed with straw before the deep cold reaches the crowns. Four minutes to read.
Mulch the vegetable garden. The summer crops are in and growing, and the soil has finally warmed. Cover it now, before the dry spells and the weeds. Six minutes to read.
Net crops against bugs and birds. The squash went in this morning. Put the bug netting over it today, before the first cucumber beetle finds it. Seven minutes to read.
Save your own seed. The bean pods have dried brown on the plant. Pick them, let them dry a little longer indoors, and next year's seed is in your hand. Four minutes to read.
Sow a cover crop. The tomatoes are out and the bed will sit bare until spring. It's late for most covers, but cereal rye still goes in, and it holds the soil all winter. Five minutes to read.
Test and adjust soil pH. The beds are empty and the soil is still workable. Send some of it to a lab before you add lime or anything else. Four minutes to read.