Garden Planting Calendar
Suggested Gardening Calendar for Nashville, TN
Warner Park Nature Center
Deb Beazley (615) 352-6299
This calendar has been devised as a result of many years of gardening and record keeping at the Nature Center. Having a greenhouse available has made it possible to start 85-90% of seeds inside and therefore this calendar includes dates for sowing seeds indoors and then dates for setting out seedlings into the garden. Also included are dates for direct sowing of certain seeds that will not do well as transplants, such as beans.
There are many benefits to indoor sowing and it is highly recommended. Benefits include: getting a much higher success rate of germination (so fewer seeds have to be sown); getting at least a two or three week head start over direct sowing; easier and better plant spacing because plants are set out exactly where you want them and thinning is not necessary (perhaps replacements instead); timing of plantings is planned properly so that healthy plants will be in the ground at the earliest date to preclude heavy insect attacks.
If you are unable to devise a way to start seeds indoors or in a cold frame or hotbed please review this calendar for outdoor planting dates and adjust your seed sowing accordingly to have strong, healthy plants in the ground at the recommended times. Also check local suppliers for organic seedlings.
EARLY to MID MARCH
TIME TO PLANT THE SPRING GARDEN!! Plant: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, chard, kale, leeks, onions, sweet peas, lettuce, spinach, beets, radishes, turnips and other greens. Be sure to include some kind of guard for cutworms, and treat all brassicas with BT every 2-3 weeks to avoid cabbageworms.
MID MARCH
MAJOR INDOOR SEED SOWING TIME. Sow seeds indoors of tomatoes, peppers, marigolds, zinnias, daisies, coreopsis, snapdragons, cockscomb, strawflowers, cornflowers, nasturtiums, cilantro, chamomile, cosmos, forget-me-nots, ageratum, poppies, Chinese lanterns, annual mums, asters, calendula, nicotiana, statice, bachelor buttons, basil, fennel, dill borage, and parsley.
DECEMBER
Contact seed companies to send their seed catalogs ASAP, otherwise they may arrive too late to start the earliest things.
EARLY JANUARY
Plan your garden and keep records of everything all year long. Order all seeds and other gardening supplies for the entire year, you may not be able to find any seeds or plants after midsummer for fall planting. Also, mail order supplies are generally available in greater variety, larger quantities, and less costly than those found locally
MID JANUARY
Sow seeds indoors of broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, chard, kale, leeks, onions, and sweet peas for planting in Mid-March. Start marjoram and rosemary fro planting in May.
MID FEBRUARY
Sow seeds indoors of lettuce, spinach, carrots (in peat pots) and peas (pre-soak peas in a rolled-up, wet paper towel then plant sprouts in peat pots). Thyme and lavender may be started indoors for May planting. Prepare beds for earliest crops. Spray fruit trees with dormant oil.
BE SURE TO HARDEN OFF ALL SEEDLINGS FOR ONE WEEK BEFORE PLANTING IN THE GARDEN.
EARLY APRIL
Sow cotton and okra (soak overnight) seeds indoors.
MID APRIL
Indoors start: cucumbers, squashes, pumpkins, watermelons, zucchini, gourds, corn, sunflowers, moonflower (scratch seed coat and soak overnight), morning glory, cardinal climber, cypress vine, and thumbergia. PREPARE GARDEN FOR MAIN PLANTING.
EARLY MAY
MAJOR OUTDOOR PLANTING TIME. Set out everything started above. All beans and peanuts must be sown directly into the ground, and an inoculant is recommended. Add compost with additives (green sand, alfalfa meal, bone meal, for example) when planting and use some kind of guard against cutworms for all plants.
JUNE, JULY, AND ON…
BE SURE TO HARDEN OFF ALL SEEDLINGS FOR ONE WEEK BEFORE PLANTING IN THE GARDEN. Consistent monitoring for insect activity and plant health. Fertilize about every 2-3 weeks with a foliar spray such as seaweed mix. Inject all squash family vines with BT every 2 weeks to avoid the squash vine borers. Check especially for squash bugs, cucumber beetles, and flea beetles. Always remove and dispose of all diseased and yellowed plant parts. Remove old flower heads of annuals often. WATER THOROUGHLY. MULCH HEAVILY. Make compost. Keep records.
LATE JULY
Start seeds indoors for fall broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and other brassicas…
EARLY AUGUST
Start seeds indoors for fall carrots.
LATE AUGUST
Start seeds indoors for fall lettuce, spinach, and peas.
EARLY SEPTEMBER
PLANT FALL GARDEN: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce, peas, spinach, onions, radishes, carrots, turnips and other greens.
LATE SEPT. THRU EARLY OCTOBER
Till or cultivate around whatever you need to leave that is still producing and sow a cover crop (like winter rye) for overwintering the garden. Remove all spent plants as necessary. Don’t leave anything out all winter that is not producing or being stored in the ground. Collect all seeds possible after they have dried on the plant and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
MID OCT. THRU NOV.
Continue collecting seeds, tilling when possible, removing spent plants and get the garden ready for winter by using a green cover crop or cover the ground with leaves. MAKE COMPOST.
DECEMBER
Begin planning for next year…