Plant your vegetable garden seeds now in your green house or cold frame. I am in Northern California in Zone 9 with a last frost date usually around mid may although it can frost here in the first week of June. Spring Crops: I am starting my spring crops in my green house in flats. Lettuce, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. It is also a good time to plant your keeper onions, my favorite variety of keeper onions are Copra. I already started my Walla Walla early sweet onions in January and they are looking good. Summer crops Some people would think I am starting too early as it is still 10 weeks until we will be able to plant out our frost sensitive plants. I may have to bump up my starts to gallon pots but experience has shown me that planting now is the best way to get early tomatoes, peppers and melons. I mean who likes eating melons in September and October, there is so much other fruit and it is already getting cold. I like my melons in August and planting now is how to get them ripe when it's still hot. I am starting my peppers, tomatoes and melons and a few summer squash and cucumbers for early eating. At this time of year we get some warm days at least in the green house but cold nights. I soak my seeds up first in-between some damp cloth then plant them in low trays and then in a few weeks bump them up to 4X4 pots. As soon as I plant them in the low seed trays I put them in the green house. Starting vegetable seeds ( photo / image / picture from Farmer_Dave's Garden ) When I am really inspired for early crops I put up a cold frame and plant them out at the end of April. That usually gets me some ripe tomatoes before July 1st. I know some of you have some warmer weather and can get your tomatoes in early June. I am envious! Some people can even grow avocados and oranges.....We do have a great little Myer lemon tree in our green house. But I wish I could grow avocados. The price I pay for living in the wilds. Its worth it. "Seed, Weed and Harvest" Joys of Life Farmer Dave
It will be another month before it is warm enough for even a greenhouse and starting seeds here. Unless someone thinks that mid 50's for highs and high 30's for lows is warm enough. So jealous and I wish I could start them outside this early.
Plant your green house Your weather does not sound that different from mine, and we could easily get some frosts. Unless it gets down into the mid 20's a plastic hoop house should be fine for protecting your summer crops and if you don't want to risk it yet you certainly can plant all your spring crops in flats. Using a simple green house or cold frame gives you a good jump on the season. Good Luck Farmer Dave
Wow, maybe I will go ahead and build my small one. Any suggestions on how big or instructions to build it big enough to stay warm enough.
green house or cloche I just wrote you a long post and it disappeared? I would say go for it, you can build a simple 12'X12' hoop house using PVC pipe and plastic if you have a lot of flats to plant or want some flats and some bed space. You can also just do a 3'X 12' bender cloche. I posted some instructions on that recentlyI am working on some more detailed instructions for the bender cloche but they are really very easy to build. "What is not started today is never finished tomorrow" Farmer Dave moderator's note: removed website link, see point 1.1 of usage rules
