Old Farmer’s Almanac Spring Planting Schedule (May)

As I wrote in my prior posts on my April planting schedule and heirloom seed sources and potato planting and asparagus harvesting, I am following the Old Farmer’s Almanac Gardening 2008 Calendar this year. As a a relatively new vegetable gardener (most of my gardening experience is as a flower gardener), the Calendar is an indispensable help in knowing when to plant what.

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According to the Calender for my area in New Jersey (zone 6b), May is the time to plant the rest of the vegetables I have not yet planted. Here’s a summary of what I’ve done to date:

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Outside the perimeter of the Children’s Garden:
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*Asparagus – planted three years ago, the first harvest was two weeks ago, the second harvest was last week, and the third harvest will be in the coming week; I love perennial vegetables

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In the Raised Vegetables Beds:

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*Brocolli Rabe (pictured) – seedlings planted in early April were harvested last week and were delicious

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*Lettuce, Swiss Chard, Carrots, Leeks, Beets, Onions, and Sugar Snap Peas – also planted in early April, but not yet ready to harvest

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*Potatoes (pictured) – seed potatoes planted two weeks ago have already started to come up–I just bought the salt hay to cover them this week

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*Tomatoes, Zucchini, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Pumpkins, and Watermelon – some were planted last week, the rest will be planted this week

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*Corn – to be planted this week Native American-style with a piece of whole fish for each seedling–this is another great project with the kids, though you have to harvest all of the ears the minute they are ready before the critters get to them