Deciding when to plant vegetables is important to success

Decide when to plant vegetables so as to meet the right site, climatic and vegetable seed/ plant specific conditions.

It's no good just planting vegetables when you feel like it - you may get away with it, but it is best to take into account the site, your current local climate and the specific needs of the vegetables you are choosing.

Vegetables don't like cold wet soils, or poor soils or poor seedbed preparation. They often don't germinate out of their season and many cannot tolerate frosts.

Vegetables need nurturing, suitable conditions, the right balance of light and temperature to germinate and grow well. Sadly most are more fussy than weeds.

Get it wrong; weeds will grow and your expensive seeds may not.

So what are the golden rules?

• Ensure the soil temperature is above 10C, few seeds germinate below this and growth would be slow and more disease prone
• For frost sensitive species don't sow within 4 weeks of the normal last frost in your area
• Ensure a good firm moist seedbed where you can get good seed - soil contact on sowing
• Bare in mind vegetable planting times on the packet
• Stagger sowings/ planting through the planting window to bring on a series of crops so you don't have a glut. This works well for dwarf beans, beetroot, carrots, lettuce and many others too

For more on when to plant vegetables.

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