Take a look at our garden calendar. We have listed all of the tasks that need to happen throughout the year to keep our school gardens thriving. The items that are in bold have a lesson plan associated with the task. The other tasks are usually done by the garden educator or supportive volunteers.

Date Range

 Action Notes
Feb 19 Feb 26 Pruning Raspberries
Feb 26 Mar 12 Install New or Clean Existing Birdhouses optional
Mar 19 Till Soil Peas & Roots, Grains, Tomato, Three Sisters, Pepper beds
Mar 19 Broadcast Crimson Clover One cup of seed will seed 5-6 beds. Use inoculant. Rake in after broadcasting.
Mar 19 Direct Seed Sugar Snap Peas 2 rows 12’ apart: 1.5” spacing. Use inoculant.
Mar 19 Harden Off Broccoli
Mar 26 Transplant Broccoli (Tendergreen F1) 15 seedlings. 18” spacing. Mulch after transplanting.
Mar 26 Till Soil for Lettuce Greens bed
Mar 26 Row Seed Lettuce Greens bed. Aerate soil to a fine tilth. 3 rows: 3 passes per row.
Apr 2 Apply Dried Blood to Sugar Snap Peas To deter rabbits. A second or third application may be necessary.
Apr 2 Divide Chives Transplant to new location
Apr 2 Apr 16 Take Cuttings from Raspberry Suckers Transplant same day to new location
Apr 2 Apr 16 Take Cuttings from Mint Transplant to new location
Apr 9 Till Soil for Turnips Peas & Roots bed, Tomato bed
Apr 9 Direct Seed Turnips 12’ row in Peas & Roots bed. 2” spc. A second 12’ row could be planted in Tomato bed where basil will go.
Apr 9 Install Row Cover for Turnips Install an 18’ length over turnips in Peas & Roots bed using 4 wire hoops. Keep edges of cover secure with bricks or spade-fulls of soil.
Apr 9 Harden Off Leeks and Sweet Alyssum
Apr 16 May 1 Direct Seed Fingerling Potato Potato bed.
Apr 16 Transplant Leeks 12 seedlings. 6” spacing. Potato bed. Transplant into a trench so that it gradually fills with eroded soil and “hills up” the leeks.
Apr 16 Transplant Sweet Alyssum 2 seedlings. Potato bed.
Apr 16 Harden Off Sage and Thyme If these herbs are necessary.
Apr 23 Transplant Sage and Thyme If these herbs are necessary.
Apr 23 Turn Under Crimson Clover Grains and Tomato beds
May 1 Thin Turnips Thin to 2” spacing.
May 1 Remove Row Cover from Turnips Remove hoops. Fold cover. Stow in toolbox.
May 1 Harden Off Amaranth
May 8 Turn Under Crimson Clover Pepper and Three Sisters beds
May 8 May 15 Direct Seed Wheat Grains bed. 8 inch wide band. Broadcast at approximately 1 seed per square inch.
May 8 May 15 Direct Seed Sunflower, Hyacinth Bean, Tithonia, Zinnia, Bachelor’s Button Grains bed
May 8 May 15 Transplant Amaranth Grains bed. Take self-sown seedlings from another part of the garden.
May 8 May 15 Direct Seed Nasturtium Tomato bed. 16” spacing.
May 8 Start Sweet Potato Slips Suspend a sweet potato in a wide mouth quart jar full of water so that the bottom third of the sweet potato is submersed.
May 15 Start Compost Tea optional
May 15 Harden Off Ground Cherry, Parsley, Tomato, Marigold, Strawflower
May 15 Direct Seed Popcorn Three Sisters bed
May 22 Turn Under Spinach Harvest leaves. Compost roots
May 22 Transplant Ground Cherry 8 seedlings. 18” spacing. Use burlap bags as landscape fabric. Cut holes at correct spacing and transplant into those holes.
May 22 Transplant Tomato 8 seedlings. 18” spacing
May 22 Transplant Marigold, Parsley, and Strawflower Pepper bed
May 22 Direct Seed Winter Squash Three Sisters bed
May 22 Harden Off Basil, Pepper
May 29 Transplant Basil Tomato bed. 12 seedlings. 12” spacing.
May 29 Transplant Pepper 12 seedlings. 18” spacing.
May 29 Direct Seed Pole Bean Three Sisters bed
Jun 5 Prune Garlic Cut seedheads when they develop a crook in their neck just above the point where they exit the garlic leaves.
Jun 5 Root Sweet Potato Slips Place in a protected location outdoors to harden off. Check water level often.
Jun 5 Jun 12 Prune Tomatoes Remove the small suckers developing in the crook of the branches.
Jun 5 Jun 12 Install Tomato Stakes and Trellis Tomatoes Use Jute twine to weave in and out of tomatoes, tying off at the stakes about 1 ft from the ground.
Jun 12 Mulch Tomato, Potato, Pepper beds
Jun 12 Remove Broccoli Compost leaves. Trash stalk.
Jun 12 Transplant Sweet Potato 8 seedlings. 18” spacing. Make sure broccoli has been removed first.
Jun 12 Jun 19 Turn Under Peas Remove vines above ground to compost. Turn under roots.
Jun 19 Row Seed Carrot (Nelson F1) Aerate soil to a fine tilth.2 rows: 3 passes per row.
Jul 3 Harvest Garlic Brush off dirt. Bundle into about a dozen and hang in a sheltered location out of direct sunlight to dry.
Jul 3 Turn Under Lettuce
Jul 3 Direct Seed Beet 4” spacing. Middle of carrot bed.
Jul 3 Direct Seed Borage Plant where other crops have failed to fill in gaps.
Jul 3 Harden Off Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Dill, Kale
Jul 3 Jul 10 Prune Everbearing Raspberry Canes Remove the dead canes by cutting them about 1” from the ground.
Jul 10 Transplant Broccoli (Piracicaba) Greens bed. 4 seedlings. 18” spc.
Jul 10 Transplant Cauliflower Greens bed. 4 seedlings. 18” spc.
Jul 10 Transplant Cabbage Greens bed. 4 seedlings. 18” spc.
Jul 10 Transplant Kale Greens bed. 3 seedlings. 18” spc.
Jul 10 Transplant Dill Greens bed. 4 seedlings.
Jul 10 Mulch Greens Bed
Jul 10 Direct Seed Cilantro Greens bed. 6” spacing
Jul 24 Direct Seed Carrot (Napoli F1 Pelleted) Loosen soil to a fine tilth.1” spacing.
Jul 24 Install Pepper Stakes Use vinyl tying tape to secure pepper stem to 3’ bamboo stake.
Aug 27 Sep 10 Harvest Wheat Stalks should be golden and the wheat berries doughy. Bundle.
Sep 3 Sep 24 Harvest Potatoes Plants should have died back. Use garden fork to loosen soil, taking care not to pierce potatoes. Store in a cool pantry.
Sep 3 Sep 24 Harvest Popcorn Husks should be golden. Peel back husks, tie them together, and hang in sheltered location to dry.
Sep 3 Sep 24 Harvest Winter Squash Rind should be hard. Cure in a sunny, sheltered place for 2-3 weeks.
Sep 3 Sep 24 Harvest Pole Beans Pods should be yellowing to brown. Spread out on an elevated window screen to dry.
Sep 3 Sep 24 Harvest Sweet Potato Cure in a warm, humid location for 2 weeks. Store in a cool pantry.
Sep 3 Sep 24 Harvest Carrots (Nelson F1) Wash, cut off tops, and store in fridge in a plastic bag away from apples.
Sep 3 Sep 24 Remove Plants Three Sisters, Ground Cherry. Make sure all crops have been harvested.
Sep 3 Sep 24 Direct Seed Spinach Grains bed. Plant where wheat was.
Sep 3 Sep 24 Broadcast Field Peas and Oats Three Sisters, Ground Cherry, Potato, Broccoli & Batata beds
Sep 17 Oct 1 Thresh and Winnow Wheat About three weeks after wheat is bundled. Wheat berries should be hard.
Sep 24 Oct 8 Harvest Peppers Peppers should be red. String thread through stems to create a ristra. Hang out of direct sunlight to dry.
Sep 24 Oct 29 Harvest Beets Wash, cut off tops, and store in fridge in a plastic bag away from apples.
Sep 24 Oct 29 Harvest Cauliflower Store in a plastic bag in the fridge.
Oct 15 Nov 5 Remove Popcorn Husks and Seal Cobs in a Container About six weeks after cobs have been hung to dry
Oct 15 Nov 5 Remove Plants Tomato, Pepper, Grains beds. Be careful not to disturb spinach.
Oct 15 Nov 5 Apply Amendments Lime, Greensand, and Phosphate. Tomato, Pepper, Grains beds.
Oct 15 Nov 5 Harvest Cabbage Slice at base of head. Remove bad leaves. Store in a plastic bag in the fridge.
Oct 29 Nov 5 Direct Seed Garlic 6” spacing. Apply mulch.
Oct 29 Nov 5 Direct Seed Single Late Tulip If necessary
Oct 29 Nov 5 Mulch Carrots and Spinach Cover loosely with a thick layer.
Nov 5 Nov 19 Bring in Lemon Verbena
Nov 19 Remove Plants Greens bed. Apply mulch.