When to Plant Early Spring Vegetables in Zone 5

Believe it or not, there are some seeds that can be started indoors as early as January to prepare for the summer vegetable garden. These vegetables include leek and celery.

First Week of January

Leek can be started indoors, from seed, in the beginning of the month of January and transplanted outdoors to the vegetable garden 8 weeks later. Usually, this is done in March as soon as the ground can be worked. Leek is a warm and cold weather crop, so it can continue to be successively planted throughout the summer. Some varieties of leek take up to 120 days to mature, so to ensure it can be harvest in time, leek should be planted directly in the garden no later than July 15th.

Mid-January

Celery can be started indoors, from seed, in the middle of January. The celery will be ready to transplant out to the garden 6 weeks later. As with leek, this is usually done in early March, as soon as the ground can be worked.

The second week of February

Mid-February marks the earliest planting date for broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, endive, kale, and lettuce. All of these plants can be started this early by planting them indoors. Broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, and kale, will be ready to transplant outdoors 6 weeks later, which will be the end of March. Endive and lettuce will be ready to be transplanted outdoors in 4 weeks, which will be mid-March.

After the middle of March, all of these vegetables can be directly sown into the garden in successive plantings to ensure harvest all growing season. All of these vegetables should be planted before mid-July to ensure they are ready to be harvested by the end of the growing season, with the exception of lettuce, which can be planted as late as the end of August.

End of February
Toward the end of the month of February, cauliflower, eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes can be started indoors. The cauliflower can be transplanted to the garden 6 weeks later, or around mid-April. The eggplant, peppers and tomatoes, can be transplanted after 8 weeks, or the end of April. Be sure to cover these plants in the event of a late frost.

The First Week of March
Arugula, mache, mustard, peas, radishes, and spinach can all be planted the first week of March. They do not have to be started indoors. All of these vegetables are directly sown into the vegetable garden as soon as the soil can be worked.

Mid-March
In the middle of March, beets, carrots, lettuces, onion sets, parsnips, white potatoes, salsify, and swiss chard are ready to be grown outdoors. At this time, cucumbers and melons can also be started inside to transplant outdoors 4 weeks later after the last spring frost is expected.

End of March
Rutabaga and kohlrabi are ready to be planted outdoors by the end of the month of March.

Beginning of April

In zone 5, after the first week of April passes, beans, squash and corn can be planted outside. They are planted directly in the garden and 1 week before the last frost is expected. After the seed germinates and presses through the soil, be sure to cover the delicate plant if frost occurs. Beans take several months to mature and can be planted in successive planting up until 3 months prior to the first fall frost. In zone 5, the first expected frost date is October 15th. So all beans should be planted by July 15th to ensure they have time to reach maturity before it gets cold.

Beans work well as companion plants for squash and corn. To learn more about companion planting and growing beans visit: Growing Beans at Home