When to plant?

[ThePigeonKid]

I live in Zone 6 and I want to direct sow these seeds:
Garlic bulbs
Parsley
Eggplant
Tomato
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Pepper
When do I plant them?
Thanks!

 

[catjac1975]

I live in Zone 6 and I want to direct sow these seeds:
Garlic bulbs
Parsley
Eggplant
Tomato
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Pepper
When do I plant them?
Thanks!

I am zone 5. I usual plant not hardy things the weekend before memorial day, tomatoes peppers eggplant. I would not recommend direct sow for any of the things just mentioned. You will not get a big enough plant for good production. It is not too late to sow indoors for tomatoes. I planted peppers and eggplant in Feb. -you need a good large plant of these to get fruit. What state are you in? Perhaps your season is longer than here in Massachusetts. This is a strange early spring so be careful of jumping the gun. The broccoli family -I just put out yesterday but I must watch for a real cold night.

 

[The Mama Chicken]

You might be able to put the garlic in now, but the rest of those I start indoors so I'm not sure.

 

[catjac1975]

You might be able to put the garlic in now, but the rest of those I start indoors so I'm not sure.

garlic is usually planted in fall.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm right on the border of zones 6 and 7, so I'm bit ahead of you.

The garlic bubs are best set in the fall, I'd guess late September - early October for you. You can mulch them over winter but probably don't absolutely have to. They'll grow a little before frost but mainly they are establishing roots. They really take off in the spring. I've tried planting them in the spring. Some made cloves and some didn't. You can still use the bulb for flavoring, but they really do better if you can overwinter. As far as when in the spring, I'd suggest as early as you can work the ground. For me that means as soon as it gets dry enough to work. For some people, that means when it thaws.

I don't direct seed any of the other stuff. I start my peppers and tomatoes inside in February and buy plants from the garden center to transplant for the other stuff. The parsley, cauliflower and cabbage can go in about a month or more before my last frost date. I'll cover them if the forecast shows expected temperatures in the mid-20's or below, but a light frost doesn't hurt them. I'm still pretty protective, especially with cauliflower. I find it more sensitive to frost than cabbage or broccoli.

The eggplant, tomato, and pepper are hot weather crops. Frost will kill them but they also won't do any good until the ground warms up a bit. They just don't like cold ground. I put in tomatoes and peppers yesterday and will get some eggplant in another week or so. This is about two weeks earlier than normal for me, but it has been a strange year and the 10-day forecast isn't too bad. If I get a freeze or frost, I have repalcement plants ready to reset so I'll take that chance. And I'll hold off mulching for a while so the ground can warm up.

My ground is surprisingly warm. I've actually had beans and corn sprout this spring with really good germination rates. That never happens when I plant them this early.

 

[SweetMissDaisy]

Here is another growing calendar that might help you:

http://www.burpee.com/gygg/growingCalendarWithZipCode.jsp?catid=1000&_requestid=276984

 

[ducks4you]

In Zone 6, direct sow these seeds NOW;
Garlic bulbs
Cauliflower
Cabbage

Start THESE inside NOW:
Pepper
Parsley
Eggplant
Tomato

Plant them NO SOONER in the garden then Mother's Day weekend.
I am also in Zone 6.
If you're asking, you haven't seen them frost out. Experiment with covers, etc. next year.