Planning Your Garden Around the Seasons

Use local conditions, seasonal temperatures and planting windows to make a more practical garden plan instead of trying to grow everything all year.

A garden plan is less about drawing rows and more about noticing cycles. When does your soil warm up? When does the rain really arrive? Write those two things down and most other decisions follow.

Cool season first

Peas, spinach, brassicas, broad beans — anything that prefers cool soil — goes in as soon as the ground is workable.

Warm season second

Tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, beans wait until the last frost has passed and nights stay above 12°C.

Leave space for the second wave

After your first crop finishes, there is room for a second. Think lettuce after garlic, or radishes after early peas.

Rest is a good plan too

Some beds — or some of your time — are best left fallow. A garden that is producing is still a garden that is cared for.