What Vegetables Can You Grown When?

Many people put a lot of effort into their gardens, some prefer a simple garden with room to sit in, some like a garden to be filled with flowers and colours, and some want their garden to consist of home grown fruit and vegetables.

Of course many people are keen gardeners and have lots of space where they can grow their own produce, however some people just have a small space and fancy growing a few things, so here at The Garden Lighting Shop we have decided to try and help you get started by putting together a little list of what vegetables you can plant at what time of year, as well as when they can be harvested.

Asparagus – This is a tricky one to grow as it takes a lot of time and care, but its best to start the process in autumn and most plants are ready for picking two years after being planted. If you don’t want to wait that long you will be glad to know that there are many modern varieties available that have been bred for earlier cropping.

Beans – For runner beans, climbing French beans and dwarf beans seeds can be sown from April onwards and will be ready for harvesting throughout summer.

Beetroot – These seeds are sown directly into the soil between April and July and are usually ready for harvesting about 90 days afterwards.

Broad Beans – These seeds can be sown from autumn (October) onwards, so long as there is not frost on the ground. Frost can damage your broad beans so make sure you are aware of what to do if the temperate drops too low.

Carrots – Carrots can be sown from March/April onwards and need to be planted on a dry, sunny day. From June/July onwards you can harvest them as soon as they are big enough to eat

Celery – The best thing to do with celery is to plant ready-grown seedlings in spring, this way the plants will be ready for harvesting from summer into autumn.

Courgettes – With courgettes you have two choices, you can plant your seeds into pots from March until mid-May, or you can plant your seeds directly into soil from late-May through to early summer. During the height of the season you can harvest your courgettes several times a week; this will keep the plants productive.

Cucumbers – If you are growing these in a heated greenhouse you can sow these in early spring, if you are growing them in a non-heated greenhouse or outdoors then sowing should be done in mid-spring. If planted outdoors cucumbers can be harvested until mid-September, if planted indoors harvesting can go on into mid-October.

Leeks – You can sow leek seeds between March and April, which can then be harvested from mid-summer right through until the following spring.

Onions and Garlic – Sowing for onion and garlic seeds can be done around January or February and as soon as the leaves start to yellow and die back they are ready for harvesting.

Peas – These can be grown in two ways; they can be sown in a cold frame in autumn or straight into the ground in spring and both will be ready throughout summer.

Potatoes – When growing potatoes you first of all chit them, chitting is basically the process of speeding up the ageing process of the seeds by exposing them to light and a bit of warmth. You need to start chitting in late-January, early-February and then plant them in mid-March, early-April. The potatoes will be ready for harvesting between June and September, depending on the variety of potato and the growing conditions.

Sweetcorn – This can be planted in the spring and will be ready for harvesting by late-summer.

Tomatoes – Tomatoes should be sown in late February and will be ready for harvesting in summer.

Of course there are many more vegetables that you can grow but these are the most common; we hope that this is of some help to you and wish you luck with your garden!