When to Plant Vegetables in Gull Lk Biological Stn, MI

Your vegetable planning guide for Gull Lk Biological Stn, MI

On average, your frost-free growing season starts May 4 and ends Oct 11, totalling 160 days. You will find both Spring and Fall planting guides on this page.

Print this pagePrinter Friendly Version

For the Spring:
Your Spring Planting Strategy
Cole crops like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage can be direct seeded into your garden around March 23, assuming the ground can be worked, but it's better to start them indoors around February 24 and then transplant them into the garden around April 14. Do the same with lettuce and spinach.

Plant onion starts and potatoes around March 5. Sow the seeds of peas (sugar snap and english) at the same time. If the ground is still frozen, then plant these as soon as the ground thaws.

Do you want to grow tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants? Start these indoors around February 24. Then, around April 30 you should start watching the weather forecast and, as soon as no frost is forecast, go ahead and transplant those into the ground.

Now, for all the summer vegetables like beans, cowpeas, corn, squashes, pumpkins, cucumbers, watermelons, gourds and sunflowers, you should plant those seeds directly into the ground around May 4, or if your soil is still very cold, once the soil is near 60° F in temperature. Having said that, we note that your location has a shorter than average growing season. Many summer vegetables need more days to mature than your area will provide. For that reason, we recommend you get a head-start by starting these summer vegetables indoors around April 14, and transplant those seedlings out after the danger of frost is past.

Okay, now here are the cold, hard numbers, along with specific plants:

Crop Sow seeds indoors Transplant seedlings into the garden Direct sow seeds
Asparagus n/a Mar 20 - Apr 4 n/a
Beans n/a n/a May 4 - Jun 1
Beets n/a n/a Mar 9 - Mar 23
Broccoli Feb 24 - Mar 9 Apr 6 - Apr 20 n/a
Brussel Sprouts Feb 24 - Mar 9 Apr 6 - Apr 20 n/a
Cabbage Feb 24 - Mar 9 Apr 6 - Apr 20 n/a
Cantaloupe n/a n/a Apr 20 - May 4
Carrots n/a n/a Mar 23 - Apr 20
Cauliflower Feb 24 - Mar 9 Apr 6 - Apr 20 n/a
Chard n/a n/a Mar 23 - Apr 6
Collards Feb 24 - Mar 9 Apr 6 - Apr 20 n/a
Corn n/a n/a May 4 - May 18
Cucumbers n/a n/a May 4 - May 18
Eggplants Feb 24 - Mar 9 May 4 - May 18 n/a
Gourds, Squash and Pumpkins n/a n/a May 4 - May 18
Kale Feb 24 - Mar 9 Apr 6 - Apr 20 n/a
Kohlrabi Feb 24 - Mar 9 Apr 6 - Apr 20 n/a
Lettuce Feb 24 - Mar 9 Mar 23 - Apr 20 Mar 23 - Apr 20
Mustard Feb 24 - Mar 9 Apr 6 - Apr 20 n/a
Okra n/a n/a May 4 - May 18
Onions Feb 17 - Feb 24 Mar 5 - Apr 4 n/a
Peas (English) n/a n/a Mar 5 - Apr 4
Peas (Southern) n/a n/a May 4 - Jun 1
Peas (Sugar Snap) n/a n/a Mar 5 - Apr 4
Peppers Feb 24 - Mar 9 May 4 - May 18 n/a
Potatoes n/a n/a Mar 5 - Apr 4
Radishes n/a n/a Mar 20 - May 18
Spinach Feb 24 - Mar 9 Apr 6 - Apr 20 Mar 20 - Apr 20
Sweet Potatoes n/a May 4 - May 25 n/a
Tomatoes Feb 24 - Mar 9 May 4 - May 18 n/a
Watermelon n/a n/a May 4 - May 18

For the Fall:
Your Fall Planting Strategy
Gardening in the fall can be much more challenging than spring planting, because you are in a race to get your crops mature and harvested before the winter frosts begin, around October 11. This means you need to consider how much time each variety needs between planting and picking. Those numbers vary widely between different varieties of the same kinds of plants! Usually the "Days to Harvest" are present on the seed packet.

Most tomatoes, peppers and eggplants, for example, require around 100 days to harvest, therefore you'd want to transplant those into the ground around July 3. Anyway, it's important to remember that the numbers in this fall planting guide are only a starting point for you! Good luck and good gardening to you.

Fall is the time to plant garlic. Around August 27, take your cloves apart and plant the toes about 3 to 4 inches deep. This may not be accurate! Garlic dates vary wildly around the country. The way to be sure is to use a soil thermometer. When the soil temperature is 60° at a depth of 4 inches, then plant your garlic.

Cole crops like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage can be direct seeded into your garden around August 2, but because of the heat during that time of year, it's better to start them indoors around June 13 and then transplant them into the garden around July 23. Do the same with lettuce and spinach.

Sow peas directly around July 28.

Now, for all the usual hot weather veggies like beans, cowpeas, corn, squashes, pumpkins, cucumbers, watermelons, gourds and sunflowers, you should plant those seeds directly into the ground around June 28.

Okay, now here are the cold, hard numbers, along with specific plants:

Crop Sow seeds indoors Transplant seedlings into the garden Direct sow seeds
Beans n/a n/a Jun 28 - Jul 28
Beets n/a n/a Jul 28 - Sep 11
Broccoli May 17 - Jul 1 Jun 28 - Aug 12 n/a
Brussel Sprouts May 17 - Jul 1 Jun 28 - Aug 12 n/a
Cabbage May 17 - Jul 1 Jun 28 - Aug 12 n/a
Cantaloupe n/a n/a Jun 13 - Jun 28
Carrots n/a n/a Jul 13 - Sep 11
Cauliflower May 17 - Jul 1 Jun 28 - Aug 12 n/a
Chard n/a n/a Jun 28 - Sep 11
Collards Jun 13 - Jul 28 Jul 13 - Aug 27 n/a
Corn n/a n/a Jun 28 - Jul 13
Cucumbers n/a n/a Jun 28 - Jul 13
Eggplants May 2 - May 17 Jun 13 - Jun 28 n/a
Garlic n/a n/a Jul 28 - Sep 11
Gourds, Squash and Pumpkins n/a n/a May 29 - Jun 28
Kale May 17 - Jul 1 Jun 28 - Aug 12 n/a
Kohlrabi May 17 - Jul 1 Jun 28 - Aug 12 n/a
Lettuce Jul 13 - Aug 12 Aug 12 - Sep 11 Aug 12 - Sep 11
Mustard n/a n/a Aug 12 - Sep 11
Okra n/a n/a May 29 - Jun 28
Onions n/a n/a Sep 11 - Sep 21
Parsley May 29 - Jul 13 Jul 13 - Aug 27 n/a
Peas (English) n/a n/a Jul 13 - Aug 12
Peas (Southern) n/a n/a May 29 - Jun 28
Peas (Sugar Snap) n/a n/a Jul 13 - Aug 12
Peppers May 7 - May 22 Jun 18 - Jul 3 n/a
Potatoes n/a n/a Jul 13 - Aug 12
Radishes n/a n/a Aug 12 - Sep 11
Spinach Jun 28 - Aug 12 Jul 28 - Sep 11 Jul 28 - Sep 11
Tomatoes May 7 - May 22 Jun 18 - Jul 3 n/a
Turnips n/a n/a Aug 27 - Sep 26
Watermelon n/a n/a May 29 - Jun 28

How accurate is all this? For nearly all locations, we are confident in the dates. There are, however, some difficult areas of the world that don't match up perfectly with the dates we have given. For that reason, we recommend you use this guide as a very good starting place, but don't interpret the dates as absolutely perfect for every location.

Did you find this useful? Garden.org has a vast array of useful features. May we recommend that you take a look at our excellent food gardening guide?

Explore More:

Member Login:

( No account? Join now! )