Your greenhouse isn’t just a growing space—it’s a time machine that lets you cheat the seasons. But without the right timing, you might as well be trying to grill steaks in a toaster. Here’s how the pros keep the harvests coming when everyone else’s garden is taking a nap.
Reading Nature’s Playbook
Seasonal planting isn’t about calendar dates—it’s about understanding your plants’ internal clocks:
- Spring’s Sweet Spot (when nights still have bite):
- Sugar snap peas that’ll climb anything like drunken sailors
- Spinach that bolts if you look at it wrong come May
- Hardy little radishes that laugh at frost
- Summer’s Heat Wave:
- Armenian cucumbers that grow faster than your kids outgrow shoes
- Malabar spinach (not real spinach) that thrives when regular spinach would melt
- Shishito peppers that produce like they’re getting paid by the pound
- Fall’s Second Chance:
- Mâche (corn salad) that sweetens as temperatures drop
- Tokyo Bekana lettuce that could survive a nuclear winter
- Purple sprouting broccoli that plays the long game
Your Month-by-Month Cheat Sheet
1. January:
Start onions from seed—they need the head start like a college freshman needs orientation. Use a heat mat unless your greenhouse stays tropical.
2. March:
Sow tomatoes… then resow after you inevitably drown the first batch. Cherry types like ‘Suncherry’ outperform beefsteaks when light’s still weak.
3. June:
Plant basils in every empty corner. They’ll smell better than your neighbor’s lawn and attract pollinators like a free bar.
4. September:
Sow fava beans directly—they’re the only bean that thinks freezing weather is a good time to party.
The Art of Staggered Planting
Succession planting isn’t just smart—it’s how you avoid the zucchini apocalypse:
- The Every-10-Day Method:
- Arugula (sow 10/10 until it’s hotter than your car in July)
- Bush beans (stop when daytime temps hit 90°F)
- Cilantro (until it bolts faster than a spooked horse)
- The “Oops I Forgot” Approach:
Keep spare seedlings of lettuce, chard, and kale waiting in the wings. When a space opens up (usually after something dies), plug them in.
Location, Location, Location
Your zip code changes everything:
1. Coastal Fog Belt:
You’re growing artichokes year-round while everyone else is jealous. Focus on brassicas that don’t mind wearing a sweater in July.
2. Mountain Valleys:
Your season’s shorter than a toddler’s attention span. Stick to quick-turn crops like turnips and mustards.
3. Desert Zones:
Your greenhouse is really a shade house from May-September. Embrace tepary beans and Armenian cucumbers that evolved for this abuse.
Pro Tip:
Keep a “death log” of planting dates that failed miserably. It’s more valuable than any generic planting chart. If your February-sown peppers turned to mush, write that down in angry red ink.
The Rhythm of Abundance
The secret isn’t complicated: Always have something going in, something growing strong, and something being harvested. When you nail this cycle, you’ll have the strange new problem of begging neighbors to take extra produce—which beats the alternative of staring at empty beds.