Aquarius Ranch

                                  VEGETABLE PLANTING & GARDENING CALENDAR

For Hinkley, Barstow, Newberry Spring areas in California

Lowest temp 2013 4° F       Highest temp 2017 130°F in sun

Sunset Zone 11     USDA Zone 7 (0 - 10 degrees F)

January

Pruning, tree planting

Prune fruit trees, grapes. Plan where you will plant what this year. Order veg seeds. Start early veg seeds indoors, like onions, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant. Transplant fruit, shade, nut, windbreak trees.

February

Soil preparation, tree planting

Amend, fertilize, cultivate, weed soil where you will plant. Transplant fruit, shade, nut, windbreak trees. Start herb seeds indoors. Root yams and sweet potatoes in jars of water. Plant cover crops.

March

Cool season crops

Plant onion sets, asparagus roots. Sow seeds outdoors for root crops like beets, carrots, turnips, radishes. Sow snow peas, cabbage family, spinach, cilantro, parsley. Last chance to transplant fruit, shade, nut trees.

April

Warm season crops with protection

Sow seeds outdoors for squash, melons, 1^st corn*, okra, cucumbers*, beans, sunflowers. Spring lettuce seeds.

Set out tomato, pepper, eggplant, herb plants with protection from late frosts.

May

Warm season fruiting crops

Sow seeds

directly into soil without frost protection for cucumbers, melons, squash, corn, black eyed peas, okra, sunflowers, New Zealand spinach (needs afternoon shade), amaranth. Sow 2^nd corn.

Transplant:

tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, rooted sweet potato slips

Sow seeds in containers

for: peppers*, tomatoes* for planting outdoors for fall garden

June

Fruiting crops

Sow seeds directly in soil for: late crop cucumbers, melons, squash, 3^rd corn*, black eyed peas, cow peas, okra, sunflowers, amaranth. Transplant rooted sweet potato slips

Tomatoes need afternoon shade and wind protection, temps over 90 kill pollen, get all leaves and flowers and no fruit until temps cool down below 90 in fall.

Heat also kills pollen in bell peppers, eggplant, cucumbers. Use tomato set spray to increase pollination.

July

Fruiting crops

Sow seeds

directly into soil for: corn, sunflowers. Sow pumpkins for Halloween early July. Black eye peas, cow peas. Sow seeds for green beans every 2 weeks starting July 19.

August

Leafy crops, cabbage family, all root crops for winter harvest. Beans and peas for fall harvest.

Sow seeds for lettuce in August in a cool place. Direct seed in soil: Brussels sprouts, bok choi, kale, cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, chard, green beans (short term), arugula, cilantro, parsley.

September

Root crops, leafy greens, peas, cover crops

Radish, beets, carrots, turnips, burdock, daikon. Transplant out the lettuce. Tomatoes may revive and start setting fruit again when temps cool down. Pick all tomato fruit before first hard frost or transplant plants into pots indoors. Green tomatoes will ripen indoors very nicely. Last chance to sow snow peas, snap peas, cabbage family. This is the time to plant spinach as August is too hot and October is too cold. Sow other leafy greens, like cilantro, mustard, arugula. Sow winter grains, like barley and wheat, and cover crops where you will plant next year. Harvest pistachio nuts and sunflower seeds.

October

Onion family

Plant directly in soil: onion seeds, shallots, garlic cloves (3“ under soil). Too late to sow spinach seeds for crop this winter, but will be eating size by next spring. Last chance to sow winter grains, like barley and wheat, and cover crops where you will plant next year.

November

Tree planting

Plant directly in soil: onion seeds, shallots, garlic cloves (3“ under soil)

Transplant fruit, shade, nut, windbreak trees.

December

Indoor seeds. Tree planting.

Start seeds for tomatoes, peppers, eggplant in containers for putting outside in April or May next spring. Transplant fruit, shade, nut, windbreak trees. Prune fruit and nut trees, grapes, after leaves fall off.

Compiled from various gardening books, other high desert gardeners, Victor Valley College agriculture classes, trial and error, planting vegetables in high desert for 11 years at Aquarius Ranch, and John Dromgoole,s “Monthly Garden Calendar for Southwest United States, Organic Gardening Month-to-Month Almanac” on the web. Please share this with other gardeners and let me know what works and does not work for you.

pennyharper@msn.com

May 2012

expanded Oct 2013

updated July 2015

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