What to plant in your garden from spring to fall in Maine
Get the most from your fruit and vegetable garden
For many of us in Maine, summer flies by like a golden dream—and the growing season seems just as sweet and fleeting. But if you keep a backyard garden, with a little planning, you can enjoy a plentiful harvest from early spring to late fall. Use this handy list to strategize a growing plan that will allow you to rotate through all your favorite produce and savor the season in southern and central Maine from its earliest beginning to its lingering end.
This information—and more!—can be found on the Cooperative Extension website at extension.umaine.edu.
Early Spring
Plant as soon as the ground can be worked:
Plants
Broccoli
Cabbage
Seeds
Endive
Lettuce
Onion sets
Peas
Radish
Spinach
Turnip
Mid-Spring
Plant two weeks before the average last frost date.
Plants
Cauliflower
Seeds
Beet
Carrot
Onion sets
Parsnips
Swiss chard
Plant one week before the average last frost date.
Seeds
Beans
Corn
Early potatoes
Early Summer
Plant when soil and sun are warm.
Plants
Eggplant
Pepper
Tomato
Seeds
Cucumber
Lima beans
Melon
Okra
Pumpkin
Squash
Winter potatoes
Mid-Summer to Fall
Plant in late June to early July.
Plants
Beet
Broccoli
Carrot
Cauliflower
Lettuce
Radish
Seeds
Beet
Broccoli
Carrot
Cauliflower
Lettuce
Radish
Plant in early August:
Plants
(hot weather is not good for these plants)
Broccoli
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Seeds
Lettuce
Spinach
Turnip
Starting seeds indoors
If you want to get a head start on the season and seed your own plants indoors before transplanting them outside, the info below will help you know when to get them started. All of these take 1-3 weeks to germinate.
Plant + Weeks to sow indoors before last frost
Broccoli: 5-7
Cabbage: 5-7
Cauliflower: 5-8
Eggplant: 8-9
Head lettuce: 3-5
Peppers: 8-10
Tomatoes: 6-8
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Green & Healthy Maine is published by TheSunriseGuide, LLC. This article originally ran in the 2018 SunriseGuide.