Winter Growing & Season Extension

OVERWINTERING PLANTING CHART

Calculate Planting Dates to Overwinter Crops for Spring Harvest

Use our Overwintering Planting Chart as a guide to time plantings of crops for overwintering and harvesting as early as possible in the spring.

How to Use This Chart

  • The date of planting for each crop listed in the chart is given by the number of weeks before the last 10-day, ie, the beginning of the Persephone Period.
  • Your planting dates need to be back-scheduled  by that number of weeks from the last 10-hour day at your latitude. To identify this date for your location, use an app or website such as Sundial • Solar & Lunar Times or Sunrise Sunset.
  • The crops are grouped, as outlined in the key KEY, to reflect their reliability for overwintering success, from relatively easy to more challenging, as gauged by experienced high-latitude, four-season growers.
  • Click on the crop names to browse specific varieties we have trialed and selected for winter-harvest success.
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JOHNNY'S WINTER GROWING GUIDE
  Planting Dates for Overwintering for Spring Harvest
  CROP Start Transplant Direct Seed Week 15 Week 14 Week 13 Week 12 Week 11 Week 10 Week 9 Week 8 Week 7 Week 6 Week 5 Week 4 Week 3 Week 2 Week 1 10-hour day
Tier 1 Claytonia (Full)   ✔               8 7              
Kale (Full) ✔                   7 6          
*
Baby Leaf Brassicas   ✔                         3 2 1
*
Spinach (Full/Baby)   ✔                         3 2 1
*
Kale (Baby)   ✔                         3 2 1
*
 
Tier 2 Chicory (Cichorium intybus) ✔ ✔             9 8                
Wild Arugula (Diplotaxis tenuifolia)   ✔             9 8                
Salad Arugula (Eruca sativa)   ✔                         3 2 1  
 
Tier 3 Carrots   ✔     13 12 11 10                    
Other crops for overwintering Spring Onions ✔ ✔   14 13                          
Bunching Onions   ✔       12 11                      
 
key Key
 Use our Overwintering Planting Chart to time your plantings for earliest spring harvest.   Keep in mind that the planting dates are back-scheduled from the last 10-hour day at your latitude.  The number of weeks before the Persephone Period is calculated for each listed crop.  The crops are grouped, as outlined here in the Key, to reflect their reliability for winter production.  Click on the crop names to view varieties selected for winter harvest success.
TIER 1 Most Reliably Successful: Claytonia, Kale, Baby Leaf Brassicas, Spinach
TIER 2 Second Most Dependable: Chicory, Arugula
TIER 3 More Challenging: Carrots
PLANTING TIME 1–14 = Number of weeks to seed prior to last 10-hour day
 * Some growers find little to no advantage to seeding any earlier than the end of the Persephone period, and prefer to wait for day length to reach 10 hours again before sowing their earliest spring-harvest crops. So depending on your preferences and market demands, the brassicas and spinach varieties suggested here can be seeded before, at, and/or after the first 10-hour day as the winter draws to a close. When sown at the end of the Persephone period, it takes these crops approximately 6–8 weeks to reach harvest stage at our latitude / growing zone (44.5°N/4b) in Albion, Maine.
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