Keeping track of when each vegetable for your organic garden should be seeded, transplanted, and harvested can get tricky, especially if you’re new to the organic gardening world.
Fortunately, we’ve put together a list of the most popular home garden vegetables and determined when they should be seeded and how long you can harvest them.
The lists are broken down by each of the four gardening zones in Iowa:
Zone 4
- Beets – If you start your seeds indoors in mid-April, you can transplant in May and harvest by the end of July.
- Broccoli – Start your broccoli seeds indoors after March ends and they’ll be ready to harvest by the end of June.
- Brussel sprouts – If you start your seeds indoors in the middle of April, you can transport them from the middle of June to the beginning of August and harvest in September and October.
- Cabbage – Start your seeds indoors in the beginning of May and harvest come mid-October.
- Carrots – Carrots that are started indoors in mid-April can be harvested as quickly as the beginning of July. Prepare for a second round since you can harvest them through September.
- Cauliflower – If you seed your cauliflower at the beginning of May, it will be ready for harvest at the beginning of October.
- Kale – Seed mid-April and harvest end of June
- Onions – Seed mid-April and harvest mid-September
- Peas – Seed mid-April and harvest end of June
- Peppers – Seed mid-April and harvest mid-September
Zone 5
- Beets – Seed at the end of March for a harvest at the end of June.
- Broccoli – Seed in mid-March for a harvest around June’s end.
- Brussel sprouts – Seed in the beginning of April for a harvest at the end of October.
- Cabbage – Seed in the middle of April for a harvest time of mid-October.
- Carrots, Kale, and Peas – Seed in early April for a harvest at the end of June.
- Cauliflower – Seed in mid-April for a harvest of mid-October.
- Onions and Peppers – Seed in the beginning of April for a harvest that goes until the end of September.
Zone 6
- Beets – Beets can be seeded in the middle of March and harvested through the end of June.
- Broccoli – Seed your broccoli in the beginning of March for a harvest that goes until the middle of June.
- Brussel sprouts – Seed brussel sprouts at the beginning of May and enjoy harvesting them through the end of October.
- Cabbage – If you seed your cabbage in May, you can harvest it until the end of October.
- Carrots – Start your carrots at the beginning of April and enjoy them until the beginning of July.
- Cauliflower – Cauliflower seeds can be started as early as the beginning of March and harvested until mid-June.
- Kale and Lettuce – Can be seeded at the beginning of March and harvested until mid-June.
- Onions – Start your onions in the middle of March and enjoy harvesting them through the end of August.
- Peas – If you seed peas at the beginning of March, they can be harvested until the end of May.
- Peppers – Start your peppers in the middle of March and let them run until the end of September.
Zone 7
- Beets, Kale, and Lettuce – Seed at the beginning of March and harvest through the end of April.
- Broccoli and Cauliflower – Seed in mid-February and harvest until the end of May.
Brussel sprouts – Seed in the middle of April for a harvest that lasts until the middle of September. - Cabbage and Carrots – Seed at the beginning of March and harvest until mid-June.
- Onions – Seed at the beginning of March and harvest through the entire month of August.
- Peas – Seed in mid-February for a harvest that goes through the middle of May.
- Peppers – Seed your peppers in the beginning of March for a harvest that goes through the end of September.
