When to Plant Vegetables in Prince George, BC

Your vegetable planning guide for Prince George, BC

On average, your frost-free growing season starts Jun 4 and ends Sep 3, totalling 91 days. You will find both Spring and Fall planting guides on this page.

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For the Spring:
Your Spring Planting Strategy
Cole crops like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage can be direct seeded into your garden around April 23, assuming the ground can be worked, but it's better to start them indoors around March 26 and then transplant them into the garden around May 15. Do the same with lettuce and spinach.

Plant onion starts and potatoes around April 5. Sow the seeds of peas (sugar snap and english) at the same time. If the ground is still frozen, then plant these as soon as the ground thaws.

Do you want to grow tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants? Start these indoors around March 26. Then, around May 31 you should start watching the weather forecast and, as soon as no frost is forecast, go ahead and transplant those into the ground.

Now, for all the summer vegetables like beans, cowpeas, corn, squashes, pumpkins, cucumbers, watermelons, gourds and sunflowers, you should plant those seeds directly into the ground around June 4, or if your soil is still very cold, once the soil is near 60° F in temperature. Having said that, we note that your location has a shorter than average growing season. Many summer vegetables need more days to mature than your area will provide. For that reason, we recommend you get a head-start by starting these summer vegetables indoors around May 15, and transplant those seedlings out after the danger of frost is past.

Okay, now here are the cold, hard numbers, along with specific plants:

Crop Sow seeds indoors Transplant seedlings into the garden Direct sow seeds
Asparagus n/a Apr 20 - May 5 n/a
Beans n/a n/a Jun 4 - Jul 2
Beets n/a n/a Apr 9 - Apr 23
Broccoli Mar 26 - Apr 9 May 7 - May 21 n/a
Brussel Sprouts Mar 26 - Apr 9 May 7 - May 21 n/a
Cabbage Mar 26 - Apr 9 May 7 - May 21 n/a
Cantaloupe n/a n/a May 21 - Jun 4
Carrots n/a n/a Apr 23 - May 21
Cauliflower Mar 26 - Apr 9 May 7 - May 21 n/a
Chard n/a n/a Apr 23 - May 7
Collards Mar 26 - Apr 9 May 7 - May 21 n/a
Corn n/a n/a Jun 4 - Jun 18
Cucumbers n/a n/a Jun 4 - Jun 18
Eggplants Mar 26 - Apr 9 Jun 4 - Jun 18 n/a
Gourds, Squash and Pumpkins n/a n/a Jun 4 - Jun 18
Kale Mar 26 - Apr 9 May 7 - May 21 n/a
Kohlrabi Mar 26 - Apr 9 May 7 - May 21 n/a
Lettuce Mar 26 - Apr 9 Apr 23 - May 21 Apr 23 - May 21
Mustard Mar 26 - Apr 9 May 7 - May 21 n/a
Okra n/a n/a Jun 4 - Jun 18
Onions Mar 19 - Mar 26 Apr 5 - May 5 n/a
Peas (English) n/a n/a Apr 5 - May 5
Peas (Southern) n/a n/a Jun 4 - Jul 2
Peas (Sugar Snap) n/a n/a Apr 5 - May 5
Peppers Mar 26 - Apr 9 Jun 4 - Jun 18 n/a
Potatoes n/a n/a Apr 5 - May 5
Radishes n/a n/a Apr 20 - Jun 18
Spinach Mar 26 - Apr 9 May 7 - May 21 Apr 20 - May 21
Sweet Potatoes n/a Jun 4 - Jun 25 n/a
Tomatoes Mar 26 - Apr 9 Jun 4 - Jun 18 n/a
Watermelon n/a n/a Jun 4 - Jun 18

For the Fall:
Your Fall Planting Strategy
Gardening in the fall can be much more challenging than spring planting, because you are in a race to get your crops mature and harvested before the winter frosts begin, around September 3. This means you need to consider how much time each variety needs between planting and picking. Those numbers vary widely between different varieties of the same kinds of plants! Usually the "Days to Harvest" are present on the seed packet.

Most tomatoes, peppers and eggplants, for example, require around 100 days to harvest, therefore you'd want to transplant those into the ground around May 26. Anyway, it's important to remember that the numbers in this fall planting guide are only a starting point for you! Good luck and good gardening to you.

Fall is the time to plant garlic. Around July 20, take your cloves apart and plant the toes about 3 to 4 inches deep. This may not be accurate! Garlic dates vary wildly around the country. The way to be sure is to use a soil thermometer. When the soil temperature is 60° at a depth of 4 inches, then plant your garlic.

Cole crops like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage can be direct seeded into your garden around June 25, but because of the heat during that time of year, it's better to start them indoors around May 6 and then transplant them into the garden around June 15. Do the same with lettuce and spinach.

Sow peas directly around June 20.

Now, for all the usual hot weather veggies like beans, cowpeas, corn, squashes, pumpkins, cucumbers, watermelons, gourds and sunflowers, you should plant those seeds directly into the ground around May 21.

Okay, now here are the cold, hard numbers, along with specific plants:

Crop Sow seeds indoors Transplant seedlings into the garden Direct sow seeds
Beans n/a n/a May 21 - Jun 20
Beets n/a n/a Jun 20 - Aug 4
Broccoli Apr 9 - May 24 May 21 - Jul 5 n/a
Brussel Sprouts Apr 9 - May 24 May 21 - Jul 5 n/a
Cabbage Apr 9 - May 24 May 21 - Jul 5 n/a
Cantaloupe n/a n/a May 6 - May 21
Carrots n/a n/a Jun 5 - Aug 4
Cauliflower Apr 9 - May 24 May 21 - Jul 5 n/a
Chard n/a n/a May 21 - Aug 4
Collards May 6 - Jun 20 Jun 5 - Jul 20 n/a
Corn n/a n/a May 21 - Jun 5
Cucumbers n/a n/a May 21 - Jun 5
Eggplants Mar 25 - Apr 9 May 6 - May 21 n/a
Garlic n/a n/a Jun 20 - Aug 4
Gourds, Squash and Pumpkins n/a n/a Apr 21 - May 21
Kale Apr 9 - May 24 May 21 - Jul 5 n/a
Kohlrabi Apr 9 - May 24 May 21 - Jul 5 n/a
Lettuce Jun 5 - Jul 5 Jul 5 - Aug 4 Jul 5 - Aug 4
Mustard n/a n/a Jul 5 - Aug 4
Okra n/a n/a Apr 21 - May 21
Onions n/a n/a Aug 4 - Aug 14
Parsley Apr 21 - Jun 5 Jun 5 - Jul 20 n/a
Peas (English) n/a n/a Jun 5 - Jul 5
Peas (Southern) n/a n/a Apr 21 - May 21
Peas (Sugar Snap) n/a n/a Jun 5 - Jul 5
Peppers Mar 30 - Apr 14 May 11 - May 26 n/a
Potatoes n/a n/a Jun 5 - Jul 5
Radishes n/a n/a Jul 5 - Aug 4
Spinach May 21 - Jul 5 Jun 20 - Aug 4 Jun 20 - Aug 4
Tomatoes Mar 30 - Apr 14 May 11 - May 26 n/a
Turnips n/a n/a Jul 20 - Aug 19
Watermelon n/a n/a Apr 21 - May 21

How accurate is all this? For nearly all locations, we are confident in the dates. There are, however, some difficult areas of the world that don't match up perfectly with the dates we have given. For that reason, we recommend you use this guide as a very good starting place, but don't interpret the dates as absolutely perfect for every location.

Did you find this useful? Garden.org has a vast array of useful features. May we recommend that you take a look at our excellent food gardening guide?

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