Interactive lesson

The homestead year, step by step

Interactive lesson: what to do each month in the garden, orchard, field, barn, apiary and pantry, from the winter plan to closing the season.

Free sample Chapters 1 and 2 (8 steps) are free. The full lesson comes with The homestead year module. Already bought? Unlock

This lesson is general guidance, not professional training. Local regulations and expert advice always take precedence. Read our disclaimer.

The whole lesson as text

1. How to read the year

On a homestead you don't decide when it suits you, but when the time is right.

Lowland UK and Ireland — The months in this lesson are for the lowlands: most of England, Wales, lowland Scotland and inland Ireland.
Shift for your zone — On mild western and southern coasts everything is 2–4 weeks earlier. On upland and northern sites, above about 250–300 m, 2–4 weeks later. In the US and Canada, go by your USDA hardiness zone.
Last spring frost — In lowland England and Ireland roughly late April to mid-May, typically early May. In a frost pocket, at the bottom of a valley, frost comes much later still.
First autumn frost — Inland, typically late October. In the lowlands that gives 180–210 frost-free days.

Why: Tomatoes sown in May lag behind all summer, and garlic planted in late winter stays small. The key date is not the calendar but the last spring frost where you live.

Frost dates are averages: in any given year a frost can come two weeks later.
Record the frost dates on your own homestead in the monthly diary.

2. Signs in nature

Nature is a better calendar than dates, because it follows the real warmth of that particular year.

Blackthorn flowers — March: time for broad beans, peas, onion sets and radish under cloches.
Plum and apple blossom — When plum blossoms: lettuce, carrots, beetroot, spinach, first early potatoes. When apple blossoms: maincrop potatoes and tender crops sown under cover.
Hawthorn flowers — Mid to late May: planting out tomatoes and courgettes once frost has passed.
Soil temperature — Push a thermometer 10 cm (4 in) into the soil in the morning. Peas and spinach germinate from about 5 °C (41 °F), beans and sweetcorn from 10–12 °C (50–54 °F).

Why: Old growers sowed "by the flowers". Blackthorn, plum blossom, apple blossom and hawthorn tell you more reliably when to sow than a date does.

These rules are rough. Check them on your own ground.
Note blackthorn, plum blossom and hawthorn in the monthly diary.