My garden hasn’t had frost – either hard or light – for many years, but I still consider that there are two separate ranges of dates for sowing vegetable seeds of cool-season crops.  The critical date is January 31, which is the average last frost date for my garden. 
     I consider this to split our cool season into two pieces.  Seeds sown prior to that date will develop during progressively cold weather and therefore probably bolt or go to seed as the weather begins warming in the spring.  Seeds sown after that date will develop during progressively warm weather and continue to bear food until they bolt in the summer. 
     So, I sow my cool-season seeds twice, during both timeslots.  Seeds sown in August through November will be for harvesting through the winter.  Seeds sown in February and March will be for harvesting through the spring.  I can’t count on the August-through-November plants to bear through till spring, because they’ll bolt as soon as the spring warmth tells them to set their seed.  So, my February-and-March sowing begins harvest when the first batch bolts. 
     I count on more of a yield with the earlier planting since it has several months of harvest, and less of a yield with the spring sowing because the plants have a shorter time to develop and me to harvest before they bolt.
     So, for example, I sowed parsley last fall, and we’ve been eating it since then, cutting several times.  These plants will bolt with spring’s warmth, so my parsley that I’ll sow in February and March will provide all the parsley we’ll need from then through early summer.  Then, I’ll sow it again next fall. 
 
What Are Frost Temperatures and Damage?
According to https://www.almanac.com/gardening/frostdates/, the classification of freeze temperatures is based on their effect on plants:

• Light freeze: 29° to 32°F — tender plants are killed.
• Moderate freeze: 25° to 28°F — widely destructive to most vegetation.
• Severe freeze: 24°F  and colder — heavy damage to most garden plants.

 
What Should I Plant When?
According to https://www.almanac.com/gardening/planting-calendar/zipcode/ (put in your own zipcode), there are listings of many vegetables and the general date range to start seeds indoors, plant seedlings or transplants outdoors, or start seeds outdoors.  Instead of the “N/A” entries, I recommend doing that activity at a date similar to the other entries.  For example, sowing beets outdoors from mid-February to mid-March.  Also, because we never really know what the weather will do, I recommend additional sowings later in the season (as April and May for those beets) for potentially more food!  If those additional sowings don't develop after all, that's ok -- because if they do, then you've got lots more food for that simple "gamble"!
 
Some Cool-Season Varieties I’ve Enjoyed

• Beets – Bulls Blood, Chioggia, Cylindra, Detroit Dark Red, Early Wonder, Ruby Queen
• Broccoli – Calabrese Green Sprouting, DiCicco, Purple Sprouting
• Broccoli Raab , Bok Choy, Other Greens – Aspabroc, Green Glaze Collards, Kailaan Chinese Broccoli, Komatsuna Japanese Spinach Mustard, Purple Lady Bok Choy, Rapini, Tatsoi, Toy Choy, Yellow Heart Winter Choy
• Carrots – Bolero Nantes, Danvers Half-Long, Little Finger, Romeo, Scarlet Nantes, Thumblina,
• Cauliflower – Cheddar, Romanesco, Sicilian Violet, Verde Di Macerata
• Kale – Lacinato, Red Russian, Blue Curled Scotch Vates,  
• Kohlrabi – Purple Vienna, White Vienna
• Leek – American Flag, French Baby, Giant Musselburg, King Richard, Primor, Striesen, White Lisbon,
• Lettuce – Bibb, Black Seeded Simpson, Bronze Mignonette, Buttercrunch, Butterhead, Butter King, Cimaron, Cosmic Crimson, Forellenschluss, Marvel of Four Seasons, May Queen, Red Salad Bowl, Rouge D’Hiver, Sanguine Ameliore, Speckles, Tennis Ball, Tom Thumb, Valentine
• Peas (Shelling) – Alaska, Frosty, Green Arrow, Kelvedon Wonder, King Tut Purple, Laxton’s Progress #9, Lincoln, Little Marvel, Maestro, Wando
• Peas (Edible Pod, flat) – Dwarf Grey Sugar, Mammoth Melting, Oregon Sugar Pod II,
• Peas (Edible Pod, full) – Cascadia, Royal II Sugar Snap, Sugar Ann, Sugar Daddy, Sugar Magnolia, Sugar Snap, Sugar Snappy, Super Sugar Snap, Tendersweet
• Spinach – Bloomsdale Long Standing, Dark Green Bloomsdale, Giant Noble, Merlo Nero, Oriental Giant
• Swiss Chard – Bright Lights, Celebration, El Dorado, Five Color, Fordhook Giant, Garden Rainbow, Italian Silver Rib, Neon Glow, Neon Lights, Peppermint Stick, Ruby Red

 

     That wonderful week of rain – 5 inches here in Pasadena – got me reading Amy Goldman’s exceptionally informative The Heirloom Tomato from 2008.  I made a list of tomato varieties according to her judgements as fresh-eating with excellent flavor and a pleasing balance of acid and sweet.  Although the book is from 2008, and she grew her crops in New York, I feel that her scientific breakdown of the Brix (sweetness) values equaled my subjective assessments from many of the varieties that I have grown, so am willing to accept her determinations about others I’m not yet familiar with.  At least until I grow them myself!
      I usually give a new variety three chances in my garden before I either add it to my must-grow list or don’t-bother-anymore lists for future years.  This extensive in-the-garden experience proves to me that either the variety is consistently good or it isn’t worth further space and effort in the garden. Consequently I’ve grown many MANY tomato varieties over the years and have a definite sense of which qualities my family prefers. 
 
Why Now?
     Why bother thinking about summer’s tomatoes at the beginning of January, when our nights are barely above freezing and daytimes are at best in the 60s?  Mainly because I’m already enjoying eating my overwintering cool-season crops and love planning for summer’s reason for gardening! 
     For you, if you’re someone who starts your own tomato seeds for transplanting in February and March, my lists may help you determine which varieties to choose.
     Or, perhaps more likely, if you’ll wait until you can purchase 4” seedling plants when they become available at local nurseries or upcoming Tomatomania locations or online, my lists may also guide your choices.
 
Tomatoes In Amy's Book That I’ve Grown and Will Again

• Big Rainbow, 5.5 Brix
• Black Cherry, 9
• Black Krim or Black Crimea, 5
• Flamme or Jaun Flamme, 6
• Green Doctors, 9.5
• Green Grape, 7.5
• Japanese Oxheart, 5
• Marvel Striped, 7
• Pruden’s Purple or Peruvian Black, 6.5
• Yellow Brandywine, 7

 
Tomatoes In Amy's Book That I’ve Not Grown But Will Try to Find

• African Queen, 6 Brix
• Aunt Gertie’s Gold, 6
• Aunt Ginny’s Purple, 5
• Aunt Ruby’s German Green, 5.25
• Believe It or Not, 5.25
• Bicolor Mortgage Lifter, 5.5
• Big Ben, 5
• Black Russian, 5
• Burpee’s Globe, 6
• Dixie Golden Giant, 6
• Gold Medal or Ruby Gold, 6.5
• Goldman’s Italian American, 7
• Great White, 6
• Green Giant, 5.5
• Hugh’s, 5.5
• Hungarian Heart, 7
• McClintock Bog Pink, 5.5
• Pink Salad, 6.5
• Radiator Charlie’s Mortgage Lifter, 5
• Red Brandywine, 7.5-9
• Red Rose, 7
• Sudduth’s Brandywine, 6
• White Beauty, 5
• Wild Sweetie, 10
• Yellow Peach 7

 
Varieties In Amy's Book That I’ve Grown, Didn’t Like, and Won’t Grow Again
(Amy listed their flavor as poor or fair)

• Ailsa Craig, 4.5 Brix
• Big Zebra, 5
• Black From Tula. 5
• Black Prince, 5
• Black Zebra, 4.5
• Copia, 4.5
• Costoluto Genovese, 5
• Green Zebra, 5
• Marmande, 4
• Persimmon, 5
• Purple Calabash, 6.5
• Red Zebra, 5
• Rutgers, 5
• Tiger Tom or Tigerella, 6

 
My 2021 Results:  Not Considered in Amy’s Book
     In 2021, I harvested 1013 tomatoes from 30 plants, 828 small ones and 185 big ones. 

• Varieties I’ll definitely grow again because of their high yield and flavor:
  • Isis Candy
  • Stupice
  • Cherokee Purple
  • Sungold
  • Celebrity
  • Cherokee Chocolate
  • Cherokee Purple

 

• Varieties I tried for the first or second time and may or may not try again:
  • Paul Robeson
  • Cherokee Carbon
  • Brad’s Atomic Grape
  • Atomic Fusion
  • Pineapple
  • Kellogg’s Breakfast
  • Indigo Gold Berries
  • Brandy Boy
  • Carbon

Happy Tomato-ing!

For more of what to do this month, see January’s Monthly Tips
 
For more main-topic articles from past blogs, see Home Page