A digital version of this calendar is available to buy here.
*** Print + digital calendar offer! ***
This year, we are offering the digital version of the calendar at half price with the purchase of the print calendar.
Having both the print and digital versions will give you the option of having a portable calendar to take out into the garden on your phone or tablet, while leaving the print calendar hanging on the wall.
Or you may want to purchase the digital calendar for yourself and the print calendar as a gift for someone else!
Enter the discount code calendarcombo26 at checkout.
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My recommended sowing dates for each month of the growing season, illustrated with beautiful and informative photos from my garden at Homeacres.
Every date is based on decades of fine-tuning from observations and learning. Use the dates to help you enjoy a regular supply of fresh produce through all four seasons.
As well as sowing dates, I give brief growing advice for every month and share my tips for successful sowing. I also include a yearly sowing overview table, to help you plan which vegetables you are going to grow, and when.
The sowing dates are for a Zone 8b climate in southern UK. You can use this calendar in different climates with just a little adjustment to the dates, explained in the introduction.
My recommended dates are not always the same as you will read on the packet of seeds! For some reason, they pay little attention to flowering dates. For example, I do not recommend sowing spinach, as in true spinach not leaf beet, from late April through to late July. That way you avoid its flowering season. By sowing either very early in the year or in August, you are far more likely to enjoy a long season of harvest.
Climate plus natural growth cycles
My dates are based on the season, the climate, and the natural growth cycle of each vegetable.
For example, your peas will succeed much better when you sow in spring rather than summer. That's because peas grow most healthily and abundantly during months when the days are getting longer. Sow at the best time of year for each different vegetable.
Solar and lunar
Dates are based secondarily on moon phases. Within the best seasonal times, the moon cycles sometimes give even better times.
I combine two aspects of moon movements for calculating top sowing dates. One is the phases of root-flower-leaf-fruit, based on whether the moon is passing through an astrological sign with earth-air-water-fire qualities.
The other is waxing and waning. Where possible, sow on a waxing moon for faster emergence and stronger growth, especially just before full moon.
Sun and moon give a framework of action, rather than a rigid rulebook. Many dates have sowing possibilities – there are few dates when all of the good aspects are present.
The Charles Dowding calendar is a mainstay in my veg gardening and has been part of my growing plan for several years now! I find it a useful way not only to check the best sowing dates but also to record when I’ve sown and planted out, and my first and final harvests, so it’s really useful to review one year against previous ones. I wouldn’t be without one. Julie M December, 2024
The calendar is 36 pages and is A4, opening to A3. It is hole-punched, for hanging on a wall.
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Where to buy internationally:
Saxo – Denmark (ships worldwide)
The Farm Dream – Netherlands (ships within Europe)
