The Casa Garden Almanac

What to plant

• Asian greens, like bok choy · bok choy
• Beets · betabel (first half)
• Swiss chard · acelga (first half)
• Collards · berza (first half)
• Fava beans · habas (first half)
• Garlic · ajo
• Cool-season greens · verduras de hoja
• Kale · col rizada
• Lettuce · lechuga
• Mustard greens · mostaza (first half)
• Radishes · rábanos
• Shallots · chalotes
• Spinach · espinaca
• Turnips · nabos (first half)

Garden jobs for the family

• Save fallen leaves. Shred them for mulch or add them to the compost.
• Cover empty vegetable beds with leaves and compost, and add fresh mulch around plants.
• The average first freeze is around November 27. Have frost cloth ready.
• Last call this month to plant garlic, shallots and kale.

Try together this month: Rake a leaf pile together. Sort the leaves by color or size, then add them to the compost.

November activities for babies, toddlers and preschoolers

Infant Nido Room

Sit by a window or in a shaded spot and watch the leaves fall. With you right there, let your baby touch a big dry leaf and hear it crunch.

Toddlers

• Sweep a few leaves off the path with a small broom.
• Carry leaves to the compost in a small basket or wagon.
• Water new seedlings with a small watering can.

Ages 3 to 6

• Sow a short row of radishes; the adult hands out the seeds.
• Spread a blanket of dry leaves over an empty bed.
• Pull small weeds after a rain, when the soil is soft.

Nature study and compost

Compost: fill a basket with clean, dry leaves and save it next to the compost for the adult to add a little at a time.

Spanish words to use: la hoja, la escoba, la canasta, el rábano · barrer, sembrar, cubrir, recoger

What to plant

• Asian greens, like bok choy · bok choy
• Cool-season greens · verduras de hoja
• Lettuce · lechuga
• Radishes · rábanos
• Spinach · espinaca

Garden jobs for the family

• Feed winter vegetables every two weeks with a gentle fertilizer like fish emulsion.
• When the low drops below 28°F, cover plants with frost cloth and secure the edges.
• Turn the compost on mild days. Pull small weeds; clean and oil tools.
• Start broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale and collard seeds in trays to plant out in January. Order seed potatoes.

Try together this month: Look through a seed catalog together and let your child choose one vegetable to grow in spring.

December activities for babies, toddlers and preschoolers

Infant Nido Room

Hold up a big, clean kale leaf and slowly turn it front to back while your baby looks. Name it: col rizada.

Toddlers

• Wipe the outside of an empty planter with a damp cloth.
• Carry the light frost cloth to the adult who is covering the greens.
• Wipe garden tools and hang each one in its place.

Ages 3 to 6

• Set a kale or lettuce plant into a prepared pot and press the soil around it.
• Help unfold the frost cloth and set rocks along the edges.
• Push a finger into the soil to check if it is dry before watering.

Nature study and compost

Nature study: on a frosty morning, look at the grass from the window. Look again at lunch and talk about what changed.

Spanish words to use: la col rizada, la maceta, el paño, la helada · limpiar, trasplantar, cubrir, observar

What to plant

• Artichoke crowns · alcachofa
• Asian greens, like bok choy · bok choy
• Asparagus crowns · espárragos
• Beets · betabel (second half)
• Broccoli transplants · brócoli (second half)
• Cabbage transplants · repollo (second half)
• Carrots · zanahorias (second half)
• Cauliflower transplants · coliflor (second half)
• Swiss chard · acelga (second half)
• Collards · berza (second half)
• Fava beans · habas
• Cool-season greens · verduras de hoja
• Kale · col rizada (second half)
• Kohlrabi · colinabo (second half)
• Leeks · poros (second half)
• Lettuce · lechuga
• Mustard greens · mostaza (second half)
• Onion transplants · cebolla
• English, snap and snow peas · chícharos (second half)
• Radishes · rábanos
• Spinach · espinaca
• Turnips · nabos (second half)

Garden jobs for the family

• Set out onion transplants in January and early February.
• From mid-January, plant broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower transplants and the seedlings started in December.
• Keep frost cloth handy. January and February can still bring hard freezes.

Try together this month: Plant onion sets in a pot. Small fingers can press each one in, pointy end up.

January activities for babies, toddlers and preschoolers

Infant Nido Room

Let your baby watch from a blanket nearby while you wipe a small watering can. Name each thing: regadera, agua, tierra.

Toddlers

• Scrub an empty, unbreakable pot with a soft brush.
• Carry seedling trays to the garden with two hands.
• Pour a little water at the base of a lettuce plant.

Ages 3 to 6

• Set onion plants into holes the adult has made, and press the soil around them.
• Water new broccoli and cabbage plants at the base, from mid-January.
• After a cold night, lift the frost cloth together and see what changed.

Nature study and compost

Nature study: pick one tree to visit every week this winter. Stand in the same spot and look for anything new.

Spanish words to use: el cepillo, la regadera, la cebolla, la etiqueta · cepillar, regar, presionar, etiquetar

What to plant

• Artichoke crowns · alcachofa
• Asian greens, like bok choy · bok choy
• Asparagus crowns · espárragos (first half)
• Beets · betabel
• Broccoli transplants · brócoli
• Cabbage transplants · repollo
• Carrots · zanahorias
• Cauliflower transplants · coliflor
• Swiss chard · acelga
• Collards · berza
• Cool-season greens · verduras de hoja
• Kale · col rizada
• Kohlrabi · colinabo
• Leeks · poros
• Lettuce · lechuga
• Mustard greens · mostaza
• Onion transplants · cebolla (first half)
• English, snap and snow peas · chícharos (first half)
• Potatoes · papas
• Radishes · rábanos
• Spinach · espinaca
• Turnips · nabos

Garden jobs for the family

• Plant potatoes from late January through February.
• February is the last month for broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower transplants.
• Work compost into beds so they are ready for spring planting.

Try together this month: Look at a seed potato together and count its "eyes." Each eye can grow a new plant.

February activities for babies, toddlers and preschoolers

Infant Nido Room

Show your baby a whole onion. Turn it slowly and name it: la cebolla.

Toddlers

• Set empty pots on a tray for the adult.
• Give a newly planted bed a small pour of water.
• Carry the harvest basket for the last lettuce leaves.

Ages 3 to 6

• Drop seed potatoes into the row and cover them with soil.
• Count the “eyes” on a seed potato before planting.
• Spread compost on the beds with a small shovel.

Nature study and compost

Nature study: draw the same seedling once a week, and notice each new leaf.

Spanish words to use: la papa, la bandeja, la plántula, el lápiz · colocar, cubrir, contar, dibujar

What to plant

• Snap and lima beans · ejotes y frijoles
• Beets · betabel
• Cantaloupe · melón (second half)
• Carrots · zanahorias (first half)
• Swiss chard · acelga
• Corn · maíz
• Cucumbers · pepinos
• Eggplant transplants · berenjena (second half)
• Cool-season greens · verduras de hoja (first half)
• Warm-season greens · verduras de verano (second half)
• Kohlrabi · colinabo (first half)
• Lettuce · lechuga (first half)
• Mustard greens · mostaza
• Southern peas · frijol de ojo negro (second half)
• Pepper transplants · chiles (second half)
• Pumpkins · calabaza de Halloween (second half)
• Radishes · rábanos
• Summer squash · calabacita
• Winter squash · calabaza (second half)
• Tomato transplants · jitomate
• Turnips · nabos

Garden jobs for the family

• The average last freeze is around March 4. Watch the forecast for a late cold snap.
• Warm-season planting begins: tomatoes, beans, squash, cucumbers and corn.
• Finish harvesting winter greens before the heat makes them bitter and go to seed.

Try together this month: Plant big seeds like beans or squash. They are easy for small hands to hold and place.

March activities for babies, toddlers and preschoolers

Infant Nido Room

From the porch, watch an adult water a new plant, and listen together to the water on the soil.

Toddlers

• Water the base of one new plant with a small can.
• Put lettuce leaves the adult picked into the harvest basket.
• When you find a worm, watch it for a minute, then put it back gently.

Ages 3 to 6

• After the last freeze, help plant a tomato in a prepared hole and water it in.
• Cover bean and squash seeds the adult has set in a row.
• Draw plant labels and push them into the soil.

Nature study and compost

Nature study: watch a flower from a little distance. If a bee visits, draw where it landed.

Spanish words to use: el tomate, el frijol, la flor, la lombriz · trasplantar, regar, cubrir, mirar

What to plant

• Snap and lima beans · ejotes y frijoles
• Cantaloupe · melón
• Swiss chard · acelga
• Corn · maíz (first half)
• Cucumbers · pepinos
• Eggplant transplants · berenjena
• Warm-season greens · verduras de verano
• Okra · okra
• Southern peas · frijol de ojo negro
• Pepper transplants · chiles
• Sweet potato slips · camote (second half)
• Pumpkins · calabaza de Halloween
• Summer squash · calabacita
• Winter squash · calabaza
• Tomato transplants · jitomate
• Watermelon · sandía

Garden jobs for the family

• Plant peppers, eggplant, okra, melons and sweet potatoes as the soil warms.
• Add mulch around plants to hold moisture before the hot months.

Try together this month: Watch for flowers on the squash and tomatoes. Talk about how each flower can become a vegetable.

April activities for babies, toddlers and preschoolers

Infant Nido Room

Hold your baby near flowers and herbs to smell, and let them touch a soft leaf like basil. Name it: albahaca.

Toddlers

• Carry an empty basket out for the last lettuce harvest.
• Sweep the patio after potting.
• Spread mulch around plants with their hands.

Ages 3 to 6

• Cover okra seeds the adult has set out, and label the row.
• Late in the month, help plant sweet potato slips.
• Water tomatoes and peppers at the base, not on the leaves.

Nature study and compost

Nature study: look for flowers and tiny vegetables on the plants and count them together.

Spanish words to use: el camote, la okra, el brote, el mantillo · plantar, cubrir, barrer, contar

What to plant

• Cantaloupe · melón
• Warm-season greens · verduras de verano
• Okra · okra
• Southern peas · frijol de ojo negro
• Pepper transplants · chiles (first half)
• Sweet potato slips · camote
• Pumpkins · calabaza de Halloween
• Winter squash · calabaza
• Watermelon · sandía

Garden jobs for the family

• Harvest spring vegetables often so plants keep producing.
• Last good weeks for pepper transplants. Melons, pumpkins and okra can still go in.

Try together this month: Pick something from the garden, wash it together and serve it at snack time.

May activities for babies, toddlers and preschoolers

Infant Nido Room

Show your baby two clean potatoes, one big and one small. Say “grande” and “pequeña” as you hold each one.

Toddlers

• Carry one big onion at a time to the basket.
• At the sink, rinse a potato under running water with the adult beside them.
• Refill the birdbath with a small pitcher.

Ages 3 to 6

• Brush back the soil the adult has loosened to find new potatoes.
• Lay harvested onions in one layer to dry.
• Bring one thing from the garden to the table and help serve it.

Nature study and compost

Nature study: draw an onion with tall leaves and one whose tops have fallen over. Tops falling over means it is ready.

Spanish words to use: la papa, la cebolla, la canasta, la palita · buscar, enjuagar, acomodar, secar

What to plant

• Cantaloupe · melón (first half)
• Warm-season greens · verduras de verano
• Okra · okra
• Southern peas · frijol de ojo negro
• Sweet potato slips · camote
• Pumpkins · calabaza de Halloween
• Winter squash · calabaza (first half)

Garden jobs for the family

• Only heat lovers now: okra, southern peas, sweet potatoes and pumpkins.
• Keep the compost pile damp, like a wrung-out sponge.

Try together this month: Give your child a morning watering job with a small watering can, before the day gets hot.

June activities for babies, toddlers and preschoolers

Infant Nido Room

In the cool morning, from a shaded spot, watch an adult bring the harvest to the door.

Toddlers

• Put one big potato at a time in a low basket.
• Take on a morning watering job with a small can, then put it back.
• Wipe an empty planter before it is put away.

Ages 3 to 6

• Help lift potatoes after the adult loosens the soil.
• Prepare a pot and cover okra or southern pea seeds the adult has set out.
• In the afternoon, notice which plants droop in the heat and talk about why.

Nature study and compost

Compost: carry clean vegetable trimmings in a small bowl to the compost container.

Spanish words to use: la papa, la maceta, el tazón, los restos de verduras · levantar, limpiar, sembrar, llevar

What to plant

• Corn · maíz (second half)
• Eggplant transplants · berenjena (second half)
• Warm-season greens · verduras de verano
• Okra · okra (second half)
• Southern peas · frijol de ojo negro (second half)
• Pepper transplants · chiles (second half)
• Pumpkins · calabaza de Halloween (first half)
• Winter squash · calabaza (second half)
• Tomato transplants · jitomate

Garden jobs for the family

• Fall tomatoes, peppers and eggplant go in this month.
• New plants in late summer do better with some shade while they settle in.

Try together this month: Visit a farmers market and name the vegetables in English and Spanish.

July activities for babies, toddlers and preschoolers

Infant Nido Room

From a cool spot indoors, watch the light and shade move across one pot on the patio.

Toddlers

• Carry the empty watering can to the adult for the morning round.
• Pour one small, measured amount of water into a pot, then put the can back.
• Help water the new fall tomato and pepper plants early in the day.

Ages 3 to 6

• Help spread shade cloth over a frame while the adult ties it.
• Check the soil with a finger and water at the base only if it is dry.
• Keep a garden journal: draw what you see.

Nature study and compost

Nature study: look at the same pot in the morning and the afternoon, and draw where its shadow falls each time.

Spanish words to use: la sombra, la malla de sombra, la regadera, el diario · extender, revisar, regar, comparar

What to plant

• Snap and lima beans · ejotes y frijoles (second half)
• Corn · maíz (first half)
• Cucumbers · pepinos
• Eggplant transplants · berenjena (first half)
• Warm-season greens · verduras de verano (first half)
• Okra · okra (first half)
• Southern peas · frijol de ojo negro (first half)
• Pepper transplants · chiles (first half)
• Potatoes · papas (second half)
• Summer squash · calabacita
• Winter squash · calabaza (first half)
• Tomato transplants · jitomate (first half)
• Turnips · nabos (second half)

Garden jobs for the family

• Fall planting starts: beans, squash, cucumbers, and potatoes late in the month.
• Give young plants shade cover during the hottest weeks.

Try together this month: Start a garden journal. Your child can draw what grew this summer and what they want to plant next.

August activities for babies, toddlers and preschoolers

Infant Nido Room

Bring your baby to the same comfy spot each day to look at the seedling tray with you. Pause when they notice the green.

Toddlers

• Set empty pots on a tray indoors.
• Wipe the potting table with a damp cloth.
• Water young plants early, before it gets hot.

Ages 3 to 6

• Start Swiss chard in a tray, covering seeds the adult has set out, and add a label.
• Plant bean and squash seeds for fall.
• Add fresh mulch to a bed on a cool morning.

Nature study and compost

Reuse: clean the unbroken pots from spring and save them for fall plants.

Spanish words to use: la acelga, el semillero, la bandeja, el mantillo · preparar, sembrar, limpiar, reutilizar

What to plant

• Artichoke transplants · alcachofa (second half)
• Asian greens, like bok choy · bok choy
• Snap and lima beans · ejotes y frijoles (first half)
• Beets · betabel
• Broccoli transplants · brócoli
• Brussels sprouts transplants · coles de Bruselas
• Cabbage transplants · repollo
• Carrots · zanahorias
• Cauliflower transplants · coliflor
• Swiss chard · acelga
• Collards · berza
• Garlic · ajo (second half)
• Cool-season greens · verduras de hoja (second half)
• Kale · col rizada
• Kohlrabi · colinabo
• Leeks · poros
• Lettuce · lechuga (second half)
• Mustard greens · mostaza
• Green (bunching) onions · cebollín
• English, snap and snow peas · chícharos
• Radishes · rábanos
• Spinach · espinaca (second half)
• Summer squash · calabacita (first half)
• Turnips · nabos

Garden jobs for the family

• The big cool-season planting month: broccoli, cabbage, carrots, beets, greens, peas and more.
• Mid-to-late September: start garlic, lettuce and spinach.

Try together this month: Plant radish seeds. They come up in just days, which is perfect for young gardeners.

September activities for babies, toddlers and preschoolers

Infant Nido Room

Look together at a seedling as the adult brings it out to the porch. Name what your baby sees: la hoja, la maceta.

Toddlers

• Carry the empty seedling tray back to its shelf.
• Give a newly planted pot one small pour of water.
• Pat the soil gently over new seeds with flat hands.

Ages 3 to 6

• Move a chard or kale plant into a bigger pot with the adult.
• Sow a short row of radishes or lettuce in moist soil and mark where it starts.
• Water seedbeds gently with a sprinkling can.

Nature study and compost

Nature study: draw a seedling on planting day. A week later, count its leaves and add what is new.

Spanish words to use: la plántula, la hoja, la acelga, el rábano · llevar, trasplantar, marcar, contar

What to plant

• Artichoke transplants · alcachofa (first half)
• Asian greens, like bok choy · bok choy
• Beets · betabel
• Broccoli transplants · brócoli
• Brussels sprouts transplants · coles de Bruselas
• Cabbage transplants · repollo
• Carrots · zanahorias
• Cauliflower transplants · coliflor
• Swiss chard · acelga
• Collards · berza
• Fava beans · habas
• Garlic · ajo
• Cool-season greens · verduras de hoja
• Kale · col rizada
• Kohlrabi · colinabo
• Leeks · poros
• Lettuce · lechuga
• Mustard greens · mostaza
• Onion seeds · cebolla
• Green (bunching) onions · cebollín
• English, snap and snow peas · chícharos (first half)
• Radishes · rábanos
• Shallots · chalotes
• Spinach · espinaca
• Turnips · nabos

Garden jobs for the family

• Plant garlic, shallots and onion seeds.
• October is the last month for broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower transplants.
• Start saving leaves for winter mulch and compost.

Try together this month: Plant garlic cloves together, pointy end up, and wait for green shoots in a few weeks.

October activities for babies, toddlers and preschoolers

Infant Nido Room

Hold a whole pumpkin steady and let your baby look at it. An older baby who reaches for it can pat the rind.

Toddlers

• Sweep leaves from a short stretch of path.
• Wipe the outside of a pumpkin with a damp cloth.
• Start a leaf pile as the first leaves fall.

Ages 3 to 6

• Plant garlic cloves pointy end up; the adult hands out one clove at a time.
• Set a lettuce plant in a patio pot and water it in.
• Harvest fall greens and wash them for dinner.

Nature study and compost

Compost: after cooking a plain pumpkin, save the scraps for the adult to add to the compost with dry leaves.

Spanish words to use: el ajo, el diente de ajo, la calabaza, la lechuga · plantar, tapar, barrer, separar