Getting Ready for Summer 2026 Harvest: January 2026 Seeding

Farming, even on a small farm such as Chocolates and Tomatoes, requires a long planning and prepping timeline to bring you the colorful, sustainable, and delicious fruits and vegetables that delight your taste buds each summer! In this blog series we are going to break down the answer to two key questions we often get:

• How much [insert the name of your favorite fruit or vegetable] will you have at the market this year? 

• When will [insert the name of your favorite fruit or vegetable] be ready to buy at the market?

3 artichokes on plant in field

Brussels sprouts forming on plant in field

2 broccoli heads forming

One cauliflower head forming

Kohlrabi plants in field post frost

We invite you to think about what planning ahead means on the farm before you look at the answers. Looking at the pictures throughout the blog gives some clues.

• What did we have to learn?

• What did we have to do?

• When did we have to do it?

• What did it take to get it done?

Planting Seeds in January 2026

On January 7-8, Mark and Teresa spent a few hours each day seeding 2,100 cells in seed trays. We planted "cool weather" seeds that can begin their life in basement trays, under LED lights, on warming beds and then be transferred to the soil as seedlings. On those two days, we focused on artichoke, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, and kohlrabi.

Mark labeling seed trays

Teresa seeding as Crema guards

Seed tray planting materials

Cabbage seeds compared to marker cap

Artichoke seeds compared to marker cap

Seed trays under LED lights

What did we need to plant seeds in January? (click > to see answers)

• Seeds

• Seed trays

• Soil

• Some place the seeds can grow with enough warmth and light

What did we need to plan ahead so that we could plant seeds in January?

• Decide on what to plant and purchase seeds

  • The decision is related to how well the plants performed in the previous year (how much loss, how much yield) and how much people bought. We also try out new things.

  • We buy most of our seeds in November and December.

  • You want to wait long enough that you are buying the "new" seeds, but not too long in case they run out. If they run out, you usually can't get the seeds for another whole year.

• Decide what seeds could be started in seed trays (instead of direct ground sowing) and can live in the basement until they can be transplanted.

  • We have been doing this for a little while so we know what will work best for us. In the beginning, we had to learn about what plants are "cool weather plants," what plants work well starting in seed trays, and specific to our basement and the materials we have which ones will work out OK there.

• Organize and purchase seeding materials

  • We keep lots of materials from year to year so we didn't need to buy most of the materials. Still we always have to check ahead because some things need to be replaced over time.

  • If we wait until the day we wanted to seed, we might be facing a delay.

How do we decide how much to plant in January?

The decision about how much to plant in January depends on a few things:

• How many days from seeding to harvest?

  • We are trying to time the expected harvest date to align with when you are expecting it and when the season is "right."

  • If it gets too warm, the cool weather plants won't produce their veggies in time before the plant shuts down.

  • Different plants have different days to harvest.

    • The artichoke seed pack says, "Sow indoors 2-3 months before average last frost. Seedlings require 'chill' period (nights below 45 degrees but above freezing) to produce chokes."

    • The cauliflower seed pack says it will be ready for harvest 69 days after transplanting to the soil.

• How many seeds do we think will make it all the way from seed to harvested plant?

  • Some of the seeds will never germinate -- the seed packs give a percent success rate -- the ones we did in January ranged from 90% to 96%. (so that means we can expect about 1,890 to 2,016 to sprout)

  • Some will die in the tray -- maybe we didn't water enough or too much, or the light or temperature wasn't quite right

  • Some will die when we transfer to the ground -- the shock is too much

  • Some will die because of unexpected weather -- sometimes there is a late freeze or snow...

  • Some will die because of insect pests or weeds (especially since we don't use any sprays).

  • Some will get eaten by bunnies, groundhogs, mice, birds (our fence protects from deer; our dog Crema guards against the rest, but they still take their cut).

• How many veggies do we get from each seed and how many do we want to be able to harvest and sell/eat?

  • For example, for artichokes and brussels sprouts, 1 seed equals to 1 plant. For artichoke, 1 seed could equal 4-20 artichokes. For brussels sprouts, 1 seed could equal 100 brussels sprouts (12 servings).

  • On the other hand, 1 seed equals to 1 head of cabbage, broccoli, or cauliflower or one bulb of kohlrabi.

Green and purple cabbage heads

White kohlrabi bulbs

Basket with broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts

What else can you observe about small-scale farming and vegetables when you look at these pictures?

Each month between now and when our on-farm market opens in mid-May, we will share more insights on getting ready to provide you with colorful, sustainable, vegetables.