---
title: "Monthly garden and preserving tips — What's in my cupboard?"
description: "A short seasonal what-to-do list for every month of the year: garden jobs, animal care and preserving, as a general guide to adapt to your zone."
url: "https://whats-in-my-cupboard.spark.site/tips"
site: "What's in my cupboard?"
updated: "2026-10-28"
---

# Monthly tips for the garden, animals and preserving

A short seasonal list for each month. Choose your USDA growing zone and the months shift earlier or later to suit it. It is still a general guide, so check your own last frost date, and every preserving tip assumes you follow a tested recipe, as the [food safety guidance](https://whats-in-my-cupboard.spark.site/food-safety) explains. Signed-in subscribers also get a calendar shaped to their zone.

Your growing zone

Showing the general guide, which is drafted for a temperate climate. Choose a zone to shift the months. Your choice is remembered on this device.

## January

Garden. Order seeds, check last year’s packets for age, and start onions and leeks indoors if you grow them.

Animals. Check that water has not frozen, and keep bedding dry and draft-free.

Preserving. Take stock of jars, lids and freezer space, and use up the oldest preserves first.

## February

Garden. Start peppers and eggplant indoors, and sharpen and clean your tools.

Animals. Plan spring chick or kid orders, and get brooders and pens ready.

Preserving. Make marmalade from winter citrus, and check stored apples, potatoes and onions for soft spots.

## March

Garden. Start tomatoes indoors, and sow peas and spinach as soon as the soil can be worked.

Animals. Deep-clean the coop and shelters, and refresh bedding.

Preserving. Freeze or dry what remains in storage before it turns.

## April

Garden. Plant potatoes and onion sets, sow beets and carrots, and harden off seedlings.

Animals. Watch for flies and mites as it warms, and keep fresh water out in the open.

Preserving. Rhubarb jam or freezer rhubarb, and freeze the first asparagus.

## May

Garden. After your last frost date, plant tomatoes, peppers, squash, beans and cucumbers.

Animals. Give animals shade and fresh water as days warm up.

Preserving. Strawberry jam, and blanch and freeze spring greens.

## June

Garden. Sow beans and carrots again for a later crop, and mulch to hold moisture.

Animals. Check shade, ventilation and water more than once a day in hot spells.

Preserving. Make jams, freeze peas and dry herbs before they flower.

## July

Garden. Pick beans, cucumbers and zucchini often, and sow fall carrots and beets.

Animals. Keep water cool and shaded, and clean waterers frequently.

Preserving. Pickles and berry jam, and freeze beans and berries. Start gathering jars and lids for tomatoes.

## August

Garden. Harvest tomatoes and peppers regularly, and sow fall greens and spinach.

Animals. Keep up with water and shade, and watch for heat stress.

Preserving. Tomato sauce, whole tomatoes and salsa, plus peaches. Follow tested recipes every time.

## September

Garden. Lift potatoes, bring in winter squash, prepare garlic beds and sow cover crops.

Animals. Check shelters for leaks and drafts before the weather turns.

Preserving. Applesauce, apple butter, and dried apples and pears.

## October

Garden. Plant garlic, pull the last tomatoes before frost, and sow cover crops in empty beds.

Animals. Winterize the coop and shelters, and set up bedding.

Preserving. Apple butter, and store roots, onions and squash somewhere cool and dry.

## November

Garden. Mulch garlic, harvest kale, parsnips and Brussels sprouts, and clean and store tools.

Animals. Make sure water stays unfrozen and shelter is dry.

Preserving. Freeze or dry what the garden still gives, and check stored crops weekly.

## December

Garden. Plan next year’s beds and a seed order.

Animals. Keep water thawed, bedding dry and shelters draft-free.

Preserving. Review the year’s jars, label them and rotate what is left to the front.

## Contact

- [secondtimearoundhomestead\@gmail.com](mailto:secondtimearoundhomestead@gmail.com)