when to plant?

[Antiochus Epiphanes]

I prepared beds last fall. question is, when to plant? I live in the midwest somewhere between Detroit and Chicago. Right now it's frozen of course, but what is the usual planting time for the usual garden vegetable stuff? I havent settled on what to plant yet, looking for some suggestions and trying to plan ahead and be prepared.

[Kind Lampshade Maker]

I prepared beds last fall. question is, when to plant? I live in the midwest somewhere between Detroit and Chicago. Right now it's frozen of course, but what is the usual planting time for the usual garden vegetable stuff? I havent settled on what to plant yet, looking for some suggestions and trying to plan ahead and be prepared.
Peppers and tomatoes could be started indoors at around February. The climate there is harsh, meaning cold winters and extremely hot summer, meaning you can even evade the indoor start. I'd plant the stuff in the ground when the danger of frost is certain. When not sure, cover the ground with some humus.The sprout will survive in there without getting exposed to the frost

[Antiochus Epiphanes]

peppers sounds good. everybody around here grows tomatoes, and people are always giving them away during the summer. what kind of varieties of peppers are you talking about, like bell peppers or habaneros? my mother in law grew some chili peppers last summer that turned out well.

[Kind Lampshade Maker]

....what kind of varieties of peppers are you talking about?...
I prefer Jalpenyos because they are aromatic and not too fiery. I started some indoors in February, 2 years ago. They are fickle, meaning they like warm temperatures, but in proportion to generous lighting. I made the mistake, through the learning process, of sprouting them near the ceiling where it’s warmest, but also quite dark. They sprouted well, but shriveled up because of lack of sunlight. The following year, I set them on the east sided window sill mornings and moved them west afternoons. You either live in Ann Arbor, Kalamazoo or South Bend confirming a severe winter compared to where I live, even though I’m further north. I have to sprout mine in February, but I think it’s safe to say you could wait until March.
After planting my peppers in the garden, they shriveled up, because it was too cool outside even though no frosting occurred. This was due to the location of my garden which is in a valley where the melting snow produces a cold air stream which guarantees that my garden is a few degrees cooler on average.
Your climate is much warmer and humid in summer meaning that your peppers have a better chance and that, as I remember, tomatoes too will be more aromatic than the bland-tasting crops which grow here. Roma cooking tomatoes are a favorite of mine for sauces. I’ve substituted them with the expensive cherry tomato variety when ripe romas weren’t available. The sauce will take on more of a fluid-like consistency, but will be no less aromatic than when cooking with romas.
Getting back to preparing the bed, I wish to be more specific on this topic. The humus I used was that from my emptied double-walled composter. I found fresh sprouted garlics which have sprouted sometime in late fall. I don’t know if this occurerd because of possible warmth which was possibly emitted by possible further composting of what I thought to be fully composted humus. There were garlic seeds from the pods on the soil surface beneath the humus layer. I scattered these seeds in order to simulate the natural sequence of events. As I got around to eventually tilling the soil, I discovered these new garlic sprouts

[Antiochus Epiphanes]

fascinating comments.

your surmises about my location are generally correct.

fascinating comments. my beds have been prepared from scratch, the original soil was very clay-ey, I diced in grass cuttings when I broke it up and outlined the beds, then I gradually mixed in some cow manure from time to time throughout the summer, then pine needles and some other stuff occasionally, and then plenty of leaves during fall, and then diced it all over again and laid down some more manure over the top and some pine needles over that for winter cover. I dont know how that will turn out but that's what I had on hand and I can always supplement this come spring. I figger.

[Kind Lampshade Maker]

fascinating comments.
your surmises about my location are generally correct.
I could never end up in 3 places at 1 time. Not even im my wildest buzz :)

fascinating comments. my beds have been prepared from scratch, the original soil was very clay-ey, I diced in grass cuttings when I broke it up and outlined the beds, then I gradually mixed in some cow manure from time to time throughout the summer, then pine needles and some other stuff occasionally, and then plenty of leaves during fall, and then diced it all over again and laid down some more manure over the top and some pine needles over that for winter cover. I dont know how that will turn out but that's what I had on hand and I can always supplement this come spring. I figger.
I wouldn't fertilize so frequently, if I were you. Once in Autumn (required), after harvest, before tilling the fertilizer into the soil and perhaps once more in early spring (optional) before planting should suffice.
I'd be careful with pine needles. You don't want to increase the acidity of your soil to the point where your seedlings will not take. They take forever to break down, thus not worth experimenting with when you're using superior cow manure, anyway.
This other stuff of which you may be implying, household refuse, should be free from cooked items and animal products otherwise you'll be inviting rats and possums.
Make your life easier for yourself and get that double-walled composter I recommended some time back. This is important for early Spring fertilizing where it's important that the fertilizer is finished breaking down by the time you use it. You don't want organic matter breaking down at the same time plants are sprouting. The breakdown process will undermine your yield. I don't have my mulcher finished, thus I run over my garden- and household refuse with the lawnmower to get the stuff small enough to where it will break down in the composter. This doesn't do my lawn any favors, as proof that fertilizing your garden with partially composted matter sucks. All you should be doing in summer is culling weeds, running pogroms on the pests and irrigating mornings and/or evenings during dry spells.
Otherwise, hands off, kick back enjoying a Campari with soda and let the summer heat do the rest. You'd be surprised at how high temperatures can accelerate plant growth.
Adding calcium doesn't hurt. I remember our soil back home as having about a foot topsoil and directly underneath would lie a layer of red clay. I assume yours is similar. If theres too much clay, through deep tilling, it wouldn't hurt to even mix a moderate amount of sand into the garden. This will help drainage and transport irrigated- and rain water deeper into the ground to force the plant to grow its roots deeper to assure ample moisture replenishment during times of infrequent rainfall

[Antiochus Epiphanes]

dont much like campari but I will take those other recommendations under advisement, thanks