Ribbit, some crops will take up their spaces for most of the summer. Broccoli will continue to put out little side sprouts for a while after the main head is cut. If you cut, rather than pull, your cabbage it will make a few baby heads that are sweet and delicious. Your lettuce and spinach will bolt as soon as it gets hot, so you will use these squares for summer planting, as well as radish squares. Peas are finished early and can be followed with another crop. Just as soon as a square is empty, look at your days to maturity on your seeds or transplants and fill the squares with anything that has time to grow.

Granny

Here is a link that might be useful: Annie's Kitchen Garden

My first year I held back squares for the next season. But I also intend on pulling otherwise productive crops if necessary for space constraints. Of course since I won't be planting corn next year I expect I'll have plenty of space.

That said, I had the very same conversation last season.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sinfonian's garden adventure

ribbit - i'll give you my 2 cents worth....I'm faced with the same challenge as you, especially since we have almost identical growing climates.
The current crop will probably be harvested entirely on December 1st, then the garden will remain vacant until the middle of February. I'm planning on starting my early season cole crop transplants by seed on January 1st, then propagating them with the freaky seed starter contraption. LOL. Regardless if everything has matured or not - i'm pulling everything on May 1st, then planting warm weather crops....

EG

EG, that's what I was thinking...I also may hold back a few spaces. With like climates, you know that if we don't plant summer things early we'll never get blooms out of them until it cools down in late August/September when it's time to do the fall crops again. I just wish I had more sun down there.

ribbit - Sun is no problem for me, my box receives at least 8 to 9 hours of direct sunlight in the summer months. I'm planning on planting corn on April 15th, then everything else on May 1st. Planting 3 different crops throughout the year will be pretty hectic , though.

EG

Do you get your plants from mail-order or are they available at the stores in Jan/Feb?? Also, when do you plant lettuce? Do we have to wait until after the last frost or do we plant it early and keep it covered?

Our weather is always a bit sketchy. It could be well into the 60's and 70's and then a frost will bite you in the tail when you least expect it. I've planted my fall lettuce in pots and I may do the same in spring so I can pull them in the garage or I'll hold off on them until the end of March.

Betty - you should be able to find transplants in February. I'm growing my own transplants for everything this year. I would think that lettuce could be transplanted sometime in March.

ribbit - yeah, that errant frost in April is a little tricky. It usually gets my fruit trees.

EG