Seed Packet Instruction chart

[SMS6]

This will seem like a real silly question but hey if you don't ask you stay confused.

On the back of some seed packets I've just acquired there is the usual colour coded chart of when to sow indoors/red, sow outdoors/yellow, plant out/green and harvest/yellow.

Can some one please explain why some of these charts seem to have several rows with overlapping instructions.

For instance - Cabbage

1st row Feb/yellow, Mar - May/red, Jn - Jl/green, Aug/Blue, Sep - Nov/green
2nd row Feb/yellow, Mar-Apr/red, May-Jly/green, Aug/blue, Sep - Nov/green
3rd row Feb/yellow, Mar-May/blue, Jne/green, Jly-Aug/blue, Sep - Nov/yellow
4th row Feb-May/yellow, Jne/green, Jul-Aug/blue, Sep - Nov/yellow

[Farmer_Gyles]

and then there are the other packets that simply say "sow in spring" .....

[Birdie Wife]

I think that's right piskie - for example if you sow at the beginning of the 'sow' period then you should be transplanting at the start of the 'plant out' period and harvesting at the start of the 'harvest' period. Some cabbages can be sown virtually all year round (eg Hispi) so if you sow in autumn, your spring cabbages should be ready for harvesting in April/May, overlapping with the sowing period for late cabbages. Does that make any sense?

[pigletwillie]

Some packets also have different sowing times for different zones, for example, you could sow earlier in southern France than you could in Northern France. Youi just match up the zone on the packet to your locale and sow then.

[Flummery]

Sometimes they are outdoors or under glass.

[SMS6]

But how on earth are new growers supposed to know this? There is no indication on the packets as to how to decifer the code?

[Flummery]

Trade secret! If I told you how to decipher it - I'd have to kill you!