Is it snowing outside yet you are already making plans for the garden? Are you busy browsing the seed catalogs and making your list of new and old varieties you gotta plant? Let's look at the earliest spring crops you can plant. They are cold hardy and many enjoy a light frost because it converts starch into sugar and sweetens them up. Cool season crops offer early harvests and delicious fresh produce.
These crops need cool temperatures to germinate, grow, develop fruit, and mature. Once the heat sets in the quality and taste of these crops declines. Radishes get hot and pithy in the heat. Aphids tend to take over brassica crops like broccoli and cabbage as temperatures warm up. Planting cool season crops at the right time is critical.
Cool Season Crops
- Need to mature when weather is cool
- Can be planted in spring and early fall
- Direct seeded when soil temps 45-50
- Flavor often improves with light frost
- Do not like heat encourages bolting and aphids
- Divided into hardy and semi-hardy
When To Plant
Soil temperature is the determining factor on when you can begin planting. It is also important that you know the average last frost date for your area.
Generally you can plant these crops as soon as the soil is dry enough to work and soil temperatures are between 45-60 degrees. Seed packets will usually tell you the best soil temperature for germination and will also suggest how many weeks before your last frost you can plant. Remember growth will be slow until you have consistently warmer temperatures so rushing to plant does not always give you a head start.
To determine soil temperature use any thermometer and insert it an inch in the soil in the middle of the day.
How To Plant
Most cool season crops are seeded directly into the garden. However you can start broccoli and cauliflower, cabbage, and lettuce indoors. They need more time to mature and direct seeding them usually means they mature to late in the season when temperatures are high and pest pressure is high. They are generally planted 2-4 weeks before the last frost date of your area.
A general rule for planting seeds is to plant the seed 2-3 times as deep as the seed is. Lettuce is the exception. It needs light to germinate. This is why I prefer starting it indoors. You can gently press the seeds into your trays and you don't have problems with lettuce seeds migrating to unwanted areas in your beds.
What to Plant
Hardy Cool Season Crops
- Most cold tolerant
- Planted 2-4 weeks before last frost generally mid March to Mid April
- Seedlings endure freezes and grow when air temps in 40’s
Hardy Cool Season Crops
- Asparagus
- Brussel Sprout *
- Broccoli
- Cabbage
- Chives
- Collards *
- Corn Salad (Mache)
- Kale
- Leeks
- Mustards
- Onions
- Parsley
- Peas
- radishes
- Rhubarb
- Rutabaga*
- Spinach
- Turnips*
Semi-Hardy Cool Season Crops
- Tolerate light freezes or a few hours of frost
- Grown when minimum air temps 45-60
- Direct seed and transplant in April
Semi-Hardy Crops
- Beets
- Carrots,
- Cauliflower
- Celery
- Chard
- Chinese Cabbage
- Artichokes
- Lettuce
- Parsnips*
- Potatoes
- Sorrel
- Hardy Herbs
-Beets and carrots can be seeded directly into the garden.
-Rutabagas, collard, and turnips are best seeded directly into the garden as fall crops.
-Transplants of broccoli, kale, lettuce, Chinese Cabbage, and Brussel sprouts can be planted at this time.
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