Early Spring Vegetables
After a long winter, gardeners everywhere are eager to "get growing" again.
Certain varieties of vegetables can be planted in very early spring, as soon as the soil thaws and dries out enough to work it.
Sometimes this happens when there is still snow on the ground, usually on the north side of buildings.
The secret is to not rush the season by trying to grow vegetables that require warmer temperatures.
Plant seeds of cool weather-loving vegetables in early spring for best results.
These annual vegetables will produce their crops before the heat of summer arrives.
Among the first edible perennial plants to emerge in early spring are asparagus and fiddlehead ferns.
Look for them when spring-flowering bulbs begin to emerge from the ground.
Spring Peas Plant spring peas - Pisum sativum - either the English shelling type or edible-podded, in very early spring as soon as the soil can be worked.
Sow pea seeds an inch apart in rows 12 to 18 inches apart.
Provide a support for edible-podded peas to climb upon, as some varieties can grow 4 feet high.
English shelling peas grow about 18 inches high.
Although you can allow them to sprawl along the ground, they will do much better if you give them a short fence or trellis on which to climb.
Root Vegetables Plant seeds of root vegetables at the same time you plant spring peas.
Sow carrots, Daucus carota,, radishes Raphanus sativus, turnips Brassica rapa, and beets Beta vulgaris subsp.
vulgaris, when the soil is dry enough to dig.
Turn over the top 8 to 12 inches of soil to fluff it up and give these root vegetables a soft, friable bed of soil in which to develop their roots.
Follow the directions on the seed packages for the correct spacing when planting.
Weed thoroughly and often to reduce competition for nutrients.
Thin the tiny seedlings when just an inch or two high for best results.
Lettuce and Greens About 7 to 10 days after sowing peas and root vegetables, sow seeds of lettuce Lactuca sativa var.
and other spring salad and cooking greens.
These leafy crops prefer to grow in the cool weather of early spring and will turn bitter and "bolt" (send up a seed stalk) when the heat of summer arrives.
Broadcast seeds of lettuce and greens in rows 8 to 12 inches wide.
Thin either by cutting off young plants at soil level with a scissors, or by pulling the largest plants.
The latter method will prolong the harvest because the small plants remaining after pulling the larger ones will soon grow to picking size.
Asparagus A perennial spring vegetable, asparagus, Asparagus officinalis is one of the first edibles to arrive in spring.
The spears will begin to emerge in mid to late April.
Visit the asparagus patch daily and cut all spears that are over 8 inches long.
Cultivate carefully around the emerging spears to remove weeds, which will compete with the asparagus for water and nutrients.
Mulch between the rows, but hold off applying mulch between individual asparagus plants until near the end of asparagus season (June to early July in most locations).
Apply a side-dressing of compost alongside the rows of plants in mid-spring to give them a boost of nutrients.
Fiddlehead Ferns If you grow ostrich ferns Metteuccia struthhiopteris (also known as M.
pennsylvanica or Pteris nodulosa) in your yard, the emerging curled fronds, or "fiddleheads" are edible and highly desired by epicureans.
Begin checking the fern patch in early April; individual fiddleheads will emerge at slightly different times, depending on the micro-climate in which they are grown and the overall local climate.
Pick them when the heads are still tightly curled, cutting them off at soil level.
Once they begin to unfurl they become inedible, so check the fern garden often for these spring delicacies.
Don't waste the earliest part of the growing season.
Plant cold-weather-loving annual vegetables as early as possible for harvesting in late spring.
Maintain some perennial asparagus and fiddlehead ferns for reliable, fool-proof, fresh vegetables in early spring every year.
Copyright Sharon Sweeny, 2011
Certain varieties of vegetables can be planted in very early spring, as soon as the soil thaws and dries out enough to work it.
Sometimes this happens when there is still snow on the ground, usually on the north side of buildings.
The secret is to not rush the season by trying to grow vegetables that require warmer temperatures.
Plant seeds of cool weather-loving vegetables in early spring for best results.
These annual vegetables will produce their crops before the heat of summer arrives.
Among the first edible perennial plants to emerge in early spring are asparagus and fiddlehead ferns.
Look for them when spring-flowering bulbs begin to emerge from the ground.
Spring Peas Plant spring peas - Pisum sativum - either the English shelling type or edible-podded, in very early spring as soon as the soil can be worked.
Sow pea seeds an inch apart in rows 12 to 18 inches apart.
Provide a support for edible-podded peas to climb upon, as some varieties can grow 4 feet high.
English shelling peas grow about 18 inches high.
Although you can allow them to sprawl along the ground, they will do much better if you give them a short fence or trellis on which to climb.
Root Vegetables Plant seeds of root vegetables at the same time you plant spring peas.
Sow carrots, Daucus carota,, radishes Raphanus sativus, turnips Brassica rapa, and beets Beta vulgaris subsp.
vulgaris, when the soil is dry enough to dig.
Turn over the top 8 to 12 inches of soil to fluff it up and give these root vegetables a soft, friable bed of soil in which to develop their roots.
Follow the directions on the seed packages for the correct spacing when planting.
Weed thoroughly and often to reduce competition for nutrients.
Thin the tiny seedlings when just an inch or two high for best results.
Lettuce and Greens About 7 to 10 days after sowing peas and root vegetables, sow seeds of lettuce Lactuca sativa var.
and other spring salad and cooking greens.
These leafy crops prefer to grow in the cool weather of early spring and will turn bitter and "bolt" (send up a seed stalk) when the heat of summer arrives.
Broadcast seeds of lettuce and greens in rows 8 to 12 inches wide.
Thin either by cutting off young plants at soil level with a scissors, or by pulling the largest plants.
The latter method will prolong the harvest because the small plants remaining after pulling the larger ones will soon grow to picking size.
Asparagus A perennial spring vegetable, asparagus, Asparagus officinalis is one of the first edibles to arrive in spring.
The spears will begin to emerge in mid to late April.
Visit the asparagus patch daily and cut all spears that are over 8 inches long.
Cultivate carefully around the emerging spears to remove weeds, which will compete with the asparagus for water and nutrients.
Mulch between the rows, but hold off applying mulch between individual asparagus plants until near the end of asparagus season (June to early July in most locations).
Apply a side-dressing of compost alongside the rows of plants in mid-spring to give them a boost of nutrients.
Fiddlehead Ferns If you grow ostrich ferns Metteuccia struthhiopteris (also known as M.
pennsylvanica or Pteris nodulosa) in your yard, the emerging curled fronds, or "fiddleheads" are edible and highly desired by epicureans.
Begin checking the fern patch in early April; individual fiddleheads will emerge at slightly different times, depending on the micro-climate in which they are grown and the overall local climate.
Pick them when the heads are still tightly curled, cutting them off at soil level.
Once they begin to unfurl they become inedible, so check the fern garden often for these spring delicacies.
Don't waste the earliest part of the growing season.
Plant cold-weather-loving annual vegetables as early as possible for harvesting in late spring.
Maintain some perennial asparagus and fiddlehead ferns for reliable, fool-proof, fresh vegetables in early spring every year.
Copyright Sharon Sweeny, 2011
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