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COOL WEATHER CROPS
Before you plant your garden make sure it is
properly
prepared.
Visit our garden soil preparation page by
clicking
here.
Many gardeners miss out on the opportunity
to plant their cool weather crops. After a
long winter I am usually ready to get out
there in the garden and get a little
exercise. It's best to till that garden as
soon as the frost leaves the ground. Of
course you folks further south don't have to
worry as much about that. Either way as soon
as it's warm and dry enough to work the soil
it's time to get those cool weather crops
in.
Cool weather crops
include:
Lettuce, Chard, Spinach, Cabbage,
Broccoli, Cauliflower, Peas, Onions,
Carrots, Radish, Beets, Potato's etc. The
above ground crops can
take a light frost pretty well and taste
much better when grown |
during the cooler
months. The root crops are safe below ground during the
coldest part of their beginnings. In the south most of these
crops can also be planted in the fall.
Often it is
difficult finding seeds during early spring
and fall. Shopping for seeds online works
out great. I like to purchase my seeds from
Millington Seed Company,
www.millingtonseed.com . They aren't the
most popular seed company but they are
local, family owned and operated. They also
sell garden and flower seeds all year long
which most of the larger seed companies
don't seem to do. I've always had great luck
with their seeds and they seem to grow extra
delicious vegetables.
 In
extremely cool climates it's not a bad plan
to make or purchase cold frames or hot beds.
Some gardeners like to have vegetables all
year long and can make use of these during
the winter months. Here it's more practical
to just cover the plants when there is a
chance of a sever frost or freeze. There are
some neat products on the market for
covering plants with for frost protection. I
haven't tried any but I have fancied the
thought. Gardens Alive!
 offers some real cool
50 foot long plant covers. That will do an
entire row in my garden.
By the way 50 foot is a good row width or length if you have
the space. Soaker hoses, plastic mulch strips, weed barriers
etc often come in 50 foot rolls.
Start lettuce seeds right in the ground or get an even
earlier head start and start your some of your cool weather
crops inside. We like to start lettuce, cabbage, and spinach
indoors. You can also start cauliflower, broccoli, and
broccoflower inside.
We replant every couple weeks right into the garden after we
set the first plants out. This helps ensure we don't run out
and get to reap multiple harvests of those delicious cold
crop veggies.
Peas can also be started right after the frost and are best
grown in cool weather also. Don't forget to set a fence or
trellis up for them to climb on. It's always best to get
that structure up before you plant any vining plants. Don't
start peas inside it's a waste of time, they don't
transplant well and do just fine outside in the cold
weather.
Radish's perform beautifully in cold weather. They also
taste much better grown in cool weather. Once the weather
warms up it's time to give up on radish's, lettuce and
spinach. They all get bitter and radish get woody.
Green onions seem to do just fine and we replant those a few
times throughout the spring, summer and early fall.
Onion sets are best planted early also. You can also plant
some later when you plant your warm weather crops. This also
helps spread the harvest out so you can get some nice onions
early and have some for later in the season too. We like to
can lots of salsa so the later season onions work great for
that.
Fresh garden onions are just delicious. It's great to have a
nice collection of the white, yellow and sweet red onions
through most of the year too. Onions keep very well in a
dark cool place. Remember to harvest your onions as soon as
you notice the greens starting to turn. Waiting too long
invites the opportunity for top end rot. That's a sad thing
to see. |
Spring is a great time to get out and get busy. The weather
is nice and cool and the veggies are going to be delicious.
Nothing like a nice home grown salad with garden fresh
lettuce, spinach, radish's, green onions and sugar snap
peas!
So get out there and plant some delicious cool weather crops
and enjoy a couple extra months of gardening and eating
fresh veggies!
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About The Author:
Written By Steve Snyder
Visit my garden seed website. We offer high
quality fresh flower, vegetable and herb seed
for the home gardener.
Millington Seed Co
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