Ready, Set, Spring! The Best Garden Vegetables for an Early Start

March is not too early to get your vegetable garden started. stockphoto mania/Shutterstock

Spring is not only a time to get back in the garden with cool season crops, but depending on your gardening zone and the seasonal temperatures, it may be the only time to grow plants such as broccoli, cauliflower, and many lettuces before the arrival of peak summer heat. Some hearty plants, such as kale and Brussels sprouts, can even withstand an unexpected frost, but it’s best to be cautious. Some ways to extend the season include covering the soil with black plastic to warm it faster.

Planting in a raised bed can also provide a few days’ or weeks’ head start, as the ambient air temperature will raise the above-ground soil temperature faster than the ground temp. Unexpected frosts do occur, so consider having some season extenders on hand just in case. These can range from floating row covers to a milk jug with the bottom cut out to create a free version of the traditional glass bell jar garden cloche. Be sure to tie the milk jug handle to a stake or otherwise secure it from blowing away in spring winds. Take off the cap during the day to prevent overheating and cap at night for snuggly protection. And whatever barrier is chosen, keep the leaves from touching the cover, or else the plant could freeze.

March and April Faves

Fifty degrees Fahrenheit is a magic number when it comes to early spring vegetables. Lettuce, mustard greens, Swiss chard, kale, collards, beets, carrots, turnips, cabbage, spinach, kohlrabi, cauliflower, onions, radish, and celery, to name just a few, can all be direct-seeded once the soil is above 50 degrees F. In fact, some vegetables even require a cooler temperature of 50 to 70 degrees F for best germination.

The soil temperature should not be confused with air temperature. To get an accurate reading, an inexpensive soil probe can be purchased online, but an old kitchen thermometer that shows both hot and cold will also do the trick. Why an old thermometer? No one wants to spear a thermometer into a roast after it’s been in the ground.

To get a further jumpstart on the process, seeds can be started six to eight weeks prior to planting out or purchased as seedlings from the local garden center. This works for many plants, including broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, lettuce, peas, and spinach.

However, root crops such as radish, beets, turnips, kohlrabi, and carrots prefer direct sowing, due to having a taproot that doesn’t like to be disturbed. Be sure to loosen the soil, as hard or compacted soil will stunt their growth. Avoid walking on wet soil, as this can lead to unintentional compaction. Speaking of wet soil, if the soil is too wet, seeds will rot, so it’s better to wait a few days to plant. If birds are showing an interest in the seeds or seedlings, consider using a row cover or milk jug cloche until the plants get larger.

You can be eating your spring radishes less than a month after planting them, even in the early spring. Lucky Business/Shutterstock

Speed Harvesting

Depending on the variety, some spring radishes can be eaten in as little as 25 days, with the majority of them taking no longer than 40 days. The leaves of green onions can be added to cooking starting at roughly 30 days. Lettuce can be cut (and come again for more leaves) starting at roughly 45 days, as can spinach. Beets and broccoli can be ready in as little as 50 days or shortly thereafter, with some varieties of cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, kohlrabi, and peas coming in at about 55 to 60 days. In the case of peas, in particular, harvest often to encourage more pod formation.

These short timeframes allow for succession planting—particularly for root crops that are one-and-done. Radish is an excellent example, since new sowings can be made every two weeks until summer to ensure a continuous supply.

Some vegetables greatly benefit from growing together, as each provides something that helps the other. Stephen Rees/Shutterstock

Double Duty

Companion planting can help maximize valuable garden (or raised bed or container) real estate while keeping pests away. The simplest way to start is with layers—combining a skyward-growing crop with root vegetables. One example is radishes or beets planted with shallow-rooted lettuce. Not only will this combo make the most of the space, watering, and fertilizing, but root crops break up soil as they grow, resulting in better aeration and water penetration, while the shallow roots of the lettuce won’t affect radish or beet growth. Onion sets planted amongst greens will have similar benefits.

Another pair of spring “buddies” are peas vining up a trellis or other support, interplanted amongst greens. The low-growing plants shade and cool the pea roots, and help keep weeds down. The peas in turn add organic nitrogen to the soil, leading to lusher lettuce, spinach, and so forth.

Always Thinking Ahead

Once the garden is up and running, it’s time to start thinking about pre-sprouting late spring and summer crops indoors. Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and summer squash are cheaper when started from seed, which also allows for a much larger selection than is normally available locally.

Carrots and other root crops are best grown directly in the ground, as long as it's not too wet. Floki/Shutterstock

Green Savvy

Gardeners are some of the most innovative people on the planet. Here are some examples of their wonderfully budget-friendly tips and tricks.

Newspaper Seed Pots

The ultimate biodegradable planter that can be set out directly in the garden, seed pots made from newspaper or other recyclable paper, allow for easy transplanting without disturbing a seedling’s roots, just like a peat pot, but without the cost.

Tube Guides

Tiny seeds planted directly in the garden can easily be washed away by rain or even gentle watering. The solution is to cut up a toilet paper or paper towel tube into three-inch sections. Press halfway into the soil, and sow two seeds inside each (one is a spare) to keep them in the same general area until they sprout and root.

DIY Seed Tape

Another way to sow small seeds is via a seed tape, but that’s an unnecessary expense. Instead, take a roll of two-ply toilet paper, place the seeds on it at even intervals, fold over, and mist lightly with water to hold the seeds in place while planting.