First Plants in the Spring Garden

Lettuce, onions, radishes, spinach and peas. All these vegetables can tolerate freezing, even after they have started to grow. Most of them mature rapidly and can be harvested in late spring or early summer. The space can then be used for later crops of warm season vegetables. Radishes are easily grown and reach maturity more quickly than any other garden crop.

The globe types must be grown rapidly and harvested as soon as they are large enough to be eaten. To have a succession of edible roots, plant seeds at about weekly intervals. Radishes do not tolerate summer heat and become strong tasting and pithy under such conditions. To save space, a few can be included with a row of carrots since they will germinate and mature long before the carrots. Lettuce is our most important early spring "salad" crop. A good rich soil is important for lettuce production. Leaf lettuce is the easiest type to grow in our climate. The semi-heading or "Bibb" types are also productive when heat tolerant varieties such as Buttercrunch are used.

Head lettuce should have been started indoors, and plants should be set outdoors at March. Generally, unless there is a long cool spring, heads do not develop well in our climate. Onions do not like extreme cold or extreme heat, but the cool weather of early spring is just right. They may be started from "sets" or seedlings.

"Sets" are small bulbs that have been grown the previous season and are generally the easiest to handle. The small bulbs in the "sets" are best since bulbs that are large often produce seed stalks which interfere with the development of the bulb. Seed stalks should be removed if they form.

Onion "sets" can be planted about two inches deep and four inches apart. Alternate plants may be pulled early in the season for green onions, to give mature onions more room to develop. Cultivate onions carefully since wounds to the bulbs can promote disease.

Another early spring vegetable that does not tolerate heat is spinach. Bloomsdale Long Standing is relatively heat tolerant, making it a good variety for the home garden. Several plantings may be necessary to insure a constant supply of young tender leaves. For summer spinach, New Zealand spinach should be used. It is not related to the true spinach, but it is quite similar for eating and thrives in hot weather.

It will produce leaves that can be harvested at times when regular spinach would not grow. Seeds germinate slowly and should be soaked in water for several hours before planting. It does not have to be planted as early in the season as the other spinach.

Peas require more space for an adequate crop but may be grown on wire trellises if space is limited. They too, are at their best if the spring is long, and cool. About the time that the very early vegetables are beginning to grow, other cool season vegetables can be planted. These include early potatoes, beets, carrots, and transplants of cabbage and broccoli.

http://www.emmitsburg.net/gardens/articles/adams/2003/spring_vegetable_garden.htm