You can get a jump on gardening early in the spring by planting cold weather vegetables. They can be planted as soon as the ground thaws and the temperatures are still a little cool at night, but above freezing. Raised beds thaw a little sooner. Putting a clear plastic over the top will also warm up the soil. The last half of April is when I start planting in my raised beds.
Some cold weather vegetables actually do better when the weather is a little cooler. One of these vegetables is spinach. It just doesn’t grow for me when planted in the summer, but does when planted in the spring.
Other cold weather vegetables include: lettuce/swiss chard/arugula, peas, onions, beets, carrots, radishes, kale, broccoli/cauliflower/cabbage and potatoes.
Peas, arugula and radishes are one of the first vegetables I plant and are pretty easy to grow.
To speed up the growing process, these vegetables can also be started indoors and then transplanted outside. I did that with onions this year.
After a long winter of eating store bought produce, I can’t wait to start planting the garden as soon as the weather warms up. It’s a good way to get fresh air and the homegrown vegetables are much more nutritious.