Starting Vegetable Gardening

Cool season vegetables are those that can thrive during shorter days and cooler temperature of spring and fall. Some vegetables like kohlrabi and kale actually develop better flavor when nipped by frost. Some examples of cool season vegetables are lettuce, collards, snow peas, cabbage and broccoli. Summer vegetables like tomatoes and squash require long, hot days to grow.

The first thing we should do when we still have snow is to place the seed order. When the order arrives, it may still be too early to plant the seeds outdoors, but many cool season vegetables can be started from seed indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the frost free date in our area. The frost free date in Michigan according to last year is April 21st to April 30th. This determines when the spring growing season begins. On the other side, gardeners in extreme north have such a short growing season that they will plant their cool and warm season vegetables practically side by side.

Even though many of the vegetables are regarded cold tolerant, they can all be wiped out by a sudden, severe drop in temperature. Therefore, its important to be prepared with something to drape over the crops if an overnight cool snap is expected. We can simply cover crops with newspaper, old sheets or frost blankets. Just remember to remove the covering the next morning. Here are some of the common cool season vegetables to help produce a bountiful spring garden:

English Peas - We should direct sow it in the garden 4 to 6 weeks before the last frost date. They will germinate in soil temperatures as low as 40 degrees F. Seedlings will survive a late snow and short periods of temperature down to 25 degrees F.

Carrots - We should sow seeds in spring about two weeks before the last frost date. Carrots need deep, loose soil to form a robust root. When the seedlings are about two inches tall, we should thin them so that there is about 1 to 4 inches between them. We should cover the shoulders with mulch or soil to keep them from turning green and bitter.

Broccoli - Broccoli seeds can be sown directly in the garden 4 weeks before the last frosst date. The ideal day time temperature for broccoli is between 65 to 80 degrees.

Radish - We should sow radish seeds in the garden about 4 weeks before the frost date. No feeding is necessary, but soil should be fertile and well drained. They are quick to mature, so we should check them reguarly. They are ready to harvest as soon as they are of edible size.

Preparing for Vegetable Garden

The joys of vegetable gardening range from planning in winter to harvesting in the summer or fall. Vegetable gardens are unlike any other gardens on our property. So, it is very important to know how to prepare the garden before we start vegetable gardening.

The most imporatnt requirements for vegetables to grow are sunshine and water. Other requirements are loosened soil, some fertilizer, and a little bit of weeding. If we have an area in our yard that gets sunshine most of the day, which is 6 to 8 hours in summer; then, we can have a vegetable garden. It requires a little extra amount of work to start, but once we start, it is not hard at all. The ground where the plants will grow needs to be loosened up to allow the air in the soil. The roots are the only way the plants take up water and nutrients, so the plants should be able to do that by itself. Therefore, soft soil is very important. But, the soil in most yards is very hard because we don't use it, so it's compacted over the years. Therefore, it is easy to dig in early spring as the soil is moist enough to dig easily but not so wet that the soil is muddy and heavy. We have to make sure that there are no trees and shrubs around it with roots that will spread in our garden.

After that, we have to remove grass and create some type of border around the garden to keep it neat and weed free. We must dig the soil to loosen it up, to allow the air in which will alow the roots to breathe. The depth that is recommended is at least 12". Then, 2" of compost must be added to the soil and mix it well with the soil. Adding too much compost to the soil thinking that it will make the garden healthy is wrong because it will over-fertilize the garden.

When it looks like a good place, then, we are ready to plant vegetables. But planning before planting vegetables is always good. We need to plan to make sure that it has enough room for the plants to grow. Plants generally get very lage and we need to give them enough space to grow out healthy. Most of the plants we purchase will have the information on how much room they will need when fully grown, so it should not be hard to figure that out. And lastly, we should always put the tallest ones in the back because sun is very important for all plants. So, we should make sure that they do not shade the shorter ones.