Early Spring

Spring is a delightful time to start gardening. However, it is best not to get spring fever too quickly!!! Even though these plants like cool, wet weather, it takes 50 degree temperature to germinate most seeds. I usually plant during the first warm spell in late February or early March. Some early birds will plant peas in January but they really don't harvest peas before the ones who plant later since plants take a certain amount of light hours to grow. I feel April is too late for early season crops. It gets too hot before they are ready for harvest and bugs/worms become a problem. I do not care for meat with my broccoli!

Tilling the soil while it is still too wet is one of the biggest mistakes people, including myself, are tempted to make. If you do, you will battle hard clods and compacted soil all season. It will be unforgiving!!! The most ideal situation is to plow the soil in late fall or early winter. Freezing and thawing temperatures soften and mellow the soil. When you are ready to plant in the spring, all you have to do is till.

For the plants listed below I am not giving all the technical information or options, but how I plant. More information can be obtained through gardening books (and there are many of them) and browsing the web.

Helpful terms:

Row planting: carefully placing seeds in a row-a V shaped trench pushed through the soil in a straight line. Cover seeds with 1 inch of soil.
Block planting: sprinkling seeds in a block shaped area -say 4'x4'. This saves space and is easier when planting fine seeds of salad, lettuce, radishes, etc. that can take up a lot of space in a row. I till the soil until it is fine and smooth. Sprinkle seeds over the block area like you are putting pepper on an egg. Stir area with a rake to lightly cover seeds.
Frost date: April 10 is considered the last spring frost date for the central Virginia area. However, remember that depending on the season this can vary. It can catch you unprepared!!!

It is probably safe to say that all the crops planted in the spring also make good fall crops. Some actually do better in the fall as the weather is getting cooler instead of hotter and there is less problem with insects and disease.

Pat's 2002 Spring Gardening Calendar

Date	Plant/Harvest
February 20	Pruned grape vine
February 23	Tilled garden. Planted: peas, radishes, onions, lettuce (leaf & head), cabbage plants & spinach
March 29 (Good Friday)	Planted potatoes. Decided to plant by "old timers" Almanac... dark moon for root crops.
April 8	Started eating spring onions
April 13	Started harvesting asparagus
April 18	Had fresh Buttercrunch head lettuce, spring onions, and radishes for supper. Noticed strawberries starting to bloom and potatoes are up. This is best stand of potatoes I've had for several years and they are up quicker!!! Dark moon planting must work!
April 20	Noticed peas starting to bloom. That means it is 2-3 weeks to harvest time!
April 27	Hilled potatoes. They are approx. 10" tall.
May 7	Picked first strawberries Planted second crop of Oakleaf Lettuce, radishes and onions. I have never planted this late but decided to try it with all the cool weather and rain we are having. I don't have anything to lose but a few seeds!
May 10	Picked first strawberries and peas. This is a wonderful pea year with the cool weather and rain. I believe my peas (and the weeds!!!) are the prettiest they have ever been. Roses have started to bloom!
May 28	Picked last of peas and mowed them off. Tilled up lettuce, radishes. and planted summer crops. Picked first head of cabbage. Very tender and good.