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To Do This Week

If you haven’t been starting seeds indoors, chances are you haven’t been thinking about gardening yet. Now it’s time! The earliest vegetables can be planted as soon as you can work the soil, which should be happening soon. If you haven’t already done so, create a plan and prepare your garden beds.

Plan

• Decide what veggies you want to plant, and how much of each.
• Create a garden plan!  Use the tool linked here, or draw out your garden on paper, mapping out where each type of plant will go.

Prepare

• Complete an inventory and create a list of items you need for your garden.
• Purchase seeds, onion sets, compost, and any other equipment you need.
• Prepare soil by adding compost and/or other amendments, till or turn it.
• Set up trellises and other supports for spring vegetables.

Broccoli

Broccoli is a hardy vegetable that grows best in cool temperatures. In most areas there is not enough time to grow broccoli from seeds before the weather gets too hot. Start seeds indoors or purchase transplants in a few weeks.

Cabbage

Cabbage is a hardy vegetable that grows best in cool temperatures.  In most areas there is not enough time to grow cabbage from seeds before the weather gets too hot. Start seeds indoors or purchase transplants in a few weeks.

Cauliflower

Cauliflower is a very temperamental vegetable to grow. It cannot tolerate extreme heat or cold. Start seeds indoors or purchase transplants in a few weeks.

Chives

Chives are a cool-season herb. Start seeds indoors, and transplant it once it’s a little warmer, or simply purchase transplants at that time.

Collard Greens

Collard greens are more heat tolerant than many other vegetables in the cabbage family. Still, they prefer cool weather. Start seeds indoors and transplant it later in the season to extend the harvest of these greens.

Kale

Kale is a hardy vegetable that grows best in cool weather.  Start seeds indoors or purchase transplants in a few weeks. If you live in a climate with hot summers and/or a short fall, choose varieties that mature quickly.

Leeks

Leeks are a hardy vegetable that grow best in cool weather. Start seeds indoors or purchase transplants in a few weeks.

Mustard Greens

Mustard greens prefer cool weather. Start seeds indoors and transplant it later in the season to extend the harvest of these greens.

Onions

Onions are a hardy vegetable that grow best in cool weather. When planting onions, you have 3 options–seeds, sets, and transplants.

Now is the time to start seeds indoors, but I suggest growing them from sets or transplants, which will be planted in several weeks.

Parsley

Parsley is very slow and difficult to germinate—you won’t have much luck if you just plant the seeds directly in the garden. The benefit of starting seeds indoors is that you have a really long harvesting-season for parsley! Parsley is a biennial (will grow for two years). However, it usually has to be replanted every year because it dies during the cold winter temperatures.

Rosemary

Rosemary is a difficult herb to grow from seed. Use fresh seeds and expect low germination rates. You may have better success if you start seeds indoors and transplant it later in the season. Another option is to purchase transplants, which are often made from cuttings instead of grown from seed.

Swiss chard

Swiss chard is a semi-hardy vegetable that grows well in many climates. Start seeds indoors or purchase transplants in a few weeks. You can also plant seeds directly in the garden at that time.