| Spring Color | Dates | Spring Color | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| White Group | February 15-21 | Yellow Group | April 12-18 |
| Pink Group | March 1-7 | Green Group | Apr 26-May 2 |
| Red Group | March 15-21 | Blue Group | May 10-16 |
| Orange Group | Mar 29-Apr 4 | Violet Group | May 24-30 |
To Do This Week
| Start Seeds Inside | Transplant Plants | Plant Seeds Outside |
|---|---|---|
| Lettuce* Swiss chard |
Beets Carrots Lettuce* Potatoes Radishes Spinach Swiss Chard Turnips |
|
| *New plant! This was added since the previous week. | ||
If you haven’t created your garden plan and prepped your garden, it’s time!
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.
Irrigation
In some areas it is typical to have automatic or semi-automatic irrigation for gardens. If you have this kind of irrigation you don’t want to set it up too early or you risk a freeze and broken pipes. As spring warms up it becomes labor intensive to water by hand. I have found Week -2 is about the right time to turn on irrigation. It may freeze enough to damage plants, but it’s unlikely to get cold enough to freeze irrigation pipes. Read more about building a drip irrigation system.
Beets
Beets are a semi-hardy vegetable. Beets do not transplant well. Plant beets directly in the garden.
Carrots
Carrots are a semi-hardy vegetable that grow best in cool weather with lots of sun. Carrots do not transplant well. Plant seeds directly in the garden.
Carrot seeds take a long time to germinate, and need consistent watering until they do. It’s best to mist or use drip irrigation so you do not wash the carrot seeds away.
Lettuce
Lettuce is a semi-hardy vegetable that grows best in cool weather or partial shade during the summer. Plant seeds directly in the garden or harden off and move transplants into the garden. To have a continuous harvest, don’t plant all the lettuce at once. Instead plant a square or two (4-8 plants) every 2 weeks.
Potatoes
Potatoes are a semi-hardy vegetable that grow best with lots of sun. They are a tuber that is grown from certified seed potatoes, which can be purchased at a nursery or home and garden store. It is best to let the potato sprout before planting. If you want, you can then cut it into several pieces with 2-3 sprouts in each piece. Allow the cut potato to crust over before planting.
Radishes
Radishes are a hardy vegetable that grows best in cool weather. It does not transplant well. Plant radish seeds directly in the garden.
Spinach
Spinach is a hardy vegetable that grows best in cool weather. Plant spinach directly in the garden as soon as the ground is 40 degrees (not frozen) and you are able to work the soil.
Swiss chard
Swiss chard is a semi-hardy vegetable that grows well in many climates. Now is the time to plant swiss chard transplants in the garden.
If you have started seeds inside, the transplants are ready when they have 4-6 true leaves. Be sure to harden off before planting in the garden.
You can also plant swiss shard seeds directly in the garden now.
