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GARDENING TIPS HOME
MAIN HOME |
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Cool Weather Crop Tips |
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Before you plant your garden make sure it is
properly
prepared.
Visit our garden soil preparation page by
clicking
here.
COOL WEATHER CROPS
Many gardeners miss out on the opportunity
to plant their cool weather crops. After a
long winter I am usually ready to get out
there in the garden and get a little
exercise. It's best to till that garden as
soon as the frost leaves the ground. Of
course you folks further south don't have to
worry as much about that. Either way as soon
as it's warm and dry enough to work the soil
it's time to get those cool weather crops
in. |
Cool weather crops
include:
Lettuce, Chard, Spinach, Cabbage,
Broccoli, Cauliflower, Peas, Onions,
Carrots, Radish, Beets, Potato's etc. The
above ground crops can
take a light frost pretty well and taste
much better when grown during the cooler
months. The root crops are safe below ground
during the coldest part of their beginnings. In the south
most of these crops can also be
planted in the fall.
Often it is
difficult finding seeds during early spring
and fall. Shopping for seeds online works
out great. I like to purchase my seeds from
Millington Seed Company,
www.millingtonseed.com . They aren't the
most popular seed company but they are
local, family owned and operated. They also
sell garden and flower seeds all year long
which most of the larger seed companies
don't seem to do. I've always had great luck
with their seeds and they seem to grow extra
delicious vegetables. |
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 In
extremely cool climates it's not a bad plan
to make or purchase cold frames or hot beds.
Some gardeners like to have vegetables all
year long and can make use of these during
the winter months. Here it's more practical
to just cover the plants when there is a
chance of a sever frost or freeze. There are
some neat products on the market for
covering plants with for frost protection. I
haven't tried any but I have fancied the
thought. Gardens Alive!
 offers some real cool
50 foot long plant covers. That will do an
entire row in my garden. |
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By the way 50 foot is a good row width or
length if you have the space. Soaker hoses,
plastic mulch strips, weed barriers etc
often come in 50 foot rolls.
Start lettuce seeds right in the ground or
get an even earlier head start and start
your some of your cool weather crops inside.
We like to start lettuce, cabbage, and
spinach indoors. You can also start
cauliflower, broccoli, and broccoflower
inside.
We replant every couple weeks right into the
garden after we set the first plants out.
This helps ensure we don't run out and get
to reap multiple harvests of those delicious
cold crop veggies.
Peas can also be started right after the
frost and are best grown in cool weather
also. Don't forget to set a fence or trellis
up for them to climb on. It's always best to
get that structure up before you plant any
vining plants. Don't start peas inside it's
a waste of time, they don't transplant well
and do just fine outside in the cold
weather.
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Radish's perform
beautifully in cold weather. They also taste
much better grown in cool weather. Once the
weather warms up it's time to give up on
radish's, lettuce and spinach. They all get
bitter and radish get woody.
Green onions seem
to do just fine and we replant those a few
times throughout the spring, summer and
early fall.
Onion sets are best planted early also. You
can also plant some later when you plant
your warm weather crops. This also helps
spread the harvest out so you can get some
nice onions early and have some for later in
the season too. We like to can lots of salsa
so the later season onions work great for
that. |
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Fresh garden onions are just delicious.
It's great to have a nice collection of the
white, yellow and sweet red onions through most
of the year too. Onions keep very well in a dark
cool place. Remember to harvest your onions as
soon as you notice the greens starting to turn.
Waiting too long invites the opportunity for top
end rot. That's a sad thing to see.
Spring is a great time to get out and get
busy. The weather is nice and cool and the
veggies are going to be delicious. Nothing
like a nice home grown salad with garden
fresh lettuce, spinach, radish's, green
onions and sugar snap peas!
So get out there
and plant some delicious cool weather crops
and enjoy a couple extra months of gardening
and eating fresh veggies!
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About The Author:
Written By Steve Snyder
Visit my garden seed website. We offer high
quality fresh flower, vegetable and herb seed
for the home gardener.
Millington Seed Co
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