How to Start Your Garden As Early as Possible

Soil temperature is the key to an early spring garden.
For those of us who love to get dirt under our fingernails, any sunny day in the midst of winter-almost-spring makes us want to go out and recklessly plant our spring garden. But there are other, more sensible reasons for getting your garden in as soon as possible, the best being:

The sooner you get your garden started, the sooner you can begin eating garden fresh produce and the sooner you can start saving money on said garden-fresh produce.

Of course, we can't just pop seeds into the soil mid-winter and assume anything will actually grow. We have to wait until the soil temperature rises.The good news is, there are ways to hurry it up a bit - and there are particular veggies you can grow that will tolerate colder soil.

How to Check Soil Temperature

First, you need to know how to check soil temperature. You may have seen expensive thermometers sold for this purpose in gardening catalogs and nurseries, but really - it's just fine to use an inexpensive meat thermometer.



To check soil temperature, simply stick the thermometer into the soil 4 to 6 inches deep and wait for the thermometer to make a reading. It's best to check the temperature in several parts of the garden. Also remember that the soil temperature will be cooler in shadier areas of the garden, so test those sections separately.

An example of a row cover.
How to Heat Up the Soil

There are a few ways to help the soil warm up faster in the spring. One is to lay something black over the soil. Just as black clothes make you feel warmer on a sunny day, so does black plastic or a thick layer of dark, organic mulch or aged manure make the soil warmer. Even just two weeks of a black"blanket" can make a big difference in your garden's soil temperature.

However, if you apply a thick layer of organic mulch in the fall, the mulch can actually prevent the sun from warming the soil beneath it. A simple solution, then, is to rake back the mulch and allow the soil exposure to the sun.

Winter sowing can also get your garden going faster. For more information on how to winter sow, see this post, plus my free ebook Starting Seeds.

Another way to heat up the soil faster is to install a row cover. These can be bought or made, but essentially consist of some sort of wire or pipe that holds a piece of cloth or plastic over the garden bed. They are designed to keep already-planted veggies warmer (for an extended harvest in spring and fall), but they also warm the soil when nothing is planted yet. And if you put them in place before winter's first hard frost, when you're ready to plant in the spring, the garden will be workable sooner, too.

Vegetables that Don't Mind Colder Soil

All seeds have a minimal temperature at which they begin to germinate or grow. They also all have an optimal temperature for germination. If you plant at a seed's minimum temperature, germination is more spotty, but you'll have harvest-able plants sooner.
Broccoli is a great early spring crop.

With that in mind, when your thermometer tells you the soil is at least 35 degrees F. and you don't expect any more freezing weather, you can plant:

lettuce (optimal temperature 40 - 80 degrees F.)
spinach (optimal temperature 45 - 75 degrees F.)
onions (optimal temperature 50 - 95 degrees F.)

When the soil temperature is up to 40 degrees F., you can plant:

beets (optimal temperature 50 - 85 degrees F.)
broccoli  (optimal temperature 45 - 85 degrees F.)
Brussels sprouts (optimal temperature 45 - 85 degrees F.)
cabbage (optimal temperature 45 - 95 degrees F.)
carrots (optimal temperature 45 - 85 degrees F.)
cauliflower (optimal temperature 45 - 85 degrees F.)
leeks (optimal temperature 70 -75 degrees F.)
parsley (optimal temperature 50 - 85 degrees F.)
peas (optimal temperature 40 - 75 degrees F.)
Swiss chard (optimal temperature 50 - 85 degrees F.)
turnips (optimal temperature 60 - 105 degrees F.)

Brussels sprouts do well in colder temperatures.
When soil temperature reaches 45 degrees F., you may plant:

collards (optimal temperature 70 - 75 degrees F.)
potatoes (optimal temperature 60 - 70 degrees F.)


So there you have it. By paying attention to the temperature of the soil - and perhaps by helping the soil warm up faster - you can begin your garden at least a few weeks earlier than usual. Enjoy!



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