How to Start your Spring Vegetable Garden Early

Today I’m sharing tips for how to start your spring vegetable garden early with cool season vegetables. If you’re eager to begin your spring vegetable garden, start with some of our favorite cool season vegetables to grow and eat–broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuces, onions, peas, potatoes, radishes, and more.

Cool vs. Warm Season Vegetables

We live in Oklahoma in gardening zone 7a. Our average last frost date is April 15. But rather than waiting to start gardening in April, we begin our spring vegetable garden by planting our cool season vegetables around March 1.

You can look up your gardening zone here.

What is a Cool Season Plant?

Cool season vegetables grow better in the cooler seasons. The plants have either a hardy or semi-hardy frost tolerance. This means that you can start your spring vegetable garden before your average last frost date with cool season vegetables.

Specifically, hardy cool season plants can tolerate cold weather and can be planted before your last frost date. Some can even handle a freeze. Semi-hardy plants can also be planted before your last frost date and can handle a light frost. However, a hard frost can damage semi-hardy plants.

We use the Oklahoma Garden Planning Guide to help us determine when to plant each of our crops.

What is a Warm Season Plant?

Warm season plants, on the other hand, are considered tender or very tender. They cannot handle cooler temperatures and grow better during warm temperatures. Planting warm season plants happens later in the spring, after your average last frost date.

If you need help deciding when to plant both your cool and warm season vegetables, do a quick search for cooperative extension garden planning guide for your specific state or gardening zone.

Starting your Spring Vegetable Garden

I love when Bill and I head to our local feed store in late February or early March and there are bins of potato tubers and onion sets. It means the gardening season is about to begin and we will have homegrown vegetables in our kitchen in the near future.

In addition to potatoes and onions, we typically pick up a few plants to add to our spring garden: cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower. We also purchase several packs of seeds including different greens (kale, lettuces, spinach) and radishes.

And before we know it, our spring vegetable garden is ready to be planted.

Cool Season Plants to Start from Seed

As someone who did not grow up gardening, I still find it so interesting how different plants are started. We start some from seed and some from plants. And others from crowns, tubers, and sets. There is always so much to learn.

The following is a list of our favorite cool season vegetables that we start from seed and direct sow outside in our raised beds.

• Beets
• Kale
• Lettuce
• Peas
• Radishes
• Spinach
• Swiss Chard
• Turnips

Cool Season Vegetables to Start from Plants

Around March 1, our local garden center has all types of vegetable plants available to purchase. But garden centers are notorious for carrying plants at the wrong time of year and in gardening zones where they won’t thrive.

In early spring, head to your garden center informed. Stick with cool season vegetables and wait until after your last frost to begin planting tomatoes and other warm season vegetables (even if they’re available early).

The following is a list of our favorite cool season vegetables to start from plant.

• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower

My favorite cool season vegetable by far is cabbage. It really is gorgeous when fully grown. We also grow lots of broccoli and cauliflower in our spring vegetable garden.

Cool Season Vegetables to Start from Tubers and Sets

If you’re wanting to start a cool season vegetable garden for the first time, don’t feel like you have to stick with growing from only seeds and plants. There are some really great vegetables that you can grow from tubers and sets.

Most can be found at your local garden centers or feed stores. And if you’re looking for a specific variety, order it online.

The following is a list of our favorite spring garden vegetables to start from tubers and set.

• Onions-Sets
• YuKon Gold Potatoes-Tubers
• Red Potatoes-Tubers

Spring Vegetable Garden: Closing Tips

Start by growing vegetables that you like to eat. If you love salads, plant spinach and other greens or if you like to make coleslaw, plant cabbage. If you’re a broccoli soup fan, plant broccoli and if you love cauliflower rice, plant cauliflower.

And if you grow too much, harvest your vegetables and then give them to friends or donate them to your local food pantry.

Also, keep in mind that after you harvest your cool season vegetables, you can follow-up with planting warm season vegetables in the same location. And, as your summer vegetable garden winds down, you can start a fall garden in some gardening zones (including ours, 7a) with a second round of cool season vegetables.

Cheers to retired life, and as always, happy gardening!

x Penny

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