18 Vegetables We Sow and Plant at the Beginning of Spring

Vegetable garden

Did you know that peas and broad beans should be sown as early as possible because they love cold soil? In spring, hurry with the planting of the first lettuce seedlings to secure an early harvest. Find out when we plant potatoes, early cabbage and the other vegetables. Before the first sowings, loosen the soil and enrich it with compost.

Good Neighbors for Lettuce and First Combinations in the Bed

Lettuce can be combined at the beginning of spring with onions, peas, radishes, cauliflower, early cabbage, leeks and kale.

Growing lettuce is simple because the plant requires no special care and grows quickly. In spring we love to combine lettuce with radishes, as they can be sown very early.

In spring it is better to plant lettuce seedlings. This way the harvest is faster, since the plants grow quickly at slightly higher temperatures.

Before the first sowings and plantings work compost into the bed

The value of homemade compost is priceless, because earthworms and other tiny creatures have turned organic waste into it. With it we take care of preserving humus in the soil, which is often lacking when we only use bought pellet fertilizers.

Compost is easiest and fastest worked into the soil with the help of the Quick Fork, which deeply loosens the soil and enables good rooting of seedlings as well as better seed germination. On our garden the soil is heavy and clayey, so we work only when it is workable and crumbles nicely. We never loosen wet, completely dry or compacted soil.

The main advantages of the Quick Fork in the home garden

The Quick Fork is excellent for all gardeners, especially women and seniors, because heavy garden work can be done 2 to 3 times faster and the strain on the back and hands is greatly reduced. When loosening the soil, couch grass, dandelion and other root weeds are easily removed with the Quick Fork.

Peas and broad beans are among the first vegetables we sow

Early sowing of peas and broad beans is recommended because these two crops only set flowers in short days. They develop especially well in cool weather. With late sowing, aphids appear more on broad beans.

We sow both crops as soon as the soil is workable and do not wait for warm spring weather. The most successful sowings are at the end of February and beginning of March.

Other vegetables we sow in early spring in the home garden

You can start sowing beetroot at the end of March. On our garden we like to combine it with autumn garlic. In recent years we plant it mainly as seedlings in April. This way it quickly covers the soil and no extra thinning of dense sowing is needed. Hoeing will also be easier.

You can still sow spinach, lamb’s lettuce, rocket and Asian leafy greens that we do not combine with lettuce.

Plant cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and other vegetable seedlings as early as possible

Early cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli have been planted early in spring for many years and we enjoy abundant harvests, because these are short-day and cool-weather crops. The above-ground kohlrabi from seedlings has also proven excellent and we plant it among the first crops. Cabbage, cauliflower and other brassica seedlings are actually even more frost-resistant than lettuce seedlings.

We plant potatoes when the soil is sufficiently warm

In March we plant potatoes only where the soil is warm enough, because cold soil does not suit them. We start planting when the soil has reached about 10 degrees Celsius.

On our garden we only plant blight-resistant varieties: Twister, Alouette and Levante. This way we grow early, mid-early and late potatoes completely without spraying.

Take care of hoeing garlic and give it a light compost dressing

Autumn garlic is very grateful for regular hoeing and a light compost dressing. We do the dressing in March to stimulate growth – this is the only compost dressing for garlic. You will notice the leaves quickly become a darker green.

Garlic on heavy soil is especially happy when we hoe regularly. This brings more air into the soil.

On our garden we do this job fastest with the Pendulum Hoe Alma, which works 7 to 10 times faster than a normal hoe.

When do we sow carrots and parsley in spring?

Carrots and parsley like soil that is at least 10 degrees Celsius warm. If we sow them too early the sowings often fail. The most successful sowings are in April when the soil is warm and sufficiently moist so the seeds germinate better.

Hurry with planting garlic and onions to secure a better harvest

Onions and garlic develop better when planted in cold soil, so we plant them already in March so the roots develop well.

Late planting in April avoids the onion fly, but the harvest can be poorer because of summer heat. Onions from late sowings also store less well.

In March we hurry with the planting of spring garlic, which also likes cooler weather.

Also take care of hoeing, fertilising asparagus and other jobs

In March we clean the asparagus, fertilise and hoe it. On our garden we fertilised it in winter with wood ash at 1 kg/10 m². In March we then add 5 litres of compost per m². We recommend that you take care of bumblebees – the first garden pollinators – and provide them with nesting boxes.

In spring deep soil loosening pays off on every garden

On our garden we have not “dug” for almost ten years because it negatively affects the harvest. Instead we focus on loosening the soil with the Quick Fork to improve its structure. Spring bed preparation requires special attention, because a well-prepared bed is the key to fast germination of the first sowings and strong root development of the plants.