The standard planting advice that I give to my gardening clients is
to wait until all danger of frost has passed before doing any spring
planting. My clients find this advice hard to follow and so do I after
the spring seed catalogs arrive and our green thumbs begin itching to
dig in the dirt and grow something. The good news is there are a few
ways to trick mother nature and plant our gardens earlier than the last
predicted frost date so by the time spring arrives, we'll have a good
4-6 weeks of growing time already under our green thumbnail. Use these 4
ideas and plant your garden earlier.
Cloches
Cloches
cover individual plants that are set out in the garden, raising the air
temperature around the plant and protecting it from frost. Clear plastic
gallon milk jugs make great recycled garden cloches; cut the bottom off
the jugs and set them over plants. Mound a little soil around the
bottoms to keep the jugs in place. On days with bright sun and
temperatures above 50 degrees, remove the milk jug lid to ventilate the
DIY cloche and prevent the garden plants from cooking. Cloches can also
be purchased at most garden supply centers.
Containers
Plant seeds in containers, either temporarily or permanently, so you
can harvest fresh garden vegetables early. Use containers than are easy
to move so they can moved as needed for optimum sun exposure
or when a late cold snap threatens their tender, green lives.
Containers can be placed outside or indoors, depending on climate and
how early you want to plant your garden. In some growing zones (like my
southern 7b) it's possible to plant as early as January and begin
harvesting fresh produce in late February.
Row Covers
Use a DIY or store bought row cover to get your garden off to an early
start. Plant cool season vegetable seeds in garden soil and cover with
row cover fabric that lays directly on the soil and warms it so seeds
germinate quicker or create a row 'tent' with semi-circular pieces of
wire and stretch the row cover fabric over the wire.
Cold Frame
Build or buy a cold frame and use it to house containers of seeds for
quick germination and growth. A cold frame raises the soil and air
temperature by several degrees and will get your garden growing early. A
small, bottomless cold frame is portable and can be used on the back
porch, garden or other sunny location.
Cool Season Vegetables
Grow a fresh salad by planting cool season vegetables like loose-leaf
lettuce, spinach, chard, carrots, radishes, onions and garlic. Get a
jump start on other cool season vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower,
Brussels sprouts, peas and cabbage by planting them even earlier than
usual.
