Spring Gardening

by Cathy Bylinowski, Horticulture Educator, University of Missouri Extension Service

Watching the snow fall as I write this, it is hard to imagine weather conducive to planting a garden being around the corner. Sooner than later it will be time to get those sought-after spring crops in the ground and on their way to a quick harvest and your favorite salad, stir-fry, or casserole.

What are your favorite spring vegetable crops?

Sugar snap peas? Onions? Carrots? Arugula? All these crops grow best in the cool weather of spring. As soon as the soil in your garden space is moist, not wet, and can be cultivated into a seed bed with a crumbly texture in late February and March, go ahead and direct seed these spring crops.

Lettuce, radishes, mustard greens, and kale are just some of the crops that can be on your list to plant by seed. These crops will tolerate a light freeze and frost and continue growing.

Onion sets and onion plants

Both are available in your local garden supply stores. Onion sets are small bulbs that will give you green onions to use in salads and other dishes in 40-50 days. Onion plants mature a little faster and should provide usable green onions in 30-40 days.

If you want to get larger onions to harvest later in the spring or early summer be sure to provide adequate water on a weekly basis. Harvest and cure large onions when the green tops fall over.

Potatoes

Potatoes are a rewarding crop. While many people think St. Patrick’s Day is the best planting date for potatoes, Dr. David Trinklein, University of Missouri Horticulture Specialist, says that it is usually a couple of weeks too early.

If the soil temperature is not above 45 degrees F, seed potato pieces can be killed by freezing temperatures or rot in the cold, wet soil. Late March through early May, when the soil temperatures go up to around 78 degrees is a good time to plant potatoes.

Sugar snap peas

Eat the whole pod of these peas, fresh from the garden. I often eat them all before I get inside! If you do manage to get a bowlful into the kitchen, they are great steamed or stir-fried. They are sweet and crunchy. Kids love them. They are a great addition to the spring garden.

Plant sugar snap pea seeds in a crumbly moist seedbed. Peas and other legumes benefit from a coating of inoculant, special bacteria that allows the pea roots to get more nitrogen from the soil. Inoculant is available in small bags from garden supply stores. It should improve your pea crop yield. Most varieties of sugar snap peas are vining crops and will need a trellis to grow on. Some varieties of sugar snap peas are shorter and self-trellising.

Be sure to keep your seed beds moist until your spring vegetable crops sprout. After they begin growing and have a set of true leaves, you can switch to watering around the roots once a week.

Watering thoroughly and deeply is beneficial to most crops. Ideally vegetable crops need one inch of water per week. If the rain does not provide it, you will have to water.

Check out the University of Missouri Extension websitewww.extension2.missouri.edu for information on how to plant and manage a wide range of vegetable crops. You can also access the Master Gardener Core Manual chapters on vegetable gardening at no charge: https://extension2.missouri.edu/mg5

Call the University of Missouri Extension office in Blue Springs, 816- 252-5051, or contact the Master Gardener Hotline, 816-833-TREE (8733), 24-hour voice mail or email mggkc.hotline@gmail.com for more gardening information.

Happy Spring Gardening!

Spring crops such as sugar snap peas are a great addition to your favorite salad, stir-fry, or casserole. Photo credit: iStock