This winter was probably the most difficult winter that any person under the age of 102 has had to endure. The pandemic inspired many people to start gardening last spring (I know it kept me sane) but the cold weather forced us all inside and stay at home orders forced us to stay there. But now the long winter months are over and the first spring bulbs are finally blooming in my garden. Seeing those first few crocus blooms with their bright yellows and purples gave me so much hope that warmer weather and more color is just around the corner. And thank goodness for that.
The cool spring weather is an opportunity to start sowing seeds directly in the garden. When you are able to sow seeds depends on your USDA hardiness zone and your last frost date (kind of). Generally in my area (zone 7b) I don't plant my full garden until right around Mother's day to ensure that my plants won't be killed by frost (even though the last frost date is sometime in April). Last year we had a very late frost and all of my precious tomato plants (the ones I had nurtured from seed for the first time ever!) were killed overnight. I mourned them for a day and then went to the local nursery to buy whatever tomato plants they had left.
Even though my last frost date is still a few weeks away, I have already started some cold weather crops in my garden. There are a few crops that do very well in cool weather and mature very quickly. Starting to garden now, well before the last frost, can be risky. If temperatures dip down too low at night you could lose your entire crop if you haven't covered them with some kind of frost protection. BUT, gardening is an easy activity to do with your kids. It allows them to dig and get messy, and gives them ownership of the plants. Last year anytime I was weeding or harvesting, my little one would love to "help" me. They especially loved to harvest and eat the veggies. Anytime they wanted a snack they would walk over to the garden and pick something to eat. So I would rather start a bit early with my kid and have them help me replant anything if necessary then wait any longer. I'm impatient. I need to garden.
So here are a few cool weather crops that can be sown early and survive a mild frost.
Radishes
Radishes are excellent cool weather crops to start sowing now. Why are they so great? Well, on average it only takes about three weeks for radishes to mature so if you start early and plant in succession, you could have a few weeks with a great crop. Another wonderful thing about radishes are the edible greens. Very young radish seedlings have a wonderful peppery radish-like flavor and are excellent in salads. Or you could just eat them while you're thinning out the rows like I do. Radishes also come in so many interesting varieties. I enjoy planting the more unusual versions of vegetables with my kid. It makes for a more interesting harvest.
French breakfast radishes (above) have a milder flavor compared to other radishes.
Kale
I was shopping in a Trader Joe's when I first moved to Los Angeles many years ago. As I was perusing the fruits and veggies a man from the produce department wheeled out a tall stack of packaged fresh cut Kale. As soon as he was spotted he was swarmed by people taking two or three bags of kale and scurrying back to their carts. I stood there in confusion looking at the produce man as he shrugged at me as if to say: "I'm used to it." I had never seen anything like that before in NY and I think about that story everytime I plant kale.
Kale is another fantastic cool weather crop. Its delicious and grows relatively quickly. I prefer to harvest the young leaves and not let the kale grow too large. Larger leaves are tougher and more bitter. They still taste good but I prefer the more tender leaves.
When growing kale (or any Brassica) it is important to keep a sharp eye out for the cabbage white caterpillar. These caterpillars are bright green, almost the exact same color of the kale and will decimate your entire crop very quickly. This can be avoided by covering your crop with netting or checking the plants everyday for caterpillars. Last year I picked them off by hand, which is no big deal if your kale crop is small. If you have a larger crop of any plant in the Brassica family it would be wise to cover them.
Male Cabbage White Butterfly By Ypna - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16445170
Carrots
Carrots are another cool weather crop that are really fun to plant with kids. There are so many interesting varieties of carrots that come in all sorts of colors. Planting the colorful varieties, like the radishes, keeps the harvest interesting.
When sowing carrots be sure to direct sow thinly. Most root vegetables don't do well when transfered so its best to sow them directly into your garden bed or container. It is important to sow thinly because when thinning the smell of the broken seedlings will attract white flies. the white flies lay their eggs on the carrot tops and the larva drop into the soil and will bore into your carrots ruining your crop. Some people put mesh over their carrots to protect them but I've found that isn't necessary if I sow a thin crop.
Additional Cool Weather Crops to Try
All of the plants listed above are the ones I have already planted in my garden. There are many other seeds that can be planted out early. Turnips, beets, and other dark leafy greens will do well in cool weather. I hesitate to recommend planting beets because my two attempts have gone very poorly. BUT a neighbor of mine had a beautiful crop and swears he did nothing special. Remember that any early crops sown in the spring can be sown again in the late summer to be harvested in early fall.