Gardening: Figuring out what to plant first this spring

Now that the cold weather is fading, what can we plant first in the vegetable garden? Even better, what can we plant that will have us eating out of the garden in six weeks or less?

Where the snow has been off the ground for a couple of weeks, the soil has probably warmed to around 40 degrees, just perfect for beet greens and lettuce, followed in a couple of weeks by radishes, spinach and Swiss chard. Yes, they are all leafy vegetables but who cares; they will make a great Mother’s Day salad. All it takes is a little preparation and proper behavior from Mother Nature.

The best way to tell it’s time to start these early crops is to measure the soil temperature in your planting beds. This can be done with a soil temperature thermometer or in a pinch, any rectangular weatherproof thermometer that is easy to read. Soil thermometers are available at garden centers and have a finer calibration than household ones. Beets and lettuce will sprout at about 41 degrees while radishes, spinach and Swiss chard need about 45 degrees.

To help this process along, pick the warmest place in your garden and clear and level your planting space. Cover the area with black plastic weighted down to keep it in place in the wind. Leave it on for two weeks and check the soil temperature again. The black plastic absorbs the sun’s heat, even on cloudy days, which warms the soil underneath.

While you are waiting for the soil to warm, plant some lettuce and spinach seeds in containers set in a sunny window. They will sprout in the house and you can plant them in the garden. To plant, cut slits in the plastic and fold the edges under just enough to create a row of soil you can plant in. The plastic will continue to warm the soil and your seedlings. Direct seed the beets, radishes and chard as they don’t transplant well. Direct seed more lettuce and spinach to supplement your seedlings and extend your harvest. Lay some floating row cover over the bed to keep the plants even warmer. This spun fabric will let light, air and water in, and it’s easy to reach under the fabric to harvest.

There are dozens of varieties you can plant so have some fun with it. Radishes come in the familiar round reds but also in Easter egg colors: black, white, white with red flesh and long white icicles. Swiss chard is often grown for its rainbow-colored stalks while lettuce can be planted as a mix of different kinds and colors.

This is all predicated on Mother Nature behaving herself and giving us a reasonable spring. The long-range forecast put out last week by the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center is predicting that our temperatures for April, May and June will likely be a little cooler than average while precipitation will be near normal. Check it out here: http://bit.ly/1g4QaGk.