Monthly Garden Guide: Best Times to Plant Fruits & Vegetables

Spring Planting Rush: Your Guide to March and April Success

Let me tell you about my favorite time of the year – the spring planting rush! After 15 years of gardening, I’ve learned that these two months can make or break your entire growing season. There’s something magical about those first warm days when you can finally get your hands dirty in the garden.

Cool-Season Vegetables: Your Early Spring Stars

I’ll never forget my first attempt at spring planting. I waited until May to start everything, and boy, was that a rookie mistake! Now I know better. Cool-season vegetables are the true champions of early spring. Start with crops like peas, spinach, and lettuce as soon as the soil can be worked.

My tried-and-true test? Grab a handful of soil and squeeze it. If it crumbles instead of forming a mud ball, you’re good to go! I’ve found that Swiss chard and kale are particularly forgiving – they’ve survived surprise frost more times than I can count.

Transplanting Seedlings: The Great Migration

Moving those precious indoor seedlings to the garden is like sending your kids off to college – exciting but nerve-wracking! The key to successful transplanting is hardening off your seedlings gradually. I learned this the hard way after losing an entire batch of tomato seedlings to shock one chilly March morning.

Here’s my foolproof method:

Day 1-2: 1 hour of outdoor time in a sheltered spot
Day 3-4: 2-3 hours with some direct sun
Day 5-6: 4-6 hours with more sun exposure
Day 7: Full day outside
Day 8: Ready for transplanting!

Frost Protection: Your Garden’s Safety Net

Living in Zone 6, I’ve become somewhat of a frost protection ninja. Row covers, cold frames, and water walls are your best friends during the spring planting rush. One year, I saved my entire early potato crop by covering them with old bed sheets when a surprise frost warning came through!

Pro tip: Keep empty milk jugs filled with water near your tender plants. They absorb heat during the day and release it at night, creating a microclimate that can protect plants from light frosts.

Early Fruit Tree Care: Setting the Stage for Success

The spring rush isn’t just about vegetables! Your fruit trees need attention too. I’ve learned to complete my pruning before the buds break, usually in early March. The right pruning cuts now will determine your harvest success months down the road.

Focus on:

Removing dead or crossing branches
Opening up the center for air circulation
Maintaining proper tree height for easy harvesting

Succession Planting: The Secret to Continuous Harvests

Want to know my number one trick for a steady harvest? Succession planting! Instead of planting all your lettuce or radishes at once, space them out every two weeks. I keep a simple calendar on my phone to remind me when it’s time for the next round.

The key is to plant only what you can realistically eat in a two-week period. Trust me, you don’t want to end up with 30 heads of lettuce all ready at the same time like I did back in 2019!

Ready to learn about what happens when the real heat kicks in? Click the next button below to discover everything you need to know about the Peak Growing Season (May-June). We’ll talk about those heat-loving tomatoes and peppers you’ve been dreaming about all winter!