![]() ![]() Other cool-season crops like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, kohlrabi, chard, Brussels sprouts, and even peas can be started indoors in Jiffy-7s, which are simple to use peat-based starter wafers that quickly absorb water to fully “inflate” in order to plant seeds into them. All leaves with no root can also happen if these are sowed too late and temperatures get too warm. If they are not adequately spaced, what happens? You get all leaves and no roots! You can still use the greens for culinary purposes, but that is not the main point with root crops. These other root crops mentioned, beets, radish, and turnips must be thinned well after they form their second set of true leaves. I wait for warmer weather to direct sow my carrot seeds. Although carrots have the ability to germinate at colder temperatures, they are painfully slow to do so, which I find more stressful than helpful. Root-type and leafy cool-season crops like beets, radish, turnips, lettuce, and spinach are best direct sowed into the garden. Most cool-season veggie varieties can handle light frosts but do plan to have some floating row covers to slip over young plants if hard frosts threaten. Again, the temperature range for cool-season crops to perform well is between 40° and 70☏. Most veggies will be started indoors about 4 weeks prior to when you will plant them out, with an additional 5-6 days for hardening off. Cool-season crops can be started indoors, or seeds can be directly sowed. ![]() Once you have cleaned the garden fully and added ample amounts of aged manure or gobs of leaf compost all nicely blended in, then concentrate on starting seeds. Be prepared to work quickly but efficiently. Cool-season planting means you will be outdoors in early spring, often during inclement weather. Start small and build up from there as things work well and fall into place. Do not bite off more than you can maintain. Remember, gardening is meant to be fun and relaxing, not a chore. Preparing your planting projects is always important, but timing your seed purchasing, thorough garden cleanup, soil enhancement, and crop rotations are all critical preparations needed to pull off a successful multi-crop gardening system. The best thing about these cool-season crops is if you prepare, plan and plant at the correct time, you can produce two crops per year by planting in spring and again for the fall. What? Yes, so many of the veggies we love to cook with and consume should be harvested out of the garden when many other warm-season crops are just getting going in the garden. What Are Cool Seasons CropsĬool-season crops prefer to grow in temperatures less than 70☏. However, the other half or more of the veggies we love to grow are known as cool-season crops. There is no question that warm weather crops like sweet corn, tomatoes, peppers, and watermelon are some of our favorite and most recognizable types of produce that we love to harvest out of our gardens. Plucking a bright red, plump, and juicy tomato off the vine with the warm summer sun beating down on the back of your neck is the type of pleasant act most folks associate with gardening. ![]()
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