Planting your vegetable garden is one of the first things to do in the spring whether you are planting in the ground or in containers. This wet weather has probably set you back a bit. I know I was hoping to get my peas and onions planted already.
Before planting is the perfect time to amend the soil. Add in compost, composted manure, or peat. Simply loosen the soil 8-10 “ deep giving the plants room to grow. If you have sandy soil, amending will improve water holding and add nutrients. Try adding 3-4” of compost each year. If you have clay you need to loosen the heavy soil and improve drainage by adding compost, manure or fine bark.
Right now you can plant cool weather plants like lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, peas and broccoli. Start with transplants or direct sow seeds in the soil by following the planting instructions on the seed package. It is still too early for tender crops like beans, corn, melons, pumpkins – early to mid May is the best time for those. Warm season transplants like tomatoes and peppers need to be put in after last frost around May 15. Finally, now is a great time to plant onions, potatoes and perennial veggies like asparagus and rhubarb too. Hopefully it dries out a bit this weekend and we can all get planting!