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Spring Your Garden Ahead

Whether you're a seasoned gardener or breaking ground for the first time in 2018, it's never too early to start planning your crops. And with the shoreline's frost risk not completely gone until early May, home gardeners are always looking for ways to squeeze in a little more growing time.  Spring temperatures may be much too cool for tomatoes and watermelons, but the time is right for cool weather loving crops. Add in the help of a backyard hoophouse, greenhouse, or cold frame and you may be harvesting fresh veggies and herbs in no time.

Test the Soil

One of the most important factors in producing a great crop yield, according to Dave Tresselt, greenhouse manager at Riggio's Garden Center in Essex, is making sure the soil has everything it needs for the crops you will plant.

"You always want to test so you know what you're working with," says Tresselt. "All plants have different needs and the soil is like the foundation of a building, and there are usually some adjustments to be made. It is absolutely the best place to start with a vegetable garden."

The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) offers soil testing to residents at no cost. Samples are dropped to CAES's Slate Laboratory, 123 Huntington St., New Haven, with information on the crops to be grown and an analysis of the soil and results are then mailed to the resident with suggestions on how to best prepare the soil for the crops to be grown.

With soil tests in hand, it's time to adjust the soil as necessary and begin planting. Tresselt recommends beginning lettuce and early kale crops by the beginning of April. If you're using a hoophouse, cold frame, or greenhouse you can start even sooner.

Hoop it Up

A hoophouse can jumpstart your growing season a full month earlier and extend the season a month later into the fall. At the same time, it protects young plants from wind, frost, and even early spring snow showers.

If your garden is large enough to accommodate one, hoophouses can be permanent structures (just beware of how warm they can become during the summer months) or can be smaller and more temporary. Smaller hoophouses act like temporary row covers, providing short term protection from the elements while simultaneously allowing plants to stay warm despite potential frost. Larger hoophouses, also sometimes called "high tunnels" can also feature irrigation systems like sprinklers or driplines to make watering your plants a breeze.

Think Green(house)

Like hoophouses, greenhouses can be permanent or temporary structures. They provide protection for young plants from the elements, and act as a great place to start warm-weather crops when it's still too cold to introduce them to garden.

Tresselt says warm-weather plants like tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers can be started in a greenhouse that has a heat source like a space heater as drops in overnight temperatures can be damaging to plants.

"One trick to making good strong plants is have a small fan blowing across the plants because it forces them to grow a strong stem and stay more upright," Tresselt says.

Get Framed

At its most basic level, a cold frame provides shelter from cold temperatures.  Think of it as a greenhouse on the ground. Typically, cold frames are as simple as a wooden frame with a hinged glass or plastic cover that can be opened for ventilation.

Place a cold frame directly on your garden's soil and the heavy plastic of the cold frame traps the heat from the sun and warms the soil making it an ideal place to let cool weather salad greens or chard seedlings grow in a warm environment.

Try these Cool-Weather Crops this Spring

Most of the shoreline falls in zone 6b and 7a of the USDA's Plant Hardiness map so when choosing your cool-season crops, check the seed packages for recommended growing zones. Like most warm weather vegetables, most cool weather crops should be started from seed indoors (or perhaps in your greenhouse). Start your seeds about two months before the last frost arrives and then plant your seedlings in warmed soil or inside a cold frame. Try planting these vegetables in early spring for harvest by early summer:

[naviga:ul]

[naviga:li]Broccoli[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Beets[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Cabbage[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Carrots[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Cauliflower[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Celery[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Kale[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Lettuce[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Onions[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Peas[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Potatoes[/naviga:li]

[naviga:li]Spinach[/naviga:li]

[/naviga:ul]