Rows of green vegetables grow a community garden. (iStock.com)
I am new at vegetable gardening and I am anxious to get started. Is there anything I can plant now or do I have to wait until May?
There are a lot of old timers in our area who wait until May because they have been burned a few times. Our average last frost date in Vancouver is April 17 and it is even later in outlying areas that are higher in elevation. If you wait until May, you are pretty well past the frost danger.
However there are a lot of cool weather vegetables that can take temperatures down to 26 degrees or so that actually grow better if they are started earlier. These include all the root, leaf and flower bud vegetables plus peas.
Another factor to consider is soil temperature if you are planting from seed. The cool weather vegetables will germinate at a temperature of 45 to 50 degrees. All the fruiting vegetables except peas need a temperature of 60 degrees to germinate. I planted my peas, lettuce and spinach seed about March 1 and they are all sprouted now. I plan to plant started plants of broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts next week. All the members of the cabbage family can be planted now.
I like to plant my squash, cucumber and melon seed in April. I cover hills of three seeds with gallon milk jugs with the bottom removed. This warms the soil so the seed will sprout. The jug makes a mini greenhouse for the plants. Remove the cap on sunny days to avoid over-heating.
I used to start my tomato and pepper plants from seed planted inside. Now I only start one or two new ones that will not be available as plants. Now I buy small plants in early April and transplant them into gallon pots so they will be more mature plants when I plant them outside in May. I put the pots outside in the sun during the daytime and bring them in at night. The combination of bright cool days and warm nights causes compact growth.
There are two growing aids you can use to get an earlier start on the warm-weather vegetables and speed up growth so you get an earlier harvest. Plant protectors like plastic tunnels, floating row covers or Wall O’ Water will not only protect plants from frost so you can plant earlier but increase the temperature around plants so they will be stimulated to grow faster. Be ready to vent coverings when temperatures increase. I like the floating row covers because they are self-ventilating.
The second way to increase growth rate is to use black or colored plastic mulch to increase the soil temperature. Plastic mulch has a double benefit because it shades out weed growth. Red plastic mulch is the most effective because it reflects red light back into the leaves and stimulates their growth.
The way to apply plastic mulch is to get the soil all ready for planting including fertilizer and then lay down 3- to 4-foot-wide strips of plastic and secure them with metal staples or soil along the edges. Then cut X holes for seeds or transplants. Plants can be irrigated through these planting holes or drip irrigation hose can be placed down before plastic is applied. Using both plastic mulch and plant covers gives extra growth stimulus.
