Rundles Urban Farm Logo

Rundle's Urban Farm

Spokane, WA

Plant Everything Now – Garden Season Myths

In recent years, Big Box stores have perpetuated a garden season myth that you’ll want to be aware of and avoid. Starting in April (at least in our area), Garden centers start rolling out carts of vegetable starts, seeds, and the supplies you need to grow them. You can even find tomato and pepper starts 3-4 weeks before the last frost. And, in the back of the stores, you’ll find crates of potatoes, onions, garlic, and more.

The idea they’re trying to present: “if you’re going to grow a garden, you can plant everything now!” However, this is a myth. You cannot grow everything between your last and first frost dates. Some crops will simply fail to thrive. Others will not provide the results you want if you plant them between your last and first frost dates. So, what plants do not grow well during the gardening season?

Busting the Garden Season Myth – Crops That Don’t Like To Be Grown Between Last and First Frost Dates

1. Garlic – A Winter Crop

When you visit garden centers in the spring, chances are you’ll see garlic bulbs right alongside the onion sets. However, garlic is not a spring crop. Garlic must be planted in the fall and needs to experience freezing temperatures or frosts in order to produce quality bulbs. If you see Garlic in the garden centers this spring, don’t fall for it. Garlic should be planted in September or October after the rest of your garden has died and been put to rest.

2. Cabbage (and other brassicas)

Cabbage does best in cool temps - busting the garden season myth

I remember my mom planting cabbage right along with all of our other vegetables in the spring. Besides the fact that they struggled with bugs, we rarely succeeded in getting the cabbage to produce a head. It turns out, that the only thing we were doing wrong was planting cabbage in the wrong season. Cabbage needs cool weather in order to produce a head.

Thus, early-season cabbages (cabbages that head in the vicinity of 60 days) should be planted in early spring a few weeks before the last frost. This gives your plants time to produce a head before the heat of summer hits. Longer season cabbages, the ones that take 80-90 days to produce a head should be planted in July. This ensures that the temps have cooled off by the time the cabbages start producing heads. In warmer southern climates, Cabbage is actually a winter crop.

Pro Tip: Cabbage and other brassicas are one of the few vegetable starts that you can plant right when the gardening centers start selling them in April (for our area). Most of the other starts like peppers and tomatoes need 4-6 more weeks before they can be planted outside.

3. Spinach

While Spinach will technically grow during the regular gardening season, it won’t thrive. Spinach also prefers cool temperatures. If you plant it right along with your tomatoes and peppers, by the time it reaches maturity the warm temperatures will cause it to bolt. Spinach can handle frosts, but it can’t take the heat. For best results, plant direct sow spinach seeds as soon as the ground is workable in the spring. And don’t worry if it snows a bit or freezes, Spinach will be perfectly happy as soon as the snow melts.

4. Peas

Peas harvested in cool weather - garden season myth

Peas don’t handle heat well either. They can take chilly weather, but as soon as temps start to climb peas lose their sweet crisp flavor and soon cease to produce. Peas can be started early, well before the last frost so they get a chance to produce before the temps start warming up in June. Peas grow quickly, so if you plant them now, they’ll be ready in plenty of time. When your peas are spent, you can plant a warm-weather crop like beans in their place.

Busting the Garden Season Myth – Crops that Prefer Cool Weather but still grow during the classic gardening season

1. Carrots

While carrots prefer cool weather, they can still be grown during the regular garden season. Some varieties handle warm temperatures better, so be sure to look for those when planting carrots in the summer. If you have the time though, carrots will do best planted in the early spring or later in the summer so that they mature in cool weather. In fact, carrots harvested late in the fall tend to taste best if they’ve experienced a couple of light frosts.

Part of the reason carrots do better in cool temperatures is that they take a long time to germinate. When the temperatures warm up, the soil drys out faster. In order for carrots to germinate, the soil must stay moist.

2. Lettuce

Lettuce will grow any time during garden season, but it definitely prefers cooler temperatures. For best results, look for slow bolt or all-season varieties. If you plant lettuce in the heat of summer and don’t get good results, wait a few weeks and try again. As temperatures cool, lettuce will be much happier.

3. Radishes

Radishes adapt easily. They can be started before the last frost, but they’ll also do fine in the summer. Radishes taste best when grown in cool weather, but they still produce a fine harvest during the summer months.

4. Cilantro

You can technically gro Cilantro in the summer but it will do best in cool weather. If it gets warm, keep a close eye on your cilantro. It has a tendency to bolt. In order to mitigate this, you can plant successive batches so that you have fresh tender plants throughout the season. When you purchase your seeds, be sure to look for the slow bolt varieties. And, if your cilantro does bolt, don’t worry. Let the flowers go to seed and harvest the seeds. Cilantro seeds also known as Coriander, are a common spice cabinet staple. So, when your cilantro bolts, save the seeds and grind them or use them whole.

Many other crops prefer cool weather, but these are some of the heavy hitters. As always, when planting your garden, take note of the specific preferences of various varieties as described on the seed packet. Don’t buy into the myths perpetuated by the big box stores that you can “plant everything now”. Some crops are happier when planted now, before the last frost. Others prefer the heat of summer. And still others shouldn’t be planted until fall.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Like this article?

Share on Facebook
Share on Pinterest