Early Spring Vegetables

Asparagus
Perhaps the ultimate gourmet vegetable, asparagus spears are at their best when freshly harvested.  Plant asparagus roots in the spring.  As a rough guide, ten well-established plants should yield about 7 pounds of spears each season.  Learn more about asparagus here: Asparagus


Beets
Beets are one of the easiest crops to grow.  The large seeds are easy to handle, making it a fun crop for kids too.  Beets will store in the ground well until you are ready to use them.  Sow seeds in early spring for a early summer crop.


Broccoli
Broccoli is an unusual crop because you actually eat the immature flower buds.  If you leave one unpicked it will burst into a mass of bright yellow flowers.  Broccoli is packed with vitamins and nurtrients, which are claimed to help prevent cancer and heart disease.

Carrots

Carrots are a trouble-freebackyard crop, as long as the soil conditions are right.  Sow seeds in early spring or fall.  Carrots store in the ground well, but if you remove them from the ground cut away the stems right away.  Learn more about carrots here:Carrots

Lettuce

Lettuce is the mainstay of a good salad, and growing your own allows you to appreciate it at its freshest.  There are many very different kinds of lettuce and you will have to find your favorite.  Lettuce can be divided into two main categories head and loose-leaf.  All can be planted in fall or spring, you will want to harvest before the summer heat.

Cabbage

Cabbage takes up plenty of space so give it some room.  It is a cool-weather crop, but you will love to cook with fresh cabbage out of your garden.  


Cauliflower
Growing cauliflower can be very rewarding.  The sweet, white curds taste much better straight from the garden.  Plant this vegetable after the danger of frost.  Protect cauliflower from bugs using organic bug sprays.  


Peas
The best tasting peas are straight off the vine.  Many peas have edible pods that are just as tasty as the peas themselves.  These can be planted in the spring or the fall.  Not only are the peas great but the flowers are nice to look at.


Chives
One of the easiest herbs to grow, chives have edible hollow leaves and pretty mauve flowers, which also can be eaten. 


Garlic
Garlic is unique among vegetables.  It never produces seeds, so the only way to propagate it is by saving cloves.  Fortunately, each clove you plant divides into a bulb containing 12-15 new ones.  This vegetable is very easy to grow, making it a favorite of those who love to cook.

Onions
Onions can easily be grown from seed or sets.  Onion sets are the small babies that onions produce.  Growing your own onions will provide you with onions year around.  Unused onions are easy to dry and store for later use.  The best part may be that onions do not need much room.


Radishes
Radishes are so quick and easy to grow that you can enjoy several crops through the year.  Because they take up little space, radishes are the perfect fill-in crop.  You can fit them in between large or slower-growing vegetables.  The pods on radishes are edible too, and they can add a hot crunch to your salad.


Rhubarb
Rhubarb is a perennial vegetable that you can use to make sweet dishes.  This vegetable likes to take up space, so give it some room.  Rhubarb is one of the lowest maintenance vegetables making it easy to grow for the novice gardener.  


Scallions
Scallions or green onions are quick and easy crops that you can fit in any spare ground.  These vegetables grow quickly so sow several crops through year to give you plenty of supply.


Turnips
Turnips are another quick and easy crop to grow.  They make a great fill-in crop around cabbage and lettuce.  You can grow them in the spring or the fall.

Tomatoes Already?

Well here it is the middle of February and the tomato plants are already making their way into the big box nurseries.  Today I saw the first tomato plants at a brand new nursery in Folsom.  But it is far too early to plant your tomato plants outside.  If you want to baby some tomato seeds indoors at least for the next two months then you could consider planting some tomatoes under a grow light and on top of a heating pad.  Other wise don't buy your tomato plants yet.  I believe it is unethical for companies to sell plants like these so early in the year.  They know or should know that most likely these plants will die.  The average gardener is not going to be able to provide the care these vegetable plants are going to need this early in the year.  This can lead the customer to buy new tomato plants in the coming weeks and months.  Worse than all this, it will lead some gardeners to give up on trying to grow a garden after failing once or twice, they may wrongly blame themselves for their plant's death.  I sometimes wonder how many gardeners have given up this great hobby just because big box stores stock the wrong plants at the wrong time of year.  Many large chain stores pick plant varieties based on population, we in Northern California end up shopping stores with plant varieties for Southern California.  Your best bet is to stick with a small nursery where you can get to know the owners and the employees that have a vested interest in the community.  They will carry plants for your area because they know they will see the next time they come into the store.  Managers of big box stores never come in contact with the customers so they never hear about the consequences of their bad decisions.

What is OMRI?

Founded in 1997, the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI) provides organic certifiers, growers, manufacturers, and suppliers an independent review of products intended for use in certified organic production, handling, and processing. OMRI is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. When companies apply, OMRI reviews their products against the National Organic Standards. Acceptable products are OMRI Listed® and appear on the OMRI Products List. OMRI also provides subscribers and certifiers guidance on the acceptability of various material inputs in general under the National Organic Program.

Pomegranates

Ambrosia Pomegranate
Angel Red Pomegranate
Austin Pomegranate
Granada Pomegranate
Sweet Pomegranate
Utah Sweet Pomegranate
White Pomegranate
Wonderful Pomegranate

Beware of Weed Cloth

Garden Tip #1

Beware of Weed Cloth

Weed cloth is designed to let water through and keep roots out.  But water can only penetrate the cloth slowly.  Most of the water will runoff and possibly away from the plants you want to water.  It is important to use a drip-system in areas where you have a weed cloth barrier.  It is better to water your plants at a slow pace that the weed cloth can keep up with, this way your plants get the water and not your pathways.  

Plumcots

Plumcot
Spring Satin Plumcot

Plums

Beauty Plum
Burgundy Plum
Elephant Heart Plum
Green Gage Plum
Inca Plum
Methley Plum
Ozark Premier Plum
Plumcot
Santa Rosa Plum
Satsuma Plum
Weeping Santa Rosa Plum