It’s time to start planting our spring cool season gardens. One mistake many new gardeners make is planting the wrong plants at the wrong time of year. It is really important to use local information when deciding what and when to plant especially for our desert climate. My favorite resource is Becoming a Desert Gardener from our local Cooperative Extension. The back page is a year long calendar which will help you decide what to plant in each month.

For cool season veggies, think about roots (carrots, turnips, kohlrabi, beets and radishes), leafy greens (spinach, lettuce, Swiss chard and kale), and cole crops (broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower). This is also the time to plant peas, Irish potatoes and herbs. Check out the link above for more details.

Some gardeners like to get a jump on some warm season favorites such as tomatoes. Even though the warm weather is coming soon, it is still a bit early for tomatoes unless you use some type of warming technique to protect them during the cold nights. February sometimes fools us by warming up quickly but then we get another cold period before it warms up for good.

Here are some cool season highlights from this past fall.

Peas

 

Broccoli head ready for harvest!

 

Beautiful cabbage!

Beautiful cabbage!

Happy Gardening