Spring into Planting Season

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Sow your tomato seeds during the spring planting season and you’ll harvest a rich mixture of color and flavor later this year.
Sow your tomato seeds during the spring planting season and you’ll harvest a rich mixture of color and flavor later this year.
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Gardening regions of the U.S. and southern Canada.
Gardening regions of the U.S. and southern Canada.
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A basket of spring greens nestled in a bed of red romaine lettuce.Pepper grass, beet greens, mizuna (Japanese greens with a light mustard flavor) and red orach.
A basket of spring greens nestled in a bed of red romaine lettuce.Pepper grass, beet greens, mizuna (Japanese greens with a light mustard flavor) and red orach.

Temperature and weather conditions have a wide variation, but gardeners across the U.S. universally recognize that spring is planting season. We’ve consulted experts from each region to give their advice on best crops and best practices. 

Maritime Canada and New England

Woodcocks and redwing blackbirds are calling, reassuring us that warmer days are on the way. Start early greens such as mustard, mesclun mix, arugula, spinach, lettuce and cilantro in cold frames or a greenhouse bed. Prune fruit trees, fertilize, and weed berry canes and asparagus. (Wet spring soil makes for easy weeding.)

Once your garden has thawed, plant greens outside under row covers. Set out onion sets, seedlings and leeks as soon as the ground can be worked. Start tomatoes, brassicas, flowers and herbs in the greenhouse, cold frame or under grow lights. Transplant tomato and pepper plants into larger pots before their roots become crowded. Start seedlings of cucumbers, winter and summer squash, melons and gourds in early May, about four weeks before transplanting into warm, frost-free soil. Crocuses and snowdrops make way for early narcissus. In the blink of an eye, the tomato seedlings will have grown another 6 inches.

  • Published on Apr 1, 2006
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