Planting Cole Crops for Spring Greens

    As all of us midwesterners are welcoming spring by opening the windows, getting outside in our tees, and enjoying the increasing hours of sunlight, professional and hobby gardeners alike are itching to get their hands into the soil. Lucky for us, cole crops can fill the void in our hearts (and gardens) while we wait for the frost to officially break. 

    Cole crops refer to leafy brassicas such as cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts, kale, collards, and kohlrabi. These plants are sometimes incorrectly referred to as “cold crops,” but we don’t judge. These leafy veggies are hardy and well adapted to cool, spring weather as they are able to tolerate light frost as small plants. Although not technically cole crops, carrots, turnips, lettuce, spinach, mustard and collard greens, and cilantro are also hardy to the cold weather and can be planted in early spring as well. At Sunshine Garden Center, you can find all these veggies in stock beginning in early April. 

Conditions

Cool season vegetables grow best at temps between 60 and 80 degrees fahrenheit, and can be planted as soon as soil is workable in late March to early May in Diamond, IL. Although they can be planted quite early, you should still have a plan in the event of a severe cold snap.

Because of their small growth habit and love for moderate temps, these cold season plants are also easy to grow in a window box, container pot, or any other small space you have to offer that has both sun and dirt. 

Succession Planting

To mitigate frost damage and increase the odds for their plants to reach the best spring conditions, avid gardeners will use succession planting. This is when you plant a fraction of your seeds as soon as the ground can be worked, then continue to sow batches in weekly intervals for a few more weeks. 

Microgreens

Although succession planting can seem a tad overwhelming, it will help you increase utilization in your kitchen! Not only are you bound to get more successful plants to full harvest, but planting in intervals also gives you the opportunity to collect and try microgreens. 

Microgreens are baby plants, typically cool season plants, that are harvested at 1-3 inches in height. These greens are low in calories and high in fiber, are jam packed with other vitamins like A, C, E, and K, and offer other minerals and antioxidants that their mature counterparts don’t offer. 

If you know a heavy frost is incoming and your small plants are in danger, you can harvest those baby greens now to throw on top of a dish, mix into a smoothie, or use in your salad. No waste here!

Transplant vs. Direct Sow Timing

When growing your cold season crops from seed, it’s important to note whether the veg prefers to be directly sowed into the soil, or if it needs to grow indoors before being moved outside to the garden. Typically determined by the plant's root sensitivity, having this knowledge will inform you on which plants to begin indoors in February/ early March. Refer to the back of the seed packet for the best growing practices. 

Another thing to note is time to maturity. For example, some members of the brassica and cucurbit families take a long time to mature. Because of that, it might be worth starting seeds or buying starts from your local garden center for those specific veggies. 

In April, Sunshine Garden Center has a variety of cold season crops for you to plant directly into the garden as young plants. These small veggies are healthy and require less tending than if you’re beginning from seed. All you need to do is prep the garden bed, wait until the proper weather conditions, and dig out your hand trowel from storage!

Planting cold season crops, including cole crops, are a great way to get your hands in the soil before the last frost date. These leafy greens and veggies are packed with nutrition and have dozens of uses in the kitchen. Consider succession planting for abundant results and pick a few microgreens and let us know how they are! Still have more unanswered questions? Stop by the store and ask for Courtney.