New England Gardening Advice By the Month -December thru March
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The days are finally getting long enough to get us home from work in the daylight, and our minds are starting to think Spring. With daylight savings back in full force and daytime temps teasing us in the 40's and 50's, we're rearing to get started in the garden.
If you followed our advice in January, you ordered your seeds for the upcoming season. It may seem early, but as soon as the ground is thawed enough to plant, there are some easy choices to get the ball rolling for spring. Early season vegetables like peas and even radishes can be sown in the mid to latter part of March in time for an early May harvest.
These vegetables are tough when it comes to low temperatures, and believe it or not, do not like anything above about 65 degrees. The benefit to an early plant is that you will harvest long before we get those crazy spring days where the temps swing wildly between 30 and 80 degrees. These plants will often bolt, or try to go to seed, too fast in high temperatures and it will definitely reduce the size of the harvest.
A great planting tip for radishes is to buy the seeds in a tape form. Then you just bury the tape in the ground about an inch or two and the radishes will be perfectly spaced for growth and harvest! For peas, don't be shy and plant them only about 2 inches apart and plant PLENTY of them for an adequate harvest. We like to recommend a minimum of 50 plants for a good supply of peas through spring. Remember, these spring vegetables are quick to grow, and you'll be harvesting both in less than about 30-40 days!