You've been brainwashed into thinking that nothing should be planted before Mother's Day. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Don't wait until May to plant cool-season vegetables. They've got to get their start while it's cool. It's time to plant peas, potatoes, onions and much more.
St. Patrick's Day is the traditional time to plant peas. Get them planted by the last week of March. Soak peas overnight before planting so they'll plump up. Push them down about an inch into the soil. Provide a support for the tendrils to cling to.
Read the packet carefully. Some varieties of peas are meant for shelling, others have edible pods. The length of the vines varies considerably, from a foot and a half to nearly five feet.
Peas grow beautifully in pots. If rabbits use your garden as a salad bar, protect your potted peas and other vegetables on your deck or balcony.
If bending over is a problem when planting or harvesting, container gardening makes it all much easier.
Plant potatoes in trenches or holes about ten inches deep. (They can also be grown in big pots.) Cut a so-called "seed potato" into pieces. Each piece must have an "eye."
The eye is where the new growth starts. Cover the pieces with about three inches of soil. Continue to fill in the trench with more soil as the plants grow. Potatoes will form on the buried stem.
To grow large slicing onions, plant the starter bulbs right at soil level--just an inch deep. If you plant them deeper, you'll get scallions.
Use a four-inch spacer--such as a plastic four pack--for even rows. Shallots grow just like onions so plant them about an inch deep. They'll be ready to harvest by midsummer.
Lettuce, spinach, parsley, kale, Brussels sprouts, chard, cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli also thrive in the cool spring earth. Get them planted now so they can develop properly.
If you don't have garden space, all of these can be grown in pots. Use starter plants from the nursery or grow them from seed.
Some cool-season vegetables are best grown from seed, such as carrots, radish and beets.
