Act now before it's too late!

It’s April! It’s Spring! It’s time to start planting!

Well actually it is a little late ....but if you act now there is still time to get the cool season plants in the soil. If you are waiting for the last frost date, which in the St. Croix area according to the Farmer’s Almanac is April 28th, you are missing out on planting the crops that love the cool temperatures. These cool loving plants actually perform better in the days before the last frost date.

Lots of garden experts will tell you to first learn your garden zone and frost dates before planting but honestly, garden zones and frost dates are much too general for each individual location. Frost dates really only indicate when the cool season ends and the warm season begins. I have lived in many different climates and what the zone guide says is not always what I experience in my garden and waiting for the frost date only means you missed planting during the cool season.

So, what are these wonder plants, you might ask, that can grow in cool temps with a chance of frost or even snow? I will share that in a minute but first let’s define the various growing seasons. I recommend creating what is called the Arc of Seasons by charting the average high temperature, low temperature, sunlight hours and rainfall amounts for each month in your hometown. These numbers will help chart the general seasons in each month of the year.

• Cold season - average high temperature of 30 degrees to -1 and lower with a guaranteed chance of frost or snow.

• Cool season – average high temperature between 35 degrees to 65 degrees with a likely chance of frost or snow.

• Warm season – average high temperature between 65 degrees to 85 degrees with no chance of frost.

• Hot season – average high temperature that is 85 degrees or higher and no chance of anything close to

  cold.

  In Stillwater, where I live, my Arc of Seasons shows a cold season from December to end of February, cool season is March through end of April which aligns with the last frost date of April 28th, warm season begins after that with the start of May through September and then an additional cool season from September to November.

  As promised here is a sampling of plants that grow in each season. This is by no means a complete list but gives an idea of what grows best in each season:

• Cold season – asparagus, garlic, onion and rhubarb (plant before the hard frost)

• Cool season – root crops, radishes, broccoli, cabbage, peas, lettuces and other greens

• Warm season – bush beans, cucumbers, squash, tomatoes and zucchini

• Hot season – eggplants, tomatillos, sweet potatoes

  Last year during the second cool season, I was harvesting right up to Thanksgiving Day. Granted we had a warm fall, but with crop covers the season is easily stretched to the hard frost come end of November. During this time, I also planted my cold crops before the ground became too frozen. Surprising to learn that while it may feel very hot by mid-summer, it does not maintain the average high temperatures to qualify for an entire hot season. That doesn’t mean you can’t try to coax hot season plants to produce. It just means expectations need to be set in case they need some extra help or the harvest is small or fails.

Before it’s too late, plant your cool season plants and then get ready for warm season planting just around the corner. For more information check the Goodenergygarden.com website or contact me at goodenergygarden@gmail.com