Spring is a great time for vegetable planting. You can still plant many cool season vegetables and soon it’ll be time to plant summer crops. A note on those: If you prefer starting seeds indoors over purchasing seedlings at Blackhawk Hardware’s Garden Center, it is now time to start those as well if you haven’t already.
As for spring vegetables it is important to get these into the ground before it gets too hot. Some plants like lettuce won’t do so well once temperatures go too high and they will bolt and blossom and acquire a bitter taste. One work-around is to use lettuce varieties that are more heat resistant such as Buttercrunch and Black Seeded Simpson. Another solution that has worked for me is to grow lettuce in partial shade. Sure, they may take a little longer to grow but will be alright when the days get hot.
Other than lettuce here are some cold season vegetables that you can still plant in the Piedmont region right now:
- Arugula (until 3/31)
- Beets (until 4/15)
- Broccoli (until 4/15)
- Carrots (until 3/31)
- Cauliflower (until 4/15)
- Celery (until 3/31)
- Cilantro (until 3/31)
- Kale
- Kohlrabi
- Lettuce (until 4/30)
- Peas (until 4/15)
- Radishes
- Spinach
- Swiss Chard
As always, browse our seed aisle that offers an enormous variety of both organic, certified GMO free seeds as well as conventional varieties. Our Garden Center carries everything you’ll need to get started, including compost, soil and compost tea.
