Transitioning The Garden From Winter To Spring

The Winter Vegetable Garden

I was downright determined last year to overwinter my edible crops.  I had a modest budget, but was convinced I could give it a try.  I built my very own hoop house with some inexpensive materials. You can read about it's humble beginnings here.  I received an abundance of advice from books, friends, and Pinterest and went straight to work.  I set zero expectations so I wouldn't be disappointed if it didn't work out. It cost around 80 dollars, not including the seeds I had already purchased in advance.  This project gave me a wealth of knowledge money couldn't buy (I'm serious!)  If you want to see a full list of what I decided to try growing, you can find it here.  Shown is a picture of my vegetable garden last December. 

I noticed right away that things began to sprout during the fall.  The vegetables that seemed to take off during the winter were spinach and broccoli.  Everything else grew, but at a much slower rate.  I noticed my kale starting to sprout in late December, but then some heavy ice ended up crushing the tiny plants.  I also observed that the crops I planted close to the edge like Miner's lettuce and arugula didn't fair well.  The vegetables planted closer to the middle were protected from the cold.  I also ended up adding a few more stone blocks to hold down the tarp, as well as a PVC conduit pipe across the top of the hoop house for support during the heavy winter storms.  In the beginning of February, I noticed my peas immediately starting to take off.  Towards the middle of the month, I observed my Elephant garlic tips starting to show.  At the end of February,  I was excited to see more of my peas beginning to grow.  February is ridiculously early for a crop like that to be growing here in Massachusetts!

Growing Spring Vegetables

It is so rewarding to have vegetables ready to be harvested in spring.  After that long, dreary winter, you have some edibles ready to be picked.  I've been periodically caring for and checking on my crops since December.  When the first day of spring finally arrived, I decided to see what would be ready for spring harvesting.  Here is a small list of what is growing strong:

-Amsterdam Prickly Seeded spinach
-De Grace snow peas
-Little Marvel peas
-Golden chicory
-Purple Top White Globe turnips
-Zebrune shallot onion
-Yellow flat Dutch onion
-Elephant garlic
-Fordhook Giant swiss chard
-Komatsuma Tendergreen mustard greens
-Japanese Giant Red mustard greens
-Dwarf Siberian Kale

Tuesdays In The Garden

Now it's time to head over to some other great posts being featured this week.  Click either the picture or the links to check out some other helpful spring tips.  We are covering everything from transitioning seasons, tips & techniques, building healthy soil, must have garden apps and companion planting!

Now that I have finished this post, I must get back to my snow covered reality. Everything is on hold right now until New England finally realizes it's spring again.  I must practice my patience and continue to map out my final plans as well as focus on seed starting indoors.  Once that snow finally melts and the frost date has past, it's go time!  Do you have any tips when it comes to transitioning your garden from winter to spring?  Any edibles ready to be harvested or flowers about to bloom soon where you live?  I would be very happy to live vicariously through you while I wait for these freezing temperatures to pass.  Comment below or tweet me pictures @thefreckledrose on Twitter.  I will keep the faith that all my crops make it through this minor weather setback unscathed. 

In Case You Missed It-Spring Gardening Tasks