Spring, with all of its fresh new growth, is the ideal time to start your homegrown fruit and vegetable garden!
In the sweetness of Spring the trees explode into bloom, bulbs pop up to offer their greetings, and the first delicious leaves sprout, ready to add their tasty flavors and freshness to any dish in the kitchen. March and April are fantastic months for growing tender greens and aromatic herbs, and for laying the foundation for the edible gardening season to come.
Whether you’re a container gardener, a full-blown homesteader, or prefer a more ornamental approach to your edible gardening, now is the time to make sure you’re maximizing your outdoor space and taking advantage of all the delicious offerings of Spring!
Most Spring edible crops can easily be grown from seed or starts, and Spring edibles fall into three categories:
- Short-Season Edibles: Vegetables with a short window that will grow and be eaten within Spring.
- Long-Season Edibles: Vegetables and herbs that last over multiple seasons and will be harvested in the Spring, Summer, and Fall.
- Perennial Edibles: Woody and perennial fruits and berries that will bear fruit this year and in following years.
Short-Season Spring Edible Plants
Short season vegetables and herbs perfectly capture all of the delicious freshness and newness of Spring. These are the plants with tender, supple leaves, and sweet edible flowers that just beg to be used to add brightness, texture, and flavor atop everything from rice bowls to pastas to salads.
The advantage of short-season crops is that you can fit them into virtually any space in the garden, whether you use it to grow food or flowers. Plant peas where you plan to grow your tomatoes, sow lettuce and greens into empty pottery, and plant radishes below your roses! Since they turn over quickly, there is no “wrong” way to sow a Spring edible garden. Harvest any of the options below as microgreens when they germinate or let them live on and mature until you need to reclaim the space.
Sow from Seed
Peas, Radishes, Lettuce, Arugula, Mache, Spinach, Nasturtium, Fava Beans
Plant as Starts
Cilantro, Parsley, Nasturtium, Peas, Radishes, Lettuce, Arugula
Visit us in store to shop our current inventory of vegetable and herb starts!
Long-Season Vegetables & Herbs for Spring Planting
Spring all but guarantees rainy days and chilly evenings, which means that March and April are the perfect time to plant cooler season crops that will bear into the Summer and even Fall. Spring rains will help ensure that cool season vegetables get off to the start they need before soil and air temperatures rise.
Members of the Brassica family and root vegetables can tolerate dips in nighttime temperatures without issue, plus they benefit from having more time in the ground at the beginning of the growing season so that they have ample time to mature before Summer and Fall harvest. Plant longer-season Spring veggies where they can enjoy sunlight and regular water, and ideally where the canopy of larger Summer veggies can give them a bit of shade during the hottest months of Summer.
Sow from Seed
Beets, Carrots, Chard, Fava Beans, Kohlrabi, Parsley, Fennel
Plant as Starts
Beets, Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Chard, Kale, Leeks, Onions, Shallots, Potatoes, Parsley, Thyme, Sage, Rosemary, Mint, Oregano
Perennial Fruits for Spring Planting
Apples, cherries, blueberries and strawberries are essential fruits for PNW gardens, and Spring is a great time to get new plants in the ground!
Spring is excellent for planting fruiting trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants because the rain and cool soil temperatures give them time to set a strong foundation of roots before the heat arrives in Summer. Most berries and fruits flower in the Spring, so planting them early gives them time to set flowers and then fruit without the disturbance of a later season move. Plus, planting in Spring rather than Fall means you get to enjoy the first fruits produced by your plants the same year!
The entirety of our annual shipment of fruiting trees and berries arrives in stores in early Spring, so the best selection of our long-lived fruits can always be found in Springtime.
Learn more about how to grow the best backyard berries in the Pacific Northwest!
Plant as Starts
Apples, Cherries, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Olives, Grapes, Kiwis, Blueberries, Blackberries, Marionberries, Raspberries, Strawberries
Spring Edible Planting & Care Tips
Planting Spring Edibles
Plant Spring edibles in the ground, raised beds, or containers into soil or planting mix that has been amended with high-quality organic compost, chicken manure, or worm castings to help feed and invigorate the soil for the season.
Fertilizing Spring Edibles
Feed young plants when they have at least four sets of true leaves with a gentle, granular organic starter fertilizer or organic vegetable fertilizer. As the season continues, continue to feed with a granular fertilizer and supplment with liquid organic fertilizer for easily accessible nutrition. Add a layer of organic mulch once plants as plants mature to help suppress weeds and conserve water.
For more information about growing veggies, herbs, and fruit, check out our comprehensive edible gardening blog!
Looking Ahead to May & June Planting
While Spring is still too early to plant warm-season veggies like Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplant, and tender herbs like Basil, it’s a great time to start marking out space for these must-grow vegetables and herbs. Consider planting them in vacancies left behind by short-season Spring veggies, or in and amongst longer season Spring vegetables to help create your very own food forest!
Dennis’ 7 Dees Garden Centers have a fantastic selection of vegetables, fruits, and herbs available at each of our Portland, Vancouver, and Coastal nurseries. We partner with local Pacific Northwest growers to provide us with the best quality plant starts, we and receive shipments of new plants weekly during the Spring and Summer. Visit us in store to see our full set of offerings, or browse our selection online!