Early Bird Vegetables

When night temperatures begin to rise above 40?F (5°C) and the soil in your garden has dried out a bit, you can start sowing your first vegetables outdoors. Not just any vegetable, however. Only those that tolerate cold nights, such as the following:

• Beet
• ?Broad bean
• Carrot
• Kale
• Kohlrabi
• Pea
• Radish
• Shallot (bulb)
• Spinach
• Swiss chard

Sow the seeds at a depth about equal to three times their height. And be patient: early sowings germinate more slowly and irregularly that the same seeds sown at the end of May. Also their growth may be considerably slower, particularly if the temperature remains cool. But still, it’s a start!