Spring is on its way!!! I am so excited for spring to arrive!

I will be planting fruit trees, watching the bulbs that I planted in the fall explode into gorgeous flowers, establishing gardenbeds, and I will continue to grow all my veggies.

One believes that in Florida you can grow everything, not really… there is a lot of stuff that cannot be grown reliably because the summers are too hot or too wet, winters are often too mild, and too dry, and you do not have true season changes.

In Virginia, where I am now, we see season changes, Many herbs need cold stratification, and they enjoy the cool weather. These are the herbs that tend to flower and go to seed when it gets too hot out so plant your kitchen herbs such as parsley and cilantro now!

Fruit trees like peaches, apples, pears, plums, need cold hours. I overwintered my lemon tree, an avocado tree, shampoo ginger, turmeric, some tiny banana plants, and some other stuff inside so even though I am not in Florida, I am finding ways to enjoy my more tropical goodies.

Many cool weather crops like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, spinach, artichoke, rhubarb, and others benefit from the cool spring temperatures so they can really get established whereas in Florida, they would bolt relatively quickly, as soon as the temperatures go up. Tomatoes do better here in spring and summer because our summers are a bit cooler than in Florida. When temperatures hit over 85F tomatoes will drop their blossoms to preserve their energy.


Finally, another big plus here is that the soil is loamy and clay like which means there is ample mineral content in the soil. Now one thing I hope is that we will not see as many bugs as we saw in Florida, and I hope the deer will steer clear of my garden. I will be adding a fence around my garden plots, but still….. time will tell.
Anyway, while walking through my garden, I found some signs of spring!

I have been starting seeds and have been hardening off my brassica to put them outside. I have a bunch of them in the cold frames that my husband built for me. As I start transferring stuff into the garden beds, I will be starting new seeds so I have a continuous supply of young plants that can enter my garden to enjoy the cool weather.

I just watched a live video from Mary’s heirloom Seeds, who is my favorite seed supplier, and she some great resources on cool weather crops!

You can click the video and the accompanying article on cool weather crops below:

Crops that love the cooler weather

I am excited for this gardening year this year! Are you?