Spring is just around the corner and you may be itching to get some seeds started. There’s not much that will be safe in the garden with the on and off frosty temperatures early spring. I’ve got a few vegetable that are frost tolerant and great to grow early spring. These frost tolerant vegetables can handle wind chills below 28° F and heavy frost. Some even becoming tastier after a frost.
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Turnips
Turnips are a root vegetable with a spicy raw taste and an earthy cooked flavor. They grow best is spring and fall and can handle temps as cold as 26°.
Spinach
A delishly healthy leafy green that can carry on through cold temps like a champ. I does so well it can handle temps down to 20°F, making it a perfect cold tolerant vegetable for the early spring garden
Garlic
Garlic is extremely cold tolerant and is a great vegetable to add to the garden in late fall for a summer harvest. You can even start your garlic bulbs in late winter for a summer harvest but note that your bulbs will be smaller at harvest.
Rutabaga
The Rutabaga is a frost tolerant plant being able to survive a hard frost. While the foliage will be lost to the cold but the root can still be harvested.
Broccoli
A favorite vegetable of many Broccoli is a frost tolerant crop. Broccoli can be planted a few weeks before the first frost free date. Growing Broccoli in temps as low as 28° F should be ok for Broccoli and you should definitely give it a grow.
Pro Tip: Using a row cover, Cloche or cold frame can extend your garden season well into winter.
Carrots
Carrots are great frost tolerant vegetables to grow in early spring. They can handle temperatures as low as 15° F. Carrot seeds are so tiny you will want to start them directly in ground.
Kale
Kale is one of my favorite vegetable to eat after potatoes. What’s great is that Kale can handle temperatures as low as 10°F! That’s so exciting for those of us in cold zones like mine.
Cabbage
Cabbage make a great plant to grow in early spring. It can hold its own when temperatures drop as low as 20°F
Brussel Sprouts
Another favorite of mine that is also a frost tolerant vegetable to an extent. It grows best in cool weather and can handle a hard frost but not multiple. Its best to harvest Brussel Sprouts before or right after a hard frost.
Kohlrabi
This Vegetable grows best in cooler weather and like the Brussel Sprout will not handle multiple hard frost like some other vegetables. It is still worth it to grow in mid to late spring.
What are some of your favorite winter crops to grow?
Happy Gardening
Ciearra
