We come to the garden full of enthusiasm in early spring, but where to start when there is so much to do? What follows is some guidance for focusing your efforts for a more successful and enjoyable kitchen garden this year.
First, make a garden that fits your life. Respect the constraints of your site, the weather and how much preparation you have done. Try to set realistic expectations based on how often you will be in the garden and how much cooking you want to do. Remember this garden is supposed to nourish you, not stress you out!
Next, get your setup right. The minimum requirements for a garden you can eat from are a few hours of direct sunlight, fertile soil, protection from wildlife and a water source. Got those covered? You are ready to dig in.
PREPARE
A ready garden looks like this:
• Soil is workable, not frozen or compacted.
• Beds and pathways are clear.
• Proper fencing intact.
• A plan for watering.
• Decisions made about what to plant where.
Ideally most of that preparation would be handled in the fall when it’s easier to get ahead, but don’t worry if you are not there yet. Do what you can in these early weeks before the growing season picks up speed. Be sure drip hoses are in place before planting.
In your early spring planting plan, leave space for warm-season crops to go in later.
Watch how spring is progressing around you and take cues from nature. Are birds singing and worm castings dotting the ground? That’s a great day for planting.
PLANT
You will have a more successful garden when you plant with the seasons and try succession planting. Waiting to plant everything all at once, and planting only once are common pitfalls I see gardeners experience.
Many plants we eat are adapted to grow well in either cool or warm weather, so it matters what you plant when. Here on the Island, our growing season has three parts: an early cool season followed by a long warm season and a later cool season before winter.
Notably, we do not have a “hot” season with high temperatures consistently above 80 degrees F. The brief blistering weeks we get in July usually aren’t enough to boost bumper crops of heat-loving plants, so I suggest planting extra if you want to harvest a lot of peppers and eggplant.
Cool season crops include many homegrown favorites, so you can get started right away! Some, such as peas, need to reach maturity before summer’s heat in order to bear any fruit. Others, such as cilantro, will grow and taste better in spring’s cooler temperatures than in the summer.
Direct Sow Now
Peas (see favorite varieties below)
Spinach
Radishes
Arugula
Carrots
Beets
Turnips
Potatoes
Cilantro
Dill
Parsley
Salad greens
Marigolds
These can go in as soon as the soil is workable. Repeat sowing for more consistent germination and a longer harvesting window. Early spring planting doesn't fit everyone's schedule or location. If you are planting later, choose varieties with heat tolerance or shorter days to maturity.
Begin transplanting in mid- to late-April
Kale, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower
Swiss chard
Head lettuce
Onions, shallots, leeks and scallions
Celery
Fennel
Herbs
Early spring is also a good time to transplant perennials such as rhubarb, asparagus, berries, grapes and fruit trees if you have space ready for them.
Chicories such as radicchio, endive and escarole add variety to a salad garden and they are well adapted to our long cool spring. I harvest them like leaf lettuce this time of year. Plant again in late summer to grow full size heads for fall harvest.
Violas are a bright spot in the early spring garden. They will bloom abundantly now and again when temperatures drop later in the fall. And they are edible! A welcome weed when they self-sow in my garden.
WAIT on these
Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant
Squash, cucumbers, melons
Basil
Beans
Nasturtiums
Don’t plant out warm season crops until late May to early June. It’s always tempting to jump the gun, but a cold start can stunt heat-loving crops.
TEND
Early-season tending is less about intensity and more about consistency.
• Make sure to harden off your seedlings before planting out if you have started them indoors.
• Keep a careful eye on watering. Spring weather can be cool, windy or unexpectedly dry, so it’s worth checking regularly and taking care not to over water.
• Manage weeds! They’re easiest to manage now when they’re small. A few minutes here and there can be enough to stay ahead. • Fencing is the only effective way to keep hungry deer and rabbits out. Keep your gates shut and fences mended.
• Add some compost to your beds at planting time.
• Apply nitrogen fertilizer once in early spring and again in mid-June. My go to organic source is blood meal. Follow the label instructions to avoid over-fertilizing.
• Keep an eye out for early pests. They are getting more active in the garden too. Row cover and hand-picking are usually enough this time of year. Sluggo and Bt are useful organic-approve pesticides to have on hand.
• Thin direct-sown crops as needed to give plants space to grow. Then enjoy a snack of tiny flavorful greens!
• Don’t be afraid to remove plants when they are not thriving or they are done producing. This helps keep your garden healthy and opens space for more succession planting. HARVEST
Get ready to serve pea shoots, radishes, asparagus and tender spring greens dressed with herbs. Early spring harvests are an appetizer for the season ahead.
Harvest often. Frequent picking encourages more growth in greens and herbs and helps you catch each ingredient at its best.
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Favorite Pea Varieties
Snap Peas
Sugar Snap (sweet and crunchy, classic for a reason)
Magnolia Blossom (towering plants with delicious peas and pink and purple flowers that my preschooler loves, pictured at right)
Snow Peas
Beauregard (rich purple pods that hold their color when cooked)
Golden Sweet (yellow pods and a long harvest season, more heat tolerant than most)
Shelling Peas
Tall Telephone (tasty heirloom variety with a great name)
Green Arrow (compact and prolific)
Faren Osnoss is the proprietor of Kitchen Gardens MV and the author of a newsletter by the same name on Substack.
This article appears in Spring Home & Garden – 2026.