Spring gardening can be the most rewarding time of year for many gardeners. It’s a fresh start, the pests are light to non-existent, and many gardeners are motivated after a long winter. With the right tools and planning, you can have a luscious spring garden, as well as a healthier summer garden (scroll down to the section on cover crops).

Cool Season Veggies for Spring Planting 

Like other gardening seasons, there are certain crops that prefer to be direct seeded and others that need to be started indoors ahead of planting. If you missed the window for starting your seeds ahead of time - fear not! At the end of winter, your local nursery or hardware store will likely have a wide variety of plant starts available. 

Seeds to Direct Sow

You could fill a whole garden with cool-weather seeds that you direct seed outside in the spring! These are some of our favorites. 

Leafy Greens

Who doesn’t love leafy greens! Whether in salads, sandwiches, or soups, the variety of greens that can be grown in spring is truly endless. 

Spinach 

Succulent, rich leaves are delicious raw or cooked. Spinach is extremely cold hardy, so you can start these early and enjoy a harvest before almost anything else has come up! Some of our favorite spinach seeds for spring planting include America and Nobel Giant. 

Lettuce

Who doesn’t love a fresh garden salad as the first garden meal of the season? Lettuce is super easy to grow and does great in cool weather. Lettuce is heat sensitive so if you have a short or especially warm spring, look for heat-tolerant varieties like our Heatwave Blend or try our house-made Herb Salad Mix. 

Arugula

An addition to your garden salad (or sandwich, pizza, etc.). This spicy green is delicious on everything! We love this slow bolting arugula or the lesser known Wild Arugula, also known as rocket, which is perennial!

Mustard Greens

Mustard greens offer a delightful kick to any dish. Whether raw in a salad, or sauteed in a hot meal, this nutritious green can spice up your life! This crop is a Southern staple and many varieties are considered both cold and heat tolerant. For spring, we love the Southern Giant Curled.

Collards

Collards are a Southern kitchen staple, and close cousins of kale and cabbage. These delicious greens are known for their hot and cold tolerance so they can be harvested early and for a long season. For spring, we recommend you try the bolt resistant Champion Collards or, for the more adventurous grower, Purple Ultracross. 

Swiss Chard

A close cousin of beets, swiss chard is like growing just the beet greens if they were particularly large, succulent, and slightly less sweet. Both heat and cold tolerant, this is one of our favorite close-to-year-round greens. Try the rainbow blend for a mix of colors or the Fordhook Giant for impressively large leaves and stems. Swiss chard is easily harvested well into summer. 

Root Crops

Root crops are very common spring vegetables and grow well in the cool weather of the early growing season. Many are very easy to grow and are a great warm-up crop! 

Carrots

A fistful of carrots from the garden is sure to bring out the childlike delight in anyone! There’s a whole rainbow of shapes and colors to choose from. Carrot seeds can sometimes be tricky to grow if your soil quality isn’t just right. For those of you working with clay soils, try the Danvers or Shin Kuroda varieties. If you’re fortunate enough to have loamy soils, or a good ‘ol fashioned raised bed, try your hand at the popular Tendersweet or unique Cosmic Purple.

Beets

What’s better than a roasted beet sliced thinly over a spring salad? In our opinion, just about nothing. Try the Golden Detroit - a true kitchen table show-stopper, or Cylindra, a reliable garden workhorse. 

Radishes

Radishes are a great way to have a delicious win in the garden. Radish seeds mature in a snap, are resilient and tolerant, and taste great raw, cooked, or smothered in butter. Try the classic Daikon radish, or the stunning Purple Beauty.

Turnips

Whether you desire a turnip green or salad turnip, this easy-to-grow crop offers an accompaniment for hardy stews, braised meat, or even just a hummus snack! The heirloom Seven Top turnip produces an abundance of delicious greens, while the Purple Top White Globe turnip produces large roots that stay mild. 

Parsnips

This relative of the carrot is sweet, hardy, and slow to mature. With some love and patience this delightful vegetable can be yours! The Harris Model parsnip is a very reliable producer. 

Herbs

While many herbs are sun and heat-loving, reserving their growing season for summer, there are a few beloved culinary companions that appreciate cooler weather. They make great companion plants to many cool-weather crops and add a je ne sais quoi to culinary dishes.

Cilantro

Classic cilantro is a must-have for many dishes. Whether pureeing herbs for a sauce or looking for a unique addition to salads, this herb is a great addition to your garden. The cilantro seeds can be harvested as coriander, a common spice used in Indian cuisine, and will also reseed itself easily - which we love! 

Dill

Now, we know all about dill pickles, but what about dill in soups, salads, and sauces? It deserves a spot outside of the pickle jar this fall. We love that dill reseeds readily. Try the Bouquet variety! 

Parsley

This bitter green makes a great garnish, but also a digestive-friendly addition to many dishes! Flat leaf parsley and curly parsley will sometimes have different culinary applications, so grow them both!

More to Grow

Fava Beans

Fava beans are an extremely cold-hardy legume that, in warmer climates, are best planted in fall and overwintered for a spring harvest. In cooler climates, where the spring is longer and cooler, they can be planted as soon as the soil is workable. We love the Santa Isabel for its relative heat tolerance in spring gardens.  

Snap Peas

Who doesn’t love a fresh pea out of the garden? Whether you’re partial to snap peas, shelling peas, or snow peas, this vining legume is the perfect addition to your cool weather garden. 

Potatoes

The lowly potato is an underrated, spring-planted tuber. There are a number of varieties in all kinds of shapes and colors to try. We love the classic Yukon Gold potato or the delicious German Butterball. Sow True Seed offers seed potatoes as pre-order items that ship in March - just in time for planting! 

Onions

Onions grow beautifully in the spring either from seeds or starts. Onion seeds are better started indoors ahead of planting, to give them a head start. Onion starts can also be purchased for pre-order and shipped in March, just like potatoes, from Sow True Seed! 

Asparagus

Asparagus can be planted from seeds or crowns. When growing asparagus from seed, they should be started indoors ahead of planting and transplanted out in the spring. It can take five years to start to harvest from asparagus plants grown from seed. You can also grow asparagus from crowns, which can begin to be harvested in two to three years. 

Strawberries

Berry delightful strawberries are best grown from bare root plants. Pick your poison between June-bearing and ever-bearing for the sweetest harvest. Plant in spring for a perennial harvest starting the following year! 

Seeds to Start Indoors

Certain longer season crops do better when they’re started indoors ahead of time. With just a few seed starting supplies and a basic understanding of starting seeds, you can grow your own! No time? Fear not, these crops can be easily found at your local hardware store, or at Sow True Seed’s Garden Shop, as plant starts that are ready to go in the ground! 

Brassicas

The brassica family contains many of our beloved greens like kale and collards, as well as heading crops like cabbage and brussels sprouts. It even includes root vegetables like turnips, and asian greens like bok choy. It’s a wide reaching plant family that loves cool weather. There are quite a few brassicas that should be started from seed before planting to ensure they mature before bolting begins in spring.

Broccoli

Broccoli is harvested as the plant's flowers are in their budding stage, creating that tree-like affect on the head. We love the Di Ciccio for its small head that keeps sending out shoots until it gets too hot! 

Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts are an extremely long-season crop. In Southern gardens, they’re best grown as a fall crop so they have plenty of cool weather time to mature. In Northern gardens, they can be grown as a spring or fall crop! We love the unique Red Rubine or the compact Long Island Improved. 

Cabbage

Cabbage is a classic autumn vegetable and a staple in many dishes. Not to mention the storage ability of many varieties! Try the Red Acre for a storage cabbage or Early Jersey Wakefield for its speedy maturation. 

Cauliflower

Similar to broccoli, cauliflower should be harvested when the flower head is in bud form. The self-wrapping leaves of the Snowball variety ensures that the heads stay crisp and white even in the sun! 

Kale

Kale doesn’t strictly need to be started indoors but it’s a common spring plant start because the earlier you start it, the more of a harvest you can enjoy before the leaves become tough with heat. Lacinato kale is a common and beloved heirloom fit for any dish. 

Cover Cropping in Spring

Cover cropping in spring is a great way to prepare your garden for a long growing season ahead. Integrating cover crops into your garden plan can result in healthier soil and less pest and weed pressure. Spring is a great time to get started, either intercropped with spring crops or just on their own while your garden waits for summer crops to be planted! 

Why Cover Crop

Cover crop is the umbrella term for plants that are used not exclusively for harvest or ornamental purposes, but mainly for the benefits they offer to the soils. Cover crops can add nutrients back into the soil, prevent erosion, protect microorganisms, retain moisture, and reduce weed pressure. Cover cropping is like growing your own compost in your very own garden bed! 

What To Plant

There are different cover crops that should be planted at different times of year. Spring cover crops can be selected based on their benefits, whether or not they winter kill, or what kind of pollinators they benefit. Cover crops work best in conjunction with each other, so these are our favorite mixes for spring planting.

Cover and Color Mix

This beautiful cover crop mix is designed for maximum improvement in soil health and nutrient cycling. It will help increase organic matter, loosen compacted soils, and suppress weeds. If planted early enough, you’ll also see a smattering of beautiful flowers that will attract all kinds of beneficial insects. 

Raised Bed Mix

The raised bed mix is a beautiful and hardworking cover crop blend, perfect for your raised bed gardens. Legumes fix nitrogen in the soil, while phacelia creates plenty of bio-mass for decomposition. 

Flowers for Spring Planting

Depending on your growing zone, you may or may not have planted flower seeds already so they can stratify. But in early spring for many zones, it’s not too late! Seeds that require stratification in order to break the dormancy of the seed can be planted in early spring. There are plenty of seeds that require stratification, but these are some of our favorites. 

Flower Mixes

Sow True Seed carries a variety of flower seed mixes, in seed packets and bulk, that perform best when stratified. These mixes are a great way to create your own wildflower meadow or pollinator garden. Try the Northeast Native Mix or the Beneficial Attractant Mix to benefit your future gardens. 

Native Plants

And on that note, many of our North Carolina native plants require stratification in order to grow. Milkweed, Goldenrod, and Echinacea, are just a few of the beautiful native species that should be planted in very early spring. 

Culinary Herbs

Did somebody say kitchen garden? Some of our favorite culinary herbs can be planted in early spring for a summer harvest. Sage, Oregano, and Thyme, are some great culinary choices for spring planting. 

Get Growing

Ready to start planting? Sow True Seed has everything you need for your spring garden from seeds to supplies to support you from planning to harvest.

	Article Written by: Hannah Gibbons
	About the Author: Hannah Gibbons, an employee at Sow True Seed since 2020, has over a decade of experience in the agricultural industry. Their passion for environmental education and regenerative agriculture has been the cornerstone of their work, aimed at making gardening accessible to all.