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Here in Portland, we always seem to get a window of Spring-like weather in the middle of February. It’s traditionally the time to direct sow peas, onions, and radishes, and to start tomatoes and peppers indoors. Even though the gods of climate generally plunge us back into the dark and rainy for another month, the opportunity to get the garden going is like a life-line from the future: a reminder that—even though we haven’t seen the sun for two weeks—Spring really does exist.

But this year’s Spring-tease has come early: It’s only January 28th, we haven’t had a hard freeze in a month, and it’s been in the upper 40s and low 50s for over two weeks. The tulips are up, buds are swelling on the cherry trees, and I’m faced with an exciting dilemma: Do I risk some the peas I saved last year and hope the mercury doesn’t dip far below freezing again?

Of course!

Get Growing Early

Here in Oregon, even though we can grow many vegetables almost year-round, lots of folks don’t start thinking about planting until April or May, a full 2-3 months after many seeds could have already been in the ground. These gardeners not only miss out on some of the best time for cold season crops (radish, arugula, spinach, etc.), but they also miss out on a lot of productivity. While it varies by species and climate, planting sooner generally means that plants reach maturity faster, and thus, yield more.

Early sowing is also a good way to save money if you’re the type who might otherwise wait until later in the season and spend $100 on starts to make up for lost time.

[photo: recycled soda bottle hothouse :: source: ehow.com]

Last Frost Dates

Familiarity with your climate and micro-climate are essential to getting an early start. Knowing your last average frost date is a great place to begin. But averages, being what they are, are only part of the picture. Consider that an average last frost date of April 15th can still mean that your area gets a frost well into May every few years, but occasionally sees a frost-free March.

To get a better idea of how this all works in your area, Dave’s Garden has a great tool that lets you search for frost date information by zip code, and includes frost and freeze probabilities for different dates. Once you’ve got that figured out, check out this calendar from Organic Gardening for some good rules of thumb about planting times.

Micro-Climate

Perhaps even more important when thinking about exactly when to start planting is micro-climate. Here in Portland, last frost dates can differ from block to block due to things like slope, density of development, and tree cover. I’ve seen last frosts that were six weeks apart, in neighborhoods only a mile apart.

Understanding the specifics of your site is best gained through observation over time, but you can speed up your micro-climate literacy by being aware of the following site characteristics:

• Exposure to wind - windchill affects plants just like it affects people, except that we can go inside.  Try early plantings in areas sheltered winds by buildings, evergreen trees, and other dense objects.
• Exposure to sun - perhaps an obvious one, but it’s important to think about in the context of these other characteristics. The sunniest, most protected spots will generally be the best places for late-winter and early-spring plantings.
• Thermal mass - Sidewalks, rocks, water tanks, and south-facing walls are all good examples of high thermal mass objects that soak up heat from the sun during the day, and radiate it out at night. Planting in proximity to one of these of objects can help a crop survive a frost or freeze.
• Slope - South-sloping areas in the Northern hemisphere will heat up sooner in the Spring, and stay warmer longer into the Fall, as is true for North-sloping areas in the Southern hemisphere.

You can enhance each of these characteristics in a number of ways, and many of the best enhancements knock out several at once (a.k.a. stack functions). For example, a wind-shunning cold frame, with it’s sloping cover pointed south and a couple gallon jugs of water placed inside (for thermal mass), maximizes all of these qualities at the same time.

[photo: productive cold frame in mid-winter :: source: vegetablegardener.com]

The Best Time to Start A Garden…

For many of us, especially on the West Coast and in the South, now is the best time to get started on this year’s garden is NOW!

Even if you live in a really cold climate and are months away from being able to even think about gardening outside, try growing alfalfa sprouts on your kitchen counter, or experimenting with salad greens in a sunny window. If you’re just looking for a way to reassure yourself that Winter isn’t forever, order a copy of the Territorial Seed catalog and drool over all the great things you’re gonna grow when it’s time.

Tags: micro climate, seed catalogues, spring, veggies, winter

This entry was posted on Friday, January 29th, 2010 at 5:30 am and is filed under Gardening, p4r Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.