6 Cool Weather Crops You Should Avoid Planting In Spring

[jenniferw]

1) 3:44 Spinach; 2) 4:51 Arugula; 3) 5:08 Broccoli; 4) 6:26 Cilantro; 5) 7:45 Dandelion Greens; 6) 9:27 Garlic.

[PaleGhost]

In my area we don't have spring. We have winter and road construction.

[stickclan]

You just saved me SO much frustration. I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong out here in Colorado. This changes the garden plan. Thank you for making this video!

[jennythyme]

Seasons in Georgia... Pollen, tornado, summer, Hades, second summer, fall, slightly cooler fall. No spring. 🤷‍♀️

[josiashikawa]

My dear gardener… I’m so in love with your job here, you have helping me so much, please I want to know if you have more videos like this one, for every season, what we can do or not do, which one can we plant! Thank you so much for your help and passion with food( plants), teaching us and been a such wonderful person! Wonderful work!

[CindySeeley]

MIgardener, I planted cilantro 1 time, years ago when I started my first herb garden. When cilantro is allowed to go to seed, 2 things happen: 1) it becomes coriander 2) it self-seeds, adapting to the climate it's been planted in. I had cilantro every year from that initial planting until we finally decided to convert that herbal bed into a strawberry bed. As I re-establish my herb garden, I anticipate only once planting cilantro (did almost 2 weeks ago). Our spring sounds very much like you've described yours. Thanks for the garlic tip. I think I'll uncover at least 1/2 the garlic I planted 2 weeks ago (only 1 night w/temps that dropped below freezing to 28 deg), and put it in the freezer for a week to force it, just as newly acquired tulips in the spring can be forced.

[brandonkrause]

Very true. Wisconsin is the same. Spring is only about 2 weeks, usually from April 25th to May 10th. It goes from freezing to super hot in the blink of an eye. That's why I've been focusing on summer crops, why fight mother nature when you can just use what she gives you.

[BurkeStanion]

I've lived in East Central Illinois for 22 years now and I often say that the season change here is like a light switch. Just as you described, we can have some warmth, then cool again, maybe a touch of warmth, but it certainly is not gradual. When it gets warm, it generally gets hot. And just like that, you're in summer. Gardening is extremely challenging and perhaps, rather than banging my head against the wall trying the same things over and over again I'll take your advise and draw a line in the sand as well on these crops. I tried some cool weather crops last fall and really enjoyed that and had some success. We'll keep trying to learn. Thanks for all of your content!

[bryankavanaugh]

So true, I live in Windsor ON Canada. Just across the pond from you and I fall for this trap every year. Hopefully, I learn my lesson. Great video Thanks!!!

[ajb.]

Thanks ! Some addtl. ideas I'm having, from things I've been learning, are that a food forest planting can be buffered in both the cold & heat. Then of course, there's microclimates - the elevation, orientation & so forth of your yard. And row covers ? Yes, I know your video is about the foundational understanding/knowledge of these things, and which I really needed ! So, not meaning to be a twerp, just to encourage intermediate gardeners to consider options/their particular yards when deciding to plant or not ! And thanks again ! Cilantro info esp., tho it's still gunne be worth it to us, as my husband ADORES it, in his mexican food esp, which he needs often. We r in NW WI btw.

[harriedpotter]

Luke: THANK YOU for this insight that we can build a grow-plan that's more efficient and successful. It's like I needed permission! I'm in southern Idaho. I planted arugula and broccoli in mid-March hoping an earlier start would help. The arugula began bolting a week after it was ready to harvest. The broccoli had no time to bulk before it too is wanting to flower. This happens every year, and every year I try again with different planting dates and locations in the garden.

[be]

Garlic looks great this year in Chicagoland. This years long cool spring (for once!) has made the garlic planted last fall very happy! This year I tried snow peas planted in March and a few weeks later. They are looking pretty good so far. It is important to try new things or ways of working each year. You never know when it will work, and you can crow with success. Failures are part of the game, and should be considered learning experiences!

[NashvilleMonkey]

We've had garlic continuously in the ground and in the family for over 50 years, we never plant it, it's part of the ecosystem, we only have to harvest it, at whatever time it's needed. It self seeds and divides so much that it's there forever.

[ewjorgy]

Hi Luke,

The spinach that I planted a month ago just bolted! Amazing! Didn't even get one harvest off of it! I am in California and we got up to almost 90 last week. Oh well. Lettuce is doing ok. Peppers and tomatos are happy. Beans are exploding as are the squash and cucumbers.

Thanks for the info! Take care, be well and all the best from California 💛

[janetdecardenas]

I live in Kent Ohio and our spring is one day snowing and the next day 70 degrees. Thank you so much Luke! I have had trouble with all you mentioned in my garden planting. Nice you posted this.

[jenniferw]

My Spinach just started to bolt last week here in Tulsa, OK. I've been aggressively cutting off the flowers, and so far not bitter yet!

[missmollycollie]

Love the fact that you can. show that you are not invincible! I have moved from one zone to another and appreciate all your input on type of crops to plant or not plant. I am learning that the weather does not always go along with our plan. It is early March in Northern California and It is really warm, but the forecast shows Temps in the mid 30's the next few nights. It is hard to know what to do! I have starts but am hesitant to put them out!

[filliphulles]

Planted cilantro, swiss chard, garlic, and chamomile in the fall in zone 5-6. Everything grew a little bit and over the winter, they stayed alive. Lettuce also came back from a few plants I let go to seed and seeds dropped. Some plants are hardy enough to go into a sort of hibernation before picking back up in the spring now.

[eugeniageyser]

At last, someone with brain about spring planting. Looking at seed packets and trying to figure out how "professionals" get to that point to just confuse gardeners into despair. Thank you for this post.

[lakebound]

I was born and raised in the U.P. of MI. Very familiar with snow piles in the woods when it is 70 outside. I now live in Sheboygan, WI. It is crazy how cool it stays here on the Lake MI shoreline. Peas, spinich, lettuce, grow fantastic until July. The micro climate of a region sure makes a difference. Growing some Sheboygan tomatoes in Sheboygan, WI that I ordered from MIgardener this year, lol.