We’re between seasons right now. The forecast shows some days with highs in the 80s, most days in the 70s, and some in the 60s. With nighttime temperatures falling as low as the mid 40s. If you’re eager to get out into your vegetable garden, you might be confused on what you should be planting right now. Keep reading for planting suggestions to get you through until the “Good Friday” Garden.
Leafy green vegetable plants, such as lettuces, spinach, swiss chard, mustard greens and kale all thrive in Louisiana’s cool season. So, it’s not too late to plant some transplants into the ground and enjoy some leafy greens from the garden in the coming weeks. These types of leafy greens are usually ready for harvest within 4 to 5 weeks, so if you plant some transplants now, you can harvest your lettuces and kales right before you plant some tomatoes in April.
If you find some broccoli, cauliflower, turnips, radishes, or cabbage transplants, you can certainly throw them into the garden too. But they usually take a little longer to mature than the “loose” leafy greens, like spinach and kale. So, their success will ultimately depend on the weather. If it heats up real fast in April, you might be harvesting small heads of cabbage. Or your broccoli and cauliflower might bolt, or flower rather quickly. But if you’ve got the itch, it’s worth a try.
If you like starting your vegetable plants from seeds, now is a good time to start your tomato, pepper, eggplant okra, and cucumber seeds indoors. Then a few weeks from now, when nighttime temperatures are consistently in the upper 50s, you can transplant them outside.
One of my favorite things about Louisiana gardening culture is that there is always something blooming, and you can always grow some kind of food. So, maximize your garden space right now by planting some leafy greens!
Written by John MacMillan
