Easy Spring Veggies

I’m keeping it simple with my spring vegetable garden this year. Baby could arrive anytime between now and the next 3-4 weeks, which means I will be down for the count come March for planting. Instead, I am planting some easy-going veggies now that can stand some neglect this spring.

Lettuce & Green Onions – this is a classic companion planting combination that looks great in the bed and enjoys the cool maritime spring. We eat salad at almost every meal, so we definitely need a good supply in the garden.

Potatoes – Perhaps the easiest of all easy vegetables to grow, potatoes get dug into the ground sometime around St. Patrick’s Day. Mine are going in a bit early, but should be fine. I bury them about 4-8″, wait for the greens to pop up, then keep mounding soil around them so just 4″ of greens are above ground.

Peas – These are said to be Thomas Jefferson’s favorite veggie and who can blame him? They say “plant your peas on President’s Day” – that’s this next week! I’m planning to trellis mine with smaller sticks in the raised beds and along the teepee I have out in the garden. By the time the peas wilt from the heat of June, beans will take their place.

Onions & Shallots – I am planting onion sets and shallots in the next week out in the garden, as there is always a small corner to fit these into. Once planted, I can walk away and ignore them until the hotter season when I will hand irrigate them.

These easy veggies should give me a start on the season without requiring much maintenance for the first few months of Spring. Some April/May, I am planning to “cheat” with plant starts from the nursery. It pains me not to have the variety choices that come with growing from seed, but I am also trying to be realistic (somewhat) about the challenges having a newborn will bring. I am optimistic that we’ll get the hang of baby duties by the time tomatoes go in the ground!