5 Vegetables To Plant In Spring

Spring is the prime time to start replanting your annual crops due to improved weather conditions, higher temperatures, and general ease of being able to maintain your garden compared to in winter.

Annual vegetables are best planted in early spring to allow your plants time to grow and, enable you the opportunity to resow fast-growing crops such as lettuce and spinach. 

This helps you to maximize the potential harvest from each crop, whilst planting them during optimal growing conditions. Increased daylight hours, warmer weather, and enough rainfall are all available throughout spring.

Consider these 5 vegetables to plant in spring and help your crops receive the resources they need for a successful harvest.

vegetable to plant in spring

Lettuce

Lettuce is a perfect vegetable to plant in spring. It’s durable, easy to grow, and can be harvested from spring to autumn. Not to mention lettuce is available in a range of varieties. By choosing several for your garden, you can create a cheap, organic, and homegrown salad.

How to Grow:

Lettuce can be grown outside once the weather is warmer in March. Ensure your soil has good drainage and nutrient-rich compost added.

Sow seeds 1cm deep and at least 15cm apart to allow room for the roots and leaves to grow. Once the seedlings have grown, carefully lift them from the ground and divide them to encourage new growth and provide more space per plant. You can then replant them in rows and water.

Lettuce leaves are delicate so need watering regularly, especially during summer. Without water, leaves will burn in the heat. It is best to water your lettuce crops first thing in the morning and last at night to avoid the water evaporating.

Depending upon the varieties planted, your lettuces are ready to harvest between 6-10 weeks from planting. Lettuce can be grown and harvested through till the end of autumn. For a continual supply, ensure to sow fresh seeds every 14 days.

Arugula

Arugula, also known as rocket, offers a peppery taste to your salad. This delicate leafed plant can be grown in spring and autumn. As it grows quickly, it can provide you with a consistent harvest during these two seasons.

How to Grow:

Arugula requires good drainage and a sunny spot in the garden. Seeds need to be planted at least 1cm deep in the soil and an inch apart.

Similar to lettuce, arugula requires regular watering. It is best if you check how moist the soil feels around your plants. If the topsoil feels dry, water your plants.

As arugula does not do well in warmer weather, you might prefer to grow it in pots indoors. Pots can be placed outside during spring and autumn. But in summer when temperatures increase, bring your pots inside during the middle of the day to avoid your plant wilting.

Arugula is usually ready to harvest between 4 – 7 weeks from sowing. Leaves are best harvested when they are younger as they are sweeter at this point. Leaves become bitter as they mature.

Peas

Homegrown peas are much tastier due to the lack of pesticides and the ability to eat them freshly picked. With a long harvest season between June and October, they are an ideal vegetable to plant in spring.

How to Grow:

Garden peas are best sown during spring between March and May. The ground is softer and the weather warmer ensuring they have a good start.

They are best planted at least 3cm deep and 10cm apart. Sow seeds in well-drained soil with access to sunlight.

Within 1-2 weeks, seedlings will begin to sprout. As they grow taller, ensure to provide support with a bamboo stick to help them grow upwards and hold their weight.

Garden peas can be harvested after approximately 3 months. For a second and third supply of peas, ensure to plant additional rows staggered in monthly intervals.

Carrots

Carrots are a staple vegetable all year round and taste so much sweeter when homegrown. They can be sown throughout the first half of the year, however are best planted during spring when the ground is softer.

How to Grow:

Sow your carrot seeds between March and June due to warmer temperatures and softer soil. Carrots need excellent drainage as they will not be edible if they become too damp. With this in mind, do not water too regularly. Add water if the soil feels very dry, otherwise, avoid watering too regularly.

Unlike lettuce, do not try to thin out your carrot seedlings. Removing them from the soil attracts pests such as carrot root fly which will be detrimental to your crops.

Instead, leave your carrots to grow with minimal maintenance, just removing weeds from the area to allow space for your carrots to grow.

Every few weeks, plant carrot seeds in a new area to ensure a consistent supply of carrots. Depending upon the variety of carrots you choose to grow, your carrots will be ready to harvest between 10-16 weeks.

Beetroot

Beetroot is a delicious root vegetable that can be eaten in salads or added to pasta, houmous, and even bread. It is incredibly easy to grow with varieties ranging in colors including purple, orange, pink, and yellow. Beetroot is an ideal crop to plant in spring to complement the above vegetables.

How to Grow:

Beetroot seeds are best sown from mid-April until June. They do not require as much depth as carrots, approximately 1 cm but do need a large amount of space between each plant. Aim to plant each beetroot seed with a 10cm gap between them to allow them room to grow.

Similarly to carrots, ensure your soil has good drainage so your plants don’t experience root rot. Water your beetroot plants when the topsoil has become dry.

Most beetroot varieties are ready to harvest between 10-20 weeks. For a regular harvest of beetroot during the harvest season between June and October, plant different varieties with both long and short growing periods.

vegetable garden in spring

These five vegetables to plant in spring complement each other as well as offer long or multiple harvesting opportunities throughout the year.

Planting these vegetables in spring ensures that you will have an early start on your vegetable garden and can replant each variety several times before winter.

Each vegetable can be planted indoors if you would like to start your spring garden early. However, if you can wait a few more weeks until early spring, starting your seeds outdoors is a great option. They are easy to manage, require well-drained soil, and access to sunlight to help produce healthy crops.

If you’d like some more top tips to successfully grow vegetables at home, take a look at these popular guides: