15 Best Early Spring Vegetables

As your garden awakens from winter’s dormant slumber, it’s hard to imagine that many vegetables can thrive with chilly nights, random rainstorms, and unpredictable temperature swings. With your expected last frost date still weeks or months on the horizon, it’s far too early for tomatoes or cucumbers, and your winter storage crops may be dwindling. 

Fortunately, some of the best tender spring greens, roots, and snacks are eager to germinate and yield in the cool, moist soils of early spring. Let’s dig into 15 of the best early spring vegetables, including some surprising culinary delicacies that you may not have grown before.

What Vegetables Are Best for Early Spring Planting?

Spinach, mâche (corn salad), radishes, turnips, baby kale, lettuce, and sugar snap peas are among the best vegetables for early spring planting outdoors. As long as your garden is thawed and workable, these cool-tolerant veggies can germinate in soils as cold as 40°F (4°C). They don’t mind cold nights, temperature fluctuations, or spring rains, and some can yield in less than a month’s time! 

Early spring veggies tend to enjoy the cool buffer season before daytime temperatures get too hot. Some crops, like sugar snap peas, cilantro, and spinach, will bolt once the weather warms, which means spring is the best time to enjoy them while their flavor is best.

Direct seeding early spring crops ensures you have nutrient-dense flavors to add to your meals when fresh ingredients are scarce. It can also save room in your greenhouse or window sills so you can start tender crops like tomatoes and peppers indoors. 

15 Veggies to Grow in Early Spring

It’s a common misconception that you have to wait until your last spring frost to start planting. Many vegetables can be sown in the garden several weeks or even months before the expected last frost date. These cold-tolerant plants are accustomed to germinating in chilly soils and flourishing while the weather is mild.

If you live in an area with hot summers, it is particularly important to make the most of your early spring planting window to enjoy crops that will dwindle in the heat. These 15 veggies offer unique tastes and textures while the rest of your garden is still waking up.

Mâche (Corn Salad)

Corn salad is one of the most underrated and lesser-known spring crops in the U.S. Also called lamb’s lettuce or mâche, this classic European wild green got its nickname because it grows as a weed in winter corn fields. However, the plant is not related to corn or lettuce. It is actually a small annual plant in the honeysuckle family. 

The flavor is delicate and unique, with hints of nuttiness and crunchy butterhead-lettuce vibes. Mâche leaves are extremely nutritious and high in iron, making them a lovely substitute if you’re tired of spinach. The attractive spoon-shaped leaves are soft and slightly succulent, offering a highly palatable mouthfeel that can be adapted to many dishes.

Mâche is an essential early spring green in traditional European kitchen gardens. The low-growing rosettes grow wild throughout Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia but readily naturalize in moist, partially shaded forests of North America.

You can direct sow corn salad seeds as soon as your soil is workable, up to six weeks before your expected last frost date. The plants thrive in soils as cold as 40°F (4°C) and enjoy consistently moist, but not soggy, soil. Soil temperatures warmer than 70°F (21°C) will cause the seeds to go dormant.

At around 60 days to maturity, an early spring sowing provides greens as soon as April or May. Mâche can be harvested as baby leaves or entire rosettes. I crave the greens so much that I begin plucking side shoots as soon as the plants are a few inches in diameter. You can use the “cut and come again” harvest method by leaving at least two inches of leaves above the ground for regrowth. Eat mâche raw in salads and sandwiches, blend into pestos, or lightly sauté with spring roots.

Sugar Snap Peas

Springtime always brings a craving for the sweet, crispy snap of sugar snap peas. These cool-weather legumes thrive in mild weather and strongly dislike hot sun. If you want to get the most out of your pea crop, plant as early as possible because peas tend to become bitter and less productive as the summer approaches.

Sugar snaps are best directly sown as soon as the ground is thawed and workable. Some gardeners transplant sugar snap peas, but I prefer to direct sow to save time and space. The peas enjoy waking up with the warming soil between 40-60°F (4-16°C). Trellising them upwards ensures an easy harvest and more productivity in a small area. Peas are great for containers and patio gardeners, as well.

Prepare your trellis before planting so you don’t disturb the baby plants. Pound rebar stakes in the soil a couple of feet deep. Use flower netting or a fine-meshed metal fencing material rolled out between the stakes. Baling twine or twist ties work well for attaching the mesh to the rebar. Ensure that the trellis mesh hovers just two to three inches off the ground so it’s easy to train the young plants upward. 

Create two furrows about two inches deep on each side of the trellis. I prefer to drag the handle on the back of a garden tool through the soil to create the planting ditch. Sow pea seeds about twice as deep as their diameter. Most sugar snap varieties can be sown one to two inches deep. Space the peas two inches apart. They can grow close together because each plant will vine up the trellis.

Peas begin yielding within approximately two months of seeding. They enjoy full sunlight and savor the spring chill. The pretty white flowers will turn to plump crunchy pods after pollination. Harvest whenever the pod feels full yet still tender. Continuously harvesting spring peas will promote continuous growth until the weather gets too hot.

Japanese Turnips

Before you complain that you hate turnips, remember that the vegetable world is full of diversity! Grandma’s purple-and-white stew turnips are not the only varieties available. The trendy Japanese or ‘Hakurei’ turnips have taken the culinary world by storm, and they are so sweet and tasty that I’ve watched children race each other to pull them from the garden for a snack.

Japanese turnips are smooth, white, spherical roots with a sweet, crisp flavor, almost like an apple mixed with a carrot. They have notes of fruitiness and a tender, juicy texture that is best enjoyed fresh, sliced, or pickled. These cool-weather roots germinate in soil temperatures as low as 40°F (4°C). They are exceptionally sweet when nighttime temperatures are still cold, as the light frosts cause the plants to concentrate their sugars.

Direct sow Japanese turnips three to five weeks before your last frost date. As long as the soil is thawed, they will likely germinate. They enjoy plenty of compost in the upper few inches of the bed. Seed them in clumps for the most production in a small space, thinning to one to two inches between each plant. Use a layer of row fabric to speed up early growth and protect the young plants from early-season flea beetles, which can wreak havoc on spring brassica crops. The millions of shothole bites in the leaves can severely hinder production, so I always use floating row fabric with turnips.

Sorrel

Another unique and under-used green sorrel has a lovely tangy, lemony, zesty flavor that perfectly complements mild salad greens like lettuce, spinach, and mâche. Common sorrel and red-veined varieties both offer citrusy notes in their tender arrowhead-shaped greens. 

Sorrel has been grown for centuries in European cottage gardens and is another spring veggie highly coveted by chefs. Seventeenth-century gardener and author John Evelyn wrote that sorrel offers “so grateful a quickness to the salad that it should never be left out.” The early spring leaves are very high in vitamin C and amenable to a variety of recipes.

This frost-tolerant annual can be sown one to two weeks before your expected last spring first date. Use a soil thermometer probe to check that soil temperatures are at least 50°F (10°C). Some gardeners also seed in late fall or winter and allow the plants to “wake up” on their own once the weather begins warming.

The tiny seeds should only be planted ⅛” deep and very lightly dusted with soil. Don’t plant sorrel seeds too deep, or they may struggle to reach the surface and germinate. Space a cluster of two to three seeds every eight inches and thin to one plant every eight inches. Begin harvesting the crinkly green leaves once they are four to six inches tall. You can pinch or cut them and pick them regularly to encourage more growth. The youngest leaves are the most tender and flavorful. 

Cress

Sometimes called winter cress or upland cress, this wild green grows in boggy wetland areas throughout North America. The peppery flavor reminds me of arugula or mustards, but the leaves are delightfully tender and cold-tolerant. Cress plants can overwinter in many climates, or be sown in early spring for quick harvests. They have deep green, vitamin-rich leaves that are crinkly and crumpled, adding a unique texture to spring salads, cheese, dips, pestos, and soups.

This semi-aquatic plant is perfect for the wettest areas of your garden. Seeds germinate in soils as cold as 40°F (4°C) and can be harvested as baby greens within just 10-14 days. If you prefer larger leaves and whole rosettes, wait another few weeks before cutting.

Plant in two to four inch wide bands with about three to five seeds per foot. Thin to two inches apart for baby greens or four inches apart for rosettes. Sow cress seeds ¼” deep and keep them consistently moist. They germinate slowly but reward you with continuous harvests all spring.

In the South, these plants are nicknamed “creasy greens” because their flowers look like crosses. They are prized as one of the first edible greens to emerge in the spring in Southern Appalachia. The black-pepper-like flavor is ideal for hearty stews, pork, and tea sandwiches.

Asparagus

Delicious spears of asparagus shoots are among the first plants to emerge in spring’s cool weather. This vegetable is unique because it is a perennial; you can plant asparagus crowns once and enjoy their tender, flavorful spears for decades to come. Although they take a few seasons to mature and yield larger quantities, the wait is worthwhile, as many gardeners harvest their asparagus patches for 30 years or longer! 

The quickest way to establish an asparagus patch is to start with crowns, which are one-year-old-roots that take off rapidly. You’ll need an undisturbed spot in your garden and away from annual vegetable beds because these perennials will root in for the long-haul. Ensure the soil is well-drained and fairly neutral in pH.

Plant asparagus crowns in early spring six to eight inches deep and 12-18” apart. Don’t cramp the plants together, as they need plenty of space to reach their full growth capacity. Keep newly planted crowns consistently moist and well-fertilized. Avoid harvesting spears for the first few seasons so the plant can direct its energy into root development. 

Asparagus will grow into large fronds up to six feet tall, creating a dazzling summer and fall display. These fronds make lovely floral decor and mulch, but they are not the edible part of the plant. The best part of asparagus is the newly emerged shoots that come up low to the ground in spring. Once a patch is established, you can harvest the spears by cutting or snapping from the base when they are six to eight tall.

Radishes

The quintessential ‘Easter Egg’ radish is an easy addition to spring garden beds and salads, but did you know there are over 100 varieties of radishes, each with its own distinctive colors and flavors? These round root balls range from earthy to sweet to peppery to straight-up spicy, but they all share an affinity for cool spring weather and short days.

Radish seeds can be directly sown as early as February in many climates. Seeds will germinate in soils around 40-50°F (4-10°C). These quick-maturing roots are a favorite amongst beginner gardeners because they are ridiculously easy to grow and provide fast rewards. You don’t need much space to cultivate radishes, and they can even be grown in small containers. The entire plant is edible, and many people miss out on the mild mustard-like greens.

For a more unique radish experience, try the elongated ‘French Breakfast,’ vibrant ‘Mantanghong Watermelon,’ or the ultra-spicy, blood-detoxifying ‘Round Black Spanish’ radish. Harvesting radishes young ensures the most tender texture because the skins get harder as they mature. Most varieties can be planted as close as two to three inches apart and harvested within 30-40 days. Check your seed packet for cultivar-specific spacing and maturity tips.

If you don’t like the spiciness of radish roots, be sure to grow your crop as early in the spring as possible. Hot weather typically causes more bitterness and pungent spice. These little brassicas are also prone to bolting (going to seed) when the days lengthen and the weather warms to over 80°F (27°C). Once they bolt, radishes become virtually inedible. 

Carrots

Our favorite orange roots are infamous for their finicky germination. They take a long time to sprout and demand consistent moisture. If you let a carrot bed dry out during germination, the seeds may never emerge at all. One way to ensure more carrot success is to grow in the early months of spring while the weather is cool and rains are frequent. The extra rain reduces the need for constant irrigation, and the cooler nights promote extra sweet roots. 

Carrots must be directly sown to avoid disturbing their tap roots. They need warmer soils than other plants on this list, typically requiring at least 50-60°F (10-16°C) beds. Use a soil thermometer probe to assess your soil temperature before planting. Carrots are cold-hardy once they’re established, but they still need some warmth to germinate evenly. I like to use a floating row cover to conserve moisture and keep the baby seedlings cozy during the first few weeks. 

Seed carrots about ½” deep and don’t cover with too much soil. Space them ¾” to 1” apart and don’t forget to thin. Huge patches of overcrowded carrots yield measly, spindly roots. The plants have a hard time maturing when there isn’t enough space.

If you love carrots, it’s best to sow several successions throughout the spring. By scattering your plantings every two to three weeks, you will have a regular supply of fresh roots to harvest throughout late spring and early summer. 

Italian Dandelion

Dandelions get a bad rep as annoying weeds, but the Italian dandelion has been bred for delicious flavor without invasive tendencies. These slightly bitter, complex-flavored greens are extraordinarily rich in health benefits, especially for your digestive tract and liver. 

They grow in lovely rosettes and tolerate even the coldest spring weather. You can seed Italian dandelions up to six weeks before your last frost or as soon as you can get in the garden. These plants dislike warm soils, so it’s best to get them in as early as possible.

This uncommon yet delicious green tastes great in fresh salads or sautés. I love wrapping the fresh leaves around a nice cheese or prosciutto for a lovely addition to charcuterie boards. Italian dandelions are not as bitter as their wild counterparts yet offer a satisfying complementary flavor to savory and creamy foods.

Seed dandelions shallowly, about one inch apart, in rows 12-18 “apart. Thin to six to eight inches between each plant, or grow as densely sown baby greens. You can use the “cut-and-come-again” method by leaving the central growing tip intact during harvests. Pluck the leaves young for the most tender texture. If you get an unexpected late frost, don’t worry! Italian dandelions are resilient and cold-hardy. You can also harvest the roots for an herbal digestive remedy or roast and grind as a coffee substitute. 

Cilantro

While we commonly think of cilantro as a summer ingredient for fresh salsas and pico de gallo, it actually prefers the cool weather of spring. Cilantro plants are prone to bolting in hot weather, which causes them to send up tall seed stalks that turn the leaves bitter. While cilantro flowers are lovely for pollinators, and the seeds turn into the famous spice coriander, there are a few tricks you can use to prolong the leaf-harvesting phase.

Seed cilantro in soils that are at least 50°F (10°C), a few weeks before your expected last frost. Mature plants are cold hardy and can handle temperatures as low as 10°F (-12°C). However, they cannot handle the heat and will bolt or die once the weather exceeds 80°F (27°C).

Plant seeds about ½” deep and ½” apart in rows three inches apart. Cilantro does best when grown in clumps, so you can easily gather stems in your hand to chop at the base. The plants still grow well when sown thickly and have strong regrowth after each harvest. 

If you want to prolong cilantro plantings throughout the spring and early summer, sow another round every two to three weeks. I like to dry and freeze plenty of cilantro to use in midsummer salsa canning. You can also grow cilantro in the dappled shade of taller tomato plants to try to prolong its lifespan before bolting. Regular harvests, mulch near the roots, and consistent soil moisture can prevent the plants from going to seed too soon. 

Spinach

You can’t talk about spring vegetables without discussing spinach! This iconic iron-rich green absolutely loves the cold and can overwinter in many zones. If you didn’t plant it in the fall, early spring is a great time to get spinach in the ground. Baby greens can be ready as quickly as 20 days, and larger plants mature in about a month.

Spinach germinates best in soils around 40-50°F (4-10°C). The seeds will not sprout in soils hotter than 85°F (29°C). To ensure the longest harvest window possible, you can plant spinach as soon as the ground is workable. For baby greens, sow in rows about two inches apart with three to five seeds per inch. For full-size spinach leaves, sow ten seeds per foot in rows 12-18” apart. 

Plant the seeds about ½” deep and keep them consistently moist. Pluck or cut outer leaves first, taking care not to uproot the plants. You can also grab bundles of greens and cut at the base, leaving two inches of the central plant stems to regrow in a couple of weeks.

Be sure to choose the type of spinach you enjoy most. The two main types of spinach are:

Arugula

Impatient spring gardeners absolutely love arugula. This extra early green can yield in less than three weeks and continuously grow back throughout the spring. Like their radish cousins, arugula plants tend to get spicier and more peppery as the weather warms. If you want milder arugula flavor, plant early while the weather is still cool. The plants are also prone to bolting in hot weather.

Arugula germinates best in cool soils around 40-45°F (4-7°C). You can direct seed three to four weeks before your expected last frost date. As spring progresses, arugula becomes more prone to attack by pests, especially flea beetles. I like to plant arugula near my Japanese turnips and keep them both covered with floating row fabric. The row cover physically deters flea beetles, so the leaves stay nice and free of holes. 

Green Onions

Sometimes called scallions, green onions are a lovely spring flavor garnish to your favorite dishes. You can technically grow green onions from any standard onion seed by planting them closer together and harvesting them while young. Sowing just one to two inches apart yields nice, vibrant stalks of green onion that can be pulled once they are slightly larger than a pencil thickness. Growing from true seed yields scallions in five to six weeks, but if you want an even quicker crop, try this trick…

Onion sets are mini pre-grown onion bulbs that can be planted similarly to garlic. If you plant onion sets close together in early spring, they will yield green onions in just a few weeks! You can plant onions several weeks before your last frost date as long as the soil is thawed and workable. Green onions are somewhat cold-hardy, but can’t handle temperatures below 20°F (-7°C).

This is also the time to plant full-size bulb onions for summer use and fall storage. I like to establish my full-size onions indoors in cell trays and transplant them out around my last frost date. Medium and large onions require more spacing and a lot more time to mature, and you’ll want to be sure you choose the right variety (short-day or long-day onions) for your climate. Check out this guide for growing showstopper onions from seed.

Lettuce

Round off your early spring salad ingredients with a nice colorful lettuce planting. These classic, refreshing greens don’t require much fertility or maintenance, and gladly germinate in soils as cold as 40°F (4°C). Once established, lettuce plants can handle mild frosts down to about 25°F (-4°C), but young plants grow better with a bit of protection such as floating row fabric or a low tunnel.

While many gardeners like head lettuce, I prefer to grow lettuce in a medley baby green blend. This method yields harvestable greens in less than a month, and it allows you to grow a diversity of colors and flavors in a smaller space. You can purchase a pre blended ‘Mesclun Mix’ or shake together a bunch of lettuce seed packets in a bag to create your own blend. 

As soon as your garden is workable, broadcast sprinkle the seeds over a bed, aiming for about one to two inches between plants. Cover with the slightest dusting of soil to ensure they aren’t sown too deep. Maintain consistent moisture and begin harvesting when plants are four to six inches tall. Grab a small handful of greens and use sharp, sanitized shears to cut just above the base of the plant. Leave about one inch of growth at the soil surface so the plants can grow back for a second harvest. 

Baby Kale

Spring is a great time to start your long-season, larger kale plants indoors in cell trays. But you can also direct seed baby kale outside for a quicker reward. Technically, any variety of kale can be grown as baby greens if you plant them closer together and harvest them young. The baby leaves are more tender and sweeter from the chilly spring nights.

Kale is known for its cold tolerance and can germinate in chilly soils as cold as 50°F (10°C). Sow the seeds ¼” deep with about two to five seeds per inch. The planting will resemble your lettuce greens mix explained above. As long as each plant has ½” to one inch of space from its neighbor, it will grow into a moderately sized “teenager” kale plant that provides several harvests of soft, young leaves. Use the “cut-and-come-again” method to prolong the spring growth,

Baby kale tastes amazing when tossed with olive oil and aged balsamic or blended into a kale chimichurri. The nutrient-dense greens are easy to grow in containers or grow bags and get sweeter after a light frost. Summer kale tends to succumb to annoying pests like aphids, and the plants become prone to bolting when the weather gets too hot. I prefer to get my kale fix in the early spring and fall when these plants shine best.