WILMINGTON — A little sunshine might have people crawling out the house and into the garden — or balcony if you don’t have the luxury of green space.
Either way, for those itching to grow, now is the time to start prepping. The most fool-proof plants happen to coincide with the late winter blues.
Withstanding the cold
“Cole crops” could offer hopeful gardeners a ray of light. The colloquial term refers to vegetables derived from the mustard family that thrive in cooler temperatures and can tough out spring frosts.
“The soil temperatures are ahead of schedule, they’re already above 60 in a lot of places,” said Al Hight, director of the North Carolina State University Extension Service at the New Hanover County Arboretum.
Last year, the Cape Fear region was hit with an unexpected spring frost, which hurt some plants.
“We might be out of the frost for this year,” Hight said.
To get started on a home garden, Hight says buying potting soil, a mid-sized container and some seeds from the department store.
“Leaf lettuces are some of the easiest,” he said. “Buy a pack of seeds and bam they’ll come up.”
In just five days, Hight says you’ll start to see growth. “The mesclun mix is probably the best to use because you get different colors, different textures, it makes a pretty salad and it’s easy,” he said.
For a fool-proof undertaking, Hight suggests planting cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, leaf lettuces and radishes. All that’s needed is intermittent sunlight throughout the day to let these durable plants thrive.
“It’s very satisfying for people when they have success quickly,” Hight said. “Anybody can do it. You don’t need to have any great gardening skill.”
Johanna Ferebee can be reached at johanna@localvoicemedia.com or @j__ferebee on Twitter
