The weather is warming up, and the threat of frost has passed - you know what that means! It’s time to start preparing your garden for the spring season. But where to start? What kinds of plants grow easily during springtime? Should you use a raised bed? Transform your space into a green haven with these spring gardening tips:

5 Easy to Grow Vegetables for Beginners

Spring season is the start of the growing season; here are some of the best crops to grow during this time:

Summer Squash: This is one crop that's almost effortless to grow. You can grow summer squash indoors from seed or do direct seeding inground. Once the seedlings sprout, it's just a matter of waiting for the plants to start reaching full maturity and protecting the fruits they'll produce from pests. We suggest planting summer squash a week after the last spring frost or during midsummer. This crop is a heavy feeder so use fertile, rich soil.

Chives: Related to onions, chives add a flavorful aroma to savory dishes like stews, soups, and stir frys. It’s also easy to grow especially if you’re using an herb kit. Chives love the full sun, but it can tolerate some shade too. Use moist, rich, well-draining soil to grow chives and amend the soil with organic compost to improve the herb’s flavor. Chives are pretty thirsty crops, so water deeply and consistently during the summer season to boost yield. Once established, chives require minimal care.

Cilantro: A popular aromatic herb common in Asian and Mexican cuisines. It belongs in the mint family, so you know cilantro is a rapid grower. As long as it receives the full sun and it's planted in well-draining soil, cilantro will thrive. It's a cool-season herb that's best grown in the spring and fall seasons. It does have the habit of growing and spreading all over, so it's essential to trim the plant to maintain its size.

Beets: Who doesn’t love beets? This root crop makes the perfect spring season crop because it’s resilient and low maintenance. Beets thrive in cool weather, so sow early in the spring season. Within a month or so, the beets are ready to harvest. We recommend sowing beetroot directly into the ground from March to July. Beets love moist, rich soil, so water deeply when the weather gets too hot.

Okra: A warm-weather vegetable that can thrive even with a bit of neglect, okra is so low-maintenance that beginner gardeners won’t have trouble growing a whole bunch! You can sow the seeds directly if the weather permits, or you can sow indoors using peat pots if it’s too early in the growing season. We suggest soaking the seeds overnight before sowing indoors and giving the seeds enough room to grow - about 3 to 4 feet apart.

5 Crops to Sow in Spring Season

Growing from seed seems intimidating, but there is nothing to it as long as you’ve chosen easy to sow crops for springtime planting. Here are some crops that take almost zero effort to sow:

Tomatoes: This crop is the kind that requires virtually zero effort to grow. As soon as the weather warms up, you can scatter the seeds all over your garden, and tomato seedlings will start sprouting in no time at all. Of course, choose a spot that gets a lot of sunlight because tomatoes need at least 8 hours of direct sunlight a day!

Cucumber: A summer staple, cucumber can be sown from seed in the spring season so, by the time the weather warms up, you have plenty of fresh, organic cucumber fruits to harvest! Just like tomatoes, cucumbers require minimal care. It thrives in warm weather, so we suggest sowing this crop late in the spring season. Plant several seeds to boost pollination. Cucumber flowers need to be pollinated, and the plants could die out if they mature.

Zucchini: A versatile summer vegetable that can be sown early or late in the spring season, zucchini is a prolific grower that's almost effortless to maintain. Just scatter the seeds in a pot or directly into the ground. As long as the soil is moist and rich, the seedlings will sprout in no time at all. Zucchinis are fast growers, and if sown during the summer season, you'll be harvesting fruits in a month.

Radish: Did you know that radish could be planted several times in one growing season? If you love radish, it's the perfect crop to grow from seed indoors or outdoors. It's a cool-season crop, so we suggest sowing radishes when the weather cools down in between the summer season (spring and fall seasons).

Lettuce: Green, leafy vegetables like lettuce are a part of a healthy diet. Thankfully, this crop is a cinch to sow from seeds. Lettuce grows quickly too, so within a few weeks of sowing, you're ready to harvest. However, keep in mind that lettuce seeds will not germinate in warm soils, so sow from late March to late July. For cooler months, sow indoors in seed trays from February to early March.

5 Beginner-Friendly Flowering Plants for Spring

You don’t need extensive experience to grow various flowering plants in the spring season. Here are beginner-friendly flowering plants that you should add to your garden this year:

Sweet Pea: known for its colorful and delicate blossoms, sweet pea is prized for its sweet-spicy fragrance. Sweet pea has different varieties, and most are quite hardy. They’re so resilient; they could survive light frost! You can grow sweet pea from seed and leave the plant to mature inground. Plant in well-draining soil, then amend the soil with aged manure or organic compost when transplanting the seedlings.

Nigella: This flowering plant is one of the easiest to grow from seeds. Sowing the plant doesn’t require much care at all. Just scatter a few seeds all over the garden and let nature do the rest. Nigella is not only low maintenance, but it’s also hard to kill. It will thrive in a mild climate, but it will grow perfectly fine in a hot climate too.

Sunflower: A summertime annual that should be sown every two weeks until the first frost has passed, sunflower is easy to grow and maintain. The big blooms are not only beautiful from any angle, but they also add a pop of color to your outdoor space. Sunflowers are best grown from seed. Just choose a sunny spot in the garden and plant the seeds in moist, well-drained soil. When seedlings sprout to about 12 inches, you can transfer to a pot or leave to mature in-ground.

Columbines: Beautiful perennial with unique-looking flowers, columbines come in many varieties, but the most popular are blue, purple, and pink. Again, so easy to grow from seed; just use well-draining soil. Choose a sunny spot with some shade in the afternoons because it prefers mild weather. Once established, Columbines will produce gorgeous flowers all spring and summer season long!

Californian Poppy: Poppies grow wild in Californian meadows, prairies, and hillsides, so you know it doesn’t take much to grow and maintain. It grows like weeds in a sunny garden because it will reseed for years to come. Use sandy, well-draining, or rocky soil. This flowering plant needs the full sun to grow healthily and thrives best in mild climates.

Spring season is upon us and if you want to prepare your garden for the next growing season, better start planning now. For more gardening tips, don’t forget to check out our blog.

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