5 Super-Early Vegetables to Start in Winter

Winter can be a frustrating time for the vegetable grower, with several weeks still to go before the official start of the growing season. If you're craving fresh homegrown produce, I've got some good news. Many vegetables can be sown by late winter to give a super early start. In this video we look at five veggies that fit the bill, and share some tips so that you can enjoy your earliest crop yet. Peas can germinate at temperatures as low as 39 Fahrenheit or 4 degrees Celsius, which makes them an excellent starting point. Growing peas for shoots is an easy way to get a fresh hit of flavour within just a few weeks. The shoots taste just like peas and are packed full of nutrients. Pick a vigorous, tall-growing variety to give plenty of leafy growth. Start the seedlings off in a greenhouse or cold frame, sowing two to three seeds per pot or module cell. Once the seedlings have filled their modules, they can be planted out to leave 8 inches between each clump. Cover the newly planted shoots with horticultural fleece to help them get going. Pick little and often by snipping off just above the second set of leaves. If you don't have a greenhouse or cold frame, you can start seedlings on a sunny windowsill or, even better, supplement natural light with grow lights which will prevent seedlings becoming See our video on using grow lights for more on this. Many leafy salads such as winter hardy lettuces and endive can be sown inside a greenhouse or cold frame, or under row covers or cloches. Sow into modules and grow on before planting out into greenhouse borders or containers, carefully avoiding root disturbance. Space plants at least 10 inches or 25 cm apart to give them plenty of room. Pick just a few leaves from each plant at a time to avoid exhausting the plant. Other early rising salads include oriental leaves such as mizuna and mustard, cilantro or coriander, corn salad , and the fleshy leaves of winter purslane or miner's lettuce. Starting off cabbage this soon in the season has its advantages. Slugs are thinner on the ground and you'll enjoy a cut of vitamin-rich leaves by early summer, way ahead of spring sown cabbages. As with any early sown vegetables, choose varieties suited to sowing in the cooler weather. Sow into modules, then plant out once the young plants have established, usually within about four to six weeks. Plant them 9 inches apart. Spinach is ready to sow under cover from late winter, as light levels start to improve from their mid-winter low. Spinach is crammed full of vitamins and iron, making it a valuable crop for health as well as taste. Sow directly into containers of potting soil, or into modules or pots for planting out a few weeks later. Set 3 to 4 seeds per module for planting out 6 inches or 15 cm apart. When the plants are growing more vigorously, you can pick a few leaves from each plant at a time allowing replacement leaves to grow. This way you'll enjoy several harvests from each plant. Hardy varieties of spring onion, also known as green onions or scallions, can be sown directly into fertile, well-drained soil. Sow seeds thinly in rows 6 inches or 15 centimetres apart. The seedlings shouldn't need thinning out if they are sown thinly enough. You can also sow three seeds per module to plant out 3 inches or 7 centimetres apart in both directions. Place covers over your spring onions to help them along. Depending on your local climate and weather, the first stems will be ready by mid-spring, when most gardeners will only just be starting to think about getting them underway. In most cases you will need to offer your early risers some form of cold protection, particularly in snowy regions. The main priority is to raise the soil temperature high enough for successful germination while holding off the worst of frosts. Greenhouses and tunnels trap the heat very efficiently, making them several degrees warmer, especially on sunny days. They create a microclimate that's at least one month ahead. Cover seedlings with bubble wrap or horticultural fleece to trap daytime heat overnight. Young plants raised in pots or modules will need acclimatizing to colder temperatures before they are planted outdoors. Cold frames can make a handy halfway house. Lift off the lids during the day, then replace at night. Do this over the course of a week to ready them for planting. Outdoors, row tunnels, cloches or horticultural fleece will help to lift the growing temperature enough so that newly planted or direct-sown vegetables can thrive. Lay covers over the ground at least two weeks beforehand to raise soil temperatures in advance and reduce sudden cold shock. Our Garden Planner allows you to draw out a range of season extenders onto your plan. Simply select the desired object, for example a cloche or row cover, from the selection bar. Drop into position on the plan and hold down your mouse to drag it out to the correct size. The object can be resized or rotated as necessary. The accompanying plant list automatically adjusts sowing, planting and harvest dates to reflect the additional protection this offers. It doesn't take much to protect plants from hungry pests. In most cases, starting seedlings under cover will avoid slug and mouse damage. Make it easier to spot and destroy slugs by picking off any dead or yellowed leaves and by keeping the ground between plants free of weeds. Then check regularly after dark or lay beer traps to drown them. If mice become a problem under cover, you may need a few strategically placed humane mouse traps Or talk nicely to the neighbourhood cats. Outside, birds such as pigeons and sparrows can attack young shoots such as cabbages and peas. Don't let them compromise your early start. Set up netting covers if necessary and keep your crops safe. With a little protection from the cold, there's no reason to wait until spring to start sowing. Sneak a head start and you could be enjoying fresh produce weeks in advance. Please share your own experiences of growing super early vegetables by leaving a comment below. And with warmer days ahead, why not subscribe to enjoy more great gardening videos.