When the soil is too wet

Sometimes the spring garden is too wet to dig, or maybe you don't have a good place to grow greens. Spinach is one of those vegetables that MUST be planted as early as possible. The plants to the right are part of a container kitchen garden right outside the back door.

I've filled pots with lettuce, arugula and spinach for now. As the season warms, I'll add herbs and other vegetables suited for the season.

If spinach is started too late, the plants will bolt, meaning go to seed as soon as the weather gets hot. By getting them planted early, there's plenty of time for the spinach to get big before that happens.

Each container has drainage and is filled with a good organic planting mix. The plants will benefit from being close to the house on cool nights and will grow quickly in the good soft mix.

Growing in containers is one way to get spring greens going early.