Let's Get Gardening!
By: Master Gardener Virgil Jones

Old timers living in this area of the Ozarks know that spring gardening time begins on Valentine's Day, February 14th. That date is the traditional time to plant garden peas and lettuce, as well as sweet peas. In some years, this has proved to be somewhat early, but since these are cool weather crops, it is best to plant them early in the season. Your chances of success are greater than if you wait until very much later, because in some years the weather warms up too quickly for peas to produce an abundant crop, and the lettuce will turn bitter and go to seed very quickly.

With some of the newer varieties of peas and lettuce, however, they are somewhat more tolerant of warm weather than earlier varieties, so that planting can be delayed until around the first through fifteenth of March.

To grow garden peas and sweet peas successfully, plant them in broad rows about the width of a hoe two inches deep and one inch apart. Peas do not like an acidic soil, and it may be necessary to add some lime so that the pH is about 6.5. Also, peas (as well as beans) are a legume, and it is not necessary to add nitrogen to the soil. In good garden soil that has been manured or composted over the years, and in which any serious deficiency of lime, phosphorus or potash has been corrected, you can grow peas (as well as beans) without putting anything on the soil at all.

Another Ozark tradition is to plant Irish potatoes on March 17th, St. Patrick's Day, and again the reason for doing this is because they need cool weather to produce a good crop of potatoes, but frosts can damage foliage and stop growth. Potatoes thrive in acid-rich soil, and will do best if the pH measures no more than 4.6. In fact, potato scab thrives in alkaline soil and many people dust their seedling potatoes with sulfur just prior to planting to prevent scab.

There are a number of ways potatoes can be planted. Some like to dig furrows a few inches deep, place the eyes about one foot apart, and cover with a few inches of soil. Then, after the plants are well established, start mounding up soil around the plants. Others prefer to bury the potato eyes in several inches of straw or compost, then adding more as the plants grow. This makes for an easier and cleaner harvest.

Growing potatoes in large containers, such as a trash can, is particularly useful if your gardening space is limited--even a sunny patio will do. Fill about a sixth of the container with good garden soil. Plant several seed potatoes, and when plants have grown, but before they flower, put another layer of earth on top. Continue building up layers of earth as the plants appear until they reach about four feet. When the potatoes are ready for harvesting (tops will start dying) simply empty out the container, and you will find you have a surprisingly heavy crop of potatoes.

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There are a number of vegetables, herbs and salad greens that should be planted early in the season because they are considered cool weather plants, and dates to plant the most common herbs and vegetables in this area are included in the following table of spring planting times in the 4-State area:

Unfortunately, most garden centers and nurseries have transplants for sale very early in the season, and if you are not familiar with proper planting time and plant too soon, you will in all probability, have to replant either because of frost or excessive cool weather. It is more prudent to wait until the proper planting time because your plants will thrive and give you a more bountiful harvest.