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As we move toward spring, the question on most gardeners' minds is what to plant when. Two weeks ago, we covered hardy vegetables. This week, we move to semi-hardy vegetables and a few suggestions on how to grow them.
While planting dates are never exact, most semi-hardy vegetables go into the ground starting about two weeks after the hardy vegetables. As a calendar date along the Wasatch front, this translates to sometime around April 1, continuing until May 1. Since that is April Fool's Day, Mother Nature might pull a few tricks, but this time frame is usually an accurate starting point.
Semi-hardy, or half-hardy, vegetables are capable of withstanding a light frost. They can survive temperatures down to 25 degrees F. While temperature predictions are never guaranteed, the probability of a killing frost for these plants is low after April 1 in most valley areas.
While there are a few slight differences in lists, the following vegetables are usually categorized as semi-hardy: carrots, beets, cauliflower, endive, some types of lettuce, parsley, parsnips, potatoes and salsify.
Dividing these into categories, the carrots, beets, parsnips, salsify and potatoes are root crops. Although they have little in common botanically, they are horticulturally related because the parts we harvest and use are underground. The rest of the semi-hardy vegetables are primarily salad, or at least salad-bar, crops.
Carrots are an important vegetable worldwide because they are rich in certain vitamins and minerals. They grow as annuals and originated in the Mediterranean area or from Persia. Modern carrots are selected from large, woody roots originally used as livestock feed or for sugar extraction.
The secret to good carrots is the soil. The extra-long, straight roots you see in the grocery stores grow in peat or sandy soil with little or no interference. Since most of us do not have that kind of soil in our garden, we need to plant the half-long varieties or else we end up with badly distorted roots. Although they taste good, we are disappointed in their appearance.
The other difficulty is that carrots usually become crowded as the growing season progresses. The seeds are small, and we usually plant too many seeds. Mix the seed with about 50 percent sand to help spread the seeds out better. Thinning is essential, so as soon as the seedlings are large enough to grasp, pull some of them out, leaving about 4 inches between each carrot.
Beets are another popular vegetable and are easier than carrots to grow in our heavier soils. Beets are much more tolerant of poor-quality soils and of salt in the water or soil. Much of the Salt Lake Valley once grew sugar beets, and table beets need about the same conditions.
Beets are biennials grown as annuals and are selected from ancient European vegetables. While most gardeners eat the roots, the tops, or beet greens, are a leafy crop that is used much like spinach.
Plant beets and then thin them to about 4 inches apart. The most common problem when growing beets is letting them grow too large. They are then tough and woody with little or no flavor. Since they mature quickly, plant a couple of different plantings in the spring as well as a midsummer for tasty treats this fall.
The parsnip is another biennial grown as an annual. The ancient Greeks and Romans ate these roots, and they are still prized by some gardeners. The roots take several months to grow and mature, so get them in early. Harvest these in the fall after temperatures cool down and the parsnips sweeten up.
If they are not sweet, store them in the refrigerator for a few weeks so sugar will develop. Unlike most other vegetable seeds, parsnip seeds are notoriously short-lived, so plan on buying fresh seed every season.
Salsify is even less common than parsnips. Like the parsnip, it is a biennial grown as an annual, and it is grown for the long taproot. It is one of the longest vegetables from planting until harvest, coming in at 140 days, or close to five months. Its claim to fame is a flavor reminiscent of oysters. It is sometimes called vegetable oyster.
Potatoes may not be the staff of life, but they are close to it. Although they are called Irish potatoes, they are originally from South America. They are the most popular vegetable in terms of amounts consumed. However, many gardeners choose to let others grow them because they take so much space in the garden and they are relatively inexpensive to buy.
My advice to those who are restricted on space is to grow "new potatoes," meaning those that are harvested when they are small and less mature, or grow specialty varieties that are not commonly available in our area.
Main-season potato varieties take about 125 days to mature, so plant them early in the season for best results.
Endive is a salad crop with a cousin known as escarole. Endive has curly leaves and escarole has broad, flat leaves. Specialty restaurants use both as liners for salad bowls and for tossed salads for a more flavorful and chewier salad. They do not tolerate summer heat and bolt if the temperatures are too cool, so they are a bit tricky to grow as a spring crop in northern Utah.
Parsley is a biennial vegetable, or herb, that grows easily in our area. Many gardeners erroneously think that parsley is a perennial and are distressed when it dies after two seasons. Take heart because that is perfectly natural. Plant several plants every year and then remove them as they flower and go to seed.
Enjoy these vegetables in your garden. It makes good sense in an uncertain water season to get things in early and get them grown quickly. That way, if you have water restrictions in your area, you can still get a satisfactory harvest.
Written by: Larry Sagers Horticulture Specialist Utah State University Extension Service
