Spring Vegetable Garden
Designs and Planting Guide

Getting ready to tend a spring vegetable garden bed with young seedlingsSpring Vegetable Garden Tips

Looking for spring vegetable garden plans and planting tips?

Wondering which vegetables to plant first?

Use our planting guide and zone chart to figure out exactly when to plant your spring garden.

Free Printable Spring Vegetable Gardening Checklist

Spring vegetable gardening checklist showing seven steps: starting seeds indoors, preparing garden beds, testing soil, direct-sowing cold-hardy crops, hardening off seedlings, transplanting, and setting up plant supportsFree printable spring vegetable gardening checklist. Click image to download and print this worksheet.

After a quiet winter, spring is where everything starts moving again.

Beds need preparing, seeds need starting, and timing matters more now than at any other point in the year.

Print this checklist and work through it step by step as the season gets underway.

It helps to get the timing right, as many vegetable plants won't survive freezing temperatures.

Our vegetable garden planner will help you have a plan that will work whether you are planning a backyard row garden, container garden, or raised bed garden.

When the weather finally starts getting warmer after a long winter and spring is surely on its way, it is time to plant your spring vegetable garden.

Spring? Actually the name can be a bit misleading.

Vegetables that are best-suited for the spring growing season are often planted as early as February depending on your zone.

Vegetable Garden Planner tool header graphicSpring is the perfect time to use our free interactive Garden Planner to plan you vegetable garden layout!

Spring is just one chapter in the year-round story of the vegetable garden. This page is part of our Seasonal Vegetable Garden hub, where you will find complete guides to spring, summer, fall, and winter gardening, along with cold frame growing, cold-hardy vegetables, and the timing tools you need to plan a productive garden throughout the year.

Seasonal Vegetable Garden — complete hub for spring, summer, fall, and winter vegetable gardening guides

USDA Zone Finder tool header graphicDon't know your planting zone? Use our free interactive Zone Finder to locate your planting zone, and planting information for that zone.

Most Popular Spring Vegetables

Spring vegetable planting chart with planting time, days to harvest, and growing notes for beets, broccoli, carrots, garden peas, onions, lettuce, potatoes, spinach, radishes, turnips, and cabbageSpring vegetables graphic; click image to download.

Knowing what to plant isn't always the hard part — knowing when is.

This spring planting chart covers eleven of the most reliable cool-weather crops, from quick radishes ready in three weeks to slower-growing onions and cabbage that take a couple months.

Each entry shows planting time, days to harvest, and a quick tip, so you can see at a glance what belongs in the ground first.

The most popular spring vegetable garden plants include beets, broccoli, carrots, garden peas, onions, lettuce, potatoes, spinach, radishes, turnips, and cabbage.

Spring vegetable planting chart with planting time, days to harvest, and growing notes for beets, broccoli, carrots, garden peas, onions, lettuce, potatoes, spinach, radishes, turnips, and cabbageSpring vegetable garden planting chart.

Plan Your Spring Vegetable Garden Ahead!

planning a spring vegetable gardenPlanning a Spring Vegetable Garden

The most important thing you can do before planting is plan ahead. Gardens are not hard to start or maintain. Good planning just makes everything easier!

Start by deciding which vegetables you want to grow. Most spring vegetables are low-maintenance. The simplest approach is to choose your family's favorites first.

Don't get too ambitious right away. Many first-time gardeners build a garden too large to keep up with. They lose interest, and the garden gets away from them. Start small. Expand next season if it goes well.

Space matters too. Think about how much room you actually have before you plan what to plant. Always follow the planting instructions on your seed packets. Each variety has its own exact spacing and depth.

Colorful vegetable seed packets ready to inspire spring garden plantingWhen spring comes around, our thoughts turn to colorful seed packets and a beautiful vegetable garden; we forget the work involved in planting and tending our garden!

How to Plant a Spring
Backyard Row Garden

Young beet plants growing in a spring garden bedBeets Can Be Planted in Spring

Choose a spot with good sunlight and mark it off. Remove the grass with a garden fork, a spade, or a tiller if you have one. Work the soil eight to ten inches deep.

Add compost, well-aged manure, or straw mulch to the topsoil. Compost aerates the soil and adds nutrients. Mulch holds in moisture and keeps weeds down. Both are worth the trip to your local garden center.

Once your bed is ready, plant your seeds following the seed packet instructions. Cover the rows with soil, then water gently. A strong stream of water can wash tiny seeds right out of their rows.

From here, most of the hard work is done. Keep the garden watered during dry spells, and stay ahead of the weeds.

Pea plants growing along a trellis in cool spring weatherPeas Love Cool Spring Weather
Companion planting guide graphic showing vegetable pairingsUse our vegetable garden Companion Planting Guide to determine which vegetables grow best next to each other.

Spring Vegetable Garden Tips

Gardener turning garden soil with a pitchfork in early springSpring is a Good Time to Plant Early Vegetables

Many experienced gardeners cut the bottoms off plastic milk jugs and place them over young plants. This keeps cutworms away and helps warm the soil early in spring. It also protects tender plants from a late, unexpected frost. Remove the jugs once the weather warms and let your plants grow in the open.

If your plants seem slow to grow, check your soil pH. Too high or too low, and growth suffers. A small application of garden lime usually corrects the imbalance.

If your soil isn't especially fertile, a liquid fish fertilizer every two to three weeks can help.

Growing a spring vegetable garden is a great way to get outside after a long winter. Every season teaches you something new, and you'll be rewarded with fresh, homegrown vegetables for your family to enjoy.

So start planning, and enjoy your garden!

Spring salad greens growing together in a vegetable garden bedSpring Vegetable Salad Garden


If your soil is not especially fertile, it can help to add liquid fish fertilizer at 2-3 week intervals throughout the growing season.

Growing a spring vegetable garden is a great way to get out and enjoy mother nature after a long winter!

Each spring garden will be a learning experience.

You will also harvest fresh tasty vegetables for your family to enjoy.

So start planning, and enjoy your garden!

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For a clear guide to which vegetables belong in the cool spring season and which need summer warmth — including lists of hardy, semi-hardy, tender, and warm-season crops — Bonnie Plants at bonnieplants.com has an excellent seasonal planting reference that is useful alongside this spring vegetable garden guide.

Bonnie Plants — Which Vegetables for Which Season — clear guide to cool-season spring crops vs. warm-season summer crops with planting temperature ranges