Cool Weather Spring Vegetable Containers

By Dawn Sherwood

Planting up a few containers of frost-tolerant or hardy vegetables can be an easy way to bring some early season color and fresh produce to your doorstep. Spring is the perfect time enjoy spring vegetable containers featuring plants that thrive in cooler temperatures.

Mixing vegetables that mature from both above and below the soil, such as lettuce and carrots, will give maximum yield in minimum space. Also selecting plants with contrasting leaf color or textures will add value to your veggie planters as balcony or backdoor decor.

A few large pots and a good potting mix is all you need to get started with creating a spring full of color, texture and flavor – even in small spaces.

How to Grow Spring Vegetable Containers

Growing vegetables in containers is quite simple but a few directions should be followed to achieve the most successful harvests. Here are a few things to consider when you’re putting together your spring vegetable containers:

• Plant the appropriate vegetables. Early in the growing season you want to be sure to choose varieties that can handle chilly temperatures or even the chance of an early spring frost.
• Provide a location that gets six or more hours of sun. Because pots are portable, you can create your “garden” on a patio, deck, balcony, or even in a garden bed or border in between plants that may not have emerged yet.
• Be sure to plant in containers with drainage holes and use a high-quality potting mix. Many garden centers have bagged potting soil designed for growing vegetables.
• Keep your spring vegetable containers well-watered until young plants are well-established. If you experience a wet spring and your containers are in a position to get naturally watered, you may not need to water very much. You don’t want the soil to get soggy.
• You can start your vegetables from seed or with transplants purchased from your local garden center.
• To take the best advantage of a short growing season, before hot weather sets in, look for varieties that are either dwarf, or that require the least number of days to maturity before they can be harvested.

Frost Tolerant Vegetables for Growing in Containers

Veggies that are considered frost-tolerant can tolerate light frosts (29° to 32°F/-1.7° to 0°C). The following are some good choices for container growing. Planting them in containers gives you that added advantage of easily being able to drape a protective sheet over them if temperatures occasionally get too low, thus sparing them from damage. Plants growing in containers don’t have the benefit of the ground providing warmth or insulation so they’re more vulnerable to their roots freezing.

Chinese Cabbage (Brassica rapa)

Chinese cabbages are a staple for creating traditional Asian cuisine. These cabbages have their origins in China and include two main types; Napa and Pak Choi (or Bok Choy). The Napa varieties form compact, elongated heads with tender, crinkly-textured leaves. Pak Choi types have a loose form with large leaves and thick, succulent leaf stems.

Leaf Lettuce (Lactuca sativa)

Leaf lettuce is an ideal vegetable for beginning gardeners or small space gardens because it can be planted around other vegetable plants and also does well in containers. Plant new crops about every two weeks to enjoy fresh lettuce throughout the growing season. Add leaves to salads, sandwiches or use as a garnish.

Endive (Cichorium endivia)

Endive produces rich green leaves with a very firm texture. Often mistakenly called Escarole, which has larger, smooth leaves. The flavor is tangy and mildly bitter and great for adding a new dimension to traditional lettuce salads, especially when balanced with a sweet dressing.

Radicchio (Cichorium intybus)

Use radicchio to add rich color and a pleasant hint of bitterness to any dish, or savor it alone, fresh or cooked, with just a light dressing. The tiny heads resemble miniature read cabbages, although it is not related. The tangy leaves are delicious and attractive in salads or on sandwiches. Makes a lovely garnish.

Green Onion, Welsh Onion ‘Green Bunching’ (Allium fistulosum)

Very popular cooking onion with a mild flavor, also known as scallions. The tubular foliage and narrow bulbs are both useful either sliced or prepared as a garnish using the entire stalk. This is known as a “bunching onion” because the bulbs form a clump.

Carrot (Daucus carota)

Carrots are fun and easy to grow and they don’t require a lot of garden space. They are available in a variety of colors and shapes beyond the traditional long, orange roots most often sold commercially. Different varieties offer different advantages in terms of harvest time, adaptability to soil types, and disease resistance.

Swiss Chard ‘Bright Lights’ (Beta vulgaris)

Swiss chard stems are produced in a rainbow of brilliant colors! Both leaves and stems have mild, tender flavor. Swiss chard can be used to brighten up salads and other dishes. It’s rich in antioxidants and high in vitamins. Young leaves can be harvested and served in salads. Older leaves can be chopped and sautéed. Often grown as an ornamental annual planted among flowering plants.

Beets (Beta vulgaris)

Beets have been a staple in the human diet for thousands of years. The wild ancestor to today’s beets grows in the regions near the Mediterranean Coast and references to beets have been found in ancient Greek and Mesopotamian writings. All parts of the beet plant are edible and highly nutritious. They are delicious baked or boiled. Greens can be eaten fresh when young. Older greens can be cooked similar to spinach.

Pak Choi (Brassica hybrid)

The wonderful crisp texture and mellow flavor of Pak Choi is a standard ingredient in many Asian dishes. Pak Choi enjoys cooler temperatures and can be planted early in spring and again in late summer for a fall crop. Delicious when lightly steamed or sautéed for stir-fry. Superb for adding flavor to soups, stews and casseroles.

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Hardy Vegetables for Growing in Containers

Vegetables in the hardy category can usually survive hard frosts (25° to 28°F/ (-3.9° to -2.2°C). While it’s unlikely these would be damaged by frosts, sometimes wind chill can be a factor in subjecting plants to lower temperatures than the actual air temperature. Here again, if you are concerned that your plants may suffer in a hard freeze, you should cover them until temperatures warm back up to tolerable levels.

Garden Pea, English Pea (Pisum sativum)

Garden pea, also known as English pea, is a cool season, annual vine that has been cultivated for thousands of years for its nutritious, sweet seeds (peas). Peas can be harvested and removed from their shells when nearly ripe for eating fresh, cooked, or frozen for later use. Pea pods may also be left on the vine to mature and dry for storage.

Parsnip ‘Harris Model’ (Pastinaca sativa)

One of the finest parsnips available, ‘Harris Model’ produces uniform roots with smooth texture and sweet, nutty flavor. Instead of harvesting and storing for the winter, parsnips can be left in the ground and pulled as needed. Incredibly versatile, parsnips are great boiled, fried, sautéed, used in soups, stews, casseroles, and even mashed.

Turnip (Brassica rapa)

Turnips are a multipurpose vegetable with edible leaves that can be steamed or sautéed and tender roots that have a sweet flavor. Turnips are delicious boiled, roasted, sautéed, used in soups, stews, casseroles, and even mashed. The greens can be steamed, boiled, sautéed or stir-fried.

Radish (Raphanus sativus)

Radishes are one of the oldest cultivated plants on earth. Radishes are easy to grow, very nutritious, they’re available in a variety of colors with subtly different flavors, and best of all they grow super-fast. A fun selection for a child’s garden! Eat fresh for a delicious and nutritious snack. Wonderful whole or sliced for slaws and salads. Serve with dip on a vegetable tray.

Collards (Brassica oleracea)

Collards are a close relative to Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and cabbage. The leaves offer the best flavor and nutrition when grown during the cool season; in early spring or in the fall. The foliage is so attractive that plants could be grown among a flower garden if space is not available for a vegetable patch. Cook like spinach. Cooked collards can be frozen for later use.

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea)

Spinach is a tasty and very nutritious leafy green that can be grown spring, fall or winter if temperatures stay between 40 to 75°F (4 to 24°C). Once leaves are 3″(8cm) long, begin harvesting outer leaves and allow inner ones to mature for later harvest. Add leaves to salads, sandwiches or use as a garnish. Superb for adding flavor to casseroles and dips.

Kale (Brassica oleracea)

Kale provides a steady supply of nutritious, leafy greens over a long season. Harvesting fresh, outer leaves will encourage continuous growth. Snap or cut each leaf off where it meets the stem to help keep the plant healthy. High in vitamins A, C and K among other nutrients. Delicious when lightly steamed or boiled. Superb for adding flavor to soups, stews and casseroles.

Brussels Sprouts (Brassica oleracea)

Brussels sprouts produce mild tasting, “miniature cabbages” in autumn. The sprouts offer the best flavor and nutrition when grown during the cool season. A light frost increases their sweetness. Delicious when lightly steamed or roasted. An excellent source of vitamins and minerals.

Broccoli (Brassica hybrid)

Broccoli is an excellent source of vitamins A and C! Plants produce flavorful dark green heads densely packed with florets on thick stems. Cut the head down to smaller florets to make preparation easier. A must for every vegetable garden! Delicious when lightly steamed and covered with cheese sauce or melted butter. Slice raw into salads or cook. Serve with dip on a vegetable tray.

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More Ways to Grow Vegetables in Cool Weather

Some vegetables actually improve in flavor and texture after a couple of hard freezes. Popular vegetables such as horseradish, kale, Brussels sprouts, and parsnips are more flavorful after being subjected to several freezes.

Lower temperatures trigger plant cells to convert starches to sugars. Sugar water doesn’t freeze as fast as water so that allows a plant to withstand colder temperatures longer. However, inevitably, it will get too cold for just about any plant that doesn’t go dormant. Temperatures below 25°F (-3.9°C) are generally considered to be damaging to most vegetable plants.

Cold frames are an excellent way to extend the growing season in regions with freezing winters or just to get the earliest start possible each growing season. Learn more about the construction and use of cold frames in our article, Extend the Growing Season with a Cold Frame.