Get your gardening gloves and shovel out, it’s time for early spring planting!  Our greenhouse is stocked full of onion sets and seed potatoes ready for your garden.  Other cold weather crops will arrive mid-February so keep an eye out for those! Even though it’s cool outside, it’s the perfect time to plant cool weather crops.  New to planting Cole Crops? Check out this article from the Texas AgriLife Extension office on easy gardening for cole crops.

Quick Tips For Planting Onions

Prepare the soil: The soil should be worked to a depth of 8-10″ and should have good drainage and be in full sun.

Fertilize: Spread about 2 pounds of fertilizer (10-10-10 or 10-20-10) over a 100 square foot area and mix into the top 3-4″ of soil.

Plant: Pick out the best developed plants and plant 3/4″ to 1″ deep and 2 to 3 inches apart.

Read more tips for planting spring onions here.

Preparing and Planting Potatoes

When purchasing seed potatoes, look for certified seed potatoes. These are seeding potatoes which have not been treated with growth retardants to prevent sprouting. Conventional potatoes in grocery markets are typically treated with retardants.

After you have planned and prepared a garden spot with well-drained, loose soil, the seed potatoes can be prepped for planting:

Cut each seed potato into quarters (sulfur dust can be applied to the fresh cut ends) and let the potato quarters set out overnight or longer until cut sides callus over. Seed potato quarters are then ready to plant— for a good rule of thumb, potato quarters should be planted 3” to 4” deep and spaced 12” to 15” apart. To provide plants plenty of growing room, make sure rows are spaced 24” to 36” apart.