We live right on the border between zones 7B and 8A. A mix of the heat of 8A with the frost dates of zone 7B. That summer heat of zone 8A makes growing a cooler spring vegetable garden so appealing! There’s no better time of year to grow quick bolting crops like leafy greens. To celebrate the early growing season, we thought we’d share our favorite spring vegetables to grow in zone 8A. Most of these crops will grow great between zone 6a and 8b – you will just have to adjust accordingly for your frost date.
If you’d like some additional tips for growing vegetables in the spring, be sure to check out our previous posts
- Beginner Spring Garden: Step-by-step Guide
- Spring cleaning the garden
- Four ways to protect garden from frost
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Lettuce
The cooler weather of spring is the perfect time to grow lettuce in zone 8A. The weather is mild enough to prevent it from bolting and the flavor of fresh lettuce after the winter is refreshing. Plus there are so many varieties to choose from including green, speckled, red, head, or cut-and-come again. It can be started a bit earlier indoors and transplanted outside to have several succession plantings to take advantage of the brief cooler weeks early in the growing season.
Planting Advice: Start indoors 3 weeks before your last frost date or direct sow 2 weeks after your last frost date. Plant in full sun or partial shade.
Harvest Tips: Ready to harvest 14 to 21 days after planting (variety dependent). Eat it quickly to enjoy maximum freshness. For multiple harvests, simply pick the outer leaves off to get rapid regrowth.
Favorite Varieties: Panisse, Skyphos, Coastal Star, Forellenschluss
Spinach
While there are some “bolt-resistant” varieties out there, spinach does not tolerate the heat and will bolt sooner rather than later. And as soon as it does, the flavor goes bitter. The good news is spinach is happy to be sown even on frozen ground and will germinate as soon as the soil thaws. To maximize spinach harvest in Zone 8A, be sure to succession plant every 2 weeks over the spring to enjoy this yummy green before the temperatures rise.
Planting Advice: Transplants can be planted 4 weeks before your last frost date.
Harvest Tips: Spinach matures at 40-50 days. Cut off leaves close to the ground when they are your preferred size (baby or mature).
Favorite Varieties: Corvair, Red Kitten or Red Tabby, Bloomsdale
Kale
This leafy green packs a nutritional punch–full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. It can be harvested at the “baby” stage to include in fresh salads or allowed to mature to be sauteed or added to soups and quiches, it’s easy to freeze, and can be dehydrated for delicious chips or homemade-green powder for smoothies. This versatile veggie is definitely one to have in your spring garden.
Planting Advice: Direct sow 3-5 weeks before your last frost date or start them 6-8 weeks before. Space 8-12 inches apart when planting outdoors. Find more kale growing tips here.
Harvest Tips: Add some nitrogen to the soil (i.e. fish emulsion, feather meal, etc.) for a bumper crop.
Favorite Varieties: Red Russian, Siberian, Lacinato, Multi-pack
Chard
This hardy green is one of our favorites spring vegetables to grow as it comes in a rainbow of colors that hold up even after cooking. (Although the red-stemmed variety seems to bolt more quickly.) In our experience, swiss chard is low maintenance and hard to kill, and will grow in poor soil or shade. Forgiving leafy green for those new to spring gardening and will produce well into summer too.
Planting Advice: A week or two before your last frost date, directly plant the seeds outdoors. After the plants are 3-4 inches tall, thin plants to 6 inches apart.
Harvest Tips: Cut the outer leaves first and be careful to not cut the terminal bud in the center.
Favorite Varieties: Fordhook, Bright Lights, Peppermint
Arugula
Noticing a trend here? Leafy greens love the cooler weather of the spring and arugula is no exception. Arugula will add a nice zing and peppery note to your salads and sandwiches. Similar to spinach, it is quick to bolt when the warmer temperatures arrive. Succession planting will help extend the harvest a bit longer.
Planting Advice: Plant seeds at your last frost date and every 2 weeks through the summer for a consistent supply. Keep soil moist during germination and plant densely to help keep the soil moist and cooler as the days warm up into summer.
Harvest Tips: Leaves are ready to harvest in about 3-4 weeks. Simply cut the leaves 2-3 inches from the ground and the plant will rapidly regrow. Once the plant bolts, the arugula flowers are also edible offering a sweet and spicy flavor.
Favorite Varieties: Astro
Snow peas
Snow peas are some of the first non-leafy green veggies to come out of the garden in the spring. They are great raw, steamed, or stir-fried, and even freeze great. As an added bonus, the flowers are also edible and add a gorgeous pop of color to salads or garnish to other dishes.
Planting Advice: Plant 4-6 weeks before your last frost date as they can germinate in soil temperatures as low as 40F. Space about 4” apart and provide a trellis for the vines to climb. To get an early jump on the growing season, start seedlings inside 4 weeks before your last frost date.
Harvest Tips: Snow peas mature 50-70 days after planting and they will need regular picking to encourage more pods to set. Harvest them when the peas inside the pod are not too big.
Favorite Varieties: Sugar Ann, Beauregarde, Golden Sweet
Radishes
One of the classic spring vegetables to grow and they even come in a rainbow of colors. In addition to adding a spicy addition to salads or roasted veggies, you can eat the greens too. We love plants where there is no waste!
Planting Advice: Radish seed can be sown as early as 4 weeks before your last frost date directly outdoors. Space about an inch apart. For more tips on growing radishes, check out this article.
Harvest Tips: Radishes are quick to mature (22-38 days) depending on weather and variety. The longer you let them linger in the soil, the spicer they get. So be sure to harvest early if you want a milder flavor.
Favorite Varieties: Easter Egg, Sora, KN-Bravo
Carrots
Carrots are probably my favorite spring vegetables to grow. Sweet and crunchy! Can’t beat that combo. They also come in an array of colors including purple, white, yellow, and the classic orange. They taste even sweeter when the weather is cool.
Planting Advice: Sow carrot seed about 2-3 weeks before the last frost date in loose soil. Be sure to thin them out to about 2” spacing to allow space for the delicious root to form. For more tips on carrot germination, check out this article.
Harvest Tips: Be sure to stay on top of the weeds, as carrots can easily be choked out. Also, if their shoulders pop out early, cover with some dirt or compost to prevent them from greening.
Favorite Varieties: Bolero, Oxheart, Purple Elite, Gold Nugget
Potatoes
There are so many varieties from starchy to fingerlings. There’s definitely a potato out there for every palette. While you can technically plant potatoes as soon as the ground is thawed, the tender leaves are susceptible to frost damage, so we try to wait a bit closer to our last frost date to plant them.
Planting Advice: Cut up a potato making sure each chunk has a few eyes and then plant in loose soil. Be sure to mound up as needed to keep the tubers underground. For more potato planting tips, check out this article.
Harvest Tips: Be careful to not pierce or cut the potatoes when digging them up as those will spoil and rot more quickly. We personally love digging them up with our hands. So satisfying!
Favorite Varieties: Kennebec, Red Pontiac, Yukon Gold
Hakurei Turnips
Hakurei turnips differ from the purple-topped varieties you may have been familiar with growing up. They are tender and can be eaten raw or cooked. Just like with radishes, the leaves are edible and are great sauteed or shredded up into soups and frittatas. If you have the yellow margined leaf beetle, you may need to cover with an insect blanket to keep the greens healthy.
Planting Advice: Plant transplants 2 weeks before last frost date or direct sow at the last frost date. Seed every 2 weeks for a consistent crop all season long.
Harvest Tips: Hakurei turnips can be harvested at any size – from the size of a quarter to an apple! For salad eating, harvest the plants you thin out. The larger the turnip, the more suited for cooking or roasting.
Favorite Varieties: Hakurei
Hope you found some inspiration on what spring vegetables to grow this coming season! Happy growing!