The garden season does not start in April. It starts now - or at least it should. And with a raised bed, you can really be one step ahead.
Why start sowing earlier in a raised bed?
The substrate in the bed is above ground - the sun warms it from all sides. While in a traditional in-ground bed you wait for the temperature to warm up, in a raised bed the soil temperature can reach the optimum 8-10 °C 2-3 weeks earlier. This is crucial for cold-loving crops like carrots and parsley.
What to hit first:
🥕 Carrots - Tolerates even light frosts, germinates from 8 °C. Ideal for raised beds: deep substrate without stones = straight, beautiful roots. Sowing: from mid-March.
🌿 Parsley - notoriously slow germination (3-4 weeks), so the sooner the better. Soak the seeds overnight in lukewarm water - this will speed up germination by a week. Sowing: from the beginning of March.
🥗 Salad and spinach - Cold weather doesn't bother them, but heat does. Sow directly into the bed from mid-March onwards; in summer they are replaced by tomatoes or cucumbers.
🌱 Radishes - the quickest reward for a gardener: harvest in 3-4 weeks. A great test to see if the bed is ready.
Tip for the start of the season: Cover the bed with agrotextile or foil 1-2 weeks before sowing. This will preheat the soil and also drive out some of the overwintering weed seeds that will not germinate in your bed.
The garden season does not start when it is warm. It starts when you're ready.
