What vegetables do I plant early in spring?

This weekend I put my first round of seeds in the ground. You may be wondering how I did that since the ground is still frozen in many places. I use raised beds. The ground at the far end of my garden were the beds were not raised and the ground has more mud were still frozen in some spots. Fortunately, the areas that I "plowed" and mulched in the fall were well completely defrosted. There are a few advantages to planting this early.

Cool weather crops take time.

Succession Planting

First, I can do more succession planting. I enjoy being able to harvest just enough for the week and leaving the rest of my crops in the ground. The sooner I start planting, the fewer seeds I have to put in the ground each time in order to achieve high yields. Second, I want to give my crops that loose quality after summer heat hits them enough time to reach maturity. In Wisconsin we have a rather short "cool" weather period. So, crops like parsnips and broccoli that prefer "cool" weather but need more than a month (unlike radishes) to mature are better off enduring the cold at first than wilting in the heat of June/July. Third, last year my neighbors planted early and they had full heads of lettuce before I even had seedlings. This made me jealous and I am determined to be ahead of the game this year.



Now, what to plant? I planted broccoli, kohlrabi, cilantro, carrots, radishes, parsnips and potatoes. The broccoli, kohlrabi, carrots, radishes, and cilantro were all planted together in rows. I put the potatoes and the parsnips towards the back of the garden. Both of those plants put up tall leafy stalks and will be in the garden for a longer period of time. I put them out of the way where I won't have to disturb them when I'm pulling up the other crops. This way they also won't shade other crops.

The Gist:

• Raised beds allow an earlier start to your gardening season.
• Planting early gives you a longer harvest, even with the risk of loosing some plants to frost.
• Plant tall vegetables out of the way. 

Are you planting this early? What is your earliest crop?