15 Fruits And Vegetables You Can Start Growing In Late Winter - Tasting Table

"Late winter is when keen gardeners can get a little restless. The weather is still cold, and spring still feels far away. Thankfully, you don't need to wait until the weather warms to start your growing season. There are plenty of fruits and vegetables that can be started in the late winter, ready for a bountiful harvest in the coming months. Each of these plants needs unique care in order to thrive, but thankfully, I can guide you through exactly the right steps."

"Tomatoes are a warm-season crop, meaning they need a long growing season. If you start them outside in spring, you'll most likely have to wait until late summer to get a harvest. It's easy to make mistakes when growing tomatoes, but sowing them indoors gives them a great head start. You want to do this around two months before your last frost. The perfect environment is a heated greenhouse with grow lights, but this isn't feasible for everyone. That's where a sunny windowsill can help."

Late winter offers an opportunity to start many fruits and vegetables indoors so the growing season begins earlier despite cold outdoor weather. Minimal equipment such as a sunny windowsill, a propagator box with a lid, and an inexpensive grow bulb can produce excellent results. Warm-season crops like tomatoes benefit from indoor sowing about two months before the last frost to avoid a late-summer-only harvest. Tomato seeds should be sown just below the soil surface in loose, moist mix and provided high light to prevent leggy seedlings. A humid environment during germination and gradual acclimation to outdoor conditions before transplanting improve success.

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