How to make spring come early

To most gardening folks, spring means two things: bulbs in flower — you know, tulips, daffodils and the like — and, most important, a tease of fresh produce from the garden. My father never had to wait for spring. He grew his own, and judging from the amount of snow still on the ground, this may be the year we all should do the same.

You can't do much about the bulbs this time of year. You should have thought of that last fall, when it was time to pot some up and force them in a cold crawl space. If you did, make sure yours are out in the open now, water them and stand back. If you didn't, you can buy lovely daffodils and tulips from the floral department at the supermarket.

I suppose the same could be said of the tease harvest, as there is plenty of fresh spring stuff in our stores. But if you like your tease to be in the form of greens, now is the time to plant some indoors and bring on your own spring earlier than it's likely to come on its own.

Let's start with my wife's favorite, Eruca sativa, which appears on the menu as arugula. It can be bitter when store-bought but even I like the taste when it is fresh-cut. Sow the seeds and start eating greens when plants are just 3 weeks old. In fact, they will taste best when grown in a very cool environment. If you have any seedlings left, you can try planting them out in the garden. These plants will need hardening off but can take a light frost.

Next, the so-called "Asian" greens: Mizuna, mibuna, tatsoi and other "mustard greens"  are very fast growers, don't mind cool temperatures and can be snipped and harvested as soon as green growth appears if you so desire. Some of the mustards produce large plants but actually taste better as seedlings. Check out the seed rack at your local nursery.

Finally, leaf lettuces can be harvested very young. Stay away from the heading varieties and concentrate on the leaf or "cos" lettuces. There are all manner of these. You will want to keep some of them, as you will the mustards, so that they grow and mature in the summer garden, but the younglings are delicious. In fact, you may have to make a second planting, so keep some of the seeds for that.

You will also find seed mixes of greens, often called "mesclun." These are mixtures of kale, mache, lettuces, beets, chards and mustards. You can grow these indoors too, but you might want to consider making a packet or two the first thing you plant outdoors as soon as you can work the top inch or so of your soil. All of these germinate in cool conditions and can take a light frost or two.

My dad used to go to the local fruit stand and get Styrofoam packing boxes, which he used as flats. You can do the same or just employ the common black plastic growing flats you find wherever pots and soil are sold. None of these greens need deep containers.

They do benefit from great soil. I like to use compost. Naturally, you should go organic too. Greens tend to taste like their chemical fertilizers if you use them, so don't use them. Your compost should have plenty of food for these seedlings.

All of these are easy germinators. This, plus the fact you can eat them, makes greens great seeds to plant with kids. They will learn all manner of lessons from it — not the least of which is how to bring spring on early.

Jeff’s Alaska Garden Calendar

Show your support for AO 2017-59: The Anchorage Assembly will consider an important ordinance to set pesticide-free policies and restrictions for parks, public lands and properties owned by the municipality. The hearing is Tuesday but contact your Assemblyperson today and express strong support. No one should play in parks or playgrounds that have been sprayed. Do it now. To contact all Assembly members — and you should — send an email message using wwmas@muni.org.

Seed starting for the late bloomer: This is an Anchorage Parks and Recreation gardening class, teaching beginners to start seeds indoors. It's Thursday, April 13, 6 -7:30 p.m. at the Selkregg Chalet, 1600 Lidia Selkregg Lane. Cost is $5. To register or for more information on upcoming classes, visit muni.org/active or call 343-6992.

Herbs to start from seed: Sorrel, summer savory, parsley 

Vegetables to start from seed: Head lettuces, cabbage, kale, peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower 

Flowers to start from seed: Dianthus, larkspur, stock, asters, nicotiana, cleome, annual ice plant, zinnia, salpiglossis, snaps, cosmos, lupine, Malva