What to plant in April: zone 3a

Patch row cover, cold frames and hoops now so a late freeze can't catch you unprepared.

Chit potatoes in a bright, cool spot for 2 weeks. Sprouted pieces jump ahead once planted.

8 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (05-30). Soak seeds 24 hrs before sowing. Cut outer stems and it comes back for years in mild zones.

8 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (05-30). Divide the clump every 3 years: one plant becomes six with no effort.

8 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (05-30). Sow thickly in a band and harvest by pulling every other plant: the rest fill in the gap.

8 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (05-30). Grows 4-6 ft tall once established; give it the back of the bed and divide the crown every few years to keep it productive.

8 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (05-30). Fence it off if cats roam the neighborhood: they'll flatten the plant and any seedlings around it rolling in the scent.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (05-30). Bury 2/3 of the transplant stem. Roots form along the buried stem for a stronger plant.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (05-30). Fall crop sweetens after first frost. Plan a July sowing for the best flavor.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (05-30). After cutting the main head, side shoots keep coming for weeks: don't pull the plant.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (05-30). Pinch flower spikes the moment you see them: leaves stay sweet all season.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (05-30). Firm heads need steady water and steady nitrogen. Once a head feels solid, cut it: leaving it in summer heat splits it open overnight.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (05-30). Cauliflower is the fussiest brassica: any check in water or nitrogen makes it button into a tiny head. Blanch white types by tying outer leaves over the curd.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (05-30). This is a fall crop: frost is what turns the sprouts sweet. Around 4 weeks before harvest, top the growing tip so the plant pushes size into the sprouts.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (05-30). Harvest the swollen stem at tennis-ball size, no bigger: past that it turns woody and fibrous fast.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (05-30). It's slower and fussier than cauliflower; give it the longest cool-weather window you can, spring or fall, not summer.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (05-30). Cool fall weather brings out its best deep red color and mellows bitterness; grow it as a fall crop where possible.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (05-30). Snip flower stalks as they appear to keep leaves tender; the lemony tang fades if the plant is allowed to bolt.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (05-30). Harvest just before flowering for the best flavor, then shear the whole plant back for a second flush.

6 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (05-30). Pick flowers at midday once fully open, on a dry day, for the strongest tea; it dries quickly on a screen out of direct sun.

5 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (05-30). The most forgiving green in the garden. Harvest bottom leaves upward and it produces for months. Leaves picked after a frost are noticeably sweeter.

5 weeks of indoor growth before your last frost (05-30). Grow it as a fall crop where possible: napa bolts in spring heat but forms a tight, sweet head in cooling fall days.

Soil is ready -8 weeks before last frost.

Soil is ready -6 weeks before last frost.

Soil is ready -6 weeks before last frost.

Soil is ready -6 weeks before last frost.

Soil is ready -6 weeks before last frost.

Soil is ready -5 weeks before last frost.

Goes out 6 weeks before last frost. It takes the cold.

Goes out 6 weeks before last frost. It takes the cold.

Goes out 6 weeks before last frost. It takes the cold.

Goes out 6 weeks before last frost. It takes the cold.

Turn in compost, cut down cover crops, and let the soil warm two weeks before the first sowing.