Hi PC2, I don't knock myself out getting cole transplants out in my gardens early. It really depends on your climate. With cloudy, cool Springs - even cool-season crops won't grow much here until late May. Leggy root-bound broccoli and such, isn't so great to set out. They grow quickly indoors so with an April 21st last frost date and not much sun and warmth for a month after that, I'm starting them today. Something quick in the genre is dwarf bok choy. I've even moved transplants into the garden under plastic by now but that hasn't worked very well (plastic collapsed under snow and/or heavy frost damaged the plants thru the plastic). Bok choy will give us nice "cabbage" greens by the 1st of May with putting transplants under plastic in early April. My garden soil is so wet right now, I can't cultivate for another couple of weeks. That will certainly be early enuf to plant some spinach & lettuce. I'll let my soil thermometer be my guide. Heck, it takes more than 3 weeks for spinach to germinate at 41°F and more than a week longer for them to emerge. I may as well wait 3 weeks when it will take them only a week to pop up. Peas will go in about that time, or later. The seed from those nice sweet varieties I like to grow, has rotted in the ground rather than germinate with soil temps below 45°. . . . . just depends on your Spring climate & soil temperatures. Steve

I plant oats in mid Sept. for a cover because the seed is very cheap for me, it establishes quickly, it doesn't mind the heat at all and by or before killing frosts it has at least grown to the point I want it to (not quite set seed). For you, I'd broadcast and incorporate the seed heavily now to get a dense, young stand in weeks time, it may or may not get you what you want but give it a try and find out. It took me a few years to get the oat cover system worked out well for my system of planting and growing to full cover with minimal intervention, cost and effort. happy planting.

Depends on what you want to grow as a cover crop and if you can find seed. Personally I would have left the spinach and lettuce in as they make a great cover crop as do turnips, radish, rutabagas, even beets and most any legumes. They can be seeded right on top of the early snow although just before is better. Dave

Cherie, I'm down in Thurston County (Olympia) and I have seeded lawns and cover crops as late as Halloween, but it's pushing the envelope germination-wise. Your raised beds will be a slightly better bet this late than the ground, as the soil will be a bit warmer and better drained. Not that the soil is wet yet! that rain we had early Oct didn't soak in very far. The issues I've had with seeding in Oct are cold temps, and heavy rains in November washing seed away before it's germinated. Not so much of an issue in raised beds. A light mulch of straw or peat moss will help keep seed in place in heavy rains. I've used crimson clover in my raised beds and it worked very well for me. Germinates well, doesn't get big, relatively easy to till in in spring. I used hand tools to chop it in. And I had no weed problems when I used it. But, you'd better get it in ASAP!