Canada might not have the longest growing season, but there are some cool weather vegetables you can start planting early in the season to make the most of the growing time you have. Best of all, early spring vegetables are also among the tastiest you can grow. Here are some suggestions for vegetables that can not only withstand but, in many cases, that actually prefer the cooler temperatures and that you can enjoy planting right away.

Lettuce

Fresh lettuce is great in salads and sandwiches, and you can have leaves ready to pick throughout the spring and summer by planting lettuce seeds in early April. The seeds can survive early spring frosts and will grow into ready-to-pick lettuce leaves by mid-May. If you want a continual crop to pick from, simply sow more seeds every few weeks.

Kale

Kale is another hearty leafy green known for being full of nutrients. You can eat the leaves raw or use them in all sorts of recipes. Kale seeds can go in the ground well before the last frost and the plant will grow abundant and edible leaves just a month after planting.

Radish

You can’t beat the flavour of fresh, garden-grown radish, and you can harvest it all spring and summer long by planting very early in the spring. Radish not only withstands colder temperatures, but it needs the cooler soil for better root formation. Once planted, it is ready to harvest in three to five weeks.

Peas

Most pea varieties are tolerant to the cold and can withstand some frosts. They can be planted in early April or even late March if spring comes early where you are. Sugar pod varieties are usually the first to be ready for harvesting, while the others follow over the subsequent weeks.

Potatoes

Hearty potatoes can survive one or two frosts and can be planted as early as April. An early spring planting means that you will already be able to harvest smaller potatoes by June and full-grown potatoes by the middle of summer, depending on your chosen variety.

Cucumber

Cucumber is a refreshing vegetable that you want to have all grown and ready to pick by the time summer arrives. As long as it gets lots of sunlight and fertile soil, cucumber can be planted two weeks after the final frost.

Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, and Brussels Sprouts

Often collectively referred to as “cold crops,” broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts are a closely related family of vegetables that loves the warm days and cool nights of early summer. If you plant them early on in the season, then you will be able to start harvesting around late May or early June.

When you’ve got the right seeds to plant, there’s no need to wait for the temperatures to soar. Once the ground can be worked in the beautiful days of early spring, you can start growing some of your favourite vegetables and enjoy your first harvest before summer even arrives.