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When to Plant a Spring Garden (1) Remember that Bt or Spinosad will be your best bet against most beetles and worms that attack spring vegetables. Both are approved for organic gardens. Some of the warmer weather veggies like tomatoes, peppers, okra and eggplant need to be protected from a late freeze. Tomatoes do not like night time temperatures below 50 degrees, but some early varieties like "early girl" will make it without any problems. When the heat really gets going, tomato varieties like Sun Leaper or Floramerica will keep right on producing until it really gets hot in late August. However, your best bet for tomatoes from July through September will always be the small grape varieties or Roma. Although the experts tell us to plant okra in March, I still prefer to listen to the old timers that say to plant after Easter. If you like fresh asparagus and haven't tried it yet, you will be happy to know that it grows very well in our sandy soil and crowns will be available in January from on-line sources. The difference between winter squash and summer squash is the storage capacity and growing habit. Winter squash is usually a vine that needs support and you can store the fruit several months after picking such as during the winter. Winter squash takes 100 days to produce mature fruit and needs warm weather to grow. Summer squash matures quickly and needs to be eaten fairly soon after harvest. It usually grows in a bush or semi-bush form. Summer squash is also more prone to squash bugs, and is best planted before July 4th. Despite its problems, summer is not the same without a side dish of summer squash at dinnertime. The planting dates below are approximate for those of us in Zone 8. Most of the items listed for planting in January are frost tolerant. The items listed for March planting will freeze, so be prepared to protect them if we get a hard late freeze. Even if you buy a 6 pack of cucumbers in early March, you can hold them for a few weeks on a bright porch before planting until the danger of frost is passed. Our average last frost date is March 25. Irish Potatoes can be planted as early as January 15, but a late frost may damage the tops. Most folks wait until the middle of February to plant potatoes. For planting January 8-February 15: Asparagus Crowns, beets (seed), broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots (seed), Swiss chard (plants or seed,) collards, kohlrabi, lettuce, English peas, Irish potatoes, radish (seed,) turnip (seed.) For planting March 1-March 29: Beans-pole and bush, Corn (seed,) cucumber, eggplant, cantaloupe, mustard (seed,) okra, Southern peas, peppers, pumpkins, squash, tomatoes, watermelon. The secret to success is a rich garden soil with lots of organic matter. Mulch is becoming more and more important as we struggle through this drought. Tomatoes like consistent moisture so think about drip irrigation this year to time your water applications and to conserve water. Get your soil tested now by calling your local county extension office and adding what your soil lacks. Don't use the instant green fertilizers. They will make the plant have lots of great top growth, but there won't be any roots to provide water to all that green growth during the hot weather. The instant fertilizers are particularly damaging to okra, southern peas, watermelon and cantaloupe.
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If you've already harvested many of the cool season veggies you planted in the fall, don't despair-the spring gardening season is upon us. 
