Winter gardens are still producing

April is the ideal time to plant a summer garden in Fallbrook, but many gardeners are finding that after the beautiful March rains, they are still busy harvesting vegetables from their winter garden.

With a year-round opportunity to plant and harvest, it is hard to keep up with the bounty, and I always find myself playing catch-up at the end of each season, trying to make space for new plants.

As the weather heats up this month, many of the vegetables that are referred to as "winter" or cool season crops, will start to bolt. Bolting is another way of saying that a vegetable plant has started to flower. It happens in spring when cool-season crops respond to the warmer temperatures and longer days.

Crops that are already bolting in my garden include arugula, dill, cilantro and some lettuces. I can tell that the cabbage, Swiss chard and broccoli are not far behind.

When a vegetable or herb bolts, it is now spending more of its energy growing the flowers and seeds than the leaves or edibles that we enjoy, leaving us with plants that are bitter, tough or peppery.

Not surprising that the Italians refer to arugula as "rocket," I imagine that's because it becomes more peppery as the season heats up.

Mulching or added water can help slow down the process, but as the temperatures reach 70 and the days lengthen the plants know it's time to start producing seeds. My solution – eat up.

The sugar snap peas are still producing in abundance and the cabbages, planted originally for a St. Patrick's Day harvest, can now be offered to friends for coleslaw, Chinese chicken salad or to enhance a fish taco.

The artichokes are also at their peak, producing more edibles daily. And during this time of self-isolation and minimal trips to the market, it is nice to be able to share the abundance with neighbors.

There is still time to plant some summer veggies from seed, but many of our garden supply stores and herb markets have veggies starts for sale.

Starting with small plants can save you a month or more of time waiting for harvest and guarantee 100% sprouting, but varieties are more limited.

When shopping for plants, be safe and keep your distance from others, or offer to split a 6-pack with a friend to minimize the number of shoppers out and about.

Ideal summer plants include watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, all the zucchinis and squashes, beans, every variety of peppers, corn and of course, tomatoes and basil.

With extra hours spent at home, ideal weather and a desire to spend more time outside away from TV news, I can't think of a better way to spend my day then planting next season's garden.