SpringEverything begins, but not too fast
The Belgian spring is a promise you have to know how to wait for. March wakes the soil, April warms it in fits and starts, May confirms it after the Ice Saints (mid-May frosts). It is the season when you sow the most, when pots line up on the windowsills, and when you learn patience: a week’s delay is better than a night of frost on tomatoes put out too soon. The vegetable garden slowly fills with tender greens, and the first harvests of radishes and lettuce remind you why you put your hands in the soil.
The priorities for the season
- Prepare the soil without digging it over: loosen with a broadfork, mulch whatever is waiting.
- Sow the sun-loving vegetables under cover and the hardy ones outdoors.
- Watch for late frosts and keep fleece and cloches within reach.
- Plant potatoes, onions and salads, then everything else after mid-May.
In the vegetable garden and orchard
What happens in spring
We’re sowing
- Tomato
- Courgette
- Cucumber
- Sweet pepper
- Aubergine
- French bean (dwarf bean)
- Garden pea
- Broad bean
- Carrot
- Beetroot
- Radish
- Turnip
- Parsnip
- Onion
- Leek
- Lettuce
- Spinach
- Rocket
- Cauliflower
- Cabbage
- Brussels sprouts
- Kale
- Broccoli
- Chicory (witloof)
- Celeriac
- Florence fennel
- Winter squash and pumpkins
- Swiss chard
- Rhubarb
- Basil
- Parsley
- Chives
- Thyme
- Mint
- Coriander
- Dill
- Melon
Let's plant
- Tomato
- Courgette
- Cucumber
- Sweet pepper
- Aubergine
- Garden pea
- Potato
- Beetroot
- Onion
- Garlic
- Shallot
- Leek
- Lettuce
- Cauliflower
- Cabbage
- Brussels sprouts
- Kale
- Broccoli
- Celeriac
- Florence fennel
- Winter squash and pumpkins
- Swiss chard
- Rhubarb
- Basil
- Parsley
- Chives
- Thyme
- Mint
- Strawberry
- Raspberry
- Redcurrant
- Blackcurrant
- Blueberry
- Blackberry
- Apple
- Pear
- Plum
- Cherry
- Grape
- Kiwi
- Fig
- Melon
- Hazelnut
- Quince
On the plate
Eating seasonal food
Spring in the kitchen means the return of green and crunch: radishes dipped in salt, lamb’s lettuce and young spinach, asparagus and rhubarb in May, then the first strawberries. Eat light, raw or barely cooked, with fresh herbs picked just before serving.
Living well
Step outside as soon as a ray of sun breaks through, even for ten minutes, and look at what has come up since yesterday. Spring is lived in short daily visits rather than long days: that is the rhythm the garden sets, and it does you good.