On garden planning

I wish I learned years ago when starting a garden to make your beds a uniform size, so you can use the same row covers, trellis, hoops, or whatever additions to your beds. It is so much easier when they’re all the same size. 

In our climate, it is advantageous to grow on upright trellises. Because we have so many problems with mold and rot after August, anything lying on the ground or crowded is prone to mold. 

Growing them up on a trellis helps with this problem. My favorite trellis is the 6-inch, square fencing panels some people call hog wire. This works for pole beans, cucumbers, peas and nasturtiums . I’ve even seen some varieties of squash growing vertically. Old fishing nets work for trellising, but it moves more than I like. 

Seed starting & early plant care

Many of you have seedlings growing now. Make sure they stay watered, but don’t pamper them too much. Tougher seedlings make stronger plants. Use a gentle blowing fan on them for a few hours each day to strengthen their stems. If you have the option, growing them in cooler temperatures will make transplant shock less. Many seeds need warmth to sprout, but they like growing in cooler temperatures. 

I have recently started planting my onion transplants into small soil blocks or into small plastic cells. Put the transplants or sets into dirt, and get those roots starting to grow. After three weeks or so, you can put them outside and they will already have their roots established and will start growing immediately, giving them a longer growing season to produce a bigger bulb of onion.  The more onion leaves you have, the bigger your onion will grow. 

Transplanting & self-seeding strategies

Several plants will come from each beet seed you plant. With enough room, those beets will grow beautifully left  in a clump close to each other. 

However, if you like a neat orderly garden with rows, you can transplant those little baby plants growing very close to each other into whatever place you want them. 

Don’t try this with carrots, as they do not transplant well. 

If you are a self-identified lazy gardener, you may want to use plants that like to self-seed. Many, especially flowers, include calendula, alyssum, pansies, yarrows, kale and arugula, too. 

Let the seeds fall on the soil in the fall season. Once the baby plant is growing in the spring, you can dig it out and transplant to where you want it to grow. For some this is easier than starting the plants inside. 

Crop specific growing tips

Brussels sprouts

Do your Brussels sprouts only produce leaves and not sprouts? Try starting them earlier, like in early March, before your other brassicas. Brussels sprouts need a longer growing season than other brassicas such as broccoli and cauliflower. 

Fava Beans

I am learning that fava beans are one of the most reliable beans you can grow here. They tolerate our cold climate very well. If you have not tried eating fresh fava beans, I suggest you do. I have found planting them in my 4-foot wide beds intensely 3-4 inches apart in rows 10-12 inches apart works well. However, they need support, or they will fall over once they get 4-5 feet tall. 

After planting, place a panel of the 6-by-6” hardware wire horizontally over the bed on stakes about 2 feet above the surface. Make it solidly stable with stakes/posts. The fava beans will grow through this fencing, which will give the plants the support they need. The beans are ready when the pods start to show the shape of beans inside by looking lumpy. They freeze beautifully. 

Spinach

If you have problems growing spinach here, don’t be discouraged. In 30 years, I have only once been successful growing a good spinach crop any time other than April and May. This plant responds to the light we have here. It seems that we should be able to get a fall crop when our light wanes again, but in my garden, I can’t seem to make that happen. Keep trying in those early-season months because spinach likes coolness.

Zucchini

My greenhouse space is prime real estate, so I grow my zucchinis outside and have almost always had great success with them when I cover the ground with clear plastic. This seems to give roots enough heat to be consistently successful. Now, if we have a lot of rain or windy conditions when the pollinators are out, you may get pointy-looking squash because of poor pollination. A solution to this problem is to help them pollinate by rubbing the pollen from the male flower onto the female flowers every few days. 

Happy gardening! Remember, you can put extra produce you have this summer into the freezer to save money and eat year-round from your garden.