SOME SEEDS like tomatoes and peppers must be started inside in March but the real value (savings) to be gained from vegetable gardening is from crops that we seed directly in the garden. I have to say that there really isn’t anything at all difficult about starting seeds directly in the garden...much easier than starting seeds indoors in winter. Lettuce and all the other greens like chard and spinach are good examples. Radishes are also very rewarding since you can sow a row every two weeks and they grow and mature in less than a month.
Go to the garden center and pick up the “Vegetable Schedule.” It is a wonderful resource for the beginning gardener showing when the different plants and seeds should be planted. You can get one at any Hewitt’s.
Let’s take a look at beans. According to the vegetable schedule you can start sowing them in early May or anytime through the third week of July. As you can see, there’s plenty of time to start a crop or two of beans. Now let’s take a look at a bean seed pack. The back of the seed pack has complete growing instructions. Following the instructions, make a little trench two inches deep as per the instructions and placed the seeds at the bottom. Then cover them with two inches of soil and water them in. Now you just need to keep them moist and they’ll sprout in a week or less. Once they sprout, you’ll need to thin them out by removing any that were closer together than six inch spacing the seed pack indicated they need. It is tempting to let them all go but you’ll get better results if the plants are spaced so they get lots of light and air circulation.
That’s pretty much it. All seeds work the same way...corn, beets, radishes and so on. Learn to use your Vegetable Schedule to time your plantings. Once you go through a season, you’ll see that it is possible to get a great deal of food from even a small plot.
“It’s too late to start a vegetable garden” is also something beginners like to believe...that they’ve missed the opportunity to have a vegetable garden once Memorial Day has passed. If you spend some time with the vegetable schedule you’ll soon see that vegetables aren’t something that you “plant in the spring and harvest in the fall.” There is a huge planting season that won’t even start until late June and into July.
Here’s a list of just some of our summer sowing possibilities:
• Basil - Sow seeds late June through late July.
• Beans - Sow seeds of quick varieties until third week of July.
• Broccoli - Sow seeds until mid-July.
• Brussels Sprouts - Sow seeds until mid-July.
• Cabbage - Plant transplants through mid-July.
• Carrots - Sow seeds through mid-July.
• Collards - Plant transplants until August 1.
• Dill - Sow seeds late July to early August.
• Escarole, endive - Sow seeds early July through August.
• Kale - Sow seeds through first week of August.
• Kohlrabi - Sow seeds through first week of August.
• Lettuce - Sow in groups two weeks through September 1.
• Mustard - Sow seeds mid-July to mid-August.
• Parsley - Sow seeds mid-June through mid-August.
• Peas - Sow seeds in early to mid-July.
• Radish - Sow seeds until early September at two week intervals.
• Spinach - Sow seeds late July to early August.
• Summer squash - Sow seeds until mid-July.
• Turnip - Sow seeds late June to early August.
Seed packs are cheap so play around with them. There are plenty at the garden center so take some time to read the backs. Pay attention to the “days to harvest” information. As of now we have at least 100 days left until frost. You can have a crop of beans in harvest in 50 to 60 days or radishes in less than 30! Many crops like Brussels Sprouts and Swiss Chard aren’t bothered by frost and can be harvested into October most years.
There’s something quite rewarding about starting your crops from seed right in the garden. Try it out...you’ll be hooked in no time.
THANKS FOR THE READ!
