Welcome to our Growing Tips Page!

Tomato plants will need to be trellised as they grow. This keeps the plant off of the ground, which makes it less susceptible to disease, rot, and pests. You will also need to trim suckers off the plant as they grow, or else your plant will grow out of control and fruit production will be limited.  Suckers are the small (at first) stems that grow out of the V-Shaped notches that are formed as vines grow off of the main growing stems. If left tot their own devises, suckers become main growing stems – you should limit each plant to 2 or 3 main growing stems for best results.

BRONZE FENNEL

CONTAINER GARDENING: no
SUN: full sun

Bronze fennel is easy to grow –so easy, in fact, that it is considered a weed along the west coast where it grows along highways. This plant grows a very long tap root, so it does not do well in containers – it does best in well tilled soil where the root can grow down unobstructed.  Because the long tap root can pull water from well below the surface of the soil, Bronze fennel can survive periods of drought and neglect (perfect for those of us who travel during the summer!)

Bronze fennel is grown for its fronds, not its small bulb.  As your fennel grows it will get quite tall – eventually reaching five or six feet! Cut the sweet feathery fronds as you need them (they are great tossed into salads). Eventually the plant will produce beautiful yellow umbels – the flowers and then the seeds that follow taste as sweet as candy and can also be tossed into salads. Bronze fennel self-seeds quite well, so you will find volunteer plants popping up year after year. If you don’t want your plant to spread, cut the flowers before they go to seed (they are also beautiful in floral arrangements).

BASIL

Genovese, Aroma, Thai, Lime

CONTAINER GARDENING: yes

SUN: Full Sun

Plant basil plants 6-12 inches apart once they have developed 2 or 3 sets of true leaves, after any threat of frost has passed (basil is extremely susceptible to cold!). Keep basil well watered.

Once your plant is about a foot tall, you can begin pinching off the top set of leaves from each stem –this encourages bushier growth and will result in a more productive plant.  Once your plant is bushy, harvest by pinching off the top set of leaves as needed. As the days heat up, your basil plant will begin to produce edible flowers – you can use them in the kitchen or not, but it is important to clip flowers as they form so that your plant keeps producing leaves (instead of putting all energy into producing seeds).

CILANTRO

CONTAINER GARDENING: yes

SUN: partial shade (shaded during the hottest part of the day) to full sun

Plant your cilantro seedlings close together –about 3-4 inches apart. This ensures that the foliage will shade the ground, helping to keep the soil cool – hot soil causes cilantro to bolt quickly. Harvest as needed – if you clip the entire plant, it will regenerate once or twice. If your cilantro does go to seed, the green cilantro “berries” are quite delicious, and the dried seeds (coriander) can be used in cooking. Every part of a cilantro plant is edible – including the stems and the root!

DILL

CONTAINER GARDENING:  yes

SUN: full sun

Space seedlings about 9 inches apart and water – your dill will grow without much extra help. Harvest fronds as needed, and cut the flowers before they go to seed to encourage the plant to keep producing the fronds. The flowers are beautiful in floral arrangements.

PARSLEY

Flat Leaf, Curley Leaf

CONTAINER GARDENING: yes

SUN: full sun

Plant seedlings 10-12 inches apart and keep the soil moist. Once your plant has produced more stalks and is filling out, you can harvest by cutting off the outer stalks at soil level. The plant will continue to produce newer stalks from the crown outwards – just don’t ever cut the new growth in the center of the plant, and you’ll have parsley all season long!

LETTUCES

Head Lettuce: Adriana (Boston Bibb type),  green forest (Romaine); Loose Leaf Lettuce: new red fire, oscarde, two star

CONTAINER GARDENING: yes

SUN: partial shade

Plant lettuce seedlings every 8-10 inches. Root systems are very shallow, so it is important to keep lettuces watered (mulching is a great idea). Lettuces also prefer cooler weather and some shade. Loose leaf lettuce can be harvested as soon as it’s big enough to eat- clip down to soil level, and it will regenerate once or twice (this is “cut and come again” lettuce. Head lettuce should grow until a full head of lettuce has developed- cut the head off at soil level to harvest. The plant will not regenerate.

GREENS

puprle mizuna, ruby streaks, sorrel, bright lights chard, pac choi, spinach

PEAS

sugar snap, caseload

CONTAINER GARDENING: no
SUN: Full sun

Peas are prolific and easy to grow. They like cool weather, so spring is their season! Space seedlings approx. 6 inches apart and keep the plants watered. They will need some trellising to grow up – they will attach themselves to the trellising with a little guidance.

PEPPERS

Bell: red knight, revolution, yum yum. Hot: cherry bomb, joe’s long cayenne, serrano del sol

CONTAINER GARDENING: yes
SUN: full sun

Peas are prolific and easy to grow. They like cool weather, so spring is their season! Space seedlings approx. 6 inches apart and keep the plants watered. They will need some trellising to grow up – they will attach themselves to the trellising with a little guidance.

MELON

new queen watermelon, orchid sweet watermelon, farmer’s wonderful watermelon, halona canteloupe

CONTAINER GARDENING: no
SUN: full sun
Melons like warm soil and lots of space – plant your seedlings in the ground after any danger of frost as passed, and give each plant about 6 feet of space. The plants have deep root systems and do not require heavy watering- just make sure they do not experience prolonged drought for best results. It can be difficult to determine when a watermelon is ripe – the typical advice is to listen for a dull “thump” when you tap on the melon, but this is less than effective. Some tips from a website include “(1) light green, curly tendrils on the stem near the point of attachment of the melon usually turn brown and dry; (2) the surface color of the fruit turns dull; (3) the skin becomes resistant to penetration by the thumbnail and is rough to the touch; and (4) the bottom of the melon (where it lies on the soil) turns from light green to a yellowish color.” (www.unrbantext.illinois.edu/veggies/watermelon.cfm)

CUCUMBERS

general lee, little leaf

CONTAINER GARDENING: no
SUN: Full sun
Cucumbers grow prolifically as long as the soil doesn’t dry out, they are trellised, and are in full sun. Very easy to grow.

EGGPLANT

fairy tale, nadia, orient express

CONTAINER GARDENING: yes
SUN: full sun
Transplant seedlings into your garden after any threat of frost has passed. Space seedlings 12 inches apart  in full sun. You can trellis the plants or allow them to grow on the ground. They are slow to grow in the beginning but once the weather warms you will have plenty! Harvest when ripe.

KALE

red russian, toscano

CONTAINER GARDENING: yes
SUN: full sun
Kale loves cool weather but doesn’t do so well in the heat. It can be transplanted into the soil before the threat of frost has passed. As kale grows, harvest the lower leaves by slicing them off at the stem. Your plant will continue to grow new leaves from the crown, growing taller as you harvest the outer leaves. Continue to harvest leaves until they are too bitter to eat (once the heat of the summer causes the plant to flower, the leaves will eventually be undesirable and the plant can be removed). Grow kale again in the fall, and harvest throughout the winter- even under snow!

BROCCOLI

blue wind, broccoli raab

CONTAINER GARDENING: no
SUN: Full sun
Each broccoli plant produces one head of broccoli and takes up a lot of space so they aren’t a great choice if your garden is tiny, but they are beautiful as they grow. Plant 18-20 inches apart – broccoli doesn’t mind cool weather, so you don’t have to wait for the final frost date to pass. Be patient and wait for a head of broccoli to grow at the center of the plant and harvest when it is fully grown (but before it splits, which it will if you let it go too long).

SUMMER SQUASH

raven, sunburst, zephyr

CONTAINER GARDENING: no
SUN: Full sun
Summer squash is one of the most prolific plants you can grow. Wait until any threat of frost has passed to sow into your garden. A popular method for growing summer squash is to mound up soil every five feet, plant 2-3 squash seedlings per mound, and allow the vines to grow down the hills (hills should be about 1 foot tall, or less). Keep the soil well watered and harvest the squash as they ripen.

BEETS

red ace, touchstone gold

CONTAINER GARDENING: no
SUN: full sun

Beets are easy to grow as long as your soil is loose and free of rocks (to accommodate good root development). Plant seedlings 4 inches apart and don’t allow the soil to dry out too much between waterings. Beet greens can be harvested at any time, but if you are after the beet itself allow 4-6 weeks of growth before harvesting.

LEEKS

king richard, tadorna

CONTAINER GARENING: no
SUN: full sun
Plant the seedlings 4-6 inches apart in full sun. Leeks like cool weather, so no need to worry about the frost date.  You may choose to blanch the stalks as they grow so that the white portion of the leek is longer – to do so, mound soil around the base of the plant as it grows.  Harvest after about 10 weeks.

CAULIFLOWER

fremont

CONTAINER GARDENING: no
SUN: full sun
See broccoli. You can blanch the head if desired.

CABBAGE

gonzales, rubicon (napa)

CONTAINER GARDENING: no
SUN: full sun

Plant seedlings 12-24 inches apart, the sooner the better (cabbage likes cool weather). Keep the soil moist, and harvest when heads are fully grown and firm to the touch but before they split.

TURNIPS

hakurei

CONTAINER GARDENING: yes
SUN: full sun
Hakurei turnips are really more like radishes – they are golf-ball sized, grow quickly, and are best eaten raw but can also be cooked. The greens are not as desirable as other turnip varieties.  Plant 3” apart and harvest in about one month.

ONIONS

bridger

CONTAINER GARDENING: no
SUN: full sun
Plant six inches apart in full sun. Keep the soil watered and allow to grow until the onion greens begin to bend over – once the greens are bent over, gently harvest the bulbs. If you are planning on storing your onions, you will need to cure them – one easy way to do this is to make sure to harvest during a dry spell and simply lay the onions on the ground right where they were harvested so that the sun does the curing for a day or two. Then keep them in a warm, well ventilated area until the necks are thoroughly dry.

SCALLIONS

nabechan

CONTAINER GARDENING: yes
SUN: full sun
Scallions can be planted in rows, 1-2 inches apart, watered well. You can harvest scallions as soon as they are the size of chopsticks or you can allow them to grow larger. If they need to be thinned, you can take an early harvest of the thinnings and allow the remaining scallions to grow larger.