Great Techniques for a Weed-Free Garden
It is so easy to be discouraged when faced with a garden that is being overtaken by weeds. Keep your garden productive and relatively weed-free by cleaning out the weeds every so often. Cleaning your
garden by weeding is one of the keys to keeping your crops productive and your enthusiasm strong. Here are some great weed-prevention strategies, and simple techniques for a relatively weed-free garden.
1. Starting at the beginning, don’t deeply-till the garden. Plowing or deep tilling buries weed seeds that are lying on the surface and then brings them back up. Let buried seeds stay buried. Most seeds germinate only in the top two inches of soil. Before you plant a new garden, till the soil shallowly to encourage the surface weed seeds to sprout, then water the area if the soil is dry. The combination of air, moisture, and exposure to light will stimulate weed-seed germination. Wait a week after tilling and then hoe or till shallowly again to eradicate all the newly germinated weed seedlings before you plant. The more times you repeat this pre-plant weed-reduction technique, the fewer dormant weed seeds you will have lurking in your garden beds. Once the upper-layer weed seeds are exhausted (it takes a number of years, so be patient), very few new weeds will appear unless you bring them up from below… or let weeds mature and drop new seeds.
2. Don’t allow weeds to go to seed. Nature is prolific. Each plant can produce an enormous number of seeds. There is an old saying “One year’s seeding means seven years’ weeding” and it holds true. Weeds produce an abundance of seeds and the results of this carelessness are exponential. The more seeds you have, the more weeds you will have. But the results of a little weed control also are cumulative. If weed plants are removed from the garden before they go to, seed, their thousands of seeds won’t be added to the garden. No more seeds, no more weeds. And, as the years go by, fewer and fewer seeds will be left in the garden to germinate.
3. Eradicate weeds while they are small. Tiny, newly germinated weeds are the easiest to kill. A sharp hoe, lightly scraping the soil surface is the most effective way to control small weeds. This allows you to work shallowly and not disturb the roots of the plants you want to thrive. That minimum effort yields a maximum benefit, curing the weed problem, while making a tidy garden. And a well-kept garden may motivate you to spend more caretaking time there. Larger weeds can be hand-pulled and left to dry out on the soil surface. Any weeds that are going to seed should be destroyed or thrown away. To make the job easier, pull weeds after a good rain or watering. Try to keep the area surrounding your garden weed-free by tilling a path or mulching a path around the planting zones.
Keep your sharp hoe in or near the garden and use it for a few minutes each time you are there to keep your crops weed-free and your garden a place you will enjoy.
Vegetable Seed Starting
Starting your vegetables and herbs indoors from seed is easy and very rewarding. By starting indoors you give yourself a jump-start on the growing season and you will be ahead of the game when it is time to start planting outdoors! The back of your BBB seed packet will have the basic information you need to know to ensure you have successful germination.
Here are a few tips to remember to kick off your seed-starting efforts.
- Plastic pots are best for starting seeds as they retain moisture more easily compared to terra cotta or other clay pots. If you don’t have traditional seed-starting containers available from your local garden center you can use recycled yogurt cartons, salad containers, or any other plastic container you find in your recycle bin! You can also make your own wood seed starting trays or your own newspaper pots. No matter what type of container you use make sure it is clean and sterile.
- Proper drainage is essential. Make sure there are holes in the bottom of your seed starting container to allow for good drainage. If you are using a recycled plastic item you can drill or poke holes in the bottom by using a screwdriver or nail. Excessive moisture trapped in a pot can lead to damping off and other fungal diseases. Ew!
- Soilless seed starting mix. Really we mean it! If you want good germination start your seed in a soilless mix. The key is that when your seeds germinate and have at least their first set of true leaves you must transplant them to the next pot size up and into regular potting soil. Or, you need to start feeding them with a half-strength fertilizer. The soilless mix is essentially sterile with minimal nutrition which is a perfect medium for your plants to germinate in. Less chance for contamination or other weird diseases to set in!
- Moisten your mix. Pour your soilless mix into a bowl. Moisten it with water so that it isn’t soaked, but is nicely damp. Fill your seed starting pot or tray up ¾ of the way full with your damp soilless mix. Gently press the seed into the soil approximately two (2) times the depth of the diameter of the seed. Then lightly cover your seed with more of the soilless mix. Gently press the soil to ensure good seed-to-soil contact.
- Identify each pot. Even if it is only 2 pots we highly recommend that you mark each pot with the name of the vegetable and the date planted. You can use wooden craft sticks, left-over popsicle sticks, or any other object that sticks up and beyond the soil that you can write on.
Water gently. We can’t tell you how many times we have washed away seeds and newly born seedlings by watering too hard! We recommend watering from the bottom by placing your seed starting container in a dish or basin filling it with water 2-3 inches and allowing the moisture to be drawn upward. If just the top has dried out use a spray bottle or a child’s watering can with small holes. And if you don’t have either, while pouring out the water (gently!) put your hand in between the water and the soil to break the fall of the water before it lands on the seeds or tender seedlings. Water daily and remember, gentle!- Cover! Immediately cover your pot with a piece of saran wrap or a plastic bag to help retain the moisture. If you have a garden dome then place the lid on top. Keeping your seed evenly moist until germination is essential.
- Temperature. Most seeds require temperatures of 65° to 75°F to germinate. The back of your BBB Seed packet will tell you the preferred germination temperature for your seed. Place your seed containers near an existing heater, on top of the stove (pilot lights can be very warm at night!) or use a space heater with the proper precautions to raise the ambient temperature as needed. Heating pads designed specifically for plant use can also be placed directly under the seed containers which will encourage germination.
- Good Light. Plants require at least 12 hours of daylight. If you are starting your seed where light is poor or during a time when there is less than 12 hours of light per day we recommend growing lights. If sowing your seed indoors, place your seed containers in a sunny, south-facing window and give the container a quarter turn each day to prevent the seedlings from overreaching toward the light and developing long and weak stems.
- Acclimate Your Seedlings. Before you transplant your seedlings outdoors they need to be hardened off or acclimated to direct sunlight and fluctuating temperatures. It is best to do this over a three-to-five-day period by placing them in direct sunlight during the morning only on the first day, then increasing their time outside by a few hours each day until they are strong enough to be transplanted. Don’t feel rushed. If unexpected weather or wind arises, keep them indoors. Nothing is more disappointing than spending all of your time growing your precious seedlings to then having something go wrong when you put them outside.
If you have any questions at all about how to start your BBB Seed please do not hesitate to email us at info@bbbseed.com. We look forward to answering any questions you might have!
Download our E-Book here:
Vegetable Planting Times and Strategies
Vegetable Planting Times and Strategies for High Altitudes
High Altitude
Growing vegetables in the mountains, at higher elevations can present challenges but is quite possible. Check out these informative sites for great planting time & strategies for high-altitude 
gardening.
CSU Extension fact sheet
High Altitude Gardening
Growing Tomatoes in short-season areas
Other gardening strategies
Start times by region
Every region has its own best time for planting. Here is an excellent link to find out the best time to plant your garden in your area.
Vegetables that take a long time to mature need to be planted earlier or even started in the greenhouse. Here is a table that lists those vegetables and the estimated time to plant them. Pick your region at the top row and scroll down that column to see when to plant your veggies.
Growing recommendations by region for vegetables with long maturing times.
| Ds = direct sow Gh = greenhouse Ts = transplant |
N.E. | Mid Atlantic | S.E. and Gulf Coast | Upper Midwest | S.W. | Central West Coast | Pacific N.W. | General |
| Broccoli | Gh start Apr 15 and ts May 20. Use floating row covers for insect pests. | Ds Mar. 1. Mulch to protect from heat. | Gh start Aug 1 or Jan 30 and ts Sept. 1 or Mar. 10. Harvest Oct 20 – Dec. 1 or June 1. | Gh start Mar. 1 and ts Apr. 15. | Ds Aug. 1 – May 15. | Ds Mar. 1 – Apr 1, or Aug. 15 – Sept. 30. Will overwinter in garden. | Ds Mar 20 – Apr 10. Use floating row covers to protect against insect pests. Will overwinter. | Optimum germination temperature is 70 deg. F. Full sun, average water. |
| Brussel Sprouts | Ds May 1 or gh start April 1 and ts May 15. Dig plants in late Oct. and store in buckets with dirt over roots. Replant May 1 for final year crop or seed. | Ds March 1. Difficult to get to seed. | Gh Aug 1 and ts Sept. 10. Harvest Nov. 30 – Mar 1. | Gh start Mar 1 and ts Apr. 1 – 15. Dig in Nov. and store in moist sand, replant April 1. | aren’t grown here | Ds July 1. Use shade cloth for young plants. Will overwinter in garden. | Gh start Jul. 15 and ts Aug. 15. Use floating row covers to protect against insect pests. Will overwinter in garden. | Optimum germination temperature is 70 deg. F. Full sun, average water. |
| Cabbage (head forming) | Ds May 1. Use floating row covers to protect against insect pests. | Ds Mar 1 or from Sept 1 – 15 or gh start Jan 15 or Aug 1 and ts Mar 1 or Aug. 1 – Sept 15. Will overwinter in garden for seed production with mulch. | Gh start Aug. 1 or Jan 20 and ts Sept 10 or Feb 15 – Mar. 1. Harvest Nov. 10 – Dec. 15 or Jun. 15. | Ds May 1 or gh start Mar. 1 and ts Apr. 1 – 15. | Ds Aug 1 – Apr 15. | Ds Aug 15 – Sept. 30. Will overwinter in garden for seed production. | Gh start July 15 and ts Aug 15. Use floating row covers to protect agains insect pests. | Optimum germination temperature is 70 deg. F. Full sun, average water. |
| Cauliflower | Doesn’t do well here | Ds Mar. 1. Mulch to protect from heat. | Gh start Aug 1 or Jan 30 and ts Sept. 1 or Mar. 10. Harvest Oct 20 – Dec. 1 or June 1. | Doesn’t do well here | Ds Aug. 1 – May 15. | Ds Mar. 1 – Apr 1, or Aug. 15 – Sept. 30. Will overwinter in garden. | Ds Mar 20 – Apr 10. Use floating row covers to protect against insect pests. Will overwinter. | Optimum germination temperature is 70 deg. F. Full sun, average water. |
| Cucumbers | Use early maturing varieties and ds after May 25. Use floating row covers to protect against insect pests. | Ds april 15 or gh start Mar. 1 and ts April. 15. | Ds April 1 – May 10. | Ds may 1 – June 20. | Ds Mar. 15 – June 15. | Ds April 15 – June 15. | Ds May 20 | Optimum germination temperature is 75 – 95 deg. F. Full sun, average water. |
| Eggplant | Use only early varieties. Gh start Mar 20 and ts June 1. | Ds Apr. 15 – May 15 or gh start Mar. 1 – April 1 and ts April 15 – May 15. | Gh start Mar. 10 and ts May 1 – 20. Full sun and are drought tolerant. | Gh start April 1 and ts May 20. | Ds Jan. 15 – May 15. | Gh start Feb. 1 and ts Apr. 1. | Use early varieties. gh start Mar. 20 – Apr. 1 and ts May 20 – June 1. | Optimum germination temperature is 75 – 95 deg. F. Full sun, average water. |
| Melon | Gh start April 20 – May 10 and ts June 1. Use floating row covers until flowering to protect against insect pests. | Ds April 15 – June 1, or gh start March 1 – April. 15 and ts April 15 – June 1. Mulch in hot, dry weather. | Ds April 1 – May 1. Use floating row covers for protection agains insect pests. | Ds May 1 – June 20. | Ds March 15 – June 15. | Ds April 15 – June 15. | Ds June 1 – 10 only if weather will be warm for several days after planting. | Optimum germination temperature is 80 – 90 deg. F. Full sun, average water. |
| Okra | Doesn’t do well here | Ds April 15 – June 15 | Ds May 1 – 30. | Ds May 15. | Ds March 15 – June 10 | Ds April 1 – June 1. | Doesn’t do well here | Optimum germination temperature is 70 – 95 deg. F. Full sun average water. |
| Peppers | Gh start Apr. 20 and transplanted Jun. 1 Use varieties that mature early in full sun | Ds Apr 15 – Jun 1 or g.h. start Mar 1 – Apr. 15 and ts Apr 15 – Jun 1 in full sun | Gh start Mar 1 and ts Apr. 15-30. | Gh start Apr. 1 and ts May 20. | Ds Mar 15 – May 15. | Gh start Feb 1 and ts Apr. 1, pot in 5 gal pots before frost and replant Apr. 1 | Gh start Mar 20 – Jun 1 and ts May 20 – Jun 1. | Optimum germination temperature is 75 – 95 deg. F. Normally started 6-8 weeks before the last average frost date |
| Pumpkins | Ds May 20 – June 10. Use floating row covers to protect against insect pests. | Ds April 15 – June 1, or gh start Mar. 1 – april 15 and ts April 15 – June 1. | Ds Apr. 15 – May 1, or gh start in July 1 and ts July 21- 30 | Ds May 1 – Jun 15. | Ds Mar. 15 – Jun 10. | Ds April 15 – May 30. | Ds May 20 | Full sun, avgerage water. Protect against insect pests. |
| Squash | Ds May 20 – June 10. Use floating row covers to protect against insect pests. | Ds April 15 – June 1, or gh start Mar. 1 – april 15 and ts April 15 – June 1. | Ds April 15 – May 1 or gh start July 1 and ts July 21 – 30. Full sun and avg water. | Ds May 1 – Jun 15. | Ds Mar. 15 – Jun 10. | Ds April 15 – May 30. | Ds May 20 | Full sun, avgerage water. Protect against insect pests. |
| Tomatoes | Gh start Apr. 20 and transplanted Jun. 1 Use row covers for protection if needed | Ds Apr. 15 – Jun. or g.h. Start Mar1 – Apr. 15 and ts. April 15 – Jun 1. Stake or cage soon. Mulch. | Gh start Mar. 1 and ts. Apr. 15 – May 15. Full sun avg. water, cage or stake soon. Mulch. | Gh start Apr. 1 – May 1 and ts May 15 – Jun. 15. | Ds Mar 15 – May 10, or Aug. 1 – Sept. 15. Protect from mid day sun. | Ds Apr. 15 or gh start Feb 1 – 15. | Gh start Apr. 1 – 20 and ts May 20 – Jun. 1. | Full sun, avgerage water. Protect against insect pests. |
| Watermelon | May be able to grow early maturing varieties. Gh start Apr. 20 – May 10 and ts June 1. Use floating row covers to protect agains insect pests. | Ds April 15 – May 15 or gh start Mar. 1 and ts April 15 – May 15. Mulch for hot, dry weather. | Ds April 15 – May 20. | Ds May 15 – June 15. | Ds Mar. 15 – July 1. | Ds April 15 – June 15. | Ds June 1 – 10 only if weather will be warm for several days after planting. | Germination temp. 85 – 95 deg. F. Full sun, average water. |
Compiled from ‘Seed To Seed’ by Suzanne Ashworth
Copyright 2002 by Seed Savers Exchange, Inc.
Cool Season Planting
Cool Season Planting
- When mid-summer brings a bounty of produce from your garden and you are enjoying the fruits of your labor, it is time to start planting again. The prime planting time for late-season harvests is late summer. Success with fall vegetables requires proper timing. In the spring gardeners wait to plant outside until after the last spring frost, well, in the fall the race is against the season’s first frost. Many of the cool season crops can withstand a few light touches of frost and even become sweeter. Check with your local county extension service to find your area’s first expected frost date.
Check the back of the seed packet to find the days to maturity. Take your frost date and count backward to find the best time to start your next round of seeds. Cooler fall growing temperatures may require an extra week or two for the plants to reach maturity. Many of your fall crops can be harvested when young and immature, too.
Which crops to plant for the Cool Season Planting?
Plants that do well in the early spring work for the cool fall temperatures. These will do well right up to the frost date and even beyond.
Cabbage takes a long season to mature and many gardeners don’t even plant cabbage in the spring because it doesn’t have enough time to mature before the mid-summer’s heat stops growth. Start these seeds mid-summer, a good 3 months before the first frost date.
Kale should be planted 85 – 90 days before the first frost. The leaves can handle a few light touches of frost and become sweeter each time.
Carrots can be planted 80-85 days before frost. They can be harvested when young and tender. Even after the cold temperatures shrivel the tops, they can be dug, sweet and juicy, from the ground throughout the fall.
Broccoli has the same problem as cabbage with a long time to mature as cabbages, so planting for a fall harvest is often best. Plant broccoli seed directly in the soil about 80-85 days before frost.
Beets can do double duty with green tops for salads and tasty roots as well. Plant seeds about 65-70 days before frost, depending on the type you choose.
Leafy greens such as spinach and leaf lettuces, rocket, and Swiss chard all do best in the cooler temperatures of fall. Plant seed about 50-60 days before frost depending on the type chosen. These can be harvested when young and immature for delicious baby greens.
Radishes are always great to spice up salads. These are fast-growing and can be planted 30-35 days before the first frost. Pull them when young and tender.
If you have any questions at all about how to start your BBB Seed please do not hesitate to email us at info@bbbseed.com. We look forward to answering any questions you might have!
Download our E-Book here:
CONTAINER GARDENING
Growing a Garden in a Container
Planning ahead-
Take a moment to look at the locations where you want to place your containers. Consider such things as sunlight (strength and time) and wind. If you have pots with sun/heat-loving plants, arrange them to shade your pots with those plants that need less sun and heat. Tall plants or plants that vine can be trellised to grow vertically and provide a natural barrier for tender plants. Make sure to anchor trellises and containers with tall plants, to keep them from getting blown over. If you plan to place your containers on a covered porch or balcony or any place that receives limited sunshine, you should select vegetables and flowers that don’t require as much. Leafy greens, snap peas, Chinese mustards, and kale will do quite well in these conditions, but tomatoes, and peppers, probably not.
When growing your garden in containers rather than a garden plot, it is just as important to choose varieties that will be able to reach maturity in your growing season. If you have a short growing season, check the maturity dates on the packages and plan to start some seedlings in the warmth of the indoors to get a jump on the growing season.
These varieties are not practical for container gardening due to their size or length of growing season (At the end is a list of vegetables/plants that will do well in containers.):
Watermelon and most cantaloupes (although there are some midget varieties that can do well)
Large Pumpkins and winter squash
Corn
Head cabbage (except as microgreens)
Mammoth sunflowers (except as sprouts or micro greens)
Beefsteak type tomatoes
Garlic bulbs/full sized Onions
Make sure to prepare your containers and pots properly, to give your veggies the best chance possible. You will be surprised by how much those little seedlings will expand, and there is as much growth below the soil as there is above the soil, so don’t squeeze them into tiny containers. Any type of vessel can be used, just keep in mind the size of the plants and the location. Terra cotta pots are inexpensive but dry out more quickly than others, metal tends to get quite hot in the sun, and plastic is versatile and lightweight.
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Getting started-
For Container Gardening, start your long-season varieties, indoors, in good quality starting soil or soilless mixture. Seedlings should be kept consistently moist (not wet) and exposed to fairly strong light, sunlight, or florescent, for at least 10 – 12 hours each day as soon as sprouts appear. This will keep them from getting leggy and looking for light. Seedlings that are sown more closely together can show more vigor as their roots symbiotically help each other extract nutrients from the soil. As the first true leaves appear, choose the strongest seedling starts that you will need for your containers and clip off the remaining which gives the strong ones some space to expand. Transplant to pots and containers shortly after the first true leaves appear. When transplanting to your containers and pots, make sure to space the seedlings according to the package directions for each type of vegetable.
Here are some plants that do not like to be transplanted. Instead, start them in individual moss starter cubes or use homemade newspaper pots or toilet paper tubes that can just be set into your containers at the appropriate spacing.
Beans Squash Burnet
Chinese Cabbage Borage Chervil
Cucumbers Caraway Pumpkins
Melons Coriander Dill
Root crops (except beets, turnips, and celeriac)
Make sure that your container has drainage holes in the bottom. Place a couple of layers of newspaper in the bottom of the pot to keep soil from falling through the holes, then place a 1-inch layer of moss on top of the newspaper. If you don’t have a source for sphagnum moss, coarse gravel will work. Fill the container with good, rich pre-moistened, potting soil, leaving room at the top. Pat it down firmly to fill in the spaces but do not pack hard. Take your young transplants (holding by the leaves or root ball, not the tender stem) or degradable seedling pots, one at a time, placing each on the top of the soil. Spread out the roots, and sprinkle more pre-moistened soil over the roots, covering them completely. Use enough soil to bring the level up to just under the first leaves for most seedlings. Do not cover the crown on plants such as lettuce. The plant’s first leaves should be at the level of the top of the container. Pat the soil gently, firming it over the roots and young stems.
Water your containers when the soil feels dry in the top few inches. Continuously wet soil suffocates the roots and encourages bacteria and fungi to grow. Usually, we water when we have time or are home, but watering when needed instead of on a schedule is usually best. Avoid wetting the leaves as much as possible. Try to use tepid water and if you are using chlorinated tap water, allow it to sit overnight exposed to air to dissipate the chlorine which can damage plants and kill beneficial soil bacteria.
Fertilize with low doses of good quality organic fertilizer every 7-10 days.
Don’t be shy about removing plants that are past prime or are beginning to bolt. Removing these will leave spaces where you can plant another round of short-season varieties and ones that prefer to mature in the cooler weather of fall. Lettuces and other leafy greens are good for this, maybe another round of snap peas, beets or radishes, arugula, and bunching onions. Mustards and kales and fennel love the cool days of fall
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Design – Container Gardening can be beautiful
Create groupings with your pots and experiment with variations in height, by placing some containers on concrete blocks or other empty containers turned upside down. This adds visual appeal and at the same time maximizes the space available. Groupings also help to make the job of watering a bit easier. Pick a particularly spectacular container plant to be the visual focus and arrange other not-so-pretty container plants around.
Make your containers a bit more decorative by planting different varieties together in one pot. Use the spaces under taller plants to place smaller herbs and leafy greens. Some vegetables live in harmony with one another, some are actually beneficial to each other and some hate each other. Mix colors and textures and think about including edible flowers tucked in around the edges. See the article, Flavorful Flowers. 
Check each variety on our website to see if your combinations will work together. Here are some examples:
• Lettuce does well with beets, bush beans, pole beans, cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, onions, radishes, and strawberries. You can also plant your lettuce at the base of young sunflowers for a little shade.
•Celery, dill, onions, and potatoes are great companion plants for cabbage. Planting clover with your cabbage will keep insects away and chamomile will improve the flavor. Cabbage does not like strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, rue, grapes, or pole beans.
•Cauliflower is compatible with basil, beans, dill, garlic, hyssop, lettuce, mint, onion, rosemary, sage, and thyme. It does not like grapes and rue.
•Plant your peas with bush beans, pole beans, carrots, celery, cucumber, eggplant, parsley, radish, spinach, strawberry, sweet pepper, tomatoes and turnips. Keep your peas away from chives, and onions.
•Tomatoes grow well with asparagus, basil, beans, carrots, celery, chives, cucumber, garlic, head lettuce, marigold, mint, nasturtium, onion, parsley, peas, peppers and marigold. Basil will repel flies and mosquitoes from your tomato plants while also improving their growth and flavor. Beebalm, chives, and mint will improve the health and flavor of your tomatoes. Keep potatoes, fennel, dill, cabbage, and cauliflower away from your tomato plants.
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VEGETABLES/PLANTS THAT DO WELL FOR CONTAINER GARDENING:
Beans (Pole and Bush types)
Direct sow into containers when night temperatures reach 60 degrees F, 6“ minimum soil depth, full sun, and harvest in mid-late summer, Provide a trellis or climbing structure
Beets – Direct sow into containers in early spring and late summer, 6” minimum soil depth, full sun to partial shade, harvest early summer and again in fall
Carrots (Nantes, Round, or Finger-type are best for containers) – Direct sow into containers when night temperatures reach 60 degrees F, 8” minimum soil depth, full sun, harvest in summer through fall.
Cucumbers (vine or bush-types) – Direct sow into containers when the day temperatures reach 70 degrees F or start indoors and transplant, 10” minimum soil depth, full sun, harvest in summer, Provide a trellis or climbing structure for vine-types.
Eggplant – Start inside 8 weeks before temperatures usually reach 80 degrees F for your area, then transplant to your container, 10” minimum soil depth, full sun, and harvest late summer.
Leafy Greens (Swiss chards, Collards, Kales, Mustards, Asian Greens, Pak Choy) – Direct sow into containers when the nighttime temperatures are above freezing, or, start indoors 3-4 weeks before and transplant, 8” minimum soil depth, full sun to partial shade, harvest late spring through winter.
Lettuces and Salad greens – Direct sow into containers after Spring’s last frost date, or start indoors 4 weeks before and transplant after hardening off when about 2 “ tall, sow seed again in early fall, 6” minimum soil depth, full sun to partial shade, harvest spring through early summer and again in fall.
Onions, Garlic, Leeks – Direct sow into containers after Spring’s last frost date, 6” minimum soil depth for bunching onions and young (green) garlic, 8” for Leeks, full sun, harvest summer to fall. Mounding soil up around the base of bunching onions and leeks will encourage long white stalks. Grow garlic in containers to use the green shoots and any small bulb growth.
Peas – Direct sow into containers when the soil is no longer frozen, Soaking the seeds overnight will speed up germination, use an inoculant (a beneficial bacteria that enables the roots to use the nitrogen pulled from the atmosphere and stored in nodules on the roots), especially when planting into containers with new potting soil. 8” minimum soil depth, full sun, harvest in late spring to early summer with secondary fall crops possible, Provide trellising for vine-types or cages to support bush-types.
Peppers – Plant seeds indoors, keeping at 80 degrees F for about 2 weeks, starting 10 weeks before nighttime temperatures remain above 55 degrees and daytime temps reach at least 70 degrees. Transplant into containers after hardening off, 8” minimum soil depth, full sun, and harvest in late summer.
Potatoes – Plant disease-free seed potatoes in a large container (30” deep, 20” across) filled 1/3 full of potting soil, 5-6 “ apart, and cover with 2 inches of soil, When plants are about 6” tall cover the bottom half with potting soil, continue doing this as the plant grows until reaching the top of the pot. Full sun, harvest summer to fall.
Radishes – Direct sow into containers when the soil is no longer frozen and every other week till late spring, 4” minimum soil depth, full sun to light shade, harvest all spring and second harvest in fall.
Spinach – Direct sow into containers when the soil is no longer frozen, replant first of August for fall, 6” minimum soil depth, full sun to partial shade, harvest in spring, early summer, and fall.
Squash (zucchini, yellow summer, yellow crookneck, patty pan, mini pumpkins) – Plant seeds indoors 2-3 weeks before the spring last frost date, transplant into sunny, warm containers, and cover with a row cover for several days, 10” minimum soil depth, full sun, harvest summer to early fall, pick when young and small, provide trellis and support for vines.
Tomatoes – Plant seeds indoors keeping them at 75 degrees F for about 2 weeks, starting 6-8 weeks before Spring’s last frost date, transplant at least once to another larger pot when they have 3 sets of true leaves burying them up to the first set of true leaves, keep in good light, 12” minimum soil depth, full sun, harvest late summer and fall.
Herbs – Herbs are mostly perfect plants for container gardens, being small and not fussy.