Tiny currant tomatoes are one of several ancient tomato species worth growing.
Tomatoes have made an epic evolutionary journey from the currant-sized fruit of their wild ancestor to the beefsteak behemoths of modern times. That gain has come at a price, though – the loss of numerous genes conferring flavor, disease resistance, and other valuable traits.
Currant Tomatoes
The ancestor, Solanum pimpinellifolium (known to tomato aficionados as “pimp”), is native to Ecuador and Peru, where it has long been harvested from the wild. Inhabitants of that region also brought the wild species into gardens, selecting plants that produced the largest and tastiest fruits. Eventually, some of these selections found their way to Mexico, where they were further domesticated and upsized to become the tomato as we know it today (which goes by the botanical name Solanumlycopersicum).
More than a dozen close relatives of Solanum pimpinellifolium occur in various habitats in Chile, Peru, Ecuador, and the Galapagos Islands. They, too, possess genes and adaptability not found in the high-bred tomatoes of today. Some are also notable for their toothsome fruit.
Tomato hybridizers are hard at work incorporating some of these long-lost genes back into modern hybrids to enhance their flavor and their pest- and disease-resistance. But the most direct way to take advantage of these desirable traits is to grow these ancestral tomatoes in your garden. They also make great conversation pieces. Seed is available from several mail-order catalogs specializing in tomatoes or heirloom vegetables. (Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds is a good place to start.)
Growing Ancient Tomatoes
Like domesticated tomatoes, ancestral tomatoes flourish in sun and humus-rich, well-drained soil. Most will take a lot less, often succeeding in iffy soil, drought, heat, and cold that would make compost out of most latter-day hybrids. Nevertheless, you might want to pamper your pimps by incorporating some Fafard® Premium Natural & Organic Compost into excessively sandy or heavy soil. Ample space for the long, clambering, vine-like stems of most varieties is a must.
More Ancient Tomato Species
White currant tomatoes are available at Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. (Image thanks to Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds)
A good place to begin your pimp collection is with the species that started it all. Borne prolifically in large grape-like bunches, the tasty red mini-tomatoes (about a third-inch in diameter) are best eaten fresh, perhaps scattered over a salad or a stew. Its Galapagos cousin Solanum cheesmaniae produces slightly larger but somewhat less flavorful tomatoes that ripen yellow, on plants that withstand 110-degree heat waves. Sara’s Galapagos – a cultivated variety from those same islands – yields half-inch wide, intensely sweet red fruits. For yet another taste of the islands, try a hybrid of Solanum galapagense such as Galapagos Minor or Improved Wild Galapagos. You’ll get tangy-sweet, orange-fleshed, cherry-sized tomatoes on fuzzy, relatively compact plants.
Mainland pimp relatives available for the growing include Solanum peruvianum, which is represented in seed catalogs by strains selected for their sweet tomato-flavored fruits. About the size of a Galapagos tomato, they differ from the norm in their greenish-white, purple-flushed coloration. Seed from hybrids involving this species and other close relatives such as Solanum habrochaites is also becoming increasingly available. Many show exceptional disease and pest resistance, as well as heat and cold tolerance. Large yellow blossoms suitable for the flower border are a bonus feature of many of these pimp relatives and hybrids.
Tomatoes originate from the Americas where they have been cultivated for thousands of years.
You can also shop for seed of ancient cultivated tomatoes that show the influence of Solanum pimpinellifolium – including some that escaped cultivation and returned to the wild. Most orginate from areas far to the north of pimp’s natural range.
Florida Everglades is an escapee discovered on a remote island in the swamp for which it is named. Its small red fruits are deliciously sweet with a tart edge. Also bearing small, intensely flavorful fruits are a number of wildling varieties from Mexico including Matt’s Wild Cherry and Chiapas Wild. As with most pimp selections and hybrids, they bear abundant crops on rangy vine-like plants that are less fussy than those of modern tomatoes. If you love carefree tomatoes and aren’t cramped for space, they should be near the top of the list of varieties for your garden.
Home vegetable gardening is riding a wave of popularity that is probably unprecedented since the Victory Gardens of World War II. Salad greens are sprouting on rooftops and potatoes in patio containers. Home-grown tomatoes seem to be popping up in every other suburban yard. Explosions of summer zucchini are detonating in community gardens and front roadside “hell strips”.
If you want to get in on that kind of action, but find the prospect a little intimidating, it’s best to start relatively small and simple. Growing vegetables from seed is inexpensive and easy, provided you pick types that are easy to grow.
The best advice for beginners is to start with something that you like to eat and don’t go too big. Shepherding a few vegetables successfully from seed to harvest will give you the confidence to venture further into vegetable gardening in successive seasons.
A few other helpful hints…Make sure the seeds you buy are packaged for the current growing season, not saved over from the last one. Fresh seed always has a higher germination rate. Amend your garden soil before planting with a nutritious mixture like Fafard Premium Natural and Organic Compost. If you are growing your veggies in containers, use a potting mix that will start your seeds off on the right foot. Fafard Ultra Container Mix with Extended Feed will do the job nicely.
Bountiful Squash from Seed
Most bush zucchini produce in as little as 45 days from seed!
Summer squashes, like zucchini and crookneck squash, are a boon to the novice grower, with big seeds, vigorous habits, showy flowers, and bountiful production. While seeds can be started indoors, in many places summer squashes will do just fine if they are directly sown in a sunny spot with rich soil or, if they are bush-types, in a large container. Be sure to determine whether squash is vining or bushy before planting. Bush squash are compact while vining forms can reach enormous lengths. Trellising is an option.
Plant two to three seeds in small hills of soil. Plant them at a depth equal to about two times the width of the seed. Squashes crave space, so keep those hills separated by at least several feet, depending on the final size of the squash variety. When the seedlings appear, thin out the weakest one or seedlings by either pulling them out or snipping them off. Leave the strongest. Water regularly, especially if rain is sparse, but do not drown the plants. If the top of the soil is wet, and you’ve experienced good rains, skip the watering.
It is important to collar newly sprouted seedlings to keep birds and cutworms from cutting the seedlings from the base and killing them. Seedling collars are easy to make from paper cups, toilet paper rolls, and other materials. (Click here to learn more.)
Check leaves for evidence of pests and disease. Large pests can be picked off by hand. Squash vine borers are a common problem that every squash grower must learn about (click here for management details). If powdery mildew, a fungal disease, appears, remove the affected leaves and spray the remaining foliage with either Neem oil or a solution of one tablespoon of baking soda per gallon of water mixed with a few drops of liquid dish soap.
Check seed packages for time from germination to harvest, but expect fruit in 45 to 60 days. Bushy varieties produce the earliest.
Tons of Tomatoes from Seed
Train your tomatoes for easy care and harvest. Compact bush varieties are recommended for beginners.
Growing tomatoes from seed offers you a chance to choose from the scores of available varieties—large, small, modern, heirloom, red, green, yellow, or orange. None are really hard to grow, but many sources suggest determinate (bush) salad or cherry tomato varieties for beginners. Indeterminate (vining) tomatoes are the most productive but reach huge heights and require quite a bit of management, and large-fruited varieties are often more demanding. Cherry tomatoes feature bite-size fruit and bush types are great for container growing because they stop growing once they have reached a certain size and produce only a set number of flowers and fruit thereafter. Much of the fruit develops at the same time, but harvests can be still quite large. Good disease resistance makes growing even easier. (Click here for a great list of determinate tomatoes from Johnny’s Selected Seeds, and click here for our top 10 list of the best-tasting cherry tomatoes.)
Those harvests will come sooner if you start tomatoes indoors in cell packs or other small containers at least six to eight weeks before the last frost date for your area. Make sure those containers have drainage holes. Fill the small pots with moistened potting mix and plant two or three seeds per cell or container, following directions on the seed pack. Place on trays that can hold water and position in a warm location a bright grow light or South-facing window. To avoid seedling rot disease, water from the bottom, letting the plants absorb water through their drainage holes. (Click here for more tomato seed-starting tips.)
When outdoor conditions are right, with night temperatures above 50 degrees Fahrenheit, take the trays outside and place them in a sheltered spot to acclimate the seedlings. After a few days of this, plant the seedlings in a location that receives at least six hours of sun per day–eight hours or more is better. Keep the soil consistently moist, stake or your plants or support with tomato cages, and watch for pests. (Click here to learn more about tomato pest and disease management.)
Great Greensfrom Seed
Spinach is a true cool-season green that grows succulent leaves in a flash.
Greens, including the various varieties of lettuce, spinach, and Swiss chard, are among the easiest veggies to grow from seed, and many varieties are as beautiful as they are nutritious. Lettuce and spinach love the cooler temperatures of spring and fall, while chard thrives in summer.
Sow lettuce seeds when outdoor temperatures reach about 60 degrees Fahrenheit, and space about 2 inches apart in rows that are separated by about 12 inches. Cover with the thinnest possible amount of soil, because lettuce seeds need light to germinate. Keep soil uniformly moist and harvest lettuce either as baby greens or mature leaves. For a continuous harvest, sow smaller amounts of lettuce seed at weekly intervals in spring and very late summer. (Click here to discover ten great lettuce varieties for gardens.)
Larger and leafier, spinach and chard are delicious either raw or cooked. Plant spinach first, as soon as possible after the last frost date. Both types of greens should be planted shallowly—about one-quarter inch deep in rows at least 18 inches apart. Both also need thinning. Thin spinach seedlings to a maximum of 6 inches apart and the larger chard plants to a minimum of 6 inches apart. Spinach can also be sown in late summer for a fall harvest.
Growing vegetables can be so satisfying that many gardeners catch the “veggie bug” after the first successful growing season and branch out into multiple varieties in successive years. Be prepared!
Gronomics vertical, free-standing planters are constructed of long-lasting cedar and made in the USA.
More and more large, vertical planters are being designed for big harvests of vegetables and small fruits. Creative gardeners are even coming up with clever ways to create their own mega edible container gardens. Here are some of the better products and ideas, ranging from inexpensive make-your-own containers to state-of-the-art vertical gardens that perform well at a range of costs.
To be able to accommodate lots of plants, vertical gardens must be spacious and hold a lot of mix for ample root support and growth. That’s why the best vertical gardens have plenty of space.
The Gronomics system is very sturdy and well-made.
If you like attractive gardens made from natural materials, then this is the vertical planter for you. The Gronomics Vertical Garden (32x45x9) is made in the USA from 100% western cedar and has a footprint of just2 square feet. Simply fill it with a quality potting mix, such as Fafard Natural & Organic Potting Mix, and begin planting. The garden contains its own drip irrigation system for easy watering. Apply a continuous-release fertilizer formulated for vegetables at planting time.
The Gronomics Vertical Garden is best suited for growing greens, herbs, strawberries, and small root vegetables. The top planter is perfect for growing bush beans (as shown in the image).
All manner of vegetables can be grown in the Garden Tower. (Image thanks to Garden Tower)
The Garden Tower® is a dual composter and soil-based vegetable garden tower that can accommodate up to 50 plants in just a 4-square-foot growing space. The system is watered from the top down and features a nutrient-tea drawer at the base, which catches fertile water for redistribution in the system. The Garden Tower has lots of room for root growth, which allows deep-rooting plants, like bush tomatoes, to grow well. Fill it with Fafard N&O. Gardeners growing greens should consider also mixing in some Fafard Garden Manure Blend, which is naturally high in nitrogen. It is made in the USA of high-purity HDPE plastic and has a 5-year manufacturer’s warranty.
Here’s a thriving Greenstalk planter community garden. (Image thanks to Greenstalk)
Just fill it with soil and plant! It is as easy as that. The modular Greenstalk® Stackable planter allows gardeners to raise it to various heights with its stackable segments. The planter is made in the USA and constructed from thick, UV-resistant polypropylene plastic (BPA, BPS & PVC-free), so it is long-lasting. One nice feature is the trickle-down watering well at the top that allows for easy irrigation and fertilization with a water-soluble fertilizer.
DIY Vertical Gardens
Vertical wooden crate or pallet gardens are popular, but beware. Some are made of pressure-treated wood, which contains dangerous heavy metals that leach into soils and are taken up by vegetables.
Creative gardeners have come up with economical DIY methods for vertical vegetable gardening. One popular method is creating pallet gardens, which are safe and inexpensive as long as they are constructed from untreated wood. Simply place the pallets upright, or affix them to a wall, fill them with growing media, and plant. Just find out whether the wood is pressure-treated before creating these gardens because treated wood contains heavy metals, which can leach into the soil and be taken up by vegetables. (Click here for a guide for identifying pressure-treated wood.)
Here, deck baskets have been hung from a strong trellis to create a make-shift vertical vegetable garden.
Other gardeners transform everything from traditional baskets to hanging baskets and plastic tubs into makeshift vertical gardens. As long as you can provide the with planter good support, it drains well, and it holds enough soil for strong root growth, your vertical garden scheme should work.
Large wicker baskets lined with burlap and supported by strong wire cages create a garden wall for lettuce and cabbages.
So many other materials can be used. Something as simple as a strong, tall tomato cage lined with mulch cloth (or burlap liner) and filled with quality potting mix and compost, such as Fafard Premium Natural & Organic Compost Blend, can create an outstanding structure for growing vegetables. To learn how to make one, watch this Black Gold video!
This sweet potato tower could be used to grow all kinds of vegetables. Get creative!
Last year the weeds took over, you didn’t feed or water enough, you didn’t mulch that bed, or you failed to start that new raised bed you’ve been dreaming of for years. Never fear! It’s a New Year! Last year’s vegetable gardening woes can be rectified with good planning and smart garden resolutions. Now’s the time to troubleshoot and plan to make this year’s veggie patch better than ever.
When it comes to smart garden planning and success, experience is everything. Being a part of a large, bountiful community garden for the past 14 years has given me the opportunity to watch new and seasoned gardeners in motion. Not surprisingly, the seasoned gardeners always have well-planned, productive, weed-free plots, while new gardeners haphazardly start their plots in spring and end up with the worst weed patches by midsummer. But some novices return the following year ready to try again. Gardeners committed to success learn to turn their beds around through guidance from the old-timers and pros.
With garden guidance in mind, here are a few pro tricks to add to your vegetable garden resolution list. Commit to these, and you can’t go wrong!
1) Plan
Good planning, spacing, and crop succession are essential for vegetable garden success. (Image by Jessie Keith)
Truly productive beds are planned in advance with the seasons in mind. A good planning strategy starts with knowing when plants bloom and produce, and timing your garden to sequentially bloom and remain productive and pretty through the year, if possible.
It is important to identify cool season and warm season vegetables to correctly plan beds. Knowing the window of productivity and days to harvest (number of days it takes for plants to be harvestable from seed) for a given plant is also essential.
Raised beds make planning and care easy. (Image by Mike Darcy)
The best vegetable gardens are designed and planned each year to consider space, light, succession cropping, and rotation. Choose a full-sun location, decide what you want to grow, and plot your beds to allow enough space to meet your gardening goals. Investing in raised beds can make the process easier, otherwise, establish your bed lines and pathways and maintain these yearly. (Click here to read more about garden planning and design.)
Next, determine where crops will be planted incrementally in spring, summer, and fall. Designing and planning your garden for the full growing season will help you stay in budget, time seeding and planting (Click here to view Johnny’s Seeds handy seed-starting date calculator.), and plan for harvest, preservation, and storage. When designing your beds, consider the space needed for crops, their overall heights, and include space to add cages and trellises, as needed.
Crop succession is another essential practice. Some crops must be rotated yearly, so consider what crops will succeed the next. For example, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and potatoes are heavy feeders that commonly harbor soil-borne pests and diseases, so they must be succeeded by fortifying crops, such as peas or beans, the following year. Legumes, like peas and beans, replenish essential soil nitrogen. (Click here to learn more about vegetable rotation.)
3) Feed Your Soil
Good soil is porous, early smelling, easy to dig in and high in organic matter.
Happy plants must have good soil. Organic matter is the number one additive sure to increase crop yields. Fafard Premium Natural & Organic Compost and nitrogen-rich Garden Manure Blend are two top-quality amendments to increase soil quality and improve plant production. The addition of an OMRI Listed all-purpose fertilizer approved for organic gardening will also increase plant vigor, yields, and keep common nutrient deficiencies, such as leaf chlorosis or blossom end rot in peppers and tomatoes, from appearing.
For raised beds, we recommend the addition of OMRI Listed Fafard Natural & Organic Potting Soil, which contains RESiLIENCE, an all-natural, water-soluble silicon additive for plants that encourages better root growth, earlier flowering, increased stem diameter, and longer time before wilting. Mix this soilless medium in with quality topsoil at a 1:3 ratio for reliable vegetable performance.
When calculating amendment needed for a particular area, use the following formula:
Amendment Application Formula ([area to cover] ft2 x [depth in inches desired] x 0.0031 = ___ yd3). Example: If you wanted to cover a 20 square foot area with 2 inches of compost, the result would be: 20 ft2 x 2 inches of compost x 0.0031 = 2.48 yd3.
4) Manage Weeds
Mulching walkways with straw, hay, or leaf mulch can really keep weeds down. (Image by Jessie Keith)
Save yourself major weeding time by applying thick organic mulch for weed control. Compost is a great choice for vegetable garden mulch in addition to seed-free hay, grass clippings, and leaf mulch. Compost should be applied directly around plants while coarser organic mulches are better for walkways and melon and squash beds.
Organic pre-emergents are also recommended to stop weed seeds from sprouting in the first place. Just be sure not to sprinkle them where you plan to directly plant seeds. Corn gluten, the most common natural pre-emergent, works by inhibiting root growth in newly sprouted seeds.
Of course, nothing beats regular hoeing and hand weeding for effective weed control. Monitoring, scratching, and digging weeds weekly are the best ways to keep them in check, and good tools make the job easy.
5) Invest in Good Tools
Good tools are a must for all garden tasks, whether you are weeding, digging, or pruning. Quality tools may cost a bit more up front, but they will last much longer and perform better.
Garden knives are great all-around gardening tools. (image from Gardeners Supply Company)
For hand weeding, nothing beats the classic ho-mi (hoe-mee), also called the Korean hand plow or cultivator. This sharp, downward-facing tool can get to the base of a dandelion root in seconds with a quick chop, chop, chop. It also pays to invest in a trusty garden knife (also called a soil knife or Japanese hori-hori). These can cut into the soil to deep roots below and saw through the bases of tough plants. They are even useful for harvesting greens and digging root crops. One side of the knife is sharp for slicing and the other is serrated for sawing. The classic Cobrahead hand weeder and cultivator it also a nice, effective, well-made weeding tool. It has a sharp, curved head for fast digging and hand hoeing.
A heavy-duty hoe is a necessity for larger weeding jobs. The Prohoes by Rogue are great tools that are so well made, they will last for years. And, for digging and planting, a good spade is a must. Of these, the sharp, all-steel King of Spades pro nursery spades is so tough it will last a lifetime.
Most established gardens will tell you that Felco makes the best pruners and loppers on the market. Pruning and harvesting are fast and easy with these sharp, Swiss-made bypass pruners.
Keep your tools clean and sharp for the best performance. A 5-gallon shop bucket filled with moistened sand is recommended for dipping tools in for easy cleaning. Handy garden tool sharpeners are also on the market. At the end of the season, apply mineral oil to clean tools to prevent corrosion.
6) Commit to a Time Schedule
Provide garden care on a time schedule and you will never get behind!
Gardens need committed care. Regular scheduling of tasks is required for gardening success. Plan to harvest, weed, and water at least twice weekly. (Click here for good watering tips!) During hot and dry periods and high-growth windows, plan to add more time to assess water and plant needs. In no time, your schedule will become a habit, your garden will become your passion, and you find yourself there whenever time allows.
One trick to making any garden a pleasurable oasis is to create a spot where you can sit, sip a drink between weeding. Pick up a cheap patio table and chairs, add a sun umbrella, and make space for them in your garden.
Place a table and chairs in your vegetable garden for a place to sit and rest between tasks. (Image by Jessie Keith)
Renewed hopes and fresh ideas for the New Year offer new chances to make your garden amazing. In most parts of the country, gardeners have plenty of time to reshape their garden plans and set their resolutions in motion before the weather warms up. So grab your seed catalogs, and get planning. (Click here to get more garden planning tips!)
A well-planned vegetable garden will sustain your family with a variety of fresh produce from spring to late fall. Serious gardeners will even cold-frame garden into the winter months for a steady stream of fresh greens and root vegetables. Sustenance vegetable gardens save money and ensure produce is organically grown. Careful planning and timing are essential for season-long garden-fresh produce for eating, canning, freezing, and drying.
Vegetables are divided by their best season of culture. Cool season crops are ideal for the spring and fall months, while warm-season crops are suited for summer growing. Some vegetables can be grown at almost in the growing season. Fruits are almost purely seasonal. Planning the garden with a well-rounded collection of vegetables is essential. Consider your proteins (legumes and brassicas), carbohydrates/starches (root vegetables, corn, and squash), greens, fruits, and flavorful herbs when planning for each season. The broader array of healthful edibles you grow, the better.
Soil Preparation and Plot Design
Simple plot design makes it easier to transition crops through the season.
Two key ingredients for good garden planning are soil preparation and plot design. Nourish your soils with OMRI Listed® amendments, like Fafard Garden Manure Blend and Fafard Premium Natural & Organic Compost, to encourage deep rooting and maximize growth and production. Then feed the ground with a multi-purpose fertilizer formulated for vegetables. Design your garden plots in tidy rows or blocks, planning for spring, summer, and fall, and be sure that you know exactly where your vegetables will go. Rotation is essential for crops that are heavy feeders and suffer from soil-borne diseases and pests. Tomatoes, potatoes, and cucumbers are three crops that always require yearly rotation.
Here are some season-by-season vegetable suggestions and their benefits.
Spring Garden Sustenance Edibles
Early beets, carrots, spring onions, and cabbage are some of the classic early vegetables of spring.
Protein: Legumes are the main providers of needed protein from the garden. Good candidates for the spring include crisp snap peas, snow peas, and shelling peas (click here to learn more about growing peas). All are grown similarly and thrive in the cool weather. Brassicas, such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and kohlrabi are also good protein sources (click here to read more about growing brassicas). Choose fast-growing brassicas (50-60 harvest days) for spring growing. Each year I like to grow crisp and productive ‘Super Sugar Snap’ peas (60 days), fast-growing ‘Gypsy’ broccoli (58 days), and sweet, purple ‘Kolibri’ kohlrabi (45 days).
Spinach is one of the best early greens of spring.
Carbohydrates: Root crops are made for the cool weather of spring and are rich in starch and nutrients. This is when they grow most rapidly and taste the best. Choose fast-growing beets, carrots, radishes, and turnips and plant them as soon as the soil can be worked. This is also the time to plant early potatoes, onions, and leeks. Asparagus is a perennial spring vegetable that is also high in carbohydrates. Of these, try the candy-striped ‘Chioggia’ beet (55 days), crisp, sweet ‘Yaya’ carrot (56 days), and ‘D’Avignon’ French radish (21 days).
Greens: Most garden greens taste and grow best in cool weather. This is the time to plant arugula, lettuce, endive, and spinach. Swiss chard is also best planted in spring and will remain productive well into late fall. (Learn how to grow several cool-season greens by clicking here.) The spicy ‘Sylvetta’ arugula (45 days), Salanova® green butter lettuce (55 days), and ‘Dragoon’ mini romaine lettuce (43 days) are all great choices.
Herbs: Cool season herbs may be annual or perennial. Recommended perennials for spring are chives, sorrel, tarragon, and thyme. Borage, chervil, cilantro, parsley, and dill are all superb annual herbs for spring. All are nutritious and very flavorful. The flavorful, slow-to-bolt cilantro ‘Calypso’ (50 days) is a high performer.
Fruit: Perennial late-spring “fruits” for the garden include rhubarb and strawberries—both being very high in vitamin C. (Click here to learn more about growing strawberries). Can them as jam or freeze them for use later in the season. I like to grow everbearing strawberries that will produce fruits through the growing months.
SummerGarden Sustenance Edibles
The well-planned summer vegetable garden is organized and diverse.
Protein: Beans of all kinds provide summer protein from the garden (click here to learn more about growing beans). Vining beans offer the highest yields because they produce more for longer. Heat-loving beans like Chinese noodle beans, Roma beans, and lima beans are tasty and very nutritious and protein-packed. Colorful beans for drying are also essential for winter storage and good eating. Okra is another high-protein vegetable that thrives in heat and is very easy to grow. The meaty ‘Musica’ Roma pole beans (55 days) and ‘Maxibel’ slender bush beans (50 days) are always good choices as is the compact, spineless ‘Annie Oakley’ okra (50 days)
Carbohydrates: Sweet corn is everyone’s favorite starchy crop (click here to learn more about growing sweet corn) and many varieties will start to mature by midsummer. Sweet potatoes require high heat for development and are an excellent source of carbohydrates (click here to learn how to create a sweet potato tower). Summer beets and carrots are also good choices for summer salads and sautees (click here to learn how to grow summer beets). Summer squash and zucchini of all kinds will also feed the family for weeks with their starch- and nutrient-filled fruits. my favorite summer squash of all is the long-vined but prolific ‘Zucchetta Rampicante’ (70 days).
Swiss chard is a green for warm or cool seasons.
Greens: Heat-tolerant greens are limited because many of the best greens are adapted to cool weather, but Swiss chard will provide a needed supply of tasty leaves through summer. Choose Rainbow Mix Swiss chard, which tastes great and comes in colorful shades of white, yellow, red, orange, and pink. Malabar Spinach (Basella rubra) is a vining green with a spinach-like taste that bursts forth with loads of edible foliage when summer is at its hottest. (Click here to read more about heat-tolerant greens.
Fruit: Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and cucumbers are the four best savory fruits of summer. These are the staples that many gardeners rely on for summer garden harvest, especially tomatoes (click here to learn more about growing the best cherry tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, and sauce tomatoes). All of these fruits require summer warmth for full development and flavor. (Click here for some of my favorite tomato varieties!) Melons are everyone’s favorite garden fruits for summer. All are easy to grow if you have space (click here to learn more about growing melons). Watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew melons are all nutritious and low-calorie. Summer is when many perennial and tree fruits are at their prime. Blueberries, blackberries, mid-season raspberries, cherries, and peaches are all also ready by early to midsummer. Planting these fruits is an investment but one that’s worth it if you value growing your own fresh fruit. (Click on these links to learn more about growing blueberries, blackberries and raspberries, cherries, and patio peaches.)
Fall Garden Sustenance Edibles
Leeks, cool-season greens, and ripe winter squash are some of the primary crops of fall.
Protein: Few protein-rich vegetables grow at this time, but this is when shelling beans dry for harvest and winter storage. Choose a variety of flavorful shelling beans that you can enjoy all winter long like the red soup beans ‘Vermont Cranberry’ or classic white ‘Cannellini ‘ beans. You should also replant brassicas in late summer to they can sweeten up with the fall frost. Broccoli, broccoli rabe, and cauliflower are all great choices
Carbohydrates: Beets, carrots, radishes, turnips should be planted by early fall for late-fall harvest. (Click here to learn more about growing late-season root vegetables) Choose winter carrot varieties and extra sweet beets that will remain harvestable after frost. Leeks should also be ready to harvest after the first light frost of the season. This is when they taste their sweetest. Nutritious winter squash and pumpkins should also be fully mature by early to mid-fall.
Cool season lettuces can be replanted in fall.
Greens: Replant the same cool-season greens of spring and consider throwing in a few kales and collard greens. Kales of all colors and sizes are pretty in the garden and delicious, and collards are reliable producers with large leaves and high yields. Both grow sweeter with frost. I like the flavor of blue-green ‘Lacinato’ kale
Herbs: Annual cool-season herbs are also back on the menu. Evergreen sage and rosemary are also available for favorite fall dishes. Sage pairs particularly well with winter squash.
Fruit: Apples, pears, and persimmons are the fruits of fall. Small-space gardeners should consider planting dwarf trees for home gardening. (Click here to read more about growing dwarf apples.) This is also when hazelnuts, pecans, and walnuts can be culled from the ground and roasted. (Click on the links to read more about growing hazelnuts and pecans.)
Winter Garden Sustenance Edibles
Cool-season greens of all kinds can be grown in mild winter areas or winter cold frames.
Assuming you don’t live in the American South or Southwest, there are only a handful of garden edibles suitable for cold-frame growing in winter. (Read more about high-desert vegetable gardening.) These consist of cool-season greens, root vegetables, and herbs. Then, after the cold of winter wanes, it will be time to start planning and planting your sustenance vegetable garden once again.
Planting Table
VegetablePlanting Time Season Seeding Bush Beans Spring, Summer Warm Outdoor Pole Beans Spring (after frost) Warm Outdoor Beets Spring to Fall Warm/Cool Outdoor Broccoli Spring, Summer Cool Indoor Cabbage Spring, Summer Cool Indoor Carrots Spring, to Fall Warm /Cool Outdoor Corn Late Spring Warm Outdoor Cucumbers Spring (after frost) Warm Outdoor Eggplant Spring (after frost) Warm Indoor Kale Spring, Summer Cool Indoor Kohlrabi Spring Cool Indoor Leeks Spring Cool Indoor Lettuce Spring, Summer Cool Indoor Melons Spring (after frost) Warm Outdoor Okra Late Spring Warm Outdoor Onion Sets Mid-Spring Warm Outdoor Onion(Spring) Early Spring Cool Indoor Peas Early Spring, Summer Cool Outdoor Peppers Mid-Spring (after frost) Warm Indoor Potato Sets Spring Cool Outdoor Pumpkins Mid-Spring (after frost) Warm Outdoor Radishes Early Spring Cool Outdoor Spinach Early Spring Cool Indoor Zucchini/Squash Mid-Spring (after frost) Warm Outdoor Sweet Potatoes Late Spring Warm Outdoor Swiss Chard Early Spring Cool/Warm Indoor Tomatoes Mid-Spring (after frost) Warm Indoor Turnips Early Spring Cool Outdoor
Many prized vegetables originate from or were bred in Asian countries, from India to Japan to Malaysia. Great emphasis is placed on the beans, cucurbits, greens, and root vegetables, and many are very old, select varieties collected and grown for generations. The best are flavorful and great for any home garden.
Local climate often dictates growth preference. For example, vegetables bred in Thailand, Vietnam, or Malaysia are heat and drought tolerant, while the vegetables of northern China prefer cooler climates. Many of these crops are unknown to American gardeners, but consider trying a few this season, if you like Asian cuisine or simply delicious garden-fresh food.
Beans
Yardlong bean
The asparagus or winged bean (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus) is both attractive and delicious—sporting red flowers and beautiful winged beans. It is a warm season crop that produces long twining vines that produce edible beans just 75 days after planting. It is grown in tropical regions due to its marked tolerance to high heat. The unusual looking pods taste like a cross between peas and asparagus. Asparagus bean has added value because the leaves are eaten like spinach, and the edible roots have a nutty flavor.
Also well-adapted to high heat and summer growing is the yardlong bean (Vigna unguiculata ssp. sesquipedalis). Its vigorous vines bear loads of very long beans that reach 12- to 16-inches and taste delicious. They have been grown for centuries in China and are best sautéed or stir fried.
Cucurbits
Angled luffa
Japanese cucumbers are unique in that they are very long, thin skinned, and crisp. They grow on rambling vines that are best trellised to accommodate the cucumbers that can reach between 8 to 12 inches. Try the open-pollinated variety ‘Sooyow Nishiki’, which has thin, warty skin and crisp, sweet flesh.
Many Asian melons exist, which are bred and selected to be remarkable sweet. The open-pollinated Japanese variety, ‘New Melon’ is golden, smooth skinned, and was developed in the 1950s for Japanese growers. Each vigorous vine produces between four to eight melons. Be sure to plant them as early as possible, because vines take between 110 to 120 days to produce fruit.
Asian melons
Most westerners know luffa as a natural sponge for bathing, but in China the young gourds are a popular vegetable. The angled luffa (Luffa acutangula) is commonly referred to as Chinese okra and has a sweet taste (much like zucchini) when harvested young. Give the vines plenty of space, or trellis them for easier growing and harvest.
Greens & Cabbages
Chinese cabbage
Bok choy (pak choi) is a mild, cool-season green that produces rosettes of green leaves with fleshy white bases. These are fast-growing and typically eaten stir fried. Some varieties are very small and others large. The super small variety ‘Extra Dwarf Pak Choi’ is very fast growing , reaching full size in just 30 days, and is just right for edible container gardening.
Valued as a spring vegetable across Asia, Korean minari is a leafy green that tastes much like watercress. It is closely related to celery and is a vital ingredient in Korean bibimbap bowls or can be prepared as a spicy vegetable side dish. It grows best in cool weather and slows growth in temperatures above 70 degrees F.
Chinese cabbage is a well-known, cool-season crop that produces large heads that may be barrel-shaped or loose headed. Try the old Japanese variety, ‘Aichi’, which is a large, barrel-shaped variety that produces dense heads with a sweet cabbagy flavor. These grow and taste best in the mild temperatures of spring or fall.
Root Vegetables
Watermelon radish
Radishes play an important role in the cuisine of many Asian cultures. These include watermelon, daikon, and hot radishes as well as those used for microgreens. All radishes are fast growing and best suited to growing in cool weather. When temperatures are hot, they don’t develop substantial roots and taste very hot. Watermelon radish types are some of the most beautiful with their red interiors and greenish-white exteriors. They are also fun for kids to grow. Try the Chinese radish ‘Red Meat’, which is thin skinned, sweet, and ready to harvest 60 days after planting.
Turnips are a common root vegetable, but most western gardeners are not familiar with red turnips. These fast-growing, sweet root vegetables are popular in Asia and eaten fresh or cooked. They are typically red on the outside and white or pinkish on the inside. Try the traditional Japanese turnip ‘Hidabeni‘, which has flattened roots with scarlet exteriors and white interiors.
Eggplant
Green Japanese eggplant
Eggplant is essential to Asian cuisine, from India to Japan. Most are elongated, mild, thin-skinned, and have few seeds. This warm-season crop bears many fruits over the season. One of the easiest and best varieties to try is the Taiwanese eggplant ‘Ping Tung Long‘, which is very heat tolerant and has bright purple fruits that reach over a foot long. The equally large green fruits of the Japanese ‘Choryoku‘ are also firm, sweet, and delicious.
Favorite Thai eggplants are a bit different in that many are smaller and oval or round. They may be green striped or deep purple. The small, round variety ‘Petch Siam’ is grown from India to Vietnam. Its small green striped fruits are numerous, and the plants like high heat.
Squash
Kabocha squash
There are many squash grown and favored across Asian countries, but some of the sweetest and best tasting are kabocha winter squash. These somewhat flattened, globe-shaped squash typically have dark green skin and gold to orange flesh that is smooth and very sweet. The open-pollinated kabocha from Japan, ‘Kuri Winter’, has very sweet, thick, golden flesh and dark blue-green skin. Plant it early as vines take 95 to 110 days to produce good fruit.
Vegetable Care
For high vegetable yields be sure to feed your crops with a granular organic vegetable fertilizer early in the season. Amendments such as Fafard Premium Natural & Organic Compost and Fafard Garden Manure Blend also ensure high soil moisture and aeration to encourage vigorous root growth. Double–digging is another great way to optimize deep root growth to help plants withstand moderate drought and high heat.
Eggplant is a staple in African, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and Asian cuisines, where growing temperatures are hot. Think beyond the standard purple varieties you find at the grocery store. Green, ivory, rose, and magenta types of various shapes and lengths exist, and the best are mild and have few seeds. Some are even ornamental. The biggest challenge to growing them is battling a few common pests. Once these are tackled, plants will reward you with lots of fruits for Szechuan eggplant, eggplant Parmesan, ratatouille, and baba ganoush.
African Eggplant
The Indian ‘Petch Siam’ is a round, green eggplant favored for curries.
There are many unique types of eggplant grown in Africa, most being variants of the African eggplant (Solanum aethiopicum). The ‘Striped Togo’ is an ornamental variety of African eggplant sold in the US, which has small, egg-shaped fruits of electric orange with green stripes. They are edible but have a very strong flavor, so most opt to add stems of the pretty fruits to late summer and fall arrangements. ‘Turkish Orange’ (Solanum aethiopicum ‘Turkish Orange’)is another African variety with fruits that age to brilliant orange red. These are larger and edible when green.
Several African eggplant varieties are popular in Brazilian cooking and classified as Gilo (or Jiló) eggplant. They are small, bitter, harvested green, and include the small, pear-shaped ‘Comprido Verde Claro’, and round, more bitter ‘Morro Redondo’. Due to limited demand, these unusual eggplant have yet to be adopted by American seed companies, so they are hard to find in the US.
Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Eggplant
‘Black Beauty’ is the most common eggplant variety grown in the US.
The common eggplant or aubergine (Solanum melongena), is the most familiar eggplant to western palates and gardens. It has been grown and selected for hundreds of years in southerly regions of Europe and throughout the Middle East. One of the best from the Mediterranean is the classic Italian heirloom ‘Rosa Bianca’, with its broad, short, mild fruits covered with thin, lavender and cream skin. The French heirloom ‘Ronde de Valence’ is another unique but delicious eggplant that is deep purple, grapefruit-sized, and almost perfectly round. For a large-fruited, heat-tolerant eggplant, choose the Iraqi variety ‘Aswad’ (meaning “black” in Arabic), a new offering from Baker Creek Heirloom Seed. Its dark, pleated fruits can reach a massive 3 lbs.
Eggplant ‘Gretel’ (Image by AAS Winners)
One American eggplant with a classic pear shape and purple-black skin is ‘Black Beauty’. The 1902 heirloom from Burpee has large fruits with good flavor. Two more American varieties include the AAS winners ‘Gretel‘ (2009 winner), which is petite and has white fruits, and the compact ‘Fairy Tale’ (2005 winner) with its small stature and white-striped purple fruits. Both are very productive and good for small-space gardening.
Asian Eggplant
‘Pingtung Long’ eggplant
Eggplant varieties from Asia are noted for their elongated shape, low seed count, and mild flavor. Many were bred in Southeast Asia and have an unusually high tolerance to heat and drought. The brilliant purple ‘Machiaw‘ is a tender, mild, thin-skinned variety that always produces well. For exceptional heat tolerance, choose ‘Pingtung Long‘ an heirloom from Taiwan that produces loads 16″-18″ long magenta fruits through the hottest days of summer. The dark purple ‘Orient Express‘ is an early, tender variety popular in many gardens. Finally, for something more unusual, try the Indian ‘Petch Siam‘, a small, green, striped eggplant favored for curries.
Growing and Harvesting Eggplant
Flea beetle damage on an eggplant leaf.
Growing eggplant is not too complicated. Provide them with full sun, warm summer days, good soil with adequate drainage, a little vegetable fertilizer, and water, and they will grow well. (Amend their soil with Fafard Garden Manure Blend before planting, and they will grow even better!) The biggest challenge to their success are two common pests: flea beetles and Colorado potato beetles. These two pests will destroy plants if given the chance. Flea beetles are tiny, shiny black, and invade in large numbers, hopping from leaf to leaf sucking the juices from the foliage, leaving behind a mass of pock marks. (Read more about these pests here.) To reduce populations, clean old plant debris in fall (where these pests overwinter), till beds in spring, and plant eggplant in late spring to early summer to avoid spring hatches of this pest. Spraying with insecticidal soap or pyrethrin sprays will kill adult beetles and protect plants from summer damage.
Striped Colorado potato beetles lay masses of yellow eggs on the undersides of eggplant leaves in spring. Brownish orange larvae emerge that aggressively feed on leaves. As they grow larger, they cause more damage and can completely defoliate young eggplants. The best protection is to inspect plants for egg masses and remove them on sight. The beetles and larvae are also easy to remove by hand. (Learn more about these pests here.)
Most fruits are ready to harvest when they are fully colored and firm to the touch, while giving slightly when pressed with a finger. Fruits that are too old begin to turn yellow. At this point, they are too seedy and strong to eat.
Eggplant are delicious, easy to grow, and make a great addition to any summer garden. Add them to pasta sauces or your favorite eggplant dishes! They also freeze well for winter storage.
Orange ‘Striped Togo’ African eggplants in a harvest bowl with tomatoes.
‘Alcosa’ savoy cabbage and ‘Sugar Snap’ peas (trellis) are two recommended spring vegetable varieties.
Sweet crunchy carrots, crisp snap peas, and tender lettuce—vegetables like these just shout out, “It’s spring!” This is the stuff gardeners clamor for as they peruse new seed catalogs for the first vegetables of the season. But, with hundreds of varieties to choose from, it’s hard to know which are best for taste, yield, and good performance in the vegetable garden. This is where experience helps.
My top ten “favorites” list includes some of the best spring vegetable varieties. For over 25 years I’ve grown hundreds of vegetables—choosing new favorites, losing duds, and keeping superior standbys along the way. My findings are corroborated with university seed trials, seed catalog customer reviews, and award programs, like All-America Selections. If you aren’t sure what varieties to choose from, let this be your go to source great spring vegetables!
Beets
Candycane ‘Chioggia’ beets
When choosing beets (Beta vulgaris), I go for tasty, early, productive and pretty varieties. Of the reds, ‘Merlin’ (48 days) and ‘Red Ace’ (50 days) are the most reliable and sweet and have performed well for me. Both also received some of the highest ratings for taste, uniformity and performance at a recent University of Kentucky Beet Trial Evaluation. Of the golden beets, ‘Touchstone Gold’ (55 days) is an outstanding performer that produces the sweetest golden beets. For looks and taste, the red and white candycane striped ‘Chioggia’ (55 days) is the heirloom of choice.
Broccoli
Broccoli ‘Artwork’ (image care of AAS Winners)
Good broccoli (Brassica oleracea) varieties for the garden must be heat tolerant and reliably produce large heads fast. My favorite spring broccoli is ‘Gypsy’ (58 days), which has reliably large heads with small beads and good heat and disease resistance. It produces well and develops lots of sideshoots after the first harvest. Gardeners interested in broccoli with extra-large heads should try the commercial standard ‘Imperial’ (71 days). It take a little longer to develop, but plants are super heat tolerant and high performing. Those seeking thin-stemmed broccoli should choose the 2015 AAS winning, ‘Artwork‘ (55 days). It produces many thin, flavorful, cut-and-come-again broccoli stems over a long season.
Cabbage
Space-saving ‘Caraflex’ cabbage
Small, crisp, sweet heads are what I look for in a spring cabbage (Brassica oleracea). Smaller heads are easier for me to store and finish, and they develop faster, which results in less damaged from cabbage loopers and slugs. The small savoy cabbage ‘Alcosa’ (60 days) is a reliable variety with sweet, deeply savoyed, blue-green leaves. Another small-head cabbage with good performance and taste is the conical ‘Caraflex’ (68 days). It’s heads look like perfect little cones and are perfect for small-space gardens. Gardeners interested in a slightly larger cabbage should choose the mid-sized ‘Tendersweet‘ (71 days). It’s flatted heads are comprised of tightly bunched, thin, sweet leaves.
Early Carrots
Sweet, crisp ‘Adelaide’ carrots
There are many carrot (Daucus carota) varieties and some are much better suited for spring sowing than others. The perfect spring carrot is fast-growing, crisp, and very sweet. The best I have grown for flavor and texture is the baby carrot ‘Adelaide‘ (50 days). Its small carrots develop quickly and should be plucked from the ground before weather warms. Of the many new varieties available, ‘Yaya‘ (55-60 days) is a mid-sized “sugar carrot” that’s getting top marks for performance and super sweet flavor. The equally sweet ‘Napoli‘ (58 days) is another mid-sized super sweet carrot that always yields perfect roots.
Lettuce
Crisphead ‘Reine des Glaces’ lettuce
There are many lettuce (Lactuca sativa) types, but my favorites are small, sweet, fast, and crisp. My very favorite is the little gem romaine ‘Tintin‘ (55 days). The little heads are all crisp, sweet, heart and they consistently perform well. Of the crisphead type lettuces, the French heirloom ‘Reine des Glaces‘ (62 days) is flavorful, slow to bolt in the heat, and has loose heads of coarsely serrated edges that look pretty in salads. Salanova® has a high-performing line of designer mini lettuces that are really nice. Of these, try the fast, frilly red Salanova®Red Sweet Crisp (55 days). Its tiny cut-and-come-again heads are wonderful in containers or small gardens.
Radishes
Classic French ‘D’Avignon’ radishes
Most think that radishes (Raphanus sativus) are spicy and make you burp, but good spring radish varieties are mild and sweet if you grow and pick them at the right time. When it comes to classic French breakfast radishes, nothing beats ‘D’Avignon‘ (21-30 days). The early, sweet, red and white radishes should be harvested as soon as they reach 3-4 inches in length for best crisp texture. The new purple radish ‘Bravo‘ (49 days) is reliably sweet, very colorful and slower to bolt, making it good for late-spring culture. Of the white radishes, ‘Icicle‘ (27-35 days) produces long, crisp roots that remain sweet with little bite, even when subjected to heat.
Snap Peas
Reliable ‘Sugar Ann’ snap peas (image care of AAS Winners)
Snap peas (Pisum sativum) are a must in my spring garden, and those that remain stringless, crunchy, and sweet are my favorites. The classic top-notch variety is ‘Super Sugar Snap‘ (60 days). Look no further if you seek a prolific, high-quality snap pea produced on 5-foot vines. Those interested in short-vine peas that bear early should pick ‘Sugar Ann‘ (52 days), which bears lots of sweet snaps on 2-foot vines. The 1984 AAS winner is a classic coveted by gardeners with limited space.
Ensure your spring vegetables have a great start by enriching your garden beds with the best amendments. Mix a liberal amount of Fafard Premium Natural & Organic Compost into your garden soil. Turn it in deeply to better support root crops and encourage vigorous root growth all around.
Fall time is winter squash time. Whether you plan to make squash soup, a pie, or pasta, some varieties taste better than others. Here are some of the very best to seek at the market and consider growing in the vegetable garden. Many are beautiful and all have outstanding flavor.
Winter Squash Types
Sunshine Kabocha Squash
Several of the varieties mentioned were bred outside of North America, but all winter squash originate from the New World. Species were first cultivated by Native Americans and developed over thousands of years. There are three primary culinary species known to cultivation—C. maxima, C. moschata, and C. pepo. True pumpkins and acorn squash are C. pepo, butternut squash are in C. moschata, and turban and kabocha squash are in C. maxima.
Across the board, the winter squash on this list rate at the top for flavor, according to countless formal and informal trials and reviews. Gardeners can be confident in choosing any one, if good taste is what they value in a squash. Most are also high performing in the garden.
Kabocha Squash
Kabocha (C. maxima) are squat, orange, green or gray-green squash that originates from Japan. They have dense, dry flesh that is bright orange. Two of the more common, and nicest tasting are ‘Red Kuri’ (92-100 days) with its orange-red skinned fruits and smooth flesh that is less sweet but nicely flavored, and the gray-skinned ‘Winter Sweet’ (95 days), which has dry, sweet flesh.
Acorn Squash
Cream of the Crop Acorn Squash
Acorn squash (C. pepo) are wonderfully sweet, deeply lobed, acorn-shaped, and great for roasting. The cream-, gold-, and dark-green-striped cultivar ‘Jester’ (95 days) is just as pretty as it is tasty. Another comparable variety with super sweetness is ‘Sweet Dumpling’ (90-100 days) with its smaller, squatter, ivory and green fruits, and honeyed orange flesh. A less sweet, but colorful, variety is the orange-, cream-, and dark-green-splashed ‘Festival’ (90-100 days). ‘Cream of the Crop’ is a pretty ivory colored variety with good, mild flavor.
Pumpkins
Baby Pam Pumpkin
One of the finest pumpkins for pie is the tender-skinned C. pepo ‘Winter Luxury’ (105 days). Each year this variety, and the small, pie pumpkin ‘Baby Pam’ (105 days), are the pumpkins that I choose for making homemade pie. The ‘New England Pie’ pumpkin (105 days) is an old heirloom from the 1800s that is also highly recommended. The unusual, lumpy, blue-gray-skinned C. moschata ‘Marina di Chioggia’ (100 days) is an Italian heirloom turban squash with dense, sugary, orange flesh great for pies, soups, and desserts.
Butternut Squash
Butternut squash have some of the best flavor of all!
Butternut cultivars are pretty consistent when it comes to flavor. All have richly sweet, nutty flesh favored for all kinds of fall and winter cookery. The compact variety C.moschata ‘Butterbush’ (75 days) is short-vined and bears small butternut squash that are dark orange, dense and very sweet on the inside. Vines are quite productive and early to bear.
Other Winter Squash Types
Delicata Squash
The cream- and green-striped, elongated fruits of Cucurbita pepo ‘Delicata JS’ (100 days) are thin-walled and have sweet, nutty, golden flesh. The small, ornamental fruits of ‘Sweet Lightning’ (100 days) look like tiny pumpkins striped with cream. Its sweet, stringless, pale orange flesh is said to be even better tasting than that of ‘Delicata JS’.
Cultivating Winter Squash
Winter squashes need to be started in spring for fall harvest. Be sure to plant them outdoors after the threat of frost has passed. It pays to plant them on berms (click here to read all about berming) amended with lots of organic matter. Fafard Premium Natural & Organic Compost, and Fafard Garden Manure Blend are recommended for spring soil enrichment. Full sun and space are essential for these sprawling, vining plants. Many may require as much as a 12’ to 15’ patch to grow to their fullest. You will know the fruits are ready to harvest when they are hard, have full color, and their supporting vines start to wither.
By fall, you should be able to find these squash at farmer’s markets and orchards. You might also consider planting one or two in your garden next year.
Chives are pretty in the garden and on the plate. Their flowers are edible, too! (photo by Jessie Keith)
Edible ornamental bulbs (or is it ornamental edible plants?) are wonderful garden playthings. As welcome in a recipe as in a mixed border, they appeal both to our love of beauty and to our utilitarian, subsistence-gardening roots.
No plants go more to the root of edible gardening than the ones we know as flower bulbs (although most are not roots or bulbs in the strict botanical sense). From the moment humans discovered that many plants grow from nutrient-rich underground storage organs, we’ve been scratching the dirt harvesting and cultivating that subterranean bounty. At the same time, we’ve been captivated and seduced by the colorful things that many bulbs do above-ground. They’re a feast for the eyes and the palate.
Siberian native Allium obliquum has edible bulbs and yellow, early-summer flowers.
Several other alliums make more handsome garden subjects. Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) has long been treasured for its attractive clumps of hollow, quill-like leaves and its late spring to early summer globes of purple to white flowers. The somewhat similar (but much later-blooming) Allium chinense is a favorite potherb in its native East Asia, where it’s garnered a host of common names, including rakkyo and Jiao Tou. Also from East Asia, Allium tuberosum (commonly known as garlic chives) bears larger, looser heads of white flowers on 18-inch stems in late summer. The leaves and flowers make tasty and eye-catching embellishments for salads and other summery repasts. Whether eaten or not, garlic chive flowers should be deadheaded to prevent the prolific self-sowing for which the species is notorious. All the above thrive in sun and fertile, friable soil (amend heavy or sandy soil with Fafard® Premium Natural & Organic Compost Blend).
Shadier niches provide ideal habitat for two woodland onions traditionally harvested for their broad, piquant, short-lived leaves. The greens and bulbs of bear’s garlic (Allium ursinum) have played a part in European and North Asian diets for many centuries and still find their way onto menus (especially in chic restaurants). In eastern North America, the tasty, trendy woodland onion is Allum tricoccum, subject of traditional “ramps” celebrations over much of its native range. Over-collecting has rendered it relatively scarce in the wild, but ramps (as well as bear’s garlic) is usually prolific in the garden, spreading vigorously into large leafy clumps. An ideal way to slow it down in cultivation is to sacrifice a few leaves to a springtime omelet, stir-fry, soup, or other morsels. Its flowers are also edible; they appear on 15-inch scapes in early summer, after the foliage has withered. Bear’s garlic produces similar (but slightly showier) flowers in spring, while still in leaf. (Click here to read more about growing ramps at home.)
Springtime greens of a different sort are the stuff of Ornithogalum pyrenaicum. This high-rise star-of-Bethlehem is famous (at least in the neighborhood of Bath, England) for its succulent immature flower stalks that resemble asparagus spears. Formerly gathered from the wild and sold in markets in its namesake town, Bath asparagus is enjoying something of a culinary revival as a cultivated plant in Southwest England and elsewhere. Unharvested stalks mature into 30-inch spires of starry white flowers, which themselves are well worth a place in mixed borders and cottage gardens. Native to Southern Europe, Bath asparagus was likely introduced to England by Roman occupiers (who apparently also had good taste in ornithogalums).
Southern Europe is also the home of what is almost certainly the most valuable edible bulb: saffron. Several thousand Crocus sativus flowers are required to produce one hand-harvested ounce of this precious seasoning, which is literally worth its weight in gold. Most of the world’s saffron crop comes from Iran, but it’s been cultivated for centuries in many other areas including Pennsylvania’s Amish country. It is not known in the wild.
Bath asparagus in full bloom. (Photo by Garrytowns)
Crocus sativus has three sets of chromosomes and is unable to produce seed, suggesting that it probably originated as a hybrid or mutation of another crocus species (Greek native Crocus cartwrightianus is the leading candidate). Several other close relatives (including C. pallasii and C. oreocreticus) of saffron crocus also occur in Southeast Europe, all of them carrying the characteristic fragrant, orange-red stigmas at the centers of their purple to lavender, mid-autumn blooms. Crocus sativus and its relatives prosper in full sun and rich fertile soil in USDA Hardiness Zones 6 to 9. They’re perfect for planting near an entryway, where their tasty stigmas can be readily harvested for that next loaf of saffron bread.
Edible bulbs offer possibilities for all sorts and sizes of ornamental plantings, from a container of herbs to a permaculture landscape. Dig in!
For high vegetable yields be sure to feed your crops with a granular organic vegetable fertilizer early in the season. Amendments such as 
