The easiest first garden is an herb garden

Common chives in flower

Sunday, June 25, 2023

If you are just starting gardening, an herb garden is a great place to start.  I started with flowers and hostas then tried herbs before adding vegetables.  Most common herbs are perennials and do well being neglected.  An herb garden is also very cost effective.  Spices are pricey and a plant that you buy once and get years of spices from is great for the pocket book and taste of what you cook.  

Most culinary herbs that we are familiar with hail from the Mediterranean region.  They thrive in poor soil and not a lot of water.  There are even more choices out there today that you can buy as plants.  Plants will give you enough for cooking with now and enough to harvest for winter cooking.

So, what are the herbs you should start with?  A basic culinary herb garden could include parsley, basil, chives, French tarragon, sorrel, sage, dill, oregano, rosemary, and thyme.  If you like the taste of licorice, add fennel. 

Of these, parsley, basil and dill are annuals, the rest are perennials.  With perennials, you plant once and you get to enjoy them for a lifetime.  Parsley and dill will likely “self sow”, meaning their seeds will sprout into a plant next year.  Basil will have to be replanted each year when all danger of frost has passed.  The other option with basil is to keep it in a pot and bring indoors to overwinter.

The easiest to grow are the perennials.  I'd start with them.  You can place them and then plan to add the annual herbs when you are feeling ready to take on more.  An additional benefit to herbs is that they deter deer from the garden.  Deer hate strong scents.  I have herbs all around my garden instead of just in one place for this reason.  Creeping thyme is a nice herb that you can plant all around the perimeter of your garden that makes a nice edging.

I have added horseradish and mint (both can be invasive so a pot is a good option), celery which loves lots of water so again a good option for a pot, cilantro which does reseed well and likes cool weather, and a bay laurel tree which I keep in a pot to bring into the basement each winter.

Starting with plants is the most fool proof way to get going.  You can pick up your herb plants at any big box store or for more fun varieties, go to your nearest nursery, farmers market or even seed catalogues sell plants.  There are many options out there.  I prefer getting my herb plants from a local organic nursery or trying new types from seed catalogues.

Thyme, savory and onions with daylilies in the background

You can buy an entire plant for less than the cost of one tiny bottle of dried herbs.  Herbs are easy to preserve; just dry them.  Cut the herbs back in mid summer and put in a paper bag.  Do not pack tightly, pack loosely so that the herbs do not mold.  Put in a warm, dry place out of direct sunlight if possible and a few weeks later you will be rewarded with enough herbs for your cooking and all your relatives for the entire year!   Make your own "Herbes de Provence"

Most herbs like full sun and dry feet.  Too much water is about the only thing that will kill an herb plant.  I plant mine amongst the flowers and near the back door for optimum convenience for cooking.  You can also grow in pots if you like and put right at the door!

If you have been thinking of trying your hand at edible gardening, herbs are a great way to start.

What's happening in the late June edible garden

Zinnias, basil and tomatoes planted in garden bed

Saturday, June 24, 2023

 

My summer edible garden has gotten off to a slower start this year.  The summer seeds I started took forever to sprout and have been growing about the speed of molasses!  Luckily, a neighbor had extra tomato seedlings and those are growing well and we got our first ripe tomatoes last week end! 

I read descriptors and articles on the most heat tolerant lettuces there are and I keep trying new ones to find the ones that last the longest in my summer garden.  

For the rest of the summer lovers like squash, beans, peppers and eggplant, it is a similar story for all that I grew from seed.  

Squash-I have volunteers that are flowering, but only male flowers so far so no baby fruits yet.  For the seeds I started, the Trombetta summer squash has started to flower, the Potato and Warsaw spaghetti winter squash plants are growing well, but no flowers yet.  Everything you need to know to grow squash

Eggplant-the seeds I started on May 7th have very small plants.  I started them in peat pods, then moved to 4" pots and finally to their final large sized pots on June 9.  The seedlings are still small but growing.  I have Rotanda Bianca, AO Daimaru, and Amadeo seedlings.  I also bought an Ichiban Japanese eggplant that had a fruit already on it and transplanted it into a large pot.  It is doing well, but no additional flowers or fruits yet.  Tranplants first grow down before they grow up, making sure the plant has the root system to support growth and fruiting.  Everything you need to know to grow eggplant, in a...

Beans-I started all these vining types from seed in extra large pots with a trellis, Blauhilde-purple snap bean, Urizun Japanese winged bean, 1500 Year Old bean that can be harvested fresh for snap beans or left on the vine for shelled beans, and Christmas Speckles heirloom lima bean.  The winged bean is slowing growing; it is always the last to take off as it thrives only in hot weather.  The 1500 Year Old bean is growing quite well but has no flowers or beans yet.  Christmas Speckles has flowers and pods.  I have been harvesting a few snap beans from Blauhilde for a couple of weeks now.  Growing beans

Cucumber-I am growing Bush Champion this year in an extra large pot.  The first seed I planted sprouted about a month ago but has not grown beyond its first 2 seed leaves so I planted another seed a couple of weeks ago and it has sprouted.  Everything you need to know to grow cucumbers, in ...

Tomatoes-I am growing 14 in the garden bed and my hubby is growing 10 upside down in 5 gallon buckets with an auto watering system.  His is nice, green and bushy with many, many small tomatoes.  Mine don't have as many leaves and less but much larger tomatoes.  We've harvested ripe tomatoes from both systems.  We've both been fertilizing the same.  He waters twice a day and I water only when there has not been any rain during the week.  When a plant is not as green as it has been, I will hand water with fish fertilizer.  That seems to be working well.  You don't want to give too much nitrogen or you will end up with all leaves and no fruits.  

Everything you need to know to grow tomatoes

Snow peas-most are drying up.  Have a couple that are still giving pods.  Peas are spring lovers.  They love cool temperatures and lots of moisture.  They'll be done producing shortly.  Legumes-peas for spring, beans for summer

Greens-All the spinach, all the mustards, all the Chinese cabbage and all the lettuce planted since April has bolted.  There are a few younger lettuce plants that have not bolted.  Usually, the Red Sails and Butter King stay sweet after bolting.  Harvest first thing in the morning or after a rain for best tasting leaves.  The amaranth and orach are producing seed stalks but they will remain sweet all summer long.  The chard planted last month is still small.  The volunteer sprouting broccoli is only about 6' high.  They are big enough to start harvesting leaves.  They will stay sweet all summer, too.  Red Malabar and New Zealand spinach love the hot temperatures and are growing quickly.  Their leaves can be harvested all summer long as spinach substitutes.  Carefree summer salad greens

Herbs-Cilantro has bolted; it is a cool temperature lover.  The rest of the herbs are growing well-dill, sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, horseradish, and basil.  All do well right to winter except for basil; it dies as soon as the first frost comes.  Most winters in our Zone 7 garden, the sage, thyme, oregano can be harvested throughout the winter.  Start a kitchen herb garden!

Flowers-Celosia, Love Lies Bleeding amaranth, daylilies, purple coneflower, bee balm, hydrangeas, blunt mountain mint, sunflowers, petunias, mums, spiderworts, blue morning glory, hollyhocks, lantana, gardenia, and zinnias are all blooming in my garden.  My thyme is covered in blooms as well.  Many carrots have bolted, creating tall white flowers that look like Queen Ann's Lace.  Pollinators just love the small flowers on herbs and carrot flowers.  It looks like I have one butterflyweed plant growing from the 2009 seeds I sowed in a pot.  I sowed another round of new seeds to see if I can get some more going for my pollinator bed.

Carefree summer salad greens

Potted Red Romaine with amaranth and morning glory

Sunday, June 18, 2023

It has taken me years to figure out what the best greens are to keep salads going through the summer.  Lettuce is a crop that loves cool weather.  As soon as the temperatures start hitting the 80"s, they sprout a stalk and flower, called bolting.  As soon as that stalk starts growing, the leaves turn bitter.  So, what are you to do to keep sweet greens going through the dog days of summer?  This is what I have found to work in my Zone 7 summer garden.

I read descriptors and articles on the most heat tolerant lettuces there are and I keep trying new ones to find the ones that last the longest in my summer garden.  There are some that even after they bolt still stay sweet if you harvest first thing in the morning or right after a nice cooling rain.  For my garden, the best summer lettuces have been Royal Oakleaf, Butter King, and Red Sails.  Grand Rapids does decent.  My volunteer Red Romaine is doing well in the shade so far.  This summer, the new varieties I am trying Bronze Beauty, Solar Flare, Blue Feather and Yedikule lettuce to see how they do.

A few years ago, I started growing different types of greens that have the sweetness of lettuce but can survive the dog days of summer.  So far, the ones that have done well as Hilton Chinese Cabbage, Chinese Bicolor Spinach (an amaranth), any color orach, Red Malabar spinach, New Zealand spinach, sprouting broccoli florets and leaves, young kale and sweet mustards Komatsuna Tendergreen and Giant Leaf.  I am trying a couple of other Chinese cabbages this year Scarlet and Golden Beauty and another amaranth grown for its pretty fuchsia stalk and large leaves Pink Beauty.

The other trick you can do is to practice succession planting.  Planting a few lettuce seeds every 2-3 weeks will keep you in young lettuce leaves through the seasons.  I do do this.  I let my lettuce go to seed and replant the volunteers that sprout while planting out a few seeds if I need to.  I always have various sized lettuce plants going.  How quickly they go from sweet to bitter depends on how dry they get, how much shade they get, and how hot it gets.  Sometimes they will bolt when they are only 4" tall!  

Keeping the greens moist helps they to stay sweet.  If you can plant them in a shadier spot of the garden in summer to give relief from the pounding sun or plant in pots that you can move to a cooler spot, this definitely helps, too.  Make sure in early April you switch to only heat tolerant varieties.  Come mid-August, it will be time to switch back over to the cold, winter hardy types to be ready for fall and winter harvesting.

Some nice green adds to summer salads are tarragon leaves, chives, parsley, thyme, oregano, mint and onion tops.  I always grow Radish Tail because it is just fun and the tender seed pods are fun additions to salads.

All amaranths and celosias are edible, even those grown as ornamentals like Love Lies Bleeding and cockscomb.  So, if you have an abundance of leaves, they make great salads, too.

Doing these things makes sure that I have all the salads I want all the hot summer long.

Local food production begins in your garden

Potted eggplant with petunias

Saturday, June 17, 2023

There is a lot of interest these days in buying local, from neighborhood stores, independent restaurants and produce.  It keeps your dollars in your community, supporting your neighbors and local farmers.  In addition, food grown close will be fresher and more nutritious.  As soon as a fruit or vegetable is picked, it begins losing its nutritional value.  What is the most nutritious?  What you grow in your own garden.  You can't get more local than that!

If you have been thinking about growing some of your own food, there is no time like today to get started.  It is not too late to start producing food or herbs and spices in June.  Plus, all the stores have their plants on clearance!

You can start an edible garden in June!

You don't need a rototiller or an acre of ground to grow food.  Almost any herb, fruit or vegetable can be grown in a pot.  Just look for the descriptions like "patio", "dwarf", "small space" for the varieties bred for small spaces or pots.  There has been a huge surge of new varieties bred for pots in the last decade.  I add trailing flowers like petunias in each pot to make it pretty and attract pollinators.  For the size of pot needed and just a few varieties of most popular veggies, see this blog:

  Decorative container gardening for edibles 

  I got started with herbs indoors one winter.  I transplanted them into my flower bed the next spring.  They did great.  It gave me the confidence to try some veggies the next spring.

If getting started is intimidating, try herbs to start with.  Most herbs thrive on neglect and many are perennials so you only have to plant them once and they come back year after year.  Herbs that are carefree and perennial in my garden are oregano, parsley, thyme, and sage.  Rosemary and basil also do great but in our Zone 7 garden, they won't survive through to next spring unless you bring them indoors in December.

Culinary herb garden for beginners     

If you are ready to start with a few veggies, these are the ones I would recommend for getting started in your flower garden or pot on the patio.  Eggplant and peppers are pest free and both grow great in a pot.  I love growing snap beans vines in a pot or the ground; plant 3 seeds around a trellis to grow on and you'll have snap beans until frost and any extras can go right in the freezer to eat all winter.  The last veggie I recommended for your first garden would be a tomato plant.  If growing in a large pot, you will need to get a dwarf or patio type as regular tomatoes won't grow well in a large pot.  If there is room for a larger tomato in your flower garden, you can plant any kind of tomato and it will be happy.

Eggplant-add this native from India to your garden

Peppers are for every taste and garden

Growing beans

Tomatoes 101, everything you need to know to grow great tomatoes

You can also try summer squash like zucchini or patty pan.  If you get bush types, they can be grown in a large pot or a smaller spot in the flower garden.  With squash, you will likely get squash bugs and powdery mildew.  Production will be winding down by that time so you can just go ahead and pull them.  Zucchini produces lots and lots so you will only need one plant producing at a time to feed a family with plenty left over to freeze or dry for winter eating.  

Growing zucchini and summer squash

Cucumbers are pretty carefree and you get a lot from each plant.  Plenty to eat fresh with enough left over to make your own pickles or pickle relish.  If growing in a pot, be sure to use a large pot and get the 

"bush" type so they stay smaller.  

How to grow cucumbers-in pots or in the garden

Here are some pointers for growing edibles in the summer.  Tips for the summer edible garden 

 I The biggest mistake a beginner gardener makes?  Trying to grow too many things the first time.  Pick just a couple of things that you love to eat from the above list to get started.  With that experience under your belt, you can add a few more next year.  

Water bath canning versus pressure canning

Canning jars and lids

Monday, June 12, 2023

Canning is one way to preserve the harvest.  With heat canning, you can preserve your harvest and be able to keep it in the pantry to use through to next season's harvest.  When you think of canning, many of us remember our grandmother or great grandmother getting out her huge pressure canner and her canning in a not kitchen for days on end.  However, only a simple stock pot and canning jars are needed for many crops, pickled goods and jams.

So, what makes it safe for water bath canning instead of having to go the pressure canning route?  It's the level of acidity of what you are preserving.  Higher acid foods do not need to be pressure canned because they provide an inhospitable environment for the bacteria clostridium botulinum that produces toxins.  Always follow the recipe exactly to ensure the acid level is high enough for water bath canning.  If a recipe calls for pressure canning, also follow it exactly as the time for canning under pressure is critical for making sure all bacteria is eliminated during the canning process.

Here are the web pages and resources I use when canning.  They have recipes and instructions for both water bath canning and pressure canning:

Mother Earth News canning tips

Mother Earth News “How to Can” app

National center for home food preservation  http://nchfp.uga.edu

USDA’s Complete Guide to Home Canning http://goo.gl/pwrxd

Home Canning  www.homecanning.com 

“Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving” book

“The Complete Book of Small Batch Preserving” book     

Here is what I can via the water bath method:

Time to make homemade tomato sauce!

Have garlic any time you need it, just pickle some!

Quick tip-make your own hot sauce

Quick tip-make homemade pickle relish 

Make your own pickles without a store bought seasoning mix 

All you need to water bath can is a large stock pot, canning jars, a funnel, and canning tongs. Always follow the recipe as written to insure food safety.  If the food is not acidic enough, it can allow botulism to grow.  

My favorite canning jars are Weck's.   They have glass lids so only glass touches your food and they are really pretty.  My back up are antique glass lids that fit both antique glass jars and today's small mouth glass jars.  My third is Tanner's lids made of a plastic that does not contain BPA.

Easy, low tox canning of summer's bounty 

In general, any crop that is acidic by itself like tomatoes or is preserved using an acidic liquid or solid like vinegar and sugar are good candidates for water bath canning.  Do follow the recipe from a reputable source to guarantee food safety.

So besides the ones that I use a water bath canner for, most jams and jellies if using sugar and most pickled items will be a candidate for the easier and quicker water bath canning method.

I finally bought a 23 quart pressure canner to be able to can low acid foods like meat, sweet corn, green beans, roasted peppers, etc.  I use it for canning deer stew meat.  Pressure canning definitely takes longer and is more involved.  The benefit is that you can put up your bounty in the pantry versus having to freeze it.  Myself, we have lots of freezer space so I freeze my extra okra, greens, peppers, tomatoes, beans, and corn.

If you decide to go the pressure canning route, make sure you get a canner that is large enough for minimizing the time needed do can everything you want to can.  My 23 quart canner can hold up to 7 quart jars or 16 wide mouth pint jars at a time.  A pressure canner can also be used as a water bath canner if you want to have just one pot for both.  If you have an induction cooktop, you will need to be sure to get a canner with a steel bottom as most pressure canners are made out of aluminum.

The other options for preserving the harvest besides canning and freezing are dehydrating or freeze drying.  Dehydrating can be done with an affordable dehydrator, in the oven or outside.  Freeze drying equipment is now available for the every day person but is still pretty pricey. 

Freezing the extras for winter

Dehydrate or sun dry your extra veggies

   Harvesting and drying herbs 

Quick tips on summer edible garden watering

Potted eggplant and petunia

Sunday, June 11, 2023

The summer loving edibles from the tropics love this time of year.  My Red Malabar spinach, New Zealand spinach, pepper plants, morning glory vines and squash plants seem to be growing inches every day!  The crops from temperate regions like tomatoes, beans, peppers and Mediterranean herbs are also growing quite well.  The humidity brings higher risk of disease and the lack of rain during peak summer heat can put a damper on garden production.  Sufficient and proper moisture for garden plants is key.  

To keep your plants thriving and your harvests at their peak, here are a few tips for watering your summer edible garden

1. Ensure consistent moisture.  The cause of cracked fruits is inconsistent water.   The plant gets used to very little water and when deluged the fruit’s skin can’t expand fast enough and the fruit cracks.  Inconsistent watering can also cause blossom end rot.  Over watering can be a problem, too.  Too much water will cause your fruits to be tasteless and mushy.  
2. Morning watering is optimal.  It is best to water in the morning; you get maximum absorption (biggest bang for your water buck) and lessen the risk of fungal disease.  Tomatoes, potatoes, watermelon, cucumber and squash are highly susceptible to fungal diseases.  Fungal disease thrives in moist, humid conditions.  It's really like Goldilocks-not too much and not too little.  If you have to err on one side, it would be to water less.  You can poke your finger into the soil to see if it is still moist.  If it is dry in the first 2-3" of soil, it is time to water. 
3. Water deeply.  If in the ground, your plants need either a good soaking rain each week or a deep watering (1" total per week).  I use soaker hoses in my mulched garden beds so the water goes in slowly and can be absorbed by the soil and plants, eliminating run off.  When water runs off your beds, it is also washing away nutrients.   For pots, you will likely need to water 2-3 times per week during the height of summer heat.  I like pots with a water reservoir built in the bottom.  Because you have to water so much more for pots, you also need to fertilize twice as much for pots as for plants in the garden bed.  
4. Do not water the foliage of your nightshade plants!  They are very susceptible to fungal diseases and water on their leaves encourages fungal growth.  It is recommended to spray every 7-14 days for natural fungicides on all nightshade plants (tomatoes, potatoes, squash, watermelon, and cucumbers) when the risk for fungal disease starts.  In our Zone 7 garden, late May is not too early to start preventative spraying.  I rotate using Copper, Serenade and Southern Ag as a preventative.

These are my top tips for watering.  If you see that your summer lovers are consistently not performing well as you get into August and you are fertilizing and watering per the recommendations, you have a few options.  You can start a second round in June so that as the first round is winding down, you have replacements just getting started producing.  You can look for varieties that are better suited for your garden conditions.  Try to buy seed from as close to your location as possible, buy from a seed company that specializes in varieties for your region or ask gardeners at your local farmers market which varieties are great performers all summer long.

For additional summer edible gardening info:  

Summer garden tips     

All about the summer edible garden  

What's happening in the early June edible garden

Chives and sage in bloom

Saturday, June 10, 2023

Typically in the early June edible garden, the summer veggies are flowering and have baby fruits and the spring veggies are at the end.  This year, my tomatoes, beans, peppers and squash are flowering.  The tomatoes and peppers have baby fruits.  My eggplant seedlings and bush cucumber seedling are still really small.  My last round of lettuce is starting to bolt and the lettuce plants that overwintered and planted in April have bolted and gone to seed.   Herbs are growing robustly.  By this time of year, we no longer need to purchase produce from the grocery store and can get fresh herbs to add to ordinary dishes that make them taste wonderful.

The greens we are eating-lettuce, French sorrel, chard, spinach, dandelion greens, chick weed, sweet clover, green onions, Ruby Streaks mustard, sprouting broccoli leaves, snow peas, Red Malabar spinach.  Growing fabulous lettuce and greens

Herbs to add to dishes and salads-chives, cilantro, oregano, thyme, horseradish, Egyptian walking onions, tarragon, sage, dill.  Parsley and rosemary are still small.  Fruits for salads and desserts-raspberries, strawberries, blueberries.

The flowers that are blooming-spiderwort, marigolds, petunias, roses, daylilies, Love Lies Bleeding amaranth, hollyhocks, Heavenly Blue morning glory, lantana, moss rose, hellebore, the herbs and veggies going to seed-white flowers on the cilantro, the white, red and pink flowers of thyme, lavender chive flowers, yellow broccoli flowers, white carrot flowers that look like their cousin Queen Ann's Lace, yellow and blue lettuce flowers.  All veggie and herb flowers are edible.  A fun way to add flavor and beauty to salads or other dishes!

The hummingbird vine volunteers are still small.  The potted moonflower vine is a couple of feet long, but no flowers yet.  No marigold volunteers yet; they usually start showing their heads later in the month.

Pepper, squash, cucumber and eggplants are small for this time of year.  Peppers, squash, and cucumbers typically can be harvested in June and tomatoes and eggplant around the 4th of July.  I'm not sure there will be peppers or summer squash by the end of June; definitely no eggplant or cucumbers.  The tomatoes started early have fruits on just about all of the different varieties-beefsteak, Roma, Prize, Rubee Goddess, Black Prince and Rubee Dawn.  The others have flowers-Brandywine, Chocolate Lightning.  Maybe the Rupee Dawn and Black Prince will be ripe by the 4th of July. 

Tomorrow, I will plant my latest round of seedlings that I started at the beginning of May and have been really slow to get going-eggplant, basil, rosemary and a few more tomatoes.  I fertilize when I plant them.  I have also added liquid fish fertilizer to all my pots and my in ground tomatoes as they were on the yellow side.  It's time to also do another round of solid fertilizer when all the tomato plants have baby fruits on them.  I have also been removing any yellowing bottom leaves from the tomato plants.  I'm going to try coffee grounds around the tomatoes, too, to give slow release of nitrogen and discourage voles.  

I have continued to start pollinator seedlings in a rectangular pot close to the patio.  I have a few that are large enough to transplant but I am waiting to make sure they are flowers and not weeds.  I've already done around 3 rounds of plantings so far this season.  My pollinator bed is looking pretty well covered now.  

Flea beetles, slugs and aphids are about the only pests I have seen so far in the garden.  Slugs proliferate in the lettuce pots because I keep lettuce moist.  I finally put out some slug bait to get them cut back some.  I put some de on my amaranth to keep the flea beetles under control.  For aphids, I just spray the plant with water.   Natural, organic pest strategies and how to make your own bug sprays

You can start seeds indoors and outdoors throughout the season.  I keep my seed packets in the refrigerator for years.  This keeps them fresh enough to germinate even though they are not this year's seed.  For any I start indoors, I put the seedlings on the covered patio to harden off.  The sun is very intense this time of year so if you start seeds indoors be sure to let them get used to the sun before planting in the garden.  I let them harden on the covered patio for a week or two and try and plant out in the garden when it is calling for rain.  I prefer to start seeds outdoors on the patio this time of year.  Outdoor seed starting tips

Potted lettuce bolting

Lettuce is a crop that does not like the heat.  When it gets up in the 80's, they bolt, sending up a stalk that then flowers.  You can let them go to seed and then save seed for re-sowing.  Most lettuces start to get bitter when they bolt.  Red Sails and Butter King are two of the few that stays fairly sweet even after bolting.  Be sure to harvest first thing in the morning for the best tasting greens.  

This time of year, re-sow every 3 weeks to keep in lettuce.  Also, sow the most heat tolerant varieties you can find to extend how long you can harvest.  Bolt-free, sweet summer lettuces

Everything you need to know to grow eggplant, in a pot or garden bed

Black Beauty eggplant in container with petunias

Sunday, June 4, 2023

Eggplant is easy to grow.  It is happy in a pot or the ground.  Eggplants are tropical plants and require a long growing season to fruit.  Large eggplant varieties are stunning plants in pots with their upright habit and large leaves.  I like to pair them with petunias on the patio and deck. 

Eggplant is a staple in Greek, Italian, Middle Eastern and many Asian cuisines.  It is used as a substitute for meat in many dishes.  This fruiting vegetable originated in India and has been cultivated there for thousands of years.  It had made its way to the Mediterranean region by the Middle Ages.  

Eggplant contains fiber, antioxidants that have potential health effects against cancer, C, K, folate vitamins, and copper, iron, magnesium and potassium.  eggplant nutrition info

 Ideally, eggplant should be started indoors 6-8 weeks prior to the last frost date (for Zone 7, this is end of February/first of March) to get the earliest harvest.  They are heat loving veggies that need some time to start producing fruit.  If you don't get them started early or just want the convenience, there are many varieties available at nurseries and big box stores.

Transplant outdoors after all danger of frost has passed, 18-24" apart  or in a large pot in full sun.  Fertilize when transplanting with a balanced organic/all natural fertilizer.  Fertilize again with the first flowers appear to support the growth of fruits, then monthly if planted in the garden bed.  For those planted in pots, I add solid fertilizer monthly and give a liquid fertilizer when I water every 2 weeks.  The plants like moisture so don't be stingy with water.

Eggplants, like peppers and tomatoes, are perennials.  You can bring them indoors at the end of the season and with direct sun, continue producing.  If they survive the winter, they will produce sooner and have bigger yields next summer.  I have had mixed luck overwintering mine in our unheated garage or basement with grow lights.  The only one that has done well is a white variety.

Eggplants grow well in pots.  This is my preferred way to grow eggplants.  Look for dwarfs or patio types like Casper, Listada de Gandia, White Egg or Fairytale, or plant in a larger container.  I grow the standard size plants in large containers and always pair with petunias.  Flowers attract pollinators, increasing your yields.  

If you have grown eggplant in the past and experienced a tough outer skin, slight bitterness of taste and many seeds, you need to pick the fruits sooner.  As the fruits ripen on the vine, they will get a thicker skin, more and larger seeds.   You can also look for varieties that are better adapted to hot and humid climates.  

We have found any white fruiting eggplant work great in our hot and humid summers.  They don't get bitter and their skins don't get tough.  Rosa Bianca, Rotanda Bianca, AO Daimura, and Amadeo have also stayed sweet with thin skins.  Turkish Orange is one that I have grown in the past that has a smokey flavor and smaller orange fruits. It's fun to try new varieties while keeping proven performers.

White eggplant ripening

I use Espoma vegetable fertilizer on all my vegetables, fruits and potted plants.  Before I moved, I could also get Re-Vita fertilizer which is also a good organic fertilizer.  You can make your own all natural fertilizer pretty economically.  Make your own all natural, complete fertilizer

I got started much later this year than typical because we had a long, cool spring again this year with my eggplant seedlings.  They are just now putting on their second set of leaves.  It is best to wait until they have at least two sets of leaves before transplanting.  Eggplants are heat lovers so wait until it is at least up in the 70's before transplanting outdoors.  

When fruits come on, be sure to harvest regularly.  There are 2 good reasons.  One-the more you pick, the more the plant produces.  Two-the fruits are sweeter and skins thinner on younger fruits.

The only pest I've found with eggplants are flea beetles.  They seem to just love eggplant leaves.  I tried to let the pest "come in balance" and didn't treat with anything, but afte 5 years with no slowing in sight I started using insecticidal soap and DE to knock them back last year when they were eating most of the leaves.  Plants need their leaves to produce food for the plant and its fruits!  You might also be able to use nasturtium as a decoy plant to attract the flea beetles away from the eggplants.  This has not worked for me to date.

Eggplant can be baked, steamed or grilled.  My favorites are brushing on olive oil and salt and grilling until tender, stuffing and baking, using as lasagna noodles, or slicing and topping with parmesan cheese and backing until the cheese is crisp.  I do the same with zucchini.  Keep the grill temp below 350 or substitute grape seed oil that has a higher smoke point.

I have tried blanching eggplant and freezing them.  They just don't taste the same.  Last year, I grilled them and then made them into dip called baba ghanoush.  After frozen, the dip still tasted great.  I'll do the same with any extras I have this year.  

We love both eggplant and zucchini grilled.  Here are the recipes I use for eggplant and zucchini  What to do with all that zucchini?!  

June 2023 Edible Garden Planner

Potted edibles and flowers in the June garden

Saturday, June 3, 2023

June is a productive time in the garden.  Cool season crops are peaking while summer vegetable crops are just starting to produce with herbs in full swing.  Everything is a lush green at the beginning of the month.  As your fruit producing veggies flower, they will need a boost of fertilizer.  As the rain slows down, consistent soil moisture is key.  There are many edibles that you can start this month, too.

What to plant in the June edible garden

What’s growing in the garden right now

The lettuce and spinach I planted in March and April as well as the sprouting broccoli and lettuce that overwintered are in stages of "bolting".  I started heat tolerant lettuce seeds in peat pots at the beginning of May and will resow about every 3 weeks for the summer lettuce harvesting.  I'll start all the seeds in pots so I can keep them in a cool spot or with a shade cover as lettuce doesn't like it hot!  Growing fabulous lettuce and greens

I also have heat loving greens going that are volunteers from last year's plants.  Red Malabar spinach has a bumper crop going from last year's seeds.  I will be thinning them and giving away a few.  Their leaves are of harvestable size now.  New Zealand spinach and Chinese Multi Colored Spinach amaranth also have a few volunteers.  I will thin them by moving to new pots and giving away a few.  They do great in a pot and are quite pretty together.  Red Malabar has pretty purple vines and flowers that just keep on growing.  New Zealand spinach is a pale green that really fills out a pot and the amaranth has pale green and purple leaves that grows upward.  All thrive in our hot summers.

Don't worry about insect damage to the leaves on the cabbage and broccoli as long as the heads are forming nicely.  A little insect damage will not affect the quality of the head produced.  If you are getting over run with worms, you can use an organic Bt spray that only affects worms and not bees or other pollinating insects.  Natural, organic pest strategies and how to make your own bug sprays   Broccoli and cauliflower growing tips  

I have sprouting broccoli volunteers in the garden and pots.  I'll leave them growing.  Sprouting broccoli great for salad greens during the summer months, but cabbage worms do love them.  The leaves taste just like broccoli.   Sprouting broccoli- a year round fav  

Arugula, sorrels, plantain greens and cultivated dandelions are all harvestable.  As it gets hotter, these greens become stronger.  Since they are perennials, they are the first up in the spring for fresh salads.  Harvest the new leaves in summer for the mildest taste.  You can cut them back, too, to get fresh new leaves.  It doesn't hurt them at all.

This year I am also growing new varieties of mustard and other types of greens along with a winner from last year Hilton Chinese cabbage.  A listing of what I am growing is in this blog.  Edible garden plan for 2023.  

Dragon's Tail or Rat's Tail radish is fun to grow and the seed pods are tasty in salads.  I am growing Dragon's Tail radish again this year in a pot.  It has purple stems and the pods have a mild radish flavor.  I planted snow peas in pots in February and April.  I used the type that the vines don't get too long.  The pods, flowers and leaves are great in salads and stay sweet tasting into summer.  

Growing summer salads

The sage, chives, oregano, tarragon, cilantro, Egyptian walking onions and thyme are filling out nicely.  There are no flowers yet which is later than the last few years. The flowers from herbs are edible, too.  They are fun to use in salads or as a garnish in cooked meals.  Very pretty to add in baked potatoes and grill.  We slice our potatoes, add some diced onion or chive flowers, butter, seasoning, wrap in foil and throw on the grill.  Yum.

Start a kitchen herb garden!

Another great thing about herbs is they are a good deterrent to deer.  Deer do not like strong smells so avoid fragrant herbs.  I plant them and marigolds all around the garden to keep the pesky critters away.  We now live out in the country and deer will even bed down in the yard.  What has worked to keep them out of the garden is a combination of herbs throughout the garden, a pod deer deterrent, WD40 on socks, and marigolds around the perimeter of the garden bed.  

Flowering chives

Tomatoes have started flowering so it won't be long before we will be able to eat fresh tomatoes!  We have baby tomatoes on the Black Prince and Rubee Dawn plants so far.  I started peppers, eggplant, beans and squash later so they are not flowering.  They come on quickly, though, this time of year with the warmer temperatures.  Tomatoes 101, everything you need to know to grow great tomatoes    Peppers are for every taste and garden

This year, Now is the time to treat the tomatoes, squash, beans and cucumbers with an organic fungicide.  We have hot humid summers here in the Midwest and fungus loves those conditions!  Keeping fungal growth down greatly improves the plants' health and harvest.  I'll alternate a Copper fungicide with Serenade fungicide after each rain.  I always try to spray when it is cool so they plant does not get stressed.  

I am staying with the best performing pole snap bean this year along with a pole Lima bean Christmas Speckles.  I planted purple Blauhilde instead of Purple Podded beans because it is more disease resistant.  I am growing an early winged bean again this year.  It was super productive and had really pretty flowers.  I prefer pole beans because you get so much from one plant and they produce over the entire summer.  I grow them on a trellis so they are easy to harvest.  The advantage of bush beans is that the harvest duration is short so you don't have to worry about picking fresh beans all summer.  Growing beans

I am growing a bush cucumber Bush Champion this year since I still don't have my garden bed in place and will be growing it in a pot.   I started it indoors and transplanted outside last week end.  You can also direct seed this time of year.  Seeds should be up in 7 days.  For cucumbers, keep an eye out for cucumber beetles and caterpillars.  Just pluck them off and throw into a can of soapy water.  How to grow cucumbers-in pots or in the garden

For squash, I am growing 3 kinds, Trombetta, potato squash and a Warsaw spaghetti squash.  Trombetta can be used as a summer squash or left on the vine to ripen as a winter squash.  It was impervious to pest and disease in my garden.  Warsaw is supposed to be a more pest and disease resistant variety of spaghetti squash.  Potato squash is supposed to taste like potatoes when roasted so that one is just for fun.  I started them indoors and transplanted them outside last week end.  They are very long growing vines.  Don't be afraid of not being able to use all your zucchini, there are great ways to preserve them.  I am still using the zucchini spaghetti noodles out of the freezer from last year and Spaghetti squash "noodles".  I never need to buy pasta.  Veggie noodles are low in carbs and high in nutrition.  What to do with all that zucchini?!   Everything you need to know to grow squash 

Overwintered carrots are flowering.  Egyptian walking onions Egyptian walking onions.  are filling out well.  I am harvesting the walking onion any time I need onions for cooking.  The green stalk is great as a fresh chive, too, for salads or potatoes.  I had some volunteer garlic come up.  I transplanted them over to a permanent bed.  They will be too small to harvest this year.  I'll leave them in the ground until next year.

I am getting strawberries and raspberries.  Both seem to be pest free in our garden.  You just have to get to the strawberries before the birds do!  Back yard strawberries

Ripe Alpine strawberries

 The wild blackberries are already loaded with berries.  Won't be long before there will be ripe berries.

I am growing a kumquat, lemon, goji berry, raspberries and aronia all in pots.  Fruit for small spaces and pots

Now is the time to provide shade for your lettuce and sow bolt resistant varieties like Summer Crisp Magenta, Green Towers, Butter King and Jericho Romaine, Simpson Elite leaf.  The Butter King and Red Sails stay sweet even after it has bolted.  You can move your lettuces if in pots to a shadier part of your patio or porch.  Shade cloths can be used for those in the garden.  You can also plant taller veggies on the south and west side of your lettuces so as they grow, they provide shade to the lettuces.  I move most of my greens around to the northeast, shady side of the house this time of the year to keep them sweet as long as possible.  Be sure to keep them moist as this helps prolong the harvest.

Bolt-free, sweet summer lettuces

I always have to have lots of flowers interspersed in the garden for color, fragrance and to attract beneficial insects.  In addition to the perennial jasmine, daylilies, hollyhocks, gardenia, gladiolus, mums, irises, and lilies, I am growing Cardinal basil, petunias, sunflowers, morning glory, Pride of Madeira and wildflowers.

Best time to harvest

The best time to harvest almost any vegetable is mornings or right after a rain; this is when they are the crunchiest, fullest and sweetest.  Harvest greens in the morning before you go to work and store with the stems in water for the day.

The best time to harvest aromatic herbs like rosemary, thyme and oregano is in the afternoon when the oils are most concentrated.  Harvest herbs like parsley, cilantro and dill in the cooler part of the day.

For more tips on preserving the extra, see Preservation garden

Watering & fertilizing tips

With the heat coming, it is time to start watering.  In general, garden plants like about 1" of water each week.  Pots require more.  Keep consistent moisture to your lettuces to keep taste sweet and your lettuce from bolting as long as possible.  When your lettuce does bolt, let it go to flower and seed.  The bees and beneficial insects enjoy the flowers and the seeds can easily be saved for fall and next spring planting or allowed to self sow.  

Seed saving-fun, easy and a cost saver

Fertilize all your fruit bearing veggies when the first flowers appear (right now we have flowers and small fruits on our peppers and tomatoes).  Provide only compost tea the rest of the season.  Too much nitrogen will cause your plants to grow lush foliage with no fruits.  Nitrogen stimulates green growth so is great for greens but should be used in moderation for fruiting plants.  I like to add Azomite or kelp to each plant once a year.  Both have a variety of trace minerals that can really boost a plant's health and harvest.  Kelp has hormones which stimulate growth.  I learned last year to not use kelp on my tropicals I have in pots because the kelp caused them to shoot up in height.

For more on summer garden care, Summer garden tips

Summer greens and herbs

Can I still plant a garden in June-Yes!

There are many vegetables and herbs that you can still plant right now.   Any of the summer vegetables love these temperatures and sun.  As a matter of fact, this is the best time to plant cucumbers and squash to avoid the vine borer.  Even if you have planted zucchini and tomatoes already, late June is a good time to plant a second crop.  If your seeds don't come up within a week, it is likely that they were either bad or they rotted.  Seeds can rot when the ground is really wet and chilly.  It is still a great time to start seeds.  You can also buy transplants to get a jump on the harvest.  

It is not too late to start a garden in June!

A list of all veggies that can be planted in June:

Arugula

Beans  Legumes-peas for spring, beans for summer

Beets  All about beautiful beets

Broccoli  How to grow broccoli and cauliflower

Broccoli raab  

Brussels sprouts  Growing Brussel sprouts

Cabbage  Cabbage is nutritious and easy to grow

Carrots  All you need to know about growing carrots

Cauliflower  How to grow broccoli and cauliflower

Chard  For year round steamed greens, grow chard!

Collards  Grow a southern favorite-collards

Corn  Growing corn

Cucumbers  How to grow cucumbers-in pots or in the garden

Eggplant  Eggplant-add this native from India to your garden

Bulbing fennel  Growing fennel

Leeks  Everything to know about growing onions

Lettuce (heat tolerant varieties)  Everything you need to know about growing lettuce

Mediterranean herbs (basil, thyme, sage, oregano, rosemary, chives)  Start a kitchen herb garden!

Parsnips

Pumpkins   Everything you need to know to grow squash

Peppers  Peppers are for every taste and garden

Radishes  Easy to grow crispy, peppery radishes

Salsify

Summer squash  Everything you need to know to grow squash

Sweet potatoes  Growing sweet potatoes

Tomatoes  Tomatoes 101, everything you need to know to grow great tomatoes

Turnips  All about turnips

Watermelons  Growing melons and cantaloupe

Savory, thyme, lettuce, onions with day lilies in the background

Here are a couple of garden ideas

If you have a picky eater, try the kid’s pizza/spaghetti garden.  If they grow it, they want to eat it!

Tomatoes-any you can’t eat, you can easily freeze for winter pizzas, salsa, or sauce

Basil, oregano, chives, garlic for seasoning

Onions-you can grow Egyptian walking onions in a pot or ground and they are perennials to boot

Kale, arugula, broccoli and peas for spring and fall pizza toppings (also easy to freeze for later)

Green peppers, eggplant, zucchini for summer pizzas (maybe some hot peppers for the adults)

For those that are real adventuresome, you can get mushroom kits to grow mushrooms.

Pizza garden for the kids

Or if you want a culinary garden, here is an Italian/Sicilian garden that you can grow in as little as a 6’ x 6’ space:

Herbs (1 each)-thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano, and flat leaf parsley

3 basil plants (for pesto and seasoning)

2 tomatoes-1 Roma type for sauces and 1 slicer type for salads

2 sweet pepper plants

1 zucchini

1 eggplant

8 red onions (you can substitute Egyptian walking onions)

8 garlic plants

Arugula, spinach and lettuce scatter sown

Heirloom Sicilian kitchen garden

For other garden themes and ideas:
Small space French kitchen garden

How to decide what to plant for small spaces?
Decorative container gardening for edibles
Get the most from your space-plant intensively!
You can garden year round in small space
Start a kitchen herb garden!

Colonial Vegetable Garden

Preservation garden  

Grow your own smoothie and juice garden

The First Victory Gardens

Mediterranean diet-yummy, healthy and easy to grow anywhere

Edible shade gardens shine in summer

Easy kitchen garden

Fruit for small spaces

It is great fun, a time saver, nutritious and cost effective to grow your own food in your yard or patio!