How to grow cucumbers-in pots or in the garden

Cucumber vines on trellis in the August garden

Sunday, May 30, 2021

Cucumbers are a tropical plant and love heat.  They should be started indoors 4 weeks prior to the last frost (mid March in our Zone 6) and transplanted outside after all danger of frost has passed.  They can also be directly sown into the garden in the summer.  You can purchase transplants at nurseries or big box stores.  You can plant into July and have fruits from August to frost.

Cucumbers have been around for thousands of years and originally from India.  The cucumber arrived in Europe at least 2000 years ago.  The Romans loved them.  Christopher Columbus brought the cucumber with him to Haiti in the 1400‘s and seeds were likely aboard the first ships in Virginia in the 1600’s.

Cucumbers are a good source of potassium, antioxidants like beta carotene, lutein, vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin K.  It also has a diuretic properties.  Cucumber nutritional info  Cucumbers have a sweet, refreshing taste.  They are popular in salads, smoothies, and juices.

Cucumbers should be planted in full sun with rich soil and consistent moisture.  Cucumbers can be grown in pots or in the garden bed.   You can let them run or train them to grow on a trellis.  If growing in soil, plant 4 seeds in hills 3-4‘ apart and thin to the strongest two.  I plant mine around a trellis to use the vertical space. 

In my garden, cucumbers have never been bothered with pests or disease.  They are a seemingly carefree vegetable that produces abundantly. 

If growing green varieties, harvest before the fruits turn yellow.  Early fruits have less seeds and have no bitterness.  Frequent harvesting also encourages the vine to grow more fruits.  Follow the seed packet instructions for harvesting of other colors of cucumbers.

If growing in pots, look for patio, dwarf, bush, or compact in the description.  Some small varieties include Lemon, Suyo, Salad Bush, Fanfare, Sweet Success.  One vine of Salad Bush was all we needed to have enough cucumbers to make pickles for the year for my husband and for salads for me.  I also love adding cukes to my smoothies and snacking on them right off the vine.  
Grow your own smoothie and juice garden
Decorative container gardening for edibles
Make your own pickles without a store bought seasoning mix

2 years ago, I started my seedlings in coir pods at the end of May.  I planted them out into the garden in mid June.   I planted seeds for a yellow that can weigh up to 5 pounds (Jaune Dickfleishige), a red (Hmong Red), and 1 white cucumber into the garden around a trellis.  The white is a small fruit which is great for a single salad or smoothie.  All did quite well.  The large cucumbers will last for months justing sitting on a counter.

Last year, I planted my seeds directly into the garden in early June.  I grew a white and two greens.  The white ones were producing fruits in early July.  They gave me more than I could eat.  Cucumbers grow and produce fast in hot, humid weather.

This year, I started them in peat pods indoors in early April and transplanted outdoors 2 weeks ago after hardening them on the back patio for a couple of weeks.  I am growing 2 White cucumbers.  It should be all I need for pickling and snacking.  They are already flowering.

Fertilize regularly and keep evenly moist.  Do not let soil completely dry out.  This will result in bitter or hollow fruits.  Each plant produces both male and female flowers.  The first flowers will likely be males; they are the ones that have a long thin stalk with the flower on the end.  Don’t be surprised or worried when the first flowers fall off without fruiting.  When the female flowers appear, you will get baby fruits.

Summer garden tips

Don't forget to save seeds from your best producer for next year's garden!

Seed saving-fun, easy and a cost saver

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Growing melons and cantaloupe

Burpee "Bush Sugar Baby" watermelon

Saturday, May 29, 2021

Watermelons and cantaloupes are tropical fruits.  Watermelons likely originated in the southern African Kalahari Desert.  Watermelons were being cultivated in Egypt by 2000 BCE and wild seeds were found at an archeological site in Libya that were 5000 years old.  Egyptian depictions of melons(cantaloupes) date to 3000 years ago.  Wild melons are found in Africa, Asia, and Australia.  Watermelons came to the New World by Spanish and Portugese sailors at an early date.  They were used abundantly by Native Americans by the time colonists arrived.   

Watermelons, muskmelons and cantaloupes prefer the same growing conditions, the warmth and sun of summer.  They were a rarity in England, but grow well in the sunnier parts of Europe and flourished in the New World.  

For cantaloupes, you can start seed indoors 6-8 weeks before the last frost, buy transplants or start directly in the garden.  For planting directly in the garden, plant seeds in late spring/early summer when soil temperature has reached 65 degrees F on hills, 4-5' apart.  Grow in well drained soil.  Melons are like Goldilocks, they don't like the soil too wet or too dry.  Too wet and they can rot or not be flavorful, too dry and their growth will be stunted.

For watermelons, you can sow indoors 3-4 weeks before the last frost, sow seeds directly in the garden when all danger of frost has passed or buy transplants.  Watermelons like a light soil so if you have heavy clay, amend soil with organic material to loosen and make hills 4-6" high.  Harvest after first tendril nearest the fruit turns brown and the underside of the melon turns from light green to a butter yellow.  Some can tell by thumping on the melon if it is ripe.  A hollow sound means it is ready to pick and eat!  Watermelon seed is viable for 6 years.  

Melons will cross with one another so if you want to keep pure seed, either plant only one variety or separate varieties by a half mile.

I grew a compact watermelon last year that can even be grown in a pot!  It is called "Bush Sugar Baby".  Being a bush type, it will stay compact and not have a vine that runs long.  It gets up to 2' tall and 2-3' wide and is ready to harvest in 80 days.  Each plant bears 2, 12 pound melons.  This year, I am trying 2 types of melons, one a Kentucky heirloom Ginger's Pride and a fun little melon called Tigger.  

I did start them indoors on a heated mat at the end of March.  I hardened them off on our covered patio for a few weeks and transplanted them into the garden a week ago.  It has been a cool spring so transplanting into the garden has been 2-3 weeks later than normal.  Melons love the hot weather so I wait until it is summer like before transplanting.  If you want to sow directly in the garden, now would be a good time in our area. 

All you need know to grow green (or purple or yellow) beans

Marigold on left, squash on right with bean vines on trellis behind

Sunday May 16, 2021

Beans have been cultivated for thousands of years all around the world.  Fava type beans hail from the Old World while the types used for dry and green beans are from the New World.  Pole beans were part of the Three Sisters of Native Americans along with squash and corn.  Not only do they taste great, but they add nitrogen to the soil and are easy to "put away" for winter eating.  

Beans are some of the easiest and most productive vegetable to grow in the garden.  They have little to no pests or diseases, and require little care.  With a trellis or pole, you can get a lot of beans from very little space in the garden with pole beans.

Beans love sun, well drained soil, and a side dressing of fertilizer or compost when planted.  Don't get carried away with fertilizer during the growing season or you will have all greenery and no pods.  Be sure to not water the foliage; stick with watering at the ground to avoid fusarium wilt.

Beans are part of the legumes which include fava beans, shell beans (like the popular red, kidney, Great Northern beans), green beans, lima beans, peanuts, lentils, and soybeans.  Legumes have some of the highest protein in the plant world.  When combined with grains, you get a complete protein like you do from meat or eggs.  Raw bean nutritional info

When you plant beans, be sure to use a rhizobial bacteria inoculant.  You just moisten the seed and coat with the rhizobial powder and plant.  Nitrogen accumulates on the roots of the legume.  Just be sure to not pull the plant when you are done harvesting from it so that the nitrogen stays in the soil!

Beans are summer crops and there are many bush and pole varieties.  Bush varieties come into bear just before pole types and usually have one major flush of beans.  Pole beans produce continuously all summer to frost.  Both require soil temps of at least 60 degrees F.  Start after all danger of frost has passed. Plant 1” deep and as close as 4” apart for pole types and 12” apart for bush types.  Seedlings emerge in 7-14 days.  I planted my seeds this week since we have had such a cool spring.

Trellis on right completely covered in pole beans

The vining types typically grow to 8 foot long and some as long as 15 feet so a trellis is needed.  If you don't have a trellis that tall, just snip the vine when it gets to the top of the trellis or just let them fall over.  They will do just fine that way, just makes it a treasure hunt to find the beans!  I think the most efficient trellis design is one that you can tilt over.  Then the weight of the beans will cause them to hang down, making them a breeze to pick.  If you have the room for this design (you can use one that you can lean against a building), just be sure that it is situated so the vine greenery gets maximum sun.

I grow ours on a 5 foot trellis.  Last year I just let them go and the vines were at least 10 feet long. They grew up and then fell over and were back down to the ground and snaking out to find other stalks to vine onto. 

Beans can be grown in either pots or in the ground.  Since beans are growing during the hotter time of year, watering is important to keep them productive.  Just be sure to not water the foliage.  Beans produce over a long period of time.  To keep them making beans, be sure to harvest frequently.  Pole beans produce over the longest period of time, which is why I always grow them.

Runner bean pods are edible and produce beautiful flowers in red, white or peach.  Some are even perennial in Zone 6 and higher.  If you harvest just when the bean seeds begin to swell, you can eat as snap beans.  If you wait, you can dry and eat the bean seeds like any dried bean.

I prefer to grow the “stringless” types so I don’t have to remove the string when I put them up.  Most varieties grown today are stringless if harvested on time.  It takes much longer and you get less per plant if you let the pods dry on the vine.  I freeze my extra green beans.  By freezing, I can harvest every other day and just add the new ones to the freezer bag.  Freezing the extras for winter   If you decide you want to can beans, you'll need a pressure canner as green beans are low acid veggies.  You can pickle beans with just a big pot.  Easy, low tox canning of summer's bounty  If you are growing storage beans, just be sure they have dried thoroughly before storing in something like a Mason jar so they don't mold.

Purple podded bean

You get the most beans from those that you eat the whole bean versus shelling type beans.  So, if space is limited, "green bean" types are the best.  I tried storage beans in the past and got one quart out of 10 plants.  I got many, many quarts of beans from the vines I picked for freezing as green beans from half the number of vines.

I like the Romano type beans, the ones that are large and flat.  I also grow the runner beans for their flowers and harvest early for snap beans. The varieties I have grown in the past are all vine types-Romano II, Scarlet Runner, Golden Sunshine Runner, Purple Podded and Bean Blauhilde and storage beans-Portal Jade, Good Mother Stollard and King of the Garden lima beans.  This year I am only growing the Purple Podded vines for fresh "green" beans that I will freeze.  With green beans, I don't blanch, I just pick and freeze. 

This year for green beans, I am growing Blauhilde (purple pole bean), Romano (Italian green pole bean), Northeastern (Italian by way of New York heirloom), Greasy Grits cornfield bean (green Kentucky heirloom bean) and Winged Bean.  I found out pole beans used to be called cornfield beans because they were grown next to corn so they could use the corn stalks as a trellis like the Native Americans taught the settlers.  It will be fun to try a Kentucky heirloom and the unusual winged bean.  Both are supposed to be tasty.

I am also growing another Kentucky heirloom, a butter bean called Christmas Speckles.  It is a red and white speckled lima bean.  Back in the day, they were called butter beans.  You don't get a large harvest from dried beans because there is only one fruiting.  With green beans, you keep harvesting and the vine keeps giving you more.

For watering, the rule of thumb I use is that the garden should get a deep watering once a week.  If we haven't gotten a nice drenching rain in more than a week, then I water.  We have a drip hose that runs throughout the garden bed that is covered by mulch.  This keeps the moisture going into the ground instead of evaporating.    Summer garden tips

A summer edible garden

Early May garden

Sunday, May 9, 2021

A summer edible garden has the crops must of us associate with gardening like peppers, eggplants, cucumbers and the fresh favorite tomato.  The summer garden is started in May to early June.  Summer crops love warm soil and air temperatures.  Most are subtropical in origin so a frost can kill them.  Plant seeds or transplants after all danger of frost has passed.  Since summer lovers thrive in warm temperatures, they don't really grow until the soil has warmed up so starting early outdoors isn't an advantage.  You can start them indoors early and then transplant when conditions are right to get a head start.  

For the summer garden, you plant in late spring, early summer for the heat lovers and then in the middle of summer for fall and winter crops.  You will need to save space to plant edibles for fall and winter harvests in July through early September.  For more on timing and types for planting the fall and winter crops, Time to plant for fall and winter harvests!.  

 There are two categories of edible garden crops, cold crops and warm season crops.  Cold crops like lettuce, spinach, peas, radishes, carrots, cilantro, kale, chard, cabbage will get bitter and bolt as the temperatures start hitting the 80's.  For us, this is the end of May.

Warm season crops love the warm days of May through September and start waning in October.  Most will continue to have some production into November or the first hard frost of the year.  There are many herbs and vegetables that love the heat and humidity of summer.

You can start your warm season crops indoors or buy plants to get a jump start on getting harvests.  There are many options nowadays at the local hardware store, local nurseries and big box stores.

For indoor seed starting, here are some pointers.  Indoor seed starting tips, Ideal soil temperatures for starting your seeds

Crops that do well with just planting seeds directly into the ground are corn, cucumbers, melons, squashes, and beans.  They have large seeds and very sturdy stems.  Outdoor seed starting tips  Sweet potatoes are started using slips that you buy or start indoors and then plant directly into the ground.

Summer garden crops should be planted outdoors after all danger of frost is past.  Everyone loves to brag about their first ripe tomato, but tomatoes don't appreciate cold feet so resist the urge to plant too early.  Once it warms up, they will really take off.  If you just can't resist, use a plastic covering to get the soil warm to plant early.

Be sure to fertilize when planting and then monthly.  Water during dry periods.  Even moisture is important.  Letting the soil get very dry and then giving a good watering can give you split tomatoes.  For more on summer gardening, Summer garden tips

Warm Season Crops for the Summer Garden-Vegetables

Artichokes Growing artichokes and cardoons

Arugula  Growing fabulous lettuce and greens

Beans (fresh and shelling)  Legumes-peas for spring, beans for summer 

Celeriac  

Celery  Give celery a try, an easy to grow garden staple

Chard  For year round steamed greens, grow chard!

Corn  Growing corn

Cucumbers  Cucumber info and tips for growing  Quick tip-Grow Up!

Cultivated Dandelions,  Grow Cultivated Dandelions

Edamame (soy beans)  Growing beans

Eggplant Eggplant-add this native from India to your garden

Kohlrabi  Kohlrabi-a less well known spring vegetable

Malabar Spinach  Growing summer salads

Melons  Growing melons and cantaloupe

New Zealand Spinach

Okra  Growing and harvesting okra

Peppers (sweet and hot)  Peppers are for every taste and garden

Sorrel Want a vegetable and fruit garden that you only have to plant once? Try perennials!

Sprouting broccoli  Sprouting broccoli- a year round fav

Summer squash  Growing zucchini and summer squash

Sweet potatoes  Growing sweet potatoes

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

Zucchini  What to do with all that zucchini?!

Mid-May garden

Herbs are the easiest thing to grow.  They thrive on heat and don't mind dry conditions.  If you are just starting out, this is a great one to start with.

Start a kitchen herb garden!

Make your own "Herbes de Provence"

Warm Season Crops for the Summer Garden-Herbs

Basil  Basil basics-harvesting, preserving, growing basil

Bay

Bee balm

Borage

Catnip

Chives (Garden and Garlic) Add chives to your garden

Cilantro (heat tolerant variety)  Growing cilantro (coriander)

Comfrey

Dill

Egyptian walking onions  Egyptian walking onions

Horseradish

Mint

Lavender  All about lovely lavender

Lemon verbena

Lovage

Marjoram

Parsley (flat leaf) Self-seeding crops, plant once and forget 'em

Oregano

Rosemary

Sage

Salad Burnet

Summer savory

Tarragon

Thyme

Mid to late summer is the time to plant for fall and winter harvests so be sure to have a spot for these tasty vegetables.  For more on late summer plantings for fall harvests, here is more information.  Time to plant for fall and winter harvests!

Crops Planted in Mid to Late Summer for Fall and Winter Harvests

Broccoli, Cabbage and Cauliflower (for fall harvests)

How to grow broccoli and cauliflower  Cabbage is nutritious and easy to grow

Beets, Carrots, Radishes, and Turnips (for fall and winter harvests)

All about beautiful beets  Easy to grow crispy, peppery radishes  All you need to know about growing carrots  All about turnips

Cilantro  Growing cilantro (coriander)

Escarole, Radicchio, and Frisee (for fall and winter harvests)  Fall and winter greens

Fennel Growing fennel

Greens (Lettuce, Kale, Mustard, Pak Choi, Spinach)

Everything you need to know about growing lettuce  Collards and kale in your garden  Mustard greens  Grow spinach-a super nutritious, easy green

Leeks (for fall harvesting)  Everything to know about growing onions

Winter squash  Everything you need to know to grow squash

 You can procrastinate until June and still have a productive edible summer garden.  It is not too late to start a garden in June!

I always interplant my garden with flowers.  Flowers bring pollinators and other beneficial insects into the garden.  For fruiting veggies like tomatoes, squash, peppers, cucumbers, eggplant, the more pollinators around, the more fruits you get.  If you want, you can grow edible flowers.  Flowers that are edible

I use zinnias, marigolds, petunias, snapdragons, old fashioned Cock's Comb which is ruby red and grows 4 feet tall, red flowering Hummingbird Vine, Moonflower vine, Blue morning glory vine, heirloom sunflowers, and alyssum for annuals.  For perennials, there are delphiniums, hollyhocks in a variety of colors-Summer Carnival and Peach, red hot poker, day-lilies, irises, dahlias, fairy lilies, and gladiolas.

Summer is an exciting time in the garden.  Every day you go out, you can see things growing.  Just be sure to keep ahead of the weeds and provide even watering.  I garden in my flower beds so they are always mulched, providing protection against weeds and keeping even moisture.  Weed free, self fertilizing, till free garden beds

What I planted this week end

Early May potted lettuce

Sunday, May 9, 2021

Mother's Day is when old timers say it is the best time to plant your summer garden.  Prior to May 1, there is still a good chance of poor weather, chilly temps, and frost in our Zone 7 garden.  This can be catastrophic for tomatoes, eggplants, basil and other heat lovers.

Today, we have the added advantage of the 15 day forecast!  I checked out ours and it showed acceptable temperatures for the next 15 days.  Warm temperatures and weekly rain is the perfect recipe to get the summer lovers off to a good start.

I have a much smaller space for my garden this year so am having to be choiceful on what to plant.  That is hard for me!  There are just so many interesting varieties that you can get at nurseries and seed catalogs!

This year I planted my eggplant (6 varieties), peppers (3 varieties), and greens in pots.  I narrowed my tomato plants down to 5 varieties.  I'll grow bush zucchini to save space.  I put my spaghetti squash in the potato boxes along with a mystery plant that sprouted everywhere from the mushroom compost we spread over the garden.  I am using a trellis for 2 cucumber plants.  I have one sweet potato plant and one winter squash plant that will run between plants.  I tucked okra between my hostas.  That will give the hostas shade they will appreciate as the temperatures heat up.

For the veggies and flowers, I used worm castings, starter, fish meal and char in each planting hole.  I'll add kelp meal throughout the garden after everything is planted to add trace elements to the soil.  I used Azomite last year so I'll switch to kelp meal this year.  

I have more lettuce and greens that I started from seed and am hardening off.  The next round of greens are those that can stand the heat of summer.  I'll have to thin my celery and sprouting broccoli from my pots to make room for the extra greens.  I moved out winter cress last week end to have room for more lettuce plants.  In the pot that housed New Zealand spinach last year, there are many volunteers coming back up so no need to plant any additional.  

I did start Red Malabar spinach from seed.  Those are hardened off and in a pot where they can grow up the portable greenhouse frame.  It is a quite pretty vine, in addition to being a tasty summer green.  I tried bringing the vine in over the winter, but it did not survive in the garage or inside the house.

I have the trellises in place for vining beans.  I'll plant those with inoculant tomorrow.  I have a few varieties of Alpine strawberries that I started from seed that I will wait until they are bigger before planting in the garden.

I tucked petunias into all the pots of eggplant and peppers.  I have Heavenly Blue morning glory growing up the supporting posts of the patio cover along with perennial white jasmine vine.  I see there are red Hummingbird Vine volunteers in the garden.  I will transplant a couple to the patio support posts to have a red, white and blue theme.   The rest I will pull.

I started a few flowers from seed as well that I will put in amongst the veggies.  Flowers attract pollinators and other beneficial insects in addition to adding beauty and fragrance to the garden.  Deer also do not like strong scents so having herbs and fragrant flowers throughout the garden helps to deter them, too.

May 2021 Edible Garden Planner

Early May edible garden

Saturday, May 1, 2021

May Day is when the old timers say is the best time to plant your summer garden in the Midwest.  Prior to May 1, there is still a good chance of poor weather, chilly temps, and even frost in our Zone 6/7 gardens.  This can be catastrophic for tomatoes, eggplants, basil and other heat lovers.  This year the weather forecast is calling for temp's in the 30's later this coming week.

At least today, we have the added advantage of the 15 day forecast!  Check out your 15 day forecast to know if it looks safe to plant those tender summer veggies as it is possible to have chilly temps even into May.  If direct planting summer vegetable seeds, chilly and rainy conditions can cause the seeds to rot.  Warm, moist conditions are the best for seed success!

I will plant our summer veggies that I started from seed indoors after the low's in the 30's are over.  If I plant and then they call for frost, what's a gardener to do?  Give them a jacket!  You can cover your frost sensitive plants with a row cover or light sheet.  You just want to be sure that the cover is not too heavy and crushes your plants.  Remove after the frost is melted.  For more on protection for plants, see Starting the garden earlier, outwitting Jack Frost... 

Row cover

Spring has had fairly normal, cool temperatures so the garden is growing nicely.  The greens that love the cool weather are doing great!  You just don't want to plant the summer lovers too early as they don't like being cold and don't grow much until the soil warms.  Earlier is not always better.

May is the time to sow summer lover's seed Outdoor seed starting tips and plant warm season plants you have grown indoors or purchased.  A summer edible garden

The cold crops are at their peak at the beginning of the month with many bolting and going to seed by month's end like spinach, cilantro, lettuce, chard, kale, sprouting broccoli, and onions.  To preserve greens while they are still at their peak is quick and easy.  Freezing the extras for winter  The only green that is not frozen?  Lettuce.  I keep lettuce going in the garden by planting new seed every 3 weeks.

Lettuce, spinach and cilantro all go to bolting as soon as the temps hit the 80's in our garden.  You can let them go to seed and either save the seed to plant or let the seed fall where it may to give you new lettuce, spinach and cilantro.  An added bonus is that the bees love their small flowers.  Seed saving-fun, easy and a cost saver

Mid May garden

So, what are we planting this year?  My 2021 Edible Garden Plan  Of course, we planted the number one veggie in the USA-tomatoes!   This year, I am growing them all from seed.  You could also just buy plants as there is a great selection of heirlooms at local nurseries, hardware stores and big box stores these days.  I am in a smaller garden this year, so I am limiting the number and type I am growing this year to a purple slicer, a red paste tomato and a chocolate cherry type for salads.  Choosing which tomatoes to grow   Loving the purple tomatoes with all their fantastic antioxidants!  Different colors in tomatoes give different nutrition

I will spray the seedlings with an organic fungicide before planting to give them some protection.  I am going to spray every week or so this year to see if it boosts the tomato harvest later in the season.  We have such hot, humid conditions that fungus grows well here!  I looked at the chemical fungicides but they contain cancer causing chemicals so I'll stick with the ones approved for organic growing.  Tomatoes 101, everything you need to know to grow great tomatoes  

If you have limited space, look for the dwarf/bush types like Bush Early Girl (only 54 days till ripe tomatoes), Patio Princess, Husky Red, Lizzano, Little Napoli, Front Runner, Tumbling Tom among many others. Typically, you can expect to have your first ripe tomatoes around the 4th of July.  The earliest tomato bearing variety I have grown is Yellow Tumbling Tom that gave me tomatoes in June.  They grow great in the garden or pots.  Compact tomato plants for small spaces

I will be growing vining snap beans this year.  I do have several quarts still in the freezer so will plant just a few vines.  Now is a great time to get them planted.  Legumes-peas for spring, beans for summer  

For peppers, I am growing one sweet peppers for fresh snacking, an Ancho/Pablano for drying to make into chili powder, and "Super Red Pimento" which I dice and freeze for salads.  I have plenty of frozen hot and sweet peppers for making salsa in the freezer from last year so I don't need too many pepper plants.  I also use cayennes for making hot sauce, which I still have lots in the cupboard.  Homemade hot sauce wings with homegrown celery  Quick, homemade salsa  Preserving peppers

I overwintered an ancient hot pepper in the garage called Chipetin.  It is thought to be the ancestor of all hot peppers.  This is its fifth winter and it did great.  It produces very small, very hot round red peppers.  I dry them and use them in my grilling spice mix.  Using herbs, flowers and fruit for flavored sugars and salts

 This year I am going to plant all my peppers in pots.  It just seems that my peppers do better in a pot than in the ground for the smaller peppers.  Bell peppers seemed to produce more in ground when I have grown them in the past.  I will refresh the potting soil and fertilize the seedlings I started when I transplant to their outdoor pot.  Re-energize your potting soil!   Peppers are for every taste and garden

I am growing a few eggplants that are supposed to stay sweet.  Our summers get so hot here that eggplant skins can get tough and the fruits bitter so I always look for the varieties that are good for our temps.  Eggplant-add this native from India to your garden

White eggplant fruit

I am growing just Bush Zucchini summer squash.  They are susceptible to being killed by the squash vine borer if planted before June 1.  You can protect the vine to keep the insect from boring into the vine by wrapping the vine or just replant if they do get infected.  Zucchini grows fast!  Growing zucchini and summer squash  This may seem like overkill on the zucchini as one plant produces as much as a typical family needs during the summer.  I found some great ways to use and preserve zucchini that any extra will be stored for many new ways of using.  What to do with all that zucchini?!  I really liked shredding the zucchini and using in place of spaghetti.  I'll shred and put into freezer bags so I have a low carb, nutritious option anytime for spaghetti and slice lengthwise for lasagna noodle substitute.

I am also planting 1 winter squash-Spaghetti.  Spaghetti squash is a low carb substitute for spaghetti, too.  These vines don't produce many fruits, so I will plant a few vines.  I am going to train them up a trellis to maximize my garden space.  I've grown them the last 2 summers and they did really well.  They've also kept into February indoors, just sitting on the counter.

  I've got cucumber, spinach, and lettuce seedlings this year for salads and to make green smoothies.  Grow your own juice garden  All are hardening on the covered patio.  I am growing the cucumber onto a trellis as well.    Cucumber info and tips for growing  I have plenty of volunteer celery, cilantro, parsley, mustard, kale, and sprouting broccoli in the garden so no planting needed for them.  I am growing a pink celery and dandelion for a fun pop of color along with Rose and Purple orach, which are great for summer salad leaves.  Orach and amaranth leaves stay sweet all summer.

Other veggie seedlings I have growing are Red Malabar and New Zealand spinach for summer greens, asparagus, Radish Dragon's Tail, Regina, Italian and Mignonette Alpine strawberries, a few varieties of okra including red and orange, and Chinese cabbage, and Italian onions.  

For herbs, I have stevia, bay trees and moringa tree that overwintered in the garage.  I have lots of volunteer chervil and cilantro in the garden so no need to plant more of those.  I love adding dried chervil leaves and lavender to add fragrance to body oil.  Make your own fragrant herbal body oil  I started borage and 5 kinds of basil from seed.  I bought curry and rosemary transplants from the hardware store.  Most of my herbs are perennials and are going strong in the garden right now-tarragon, chives, onions, oregano, thyme, fennel, mint, lavender, and garlic.  For more on herbs, see  Start a kitchen herb garden!

For the next round of lettuce sowings, I'll go with the more heat resistant varieties like Jericho Romaine which has been tested to last 3 months before bolting as well as Red Sails loose leaf lettuce which stays sweet after bolting.   Want continuous harvests? Succession planting!   Look for varieties that have heat tolerant in the descriptor.  Here are some varieties that are proven to do well in the summer   Bolt-free, sweet summer lettuces

Lettuce and spinach aren't the only greens you can use for salads, see more at  Growing summer salads

Spring potted lettuce

We applied compost and mulched the garden beds a couple of weeks ago.  When planting, I like to powder the roots of each plant with plant starter as well as dig in some fertilizer in each hole.  Plant starter has mycorrhizal microbes which fixes nitrogen to the roots of the plant, helping it to grow sturdier, bigger and faster.  Once you have the microbes in the soil, they should stay year after year, but adding each year can't hurt anything.

I add Azomite around each of my transplants under the mulch last year so I should be good for this season.  During the growing season, you should fertilize monthly.  Azomite contains many minerals which can result in significantly improved growth for your plants and more minerals in your harvested plants for a healthier you.  A win-win for your garden and your family.  Only add what a soil test said your garden needed when it comes to potash an potassium.  You can get too much of both in the garden.  The next step in garden production and your nutrition-soil minerals

Before you send your new transplants into the garden, insure they have been sufficiently "hardened off."  If you started your own seeds indoors, take your plants out daily over a week or so into a partially shady spot, letting them get used to the strong sun and wind.  I put mine out on the deck to get used to the sun and wind for several days before planting out.  "Hardening off" seedlings

If you purchased your transplants and they were already outdoors, they are ready to be plopped into the ground or pot and grow!

I always interplant my garden with flowers.  This year, I am using petunias, red flowering Hummingbird Vine, Blue morning glory flowering vine, cock's comb, delphiniums, Pride of Madeira and "Love, Lies Bleeding" amaranth for annuals.  For perennials, there are pink Fairy lilies, white flowering jasmine vine,  hollyhocks in a variety of colors-Summer Carnival, Red and Peach, day-lilies, irises, and gladiolas.

May is an exciting time in the garden.  Every day you go out, you can see things growing.  The spring vegetables are in their prime, the summer veggies are just starting, and there are so many herbs ready for seasoning your favorite salads or dishes.  Just be sure to keep ahead of the weeds and provide even watering.