What's happening in the mid May edible garden

Potted lettuce

Saturday, May 11, 2024

Everything is lush and green this time of year.  The edibles are growing quickly.   Salad fixings are in their prime with the summer edibles just getting started.  Herbs are filling out nicely.  By this time of year, we no longer need to purchase produce from the grocery store and can get fresh herbs to add to dishes that make them taste wonderful and are chock full of antioxidants.

The greens we are eating-French sorrel, spinach, dandelion greens, winter cress, arugula, chick weed, sweet clover, celery, Ruby Streaks mustard, Chinese Giant Leaf mustard, sprouting broccoli leaves, orach, amaranth, many varieties of lettuce and snow peas.  Many are overwintered or volunteers from last year.  I also started different varieties of lettuce and bought a few transplants from the store.  I like to have new lettuces coming on all the time so there is always plenty for salads.

I have lots of volunteer Red Malabar spinach, Blue Feather lettuce, carrots, sprouting broccoli, squash and Giant Leaf mustard popping up all over the garden.  I have had 5 volunteer tomato plants come up, too, that I dug and gave away.

Herbs to add to dishes and salads-garlic chives, regular chives, oregano, thyme, horseradish, Egyptian walking onions, tarragon, sage, young garlic, cilantro, marjoram.  All are perennials or self-sowers so they come back year after year.

The fruits and veggies-wild strawberries, cultivated strawberries, raspberries and carrots.  Strawberries and raspberry bushes are perennial and carrots overwintered and came up from last year's seed.

The flowers that are blooming-irises, spiderwort, roses, hydrangeas, marigolds and petunias.  The herbs and veggies going to seed-yellow flowers of the sprouting broccoli, mustard and cress, yellow dandelion flowers, lavender chive flowers, and some varieties of spinach.  Soon, the beautiful purple flowers of sage, the white flowers of thyme, and the white garlic chive flowers.  All veggie and herb flowers are edible.  A fun way to add flavor and beauty to salads or other dishes.

The overwintering and early spring planted lettuce is beginning to bolt so soon there will be the white, yellow and blue flowers from the different kinds of lettuce.  Several carrots are starting to bolt, too.  If not pulled, they have beautiful white flowers resembling Queen Ann's Lace, which are in the same family, that bees love.

The white and pink peonies and lilacs have already come and gone.  They both were heavy with flowers this spring.  

This week, I transplanted some beans, cucumber, melon and squash plants I started indoors in coir pots.  I'll transplant into their permanent spot when they get their second set of leaves. I had started beans a couple weeks ago in the garden bed and they are about 6 inches tall now.   The tomatoes I transplanted into the garden bed at the same time are doing great!  The basil plants are doing well.  My husband transplanted the tomato plants I started for him into his upside down 5 gallon bucket growing system at the same time I did and his are doing very well, too.

I have a few seeds started outside in coir pots that I am waiting for them to get big enough to transplant-rosemary, marjoram, Jigsaw hot pepper, Habanada sweet pepper, Purple Yard Long bean and winter savory.  I just started Indigo Pear Drop tomato and White Scallop summer squash seeds in a wet paper towel.  After they sprout, I'll put them in a coir pot.

It is a good idea to wait 10 days after planting new plants before you give them much fertilizer.  I'll add a diluted liquid fertilizer to all that have their first set of true leaves in the next week.  When I transplant them, I will add char, worm castings and starter to each planting hole.

It's okay to just be getting started in the edible garden with the summer lovers.  You can plant a summer garden into June and still have a nice harvest.

Volunteer Red Malabar spinach and Chinese Multicolor amaranth

I have been harvesting the greens by taking only the outer leaves so that the plants will continue to grow.  By harvesting, it stimulates the plant to grow even more leaves.  If you have extra greens, besides lettuce, you can blanch and freeze them.  I still have plenty left in the freezer.  Preservation garden

I am doing good right now on lettuce, but will need to start some more seeds in a couple of weeks.  If you start seeds every 2-3 weeks, it keeps you in lettuce all the way until winter.  This time of year, start the heat tolerant varieties.   I have also moved to using greens that stay sweet during the dog days of summer.  The greens I have found so far that are great lettuce and spinach substitutes in salads are Red Malabar spinach, New Zealand spinach, Perpetual Spinach chard, Chinese Multicolored amaranth, all colors of orach, Chinese Hilton cabbage (doubles as a great wrap, too), sprouting broccoli.  Keep salads going all summer long. 

I I overwintered Tumbling Tom tomatoes and New Zealand spinach in the house.  The tomato plants are covered in fruits with a few ripe ones.  The New Zealand spinach is back outside and doing great.  We use their leaves just like spinach in salads.  They are heat lovers with leaves that stay sweet all summer; a great spinach substitute. 

May 2024 Edible Garden Planner

Early May edible garden

Saturday, May 4, 2024

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 a late frost in our Zone 7 garden.  This can be catastrophic for tomatoes, eggplants, basil and other heat lovers.  This year our last frost was 2-3 weeks ago.

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 summer seed success!

I started the summer lovers from seeds this year indoors for the small seeds in late March and in outdoor pots a couple of weeks ago for the large seed plants like squash, melons and cucumbers.  I direct sow all my bean seeds and did those this last week.  The small seeded plants like basil, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant have all been transplanted.  The large seeded plants need about another week of maturing before I will plant them out.  

If you started yours indoors and have already transplanted outdoors, what do you do if they are forecasting frost?  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.  If you plant in pots, you can move your pots into the garage for the night.  For more on protection for plants, see Starting the garden earlier, outwitting Jack Frost... 

Row cover

Spring has had days above and days below average temperatures and below average rainfall.  I've had to water all my pots on a regular basis through April.  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.  If you have already planted, no worries as long as you protect them if Jack Frost comes calling.  They just won't grow fast until the weather warms.

May is the time to get the summer lovers growing.  All about the summer edible garden  For the plants to get going in May: What to plant in the May edible garden  If sowing your summer veggie seeds outdoors, see Outdoor seed starting tips 

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.  All my spinach is bolting now.  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 plants.  An added bonus to letting these plants go to seed 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?  Of course, we will plant 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 again this year, so I am trying to limit the number and type I am growing this year to a purple slicer (Cherokee Purple), red paste tomato (Italian Red Pear), chocolate cherry types for salads (Chocolate Pear and Indigo Pear Drops), and a storage tomato (Red October).  Choosing which tomatoes to grow   Loving the purple tomatoes with all their fantastic antioxidants!  Different colors in tomatoes give different nutrition

I may spray the seedlings with an organic fungicide to give them some protection.  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.  Since they are smaller plants, their yields will be less than the big plants in the ground.  Compact tomato plants for small spaces  Nowadays, you can purchase full grown plants to get instant fresh tomatoes at this time of year.

I will be growing vining snap beans (Blauhilde for disease resistance and production), winged beans and lima beans this year.  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, a hot pepper plant Jigsaw plant that I overwintered indoors, and a new hot pepper Tunisian Baklouti.  I grow hot peppers for hot sauce and to add to my salsa.  Homemade hot sauce wings with homegrown celery  Quick, homemade salsa  Preserving peppers

I also overwinter an ancient hot pepper in the basement called Chiltepin.  It is thought to be the ancestor of all hot peppers.  This is its eighth 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 and for spicy olive oil.  Using herbs, flowers and fruit for flavored sugars and salts

 This year I am again 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.  I like the smaller peppers because the plants produce more than larger pepper plants.  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 have stayed sweet in our garden.  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.  My choices this year are Rotanda Bianca, Amadeo, and AO Daimaru.  Eggplant-add this native from India to your garden

White eggplant fruit

I am growing just vining summer squash, Trombetta.   I like this squash for several reasons.  They were not affected by the squash vine borer or squash bugs, they had almost no powdery mildew, and you can eat when the fruits are young as you would zucchini or let them stay on the vine and the skins will toughen to use as winter squash.  Growing zucchini and summer squash  One plant produces as much as a typical family needs during the summer.  This type has vines up to 20 feet long so I just let it grow on the ground.

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 spiralizing zucchini into "zoodles" and using in place of spaghetti.  I'll spiralize and put into freezer bags so I have a low carb, nutritious option anytime for spaghetti.

I am also trying a disease resistant type of spaghetti squash-Warsaw spaghetti, and a winter squash that is supposed to be a decent substitute for potatoes called Mashed Potato.  I tried them both last year and both were not disease resistant to the squash bugs that invaded them.

I am going back to Red Burgundy okra this year.  I've tried a few different varieties but this one seems to do the best in my garden.  Growing and harvesting okra

  I've got cucumber, spinach, and lettuce seedlings this year for salads and to make green smoothies.  Grow your own juice garden   I am growing a bush cucumber this year so I am hoping it won't need a trellis.  Cucumber info and tips for growing  I have plenty of volunteer celery and mustard in the garden so no planting needed for them.  I am trying to grow a pink celery for a fun pop of color along with Rose and Purple orach and Pink Beauty amaranth which are great for summer salad leaves.  Orach and amaranth leaves stay sweet all summer.

Lettuce varieties that are in my spring garden are Red and Green Roma, Iceberg, Buttercrunch, Giant Blue Feather, Yedikule, Grand Rapids, Royal Oak, Forellenschluss, Bronze Beauty, Butter King, Lunix, and Solar Flare.  I am always trying new varieties to see which are the best at staying sweet in our summer heat and also re-sowing themselves.

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

For summer salads, I have many volunteer Red Malabar spinach coming up, have seedlings of Perpetual Spinach and Verde de Taglio chard, have Hilton Chinese cabbage for salads and wraps, Komatsuna Tendergreen and Giant Leaf mustard for sweet summer salad leaves.  I always grow Radish Dragon's Tail for salads, too.  They're just fun and add a pop of not too strong radish flavor.

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

Spring potted lettuce

For herbs, I have a bay tree and moringa tree that overwintered in the basement. I have sown seeds for Genovese basil, Cardinal basil, Giant Italian parsley, dill, chives, cilantro, rosemary, winter savory, lemon savory, marjoram and a pretty blue sage.  Many of my herbs are perennials and are going strong in the garden right now-tarragon, garlic chives, onions, oregano, thyme, fennel, mint, and garlic.  For more on herbs, see  Start a kitchen herb garden!

As I transplant my seedlings, 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 every other year.  This year was the year to add it.  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.

During the growing season, you should fertilize monthly.  Only add what a soil test said your garden needed when it comes to phosphorous and potassium.  You can get too much of both in the garden.  My soil test said I needed to lower the pH of the soil, add nitrogen and potassium.  I didn't need any phosphorous. 

I added pelletized sulfur to lower the pH in March.  My pH is at 7.8.  For edibles, it really shouldn't go above 7.5 for the plants to be able to absorb all the minerals it needs from the soil.   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, marigolds, Love Lies Bleeding and dwarf Cocks Comb for annuals.  For perennials, there are pink Fairy lilies, white flowering jasmine vine,  hollyhocks in a variety of colors-Summer Carnival, Red and Peach, purple coneflower, lilies, 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.

The summer edible garden

Early May garden

Sunday, April 21, 2024

A summer edible garden has the crops must of us associate with backyard vegetable gardening like peppers, eggplants, cucumbers and the fresh favorite tomato.  The summer garden is planted 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 bolt and become bitter as the temperatures start hitting the 80's.  For us, this is used to be the end of May.  Now, we can get 80's in April.

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, too.  Folks here in Kentucky say Derby Day week end is the time to plant out summer veggies.  The Kentucky Derby is always the first week end of May.

You can start your warm season crops indoors from seed 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, from hybrids to heirlooms.

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 outdoors 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.

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 on the ground to get the soil warm to plant early or use something like Wall o Water around each tomato to give it a coat to keep it toasty in spring.

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 that are fun to add to salads.  Flowers that are edible

I use borage, amaranths, 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 spiderwort, delphiniums, hollyhocks in a variety of colors-Summer Carnival and Peach, day-lilies, irises, dahlias, fairy lilies, and gladiolas.  Three years ago I started a pollinator garden that is primarily natives like yarrow, echinacea, Black-eyed Susan bee balm, sedum, violets and many others.  It is finally starting to fill in.  Starting perennials from seed takes 2-3 years for them to really start filling out.

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 we're eating out of the garden now

April lettuce and chard

Saturday, April 20, 2024

This is the time for salads.  Many salad fixings are ready to be harvested from the garden.

The first to be ready to eat in the spring are all the cold hardy veggies that survived the winter and the edible perennials that are first up in the spring.

In our garden, the overwintering veggies were carrots, celery, lettuce, sprouting broccoli, chard, cultivated dandelions, chickweed, Egyptian walking onions, garden chives, garlic chives and mustard greens.  Edible perennials that are ready to add to salads are sorrel, tarragon, thyme, oregano, winter cress leaves and flowers, and cultivated dandelion leaves and flowers.  I'm harvesting from all of these.

I gave the greens a watering with liquid fertilizer, fish emulsion, which is high in nitrogen to get them the food they need for filling out.  Greens love nitrogen and cooler weather makes it less available in the soil.  A liquid fertilizer is an easy way to get usable nitrogen to the plant.

I started more lettuce and greens seeds indoors and transplanted them outdoors into a pot on the patio.  They are about 6" high and ready to be planted in their permanent home.   The spinach and snow peas I started outdoors in large pots are going strong.  I purchased some lettuce plants 3 weeks ago that I also put in large pots outdoors.  They are forming heads.  I'm using the spinach, snow pea greens and lettuce for salads.

I have greens that perform well in hot weather so I have salads all summer.  Sprouting broccoli, Red Malabar spinach, amaranth, New Zealand spinach, sweet mustard greens, Hilton cabbage and orach leaves thrive in the hot and humid weather and are tasty in salads.

If you want instant homegrown salads, visit your local nurseries and big box stores for ready to plant lettuce, spinach, chard, and other greens.  You get an unending harvest by taking only the leaves on the outside of the plants, leaving the inner leaves growing.

Perennial fruit options for a small space

Lemon tree on the left, fig in the center, kumquat on right

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

There are many options for growing your own fruit in small spaces today and more come on the market every year.  You grow them in pots, as part of the landscape or garden bed.

We are growing apples, goji berries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, hardy grapefruit, and lemons.  The lemon trees are growing in the house during the winter and taken outside each spring.

If you are thinking of growing perennial fruit plants, now is the time to purchase them at your neighborhood nursery or big box store.  There are many shrubs and vines that you can buy bare root and different varieties of strawberry plants and live fruit trees you can get locally as well as mail order.  My raspberry, blackberry and strawberries were purchased bare root.  My kumquat, grapefruit tree, apple tree and fig tree were purchased on-line.   The Meyer lemon tree was purchased at TSC.  One lemon tree and the goji berry bush were grown from seed.

You have 3 options with apple trees.  You can grow columnar apple trees which do great in pots (this is the kind we have), you can purchase a dwarf apple tree that you can espalier against a wall, or you can put an apple tree in your landscape.  Apple trees require full sun and either a second apple tree or crabapple tree in the neighborhood to pollinate with to get fruit.  Apples are ready to harvest in summer, fall or winter, depending on the variety.  Our “Scarlet Sentinel” columnar apple tree ripens in late September.

A fig tree is cool looking and very easy to grow either in the landscape or in a pot.  We had ours in a pot for 5 years and then put it in the ground.  It did well for 3  years.  We got great fruit from it throughout the summer.  Last year, we have a record breaking warm spell in January and then a deep freeze in February which the fig tree did not survive.  

Ripe figs

If you decide to put your fig in a pot, this will lower the zone it can survive the winter in by at least one zone.  You can always bring the fig in for the winter, either into your home or a garage.  We have a a “Chicago Hardy” fig that is hardy to Zone 6.  It can grow to a height of 25 feet if planted in the ground.

You can eat your figs fresh, dry them or make them into preserves.  Growing “exotic” figs

“Maypop” is a hardy passion flower vine that survives down to Zone 5.   It is a very hardy vine so either grow it in a pot or make sure it is blocked off from being able to expand into other areas.  They taste a lot like guavas and their flowers are beautiful.

I grew the goji berry vine from seed.  Goji berries are high in antioxidants and easy to grow.  They are self fertile so only one is needed to produce fruit.  They are a vining shrub that can grow 8-10 feet at maturity.  If you keep them in a pot, they will remain smaller.  They are hardy down to Zone 5.  My potted goji berry survived outdoors this winter.

Strawberries are another easy to grow perennial fruit.  They prefer full sun and should be planted in the spring.  There are two types of strawberries, June bearing or Everbearing.  June bearing have one large harvest in early summer whereas the everbearing types produce berries from spring through fall.  They enjoy a rich soil so plant with lots of compost and bone meal.  If they begin to decline in production after 4 years, plant new plants in a different area of the garden.
Back yard strawberries  

There are a couple of blueberries that are compact and acceptable for small landscapes, “Draper” and “Tophat.”  Draper is a bush that grows to 3-4 feet.  Tophat is a nice little bush that can easily be grown in a pot.  It grows to a mere 16-24” high.  Blueberries require an acidic soil, a pH of 4-4.5.  Blueberries are self pollinating, but you will get a lot more fruit if you plant two bushes.  You get fruit in the summer.  If you have an extra, you can easily freeze or dry.

Honeyberry is another fruiting bush and they bear in late spring/early summer, as early as two weeks prior to strawberries.  They are a blue oval type berry and is hardy in Zones 2-8.  The “Smokey Blue” reach 3-4 feet in height, making them a good candidate for a pot as well.  They are high in antioxidants and taste similar to blueberries.  Two are needed for pollination for fruiting.  No special soil type is needed, but prefer partial shade.

Strawberry

Another fruit for small spaces is kiwi and they are hardy for Zones 3-9.  These are vines that can grow to 10-20 feet.  You can use these over an harbor or on a fence.  A male and female are required.  They prefer a part sun location.  The foliage of the Artic Beauty is beautifully variegated with pink, white and green leaves.  These vines fruit in September.

For raspberry lovers, the “Shortcake” variety is a thornless dwarf that grows to a 2-3 foot mound.  It can easily be grown in a pot and is self fertile so only one plant is needed to bear fruit.  It is hardy in Zones 5-9 and fruits in mid-summer.  Both raspberries and blackberries prefer full sun.

“Doyle’s” thornless blackberry plant can be grown in a pot and can produces enormous harvests of fruit.  In the ground it can reach heights of 7 feet.  It is hardy in Zones 3-10 and bears fruit in the spring to early summer.  Another option is the dwarf red blackberry which grows to 1.5 feet in height. 

A slow growing fruit tree that reaches a height of 12-15 feet is a native to North America is the pawpaw.  It tastes tropical with a banana/mango like flavor.  It is also high in protein, vitamins and minerals and hardy to Zone 5.  The fruits weigh around a pound each and are ready to pick in late summer/early fall.  Two plants are required for the tree to bear fruit.  Foraging for wild edibles