June 2025 Edible Garden Planner

Potted edibles and flowers in the June garden

Sunday, June 1, 2025

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 need to start heat tolerant lettuce seeds in peat pots and 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 and some that I started in April indoors.  Red Malabar spinach is just coming up because it has been so cool this May from last year's seeds.  I will be thinning them so they don't take over like they did last year.  Purple orach, New Zealand spinach and Chinese Multi Colored Spinach amaranth also have a few volunteers.  I will thin them by moving to new pots.  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.  The early ones have gone to seed.  I have transplanted a couple to large pots with heat tolerant lettuce volunteers.  Sprouting broccoli is great for salad greens during the summer months, but cabbage worms do love them.  The leaves taste just like broccoli.  I have planted Woad in the pot with them as they are supposed to repel cabbage moths.   Sprouting broccoli- a year round fav  

Arugula, sorrels, plantain greens, chard 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 mornings 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.   My 2025 Edible and Decorative Garden 

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 the garden bed.  It has purple stems and the pods have a mild radish flavor.  I planted snow peas in pots in March.  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, dill, Egyptian walking onions and thyme are filling out nicely.  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.  This year, I also put daffodils and thyme around every bed.   Both are supposed to repel voles.  

Flowering chives

Tomatoes have started flowering and we have lots of baby tomatoes so it won't be long before we will be able to eat fresh tomatoes!  We have baby tomatoes on the Cherokee Purple, Sweet 100 and Chocolate Pear plants so far.  The large Better Boy tomato we got from a greenhouse has already given us a ripe tomato.  

I started peppers and eggplant indoors and transplanted outside at the end of April.  Only the pepper plants have flowers and baby peppers on them so far.  The eggplant are still really small.  They should start growing next week with the warmer temperatures.  Tomatoes 101, everything you need to know to grow great tomatoes    Peppers are for every taste and garden

I started beans, squash, cucumbers and melons directly in the garden at the end of April.  Not all of the beans are up yet (winged and 1500 Year Old Cave), none of the melons, one type of cucumber has sprouted and another has not, and all of the squash plants have sprouted.  With the warmer temps this next week, it will be more to their liking.  If they don't sprout, I will resow.

When temperatures and humidity rise, it is 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.  Natural fungicides I have used in the past are Copper fungicide and Serenade fungicide which need to be applied after each rain.  I always try to spray when it is cool so they plant does not get stressed.  

I went with Purple Yard Long pole beans, a winged bean and 1500 Year Old bean for fresh snap beans this year.  The Purple Yard Long are crazy productive and I just like growing a bean that was here 1500 years ago.  I am also growing the Lima bean Christmas Speckles.  I am growing an early winged bean again this year.  It was super productive and had really pretty blue 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. Everything you need to know to grow green (or yellow or purple) beans

I am growing a bush cucumber Bush Champion this year and Beit Alpha.   I started both outdoors at the end of April in the garden bed.  You can also direct seed this time of year.  Seeds should be up in 7 days.  Bush Champion is up but Beit Alpha is not.  May have to resow it next week.  For cucumbers, keep an eye out for cucumber beetles and caterpillars.  Just pluck them off and throw into a can of soapy water.  Everything you need to know to grow cucumbers, in pots or the garden bed

For squash, I am growing 2 kinds, Trombetta and a sweet, productive Butternut 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.  I use the Trombetta mostly as a fresh zucchini and the butternut for pumpkin bread and pumpkin pie.  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 blueberries.  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 flowering and there are some berries forming.  

I am growing blackberries, raspberries, goji berry bushes, aronia bush and strawberries in the garden bed.  I have several blueberries 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, Jericho Romaine, Simpson Elite leaf and Giant Blue Feather.  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  Everything you need to know to grow melons, in a pot or the garden bed

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!  

What's happening in the late May edible garden

Potted lettuce

Saturday, May 31, 2025

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, sprouting broccoli leaves, 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 many volunteer Red Malabar spinach, Blue Feather lettuce, carrots, sprouting broccoli, tomatoes, basil, zinnias, celosias, hummingbird vine and morning glory popping up all over the garden. I'll dig the tomatoes to give away.  I'll move the rest to where I want them and any not used I'll feed to the chickens.

Herbs to add to dishes and salads-garlic chives, garden chives, oregano, thyme, horseradish, Egyptian walking onions, tarragon, sage, young garlic, marjoram.  All are perennials or self-sowers so they come back year after year.  The rosemary transplant is doing well that I planted earlier in the spring along with the variegated sage and a variety of lavenders.

The fruits-wild strawberries, cultivated strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, aronia, goji berry bushes and blueberries all are growing well.  We have had a few hybrid strawberries and there are lots of wild strawberry fruits.  I've had 2 ripe blueberries off the potted blueberries I transplanted in the fall.  The wild blackberries have been flowering and have some green fruits forming.  The aronia bush has lots of green berries.

The flowers that are blooming-spiderwort, roses, hydrangeas, Heavenly Blue morning glory, zinnias, Sweet William, 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, yellow chard flowers and 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 in full bolt so soon there will be the white, yellow and blue flowers from the different kinds of lettuce.  The overwintered carrots have bolted and have beautiful white flowers resembling Queen Ann's Lace, which are in the same family, that bees love.

The white and pink peonies, irises and lilacs have already come and gone.

This week, one of melon seeds sprouted.  I hope the rest come up this week with the warm and sunny weather forecasted.  Most of the bean, cucumber and squash seeds have sprouted.

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.  I fertilized all the other vegetables in the pots and garden bed as it has been a month and many are flowering and fruiting.

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

For lettuce, it is a good idea to do succession sowing as they bolt quickly when it gets warm and to start heat tolerant varieties this time of year.  If you start seeds every 2-3 weeks, it keeps you in lettuce all the way until winter.   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 overwintered a couple of pepper plants and New Zealand spinach in the house.  One of the pepper plants has fruits on it and the other one hasn't flowered yet.  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.

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

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

Friday May 30, 2025

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.  Pole beans can also be grown on a trellis in a pot.

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.

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.

Fertilize at the time of planting with a balanced fertilizer and then when beans appear.  If growing pole beans continue fertilizing monthly as pole beans produce until the frost gets them in late fall.  

I planted my seeds a few weeks ago and they are around 4" tall right now and my 1500 Year Old Cave Bean and Winged beans have not come up yet.  It has been cooler than normal this May which is putting many of the summer lovers behind their normal schedule.  It is supposed to return to the 80's this coming week.  If they are not up in another week, I will resow.

Trellis on right completely covered in pole beans

The pole 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 at an angle.  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 in the garden bed or large pot.  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.  I really should pinch the tops off when the reach the top of the trellis. 

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; they can get fungal diseases.  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 for dried beans.  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.  The varieties I have grown in the past are all vine types-1500 Year Old Bean, Romano II, Scarlet Runner, Golden Sunshine Runner, Purple Podded and Bean Blauhilde and storage beans-Portal Jade, Good Mother Stollard, Christmas Speckles and King of the Garden lima beans.  This year, I planted Purple Yard Long, 1500 Year Old Cave and Winged bean vines for fresh "green" beans that I will freeze and Christmas Speckles lima beans for storing.  With green beans, I don't blanch, I just pick and freeze. 

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

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

Burpee "Bush Sugar Baby" watermelon

Sunday, May 25, 2025

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.

Both watermelons and cantaloupes prefer days in the 80's and 90's with lows in the 60's and 70's, full sun, a soil pH of 6-6.8, and fertile, 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 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.   

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 have grown compact watermelons 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.  In my garden, a fun little melon called Tigger grows very well.  

Melons love the hot weather so I wait until it is summer like before starting seed or transplanting.  Melons prefer soil temperatures of 70-95F.  If you want to sow directly in the garden, now would be a good time in our area. 

Everything you need to know to grow cucumbers, in pots or the garden bed

Cucumber vines on trellis in the August garden

Saturday, May 24, 2025

Cucumbers are a tropical plant and love heat.  They can 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 for the quickest harvest.  They can also be directly sown into the garden or a pot in the summer.  You can purchase transplants at nurseries or big box stores.  You can plant as late as July which will give you fruits from August to frost.

Cucumbers have been around for thousands of years and originate 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.  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.  Unless you get a "bush" variety, the plant will outgrow its trellis; just pinch off the top when it gets to the height you want. 

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, Bush Champion.  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

I have started seeds indoors and outdoors.  If started outdoors, starting in May after the soil has had a chance to warm up will give quick germination and growth.  If you start too early, the seed won't sprout and will rot.  I started mine outdoors at the beginning of May and one variety is up.  The other has not sprouted yet so I may need to re-sow.  I'll give it another week.

Days to harvest after sprouting varies from 50-70 days, depending on variety, amount of sun the plant gets and how warm it is.  Typically, the smaller fruits are quicker to develop.  Cucumbers grow and produce fast in hot, humid weather.  

2 years ago, I planted my seeds directly into a garden pot in early June.  I grew one green Bush Champion in a large pot.  The one plant gave me enough to eat fresh, make pickles that my husband loves and pickle relish for me.  Last summer, I grew Bush Champion in the ground.  It was enough for my husband and I but my mom loves cucumbers so I planted an extra cucumber plant for her this year.

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

There are a wide variety of cucumbers out there from tiny to humongous, from green to white to yellow to red, from those grown to eat fresh to those that can be stored on the counter for months, from those that are smaller bush types to those whose vines can ramble over 20 feet.  Lately, I have been planting the green bush varieties as a single plant gives me all we need to eat and preserve.  I have enjoyed growing yellow and white varieties as they are more forgiving in our hot summers.  Maybe next this winter when I have more time, I'll look for a bush variety in a fun color to try next year.

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

Seed saving-fun, easy and a cost saver

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

Black Beauty eggplant in container with petunias

Friday, May 23, 2025

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. 

 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?!