Gardening Info Archives

5 Proven Steps to Starting Your Veggie Garden

As Spring approaches, our thoughts turn to gardening.

Raised bed vegetable garden in the summer

Maybe you want to build a raised bed garden, put some containers on your deck, or add in-ground beds.

In this post, I share a snapshot of my solid step-by-step strategy to start a veggie garden that has been used by hundreds of people to start their garden.

Step 1: Your Garden Dream, Vision & Goals

For Step 1 it is important to take time to document your garden vision, what goals you have, and your garden as you have dreamed it.

Many folks don’t take the time to document this, so their dream garden becomes a vaporous ‘some day’ vague memory, vs actualizing the manifestation of their garden dream.

Lynn comes to mind. When she bought her house, they randomly put the shed and some garden beds in various places. Then she realized later that she had not considered what she really wanted out of her garden and it was kind of a mess. 😏

Step 2: Observation & Assessment 👀

To avoid making a mistake like Lynn. Or on choosing the best the type, size and location of the garden you put in that works for you – take some time to observe your space, light, water and other resources as well as your time.

This way you can be sure the garden you put in not only is in the best place, but also fits into your lifestyle, and that is where Step 2, Observation & Assessment comes in.

This is a critical step to be sure you get a garden that will work for you, and hence move you along that success pathway.

Once Lynn learned how to look at her yard, she was able to see what was happening to make good choices. 😀

Step 3: Building Healthy Living Soil

a raised bed is one choice for your veggie garden — Building awesome living soil in a raised veggie bed

Healthy living soil is the foundation of any garden, so building soil that will support your garden and grow plants for you is Step 3.

You probably know that chemical pesticides and fertilizers kill your soil, but did you know that tilling does too?

Tilling allows the carbon in your soil to be released into the atmosphere thereby depleting your soil of it.

This is why commercial conventional growers add fertilizers, because they have, by their actions, depleted it from their soil. The soil becomes nothing more than an anchor for the plants, but it is the life in the soil, that grows healthy lively plants.

Quality soil is loaded with life and will grow plants for you.

Remember that soil is 25% air and 25% water, so you want to build soil that will allow water and air to penetrate it.

Also, be sure to use your subsoil, whatever that is, because that is where the soil life lives.

Step 4: Choosing Quality Plants & Seeds

locally grown veggie plants — Get chemical-free plants

Step 4 of how to start a vegetable garden, is choosing quality plants and seeds for your garden.

This is the step that most people start with, and they often fail because they didn’t do the first three steps.

Learn clues for buying plants and seeds.

These include such as purchasing plants with a USDA Organic tag or from small local growers you know are chemical free.

Find quality seed companies to be sure they have signed the Safe Seed Pledge.

This shows they are committed to offering non-GMO seeds.

They may belong to organizations committed to organic growing and sustainable biodiverse practices.

Get my full list of ways to choose a good seed company:

Get my FREE Guide on How to Know What Seed Company is Best.

seed company criteria by debby ward, now to choose quality seed companies

Step 5: Garden Layout & Planting

learn garden layout — Organic veggie & flower garden

Then, in the last step to start your vegetable garden – that can include herbs and flowers too! – is when you get to design your garden and layout where plants will go in your gardens.

This is also when you do your seeding and transplanting.

Once you have done the fist four steps, you will be confident you have started the right type of garden for you and your lifestyle and put it in the best spot.

This way those young plants and seedlings have the best chance of providing you the yummy home grown produce you desire.

I hope this short overview has clarified how you can start a vegetable garden.

These steps showed Lynn how to start the vegetable garden she had envisioned, but hadn’t been able to manifest.

She how has a garden she loves, full of food and beauty. It has become her joyful sanctuary.

cover image of How to Start a Vegetable Garden Guide and Workbook

So you can do the same, I have created an e-book: How to Start a Vegetable Garden Guide & Workbook that provides your more support for my proven 5-step process to successfully start a vegetable garden.

The system works for any sized garden, from containers to acres.

You get a 12 worksheet pages in a 4- page e-book that includes design ideas and action steps to keep you on track and having fun.

e-book, how to start a vegetable garden guide and workbook what you get graphic

Get the Workbook & Guide to do these 5 Steps

May these still step illuminate the path for you to start the garden you have always wanted. -Debby

What I Found Under the Hoop House After a Deep Freeze in My Vegetable Garden

Debby WardLeave a comment

photo of several varieties of home grown lettuce

Some of you may have been at the talk I gave last Saturday on growing great lettuces, where we explored how to grow lettuce successfully all year round.

I shared photos from my garden—lots of them—because lettuce has become one of those crops I keep uncovering new varieties to try.

Growing Lettuce Year-Round in a Vegetable Garden

I grow around 50 different lettuce varieties each year. Some are best suited for spring, others can handle more summer heat, and still others truly shine in the fall and overwinter.

When you are buying your lettuce seed, note if they say they are heat or bolt tolerant. which gives you the clue they are better for warm weather.

All lettuce are generally cold hardy, so noting the ones that can take more heat will clarify which ones to plant for warm and cold seasons.

Choosing seasonal varieties is one way to grow lettuces all year in your veggie garden.

This photo gives you an idea of my love of growing lots of varieties of lettuce.

lettuce display of over twenty varieties of lettuce in a vegetable garden

During the talk, I mentioned how much I wanted to show real-time photos of the lettuces currently growing under hoop houses in my garden in February. Those would have been photos of lettuces I seeded at the end of summer and into the fall.

But here’s the thing. – We’ve been in a serious cold snap.🥶 A couple of weeks of it. And honestly?

I wasn’t willing to risk opening those hoop houses to take a photo of my lettuce to show off in the presentation. I didn’t want to disturb whatever fragile balance might still be sustaining life inside.

Until today. – I couldn’t resist. 😁

Opening the Hoop House After Days of Freezing Temperatures

I carefully lifted one flap of one hoophouse — just enough to slide my phone inside — snapped a quick photo, and closed it back up without even looking to see if the lettuces were alive in there.

And you know what?

A Winter Garden Moment I Didn’t Expect

When I zoomed in on the photo I took – The lettuces are alive. ⬇️

lettuces in a hoop house that lived through below zero temperatures

The Lettuce Lived—Even Below Zero

They survived temperatures down to minus 5 degrees and colder wind chills. I think that’s the coldest we’ve had to date, and there they were—still alive, still hanging on and simply waiting for it to be a bit warmer so they can start growing bigger again – amazing – happy dance!💃😀

I was genuinely surprised. I knew lettuce could tolerate down to 24° F but this? In Zone 7, under a hoop house, below zero? That shifted something for me.

What This Taught Me About Lettuce and Winter Gardening

This reminded me of the resilience of plants, which is a good reminder for us.

Lettuce has a way of teaching you to allow a slow down occasionally, observe, and respond—qualities that transform not just your garden, but your relationship with it and ourselves. – Plus you can get loads of yummy food.

It also clarified just how hardy and forgiving lettuces are.

Starting Lettuce Seeds for a Spring and Summer Vegetable Garden

Because I wasn’t sure the lettuces (and other crops in the hoop houses) would make it, I had already started a whole new round of lettuce indoors.

Those seedlings are now in trays, have been transplanted once, and will be transplanted again before heading into the garden—or being shared with friends or sold to clients.

Along with that surprise hoop house photo, I’m also sharing images of the seedlings on my home-built seed starting rack, glowing under those pink full-spectrum grow lights.

They look a little wild—almost psycho🤪 —but they work beautifully.

spring greens of lettuce, kale cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, chard, leeks and petunias under full spectrum lights

And that’s part of the beauty of lettuce. It invites abundance. There’s almost always enough to share.

Lettuce harvest from winter vegetable garden

Debby Ward, professional vegetable garden coach, speaker, designer and teacher

I wanted to pop in here to offer a wholehearted plug for lettuce—especially if you’re starting seeds for your spring and summer vegetable garden.

Lettuce is far more resilient than many of us expect, and it rewards even modest effort with beauty, nourishment, and confidence.

Three Insights for Growing Great Lettuce

These come straight from the talk I gave last Saturday:

Growing in hoop house microclimates simplifies harvesting lettuces in cold and hot temperatures.
Choosing seasonal varieties unlocks your ability to harvest lettuce all year.
By being strategic, instead of guessing how to do it, you grow great lettuce.

Lettuce has a way of showing us what’s possible when we tend with curiosity instead of assumptions.

May your garden be abundant and bring you joy, beauty, and food so it becomes you sanctuary—a place where you flourish alongside what you grow.

Looking for a Garden Speaker?

Do you need a speaker for for your group or organization?

I can talk on lettuce or other garden topics, get in touch and lets start the conversation. More info.

Available In-person or on zoom.

An Invitation to Grow With Curiosity This Season

🌱 Want more professional garden tips, seasonal guidance, and grounded encouragement?
Sign up for my newsletter to stay connected and supported as you plan, plant, and tend your garden all year long.

Steps to Create a Simple Spring Seed Starting Plan

Debby WardLeave a comment

That’s Actually Fun!

This might sound like a drag, but I promise you, it’s pretty darn fun.

Seed Packets from some of our recommended companies

Creating a simple spring seed starting plan completely transformed my seed starting season.

What used to feel like a hair-pulling mess of guessing, second-guessing, and starting everything at the wrong time has become one of my favorite early-season garden rituals.😊

It helped me clarify, simplify, and focus, and in doing so, it shifted my entire spring garden experience.

For years, I struggled with the same questions many gardeners do – When should I start what? – What have I already planted? – Why does everything feel so chaotic?

Then one day, it finally clicked.🌟 I realized I didn’t need a complicated spreadsheet or a rigid system. I just needed a simple, intentional way organize my seeds by timing. 📆

What followed was a surprisingly easy process that helped me manifest a calm, well-timed, productive spring and summer vegetable garden.

If you’re starting seeds for your spring and summer garden and want a system that feels nourishing instead of overwhelming, the exact process I use is below.

Why Seed Starting Timing Matters More Than You Think

Have you ever wondered why some years your garden feels smooth and abundant, while other years feel rushed and out of sync?

Often, it comes down to timing.

❓Do you do this? –

Many gardeners start everything at once. Spring lettuces get started at the same time as summer tomatoes. Some plants shoot up too fast, others lag behind, and suddenly the whole season feels a little wonky.

When seed timing is off at the beginning, it tends to ripple through the rest of the season.

But when you set this up thoughtfully at the start, everything that follows becomes easier.

As spring unfolds and life gets busier, your garden rhythm is already established. You’re no longer scrambling, wasting time, or spending extra money buying plants because seeds weren’t started on time.

Starting from seed allows you to discover more varieties, uncover better flavors, and harvest a garden that feels truly yours. And it doesn’t have to be complicated.

A Gentle Seed Shift That Changes Everything

scattered seed packets and note paper on a table

I arrived at this system by doing it wrong many times.

Sometimes it felt pretty chaotic.

Each misstep helped illuminate what didn’t work, until this simple process emerged. It now takes me very little time, yet it helps me foster, sustain, and thrive through the entire growing season.

Instead of reacting, I feel prepared. Instead of stress, there’s flow. Instead of confusion, there’s confidence.

And that’s exactly why I wanted to pass this along to you.

My Simple, Step-by-Step Spring Seed Starting Plan

This is the exact method I use every year to create a spring and summer seed starting schedule that feels clear, calm, and doable.

light green number one is a dark green circle with a lavender outline

Step 1: Pull One Seed Packet Per Crop

From your seed stash, pull out one packet for each type of crop you want to grow.
One tomato, one pepper, one zinnia, one marigold, one basil, and so on. This keeps things focused and prevents overwhelm.

light green number two is a dark green circle with a lavender outline

Step 2: Read the Back of the Packet

On the back of each seed packet, you’ll find guidance on whether the seeds should be started indoors or direct seeded outdoors.

light green number three is a dark green circle with a lavender outline

Step 3: Create Two Simple Piles

Based on that indoor/outdoor information and your own past experience, separate your packets into two piles:

Seeds to start indoors
Seeds to start outdoors

This step alone can feel incredibly clarifying.

light green number four is a dark green circle with a lavender outline

Step 4: Sort Indoor Seeds by Timing

Start with the seeds you’ll be starting indoors. Put them in order based on how many weeks before your last frost they should be started.

This information is on seed packets from companies that support home gardeners.

I usually end up with piles like this:

10–12 weeks before last my frost
8 weeks before
6 weeks before
3–4 weeks before

For example, through experience I’ve learned that here in zone 7 Virginia:

Thyme and basil do best started 10–12 weeks early
Peppers and eggplants around 8 weeks
Tomatoes at about 6 weeks
Squash closer to 3 weeks

Your timing may be a little different, and that’s okay. This process helps you tend to what works in your garden by giving you a framework to start.

You can put sticky notes with the timing on the top of each pile if that helps you at this step.

light green number five is a dark green circle with a lavender outline

Step 5: Sort Outdoor Seeds the Same Way

Next move on to the seeds you’ll direct sow outdoors. Decide which ones you’ll start first, second, and third based on what is on the seed packets and your past experience.

I also separate out crops I’ll succession plant, like carrots.

light green number six is a dark green circle with a lavender outline

Step 6: Create Simple Time-Frame Baggies

Place each group of seed packets into its own baggie. On the outside, write when that set should be started and if it is started inside, outside or outside succession planted.

light green number seven is a dark green circle with a lavender outline

Step 7: Add Your Chosen Varieties

Now go back to your full seed collection, pull the varieties you want to grow, and place them into the appropriate baggie.

light green number eight is a dark green circle with a lavender outline

Step 8: Done!

That’s it.
Your spring and summer seed starting plan is complete.

light green number nine is a dark green circle with a lavender outline

Optional: Note Days to Germination and Maturity

While you have the packets in hand, notice the days to germination and days to maturity. You don’t need to memorize them, just start to become familiar with the range.

Good seed companies will have this information on the seed packets.

Don’t get hung up here and you can skip this if it seems like too much. This info can be super useful later for garden design planning.

Your garden year is simplified not by trying to do it all at once, but by starting with a simple schedule.

Garden Planning Clarity

If you want more clarity and confidence as you plan your garden, I invite you to grab my free PDF – How to Start a Vegetable Garden Checklist. It will help you stay on track with all the tasks to start your veggie garden and set your garden up for success from the very beginning.

🌱 Get the free Start a Veggie Garden Checklist and take the next step in your garden journey.

More Pro Gardening Tips

You’ll also have an option to join my newsletter, where I share professional, practical garden guidance to help you simplify, focus, and grow a vegetable garden that’s productive, beautiful, and abundant.

And I’d love to hear from you, what part of seed starting feels most confusing right now, or what has shifted for you after reading this? Share in the comments and let’s grow together.

Your garden year is simplified not by trying to do it all at once, but by starting with a simple schedule.

Debby, Your Garden Coach

Three Simple Ways to Use Your Winter Garden Herbs

Debby WardLeave a comment

Herb container garden with a curly parsley, a tri-color sage and a creeping rosemary.

Herbs can have a beautiful way of carrying our gardens into the lives of our family and friends.

A brush against rosemary or a pinch of sage can instantly bring back the pleasure of tending, harvesting, and creating with the plants we’ve cared for. They’re small, but they hold so much — scent, flavor, and the quiet satisfaction of growing something useful.

For many years, herbs played a big role in my own garden life. 🌿

I used to grow an abundance of them and even ran a small business making culinary herb blends and handcrafted gifts. Working with herbs always felt grounding and enlivening.

It was a gentle reminder that simple things can become meaningful when we shape them with intention.

Today, I want to share three easy, inspiring ways you can enjoy herbs that you could harvest right now and turn them into something special.

Create a Herb Wreath

Rosemary, thyme, oregano and sage leaves

Woody perennial herbs like rosemary, sage, oregano and thyme are perfect for crafting small wreaths.

These make caring home made gifts from your garden.

Clip the flexible tops, weave them into a circle, and tie on a small ribbon bow or loop for hanging.

These heartfelt gifts, can be later dropped right into a soup pot for a fragrant infusion. If you intend to use them for soup, then it is best to use an organic non-died string to hold them together in the pot. You don’t want to end up with “blue soup” like Bridget Jones. 🤢😀

Every time I have given these to people, they have loved them.

Make a Lemon Herbal Tea

cup of herb tea with lemon herbs, ginger and lemon slice

For a bright, warming tea, blend lemon balm, lemon verbena, or lemon thyme — any one, or all three together. 🌿

Add a little grated dried ginger.

Package in a muslin baggie tied with ribbon for gifting.

You can enhance the citrusy notes by adding a fresh lemon slice when you steep it. 🍋

Add Herbs to a Bread Mix

Loves of bread with rosemary thyme and other herbs

You don’t need to bake from scratch to enjoy herb bread.

Maybe you do bake bread from scratch like me – I love making a weekly loaf of sourdough – yum!🍞

Even if that isn’t your thing, you can crush dried herbs from your garden and mix them into your favorite boxed bread mix.

It transforms an ordinary loaf into a wonderfully aromatic, comforting treat.

Each of these ideas invites you to use what you grow in simple, enjoyable ways. They help you reconnect with the plants you’ve tended and give you something beautiful to share, sip, or savor.

I’ll be sharing more support for your gardening journey and inspire creativity in your garden life.

What’s your favorite way to use your herbs? I’d love to hear your ideas. Feel free to comment or share this post with someone who might enjoy a little garden inspiration today.

Debby, your organic gardening coach, instructor, speaker and writer.

Gardening with Natives & Veggies – Part 3 – From a Native Gardener’s View

Debby WardLeave a comment

My native gardening friends tend to prefer the “low maintenance” of native perennials for their garden. They love to feed the wildlife and so do I, to a point.

My neighbor three doors down has a managed native meadow for a front yard and it is always fun to walk by and see what is blooming, or what birds are munching on the fall seed heads.

These are some of the delights of growing natives.

They are not so picky about what soil they have, if you add compost each season or what native they are planted next to.

Yet, the low maintenance native garden approach leaves more time for other endeavors, and this is where the native gardener can grow a few things for them to eat.

One of the challenges a native gardener might have is all the wildlife they attract. This can be viewed as a problem, but it is my experience that an abundant mix in the right places gives everyone bounty.

Adding Vegetables to a Native Garden

So here are my suggestions for native gardeners to add a few veggies for themselves without compromising their native gardens.

Native gardeners already tend to attract pollinators and other helpful insects to their gardens, which can give them an immediate advantage.

Containers on the deck.

Adding one, two or a few containers on your deck is the first place I would recommend growing some veggies, or herbs as a native gardeners.

This will not take up your native bed space, and be right out the back door for easy access.

It is also the place least likely to be visited by larger animal critters.

You can grow anything you like to eat in a container, so choose a couple things you live to eat and start there. You might want to give your tomatoes a screen to protect from birds, but small animals that would go onto your desk don’t tend to bother cucumbers, melons or squash.

Winter Squash & Pumpkins

Let winter squash and pumpkins meander through your native beds. These crops are super low maintenance too.

They have a long “days to maturity”, meaning it takes a long time for them to ripen. You can put in the plants, let them ramble and harvest them in autumn. Then you’ll have some yummy squash in storage to enjoy all winter.

Add in a small fenced veggie garden close to one of your flowering native beds. Adding in a small veggie garden, with protection from wildlife can bring much joy and healthful food to your table.

It is satisfying to sit at your table, eating some fresh picked veggies and watching all the buzz of life in your native garden beds. If you are new to veggie gardening, and want some tips, get in touch, I’d be happy to help!

Hope you have enjoyed this three part series on growing natives and veggies. If you missed a part:

Part 1 covered three reasons to grow both natives and veggies.
In Part 2 we looked at the topic from the point of view of the veggie gardener, and
Here in Part 3, we saw three ideas for native gardeners to add some veggies.

Happy gardening, and if you have any topics you’d like me to cover, let me know.

🍒Top Tips for Growing Cherry Trees – Part 1 🍒

Debby WardLeave a comment

Growing cherries in your home orchard can be rewarding, yet I find many people don’t try them.

Sweet or Tart? Choosing Cherries to Grow in Your Garden

When I talk with most people they want to grow sweet cherries, yet there are some compelling reasons to grow tarts one too.

In this post I’ll talk about reasons to grow both sweet and tart cherries and talk varieties.

Let’s start with those luscious sweet cherries.

3 Reasons to Choose Sweet Cherries for Your Garden

Who can resist the sweet juiciness of a ripe cherry? I’ll bet if you are reading this post, you look forward to those yummy little gems of flavor.

The first reason so grow sweet cherries in your garden may be obvious, but it is worth saying, because you ❤️ LOVE sweet cherries.

I do!

I often ask people what they like to eat, because growing what you like to eat is a great way to choose what to grow. If you do love them and I confess I do, then if you are putting some fruit trees into your home orchard, sweet cherries are one crop to consider.

Cherries can be pricey so if you want to eat allot of them, growing your own will save you money.

A new bare root cherry tree may cost you $60 or $65 dollars, but if you consider a bag of fresh cherries tends to cost $7 or more, you can see how fast you’ll get your money’s worth and how much money you can save.

Cherries are one of the “Dirty Dozen”, the group of foods that are grown with the most chemicals in the US according to The Environmental Working Group.

One great way to avoid health issues is by eating and growing organically. Therefore, growing your own cherries can save you money in the long run by helping to keep you out of the doctor’s office.

What about tart cherries?

3 Reasons to Grow Tart Cherries in Your Garden

Are you a fan of cherry pie? How about cherry jam, tarts, ice cream and dried cherries for salads or cookies?

Tart cherries are the stars when it comes to extending your cherry harvest. These are they type that are used to make pie filling and jams.

Your investment in your tree, keeps you from having to buy cherry products when fresh cherries are hard to find.

By canning your own cherry pie filling and jams to use the rest of the year, you extend your harvest and save even more money.

Dried cherries are wonderful in cookies and salads.

They pair well with walnuts and goat cheese in salads. Dried tart cherries make great additions to cookies. Think cherry chocolate chip – yummy.

They are super simple to dry with a dehydrator – which is a great investment to preserve all kinds of harvest from your garden,

You can make your own trail or snack mix by adding them to nuts and seeds and even chocolate chips.

When growing cherries, most varieties need a pollinator, so if you grow a sweet and a tart cherry that are good pollinators, then you get the best of both worlds.

Sweet Cherry Varieties

The two most famous varieties are Bing and Rainier.

When I was a kid, the neighbors down the street had a Bing cherry tree and my friend and I got to climb it and pick as many as we wanted.

More than once I went home with a tummy ache from eating too many, yet it didn’t stop my love of them.

Bing was introduced in 1875 and Rainer is a good choice for dry climates. If you are in the wetter climate, consider White Gold instead which resists cracking is wetter weather.

For red consider Stella which requires only 400 hours below 45F to successfully produce fruit.

Lapins has large dark red fruit and is widely adapted across the US. It needs only 500 chill hours.

For a black variety, if you are up north, consider the heirloom Black Tartarian. It was introduced in England in 1794 and requires 700 plus chill hours, making it a good choice for those in colder climates.

Tart Cherry Varieties

Montmorency is the most well-known pie cherry. 80% of pie cherries grown in the US and Canada are Montmorency. It does need more the 500 chill hours.

English Morello cherries are another well-known variety that needs 400 to 500 chilling hours. They have deep red flesh and wine red juice.

How about a Sweet Tart Cherry?

A sweet-tart cross is Carmine Jewel give you the best of both worlds.

Kansas Sweet is believed to be another sweet-tart cross. Sweeter than most tart cherries, but with a nice twang. This only needs 300 plus chill hours. A good choice for more southern growers.

Cherry Tree Pollination

Some varieties do need a pollinator and some don’t, this is why there is often confusion.

Traditionally, cherry varieties have been self-pollinating, yet growing them in proximity to another variety, that blooms at the same time would yield more fruit.

This is why you will see trees listed as ‘Early, “Mid” and “Late” season. Start with a variety you know you want to grow (see my last post for ideas). Then look for a variety that blooms at the same time, be it, early, mid or late.

Variety listings from a good company will list the bloom time and also tell you if they are self-pollinating or not. One of my favorite places to buy bare roots trees is Raintree Nursery. For each variety they have a list of recommended pollinators, making is easier for you to choose.

Chill Hours & Hardiness for Fruit Trees

When choosing your cherry tree varieties, you’ll need to consider both the chill hours of the variety and your growing zone.

Chill hours are not the same as your hardiness zone. Cherries are generally hardy in growing zones 4 though 9. Do look at the variety descriptions to be sure you are in the hardiness zone and have the chill hours for the variety you are considering growing.

Cherries are generally considered a cooler climate crop, vs peaches that are a warmer season crop, and citrus which is warmer still.

That said, there are cherry varieties that need less what is called “chill hours”.

In horticulture, chill hours refer to the total number of hours between 32 and 45°F that an area receives on average each winter. These are notes as “CU” (chill units). Chill hours are essential for certain plants to break dormancy and set fruit come spring.

Chill hours don’t need to be consecutive as they are noted as the cumulative total hours in that temperature range occurring between November and March. Hours below 32°F don’t count. And for every day that reaches over 60°F, one half-hour of chilling hours is subtracted from the total.

Cherry Tree Sizes

Choosing the size of your cherry tree is an important factor when deciding what to buy.

At this time there are four general size categories of cherry trees, with some sub-sizes depending on who you buy from.

The four main sizes are Mini-dwarf, Dwarf, Semi-dwarf and Standard.

Mini-dwarf are 6 – 8’. These are great for growing in containers, which makes them highly portable if you are planning on moving or have a small space.

Dwarf are 8-16’ and Semi-Dwarf are 12 – 22’. These two are what I tend to see most home growers buy that have a fenced in yard to keep out the deer. Because they are not that tall, deer can teach the entire tree.

Standard trees are 15 – 30’. The advantage of larger trees is that part of the tree is above deer browse level. You also, get more fruit, so if you have the space, they can be a great choice.

You can see there is overlap in size, this is why some companies will further break down the four categories.

Tree size is determined by its root stock.

Each variety can be grafted onto different rootstocks.

When buying bare root online, you can choose what size you want for most varieties. When buying from a local nursery, you have more limitations.

Which brings us to …

Potted or bare root cherry trees?

There are pros and cons to getting trees both ways.

Potted Cherry Trees

Pros:

You can find them locally, so you don’t have to wait for a tree to arrive.

Cons:

They are significantly more expensive than a bare root tree. For example, a 6’ tree in a container locally tends to cost an average of 1/3 or more than a bare root tree.
You have less variety choices.
You have less choices in tree size.
You can choose what nursery to buy from.
They acclimate slower in your garden. This is because they are used to being in their little potted environment, and hesitate to go outside their comfort zone.

Bare Root Cherry Trees

Pros:

They are less expensive.
You have lots more variety choices.
You have more choices for tree size.
You choose what nursery to buy from.
They acclimate faster to your garden because they need that wonderful soil you have made for them to they thrive. They have been taken out of their soil and their roots pruned to ship them to you, so they are super happy to get growing when put in the ground!

Cons:

You need to plant them when you get them.

In the next post, I’ll talk about the best way to plant your cherry trees, plus pest control for your cherries.

Gardening with Natives & Veggies – Part 2 – From a Veggie Gardener’s View

Debby WardLeave a comment

Okay folks, lets look at gardening with natives and veggies from the veggie gardener viewpoint.

If you grow primarily vegetables and “savory fruits” such as tomatoes and squash in your garden, adding natives amps up your overall diversity as we saw in Part 1.

In addition there are several natives that can have direct benefit on your veggie production. Lets look at a few of my favorites:

Six Natives Plants to Enhance Your Vegetable Growing

Blue Wild Indigo, Baptista australis. This beautiful 5’ tall native has beautiful blue-purple flowers in spring and is a member of the legume family of plants.

Members of this plant family sequester carbon in the soil and the leaves can be cut down to add nitrogen to plants either around them or in your compost pile.

🐝Native bees love it, therefore attracting more pollinators to your landscape. It is perennial.

Yarrow, Achillea millefolium. I love growing Yarrow, maybe because it is such a wonderful herb for stopping bleeding, but also because it will bloom all summer if you deadhead it and bring the flowers in for bouquets.

The native common yarrow has creamy white flowers, cultivars have many other colors.

Yarrow contains fairly high amount of calcium, which helps with the metabolic processes of plants taking up other nutrients. It also help strengthen plant cell walls. High humidity, like we have here in Virginia, along with a cold winter can cause calcium deficiency, so plant yarrow, put the leave around your plants or in your compost to add calcium for your plants.

Yarrow is perennial.

Yellow Swallowtail butterlfy on Joe Pye Flower

Joe Pye Weed, Eutrochium fistulosum: This beautiful tall, mid-summer flowering native is a pollinator magnet, and frankly, just darn beautiful.

Its big puffy mauve flowers look wonderful at the back of a native flower garden bed, attracting so may different types of native bees and butterflies, you’ll want to stop veggie gardening and just watch the show. Joe Pye is perennial and one of my favorites.

You can find cultivars that are shorter in height, as the native variety grows 7 feet tall.

Goldenrod, Solidago spp. Push the window on attracting pollinators into the fall by adding goldenrods to your landscape.

This is really helpful if you love to grow fall peas like I do.

Goldenrods are also one of the best late season food sources for pollinators, so an outstanding addition.

As a note, some people think they are allergic to goldenrod, but they are most often allergic to ragweed.

This is a fall perennial beauty. There are many types so you can choose which one suits your garden best. Showy goldenrod is a popular choice, as it’s name indicates – it is showy.😀

Asters, Symphyotrichum spp. Like Goldenrod, asters bloom later in the year, in autumn, thus they give you the benefits listed above for goldenrod. , and give you more color in your garden as the weather turns cool.

They give you more color in your garden as the weather turns cool. They also can make a nice cut flower for the vase. Native Aster flowers can be white, purple or pink.

Examples of native asters are, Smooth aster and Sky blue aster.

Northern Maidenhair Fern, Adiantum pedatum. Got a shady area?

Consider adding some of these ferns as they are a great toad habitat.

Toads eat bugs, so can help keep your bug population in balance and away from your veggies.

Add Natives to Your Garden

So veggie gardeners, you can put in a flower bed of Blue Wild Indigo, Joe Pye, Yarrow, Goldenrod and Asters and have a beautiful garden area that blooms in spring, summer and fall. Add some ferns to your moist shady spots and you’ve helped that native bee and toad population and your garden!

In Part 2 of this blog series, we looked at six native plants you can add to your landscape to benefit your veggie garden. There are many more, so I encourage you to add these and get in touch if you want more inspiration and ideas.

Get notified of new posts to transform your garden’s abundance.

Simple Formula to Know When to Start Your Seedlings

Debby WardLeave a comment

Have you wanted to start some spring and summer plants from seed, but don’t know the best time to start them?

Perhaps you tend to start “late” and then your seedlings are tiny when it is time to plant them in your garden and you go out and buy plants anyway.

Whether either of these are you, or you simply want a simple formula to start your seedlings, this post is for you.

Know when to start your seedlings

On most seed packets you will find some useful information.

Recently I came across someone’s post who said they never read the seed packets and just wing it. They also lamented that their seedlings weren’t ready when they wanted to put in the in the ground.

The simple solution is to read the seed packets and follow this formula.

It has four parts.

Days to Germination
Days to Maturity
Planting Time
Last Frost Date

Let’s start by defining a couple of terms.

Days to Germination

You’ll see this on the seed packets, sometimes listed as “days to sprout” or “days to emerge”.

This will be a number and is the average number of days from the day you plant the seed, you can expect to see the seedling come up.

Various factors play a part in how close to that number of days your seedlings sprout.

For example, older seeds tend to take longer to sprout.

Some seeds prefer warmer temperatures, some cooler. Some need light to germinate, and therefore should not be covered, some want darkness to germinate. These are the things you learn by reading your seed packets.

Days to Maturity

You might also see this listed as “days to harvest” or it might simply say “days”.

This means the average number of days from the time the seedling sprouts to when you can expect to harvest it, or for it to bloom.

Again, climatic factors can modify when your tomato plant is pumping out tomatoes, or your zinnias are blooming.

Planting Time

Planting time depends on a couple of factors. First, if the plant likes it warm or cool.

Spring crops that like it cool will want more cool days in your garden to mature, where as your summer crops may not want to get planted in until cold weather has passed (more on that a bit).

The Seed Starting Timing Formula

The formula is calculated like this.

Pick the planting time, then calculate backwards, the Days to Maturity, then the Days to Germinate.

In the real world, you will do these in reverse order. 1, 2, then 3.

how to calculate when to start your spring and summer seedlings

Last Frost Date

To choose when you put your seedlings in your garden, we use the last frost date for your area. This means the last average date you can expect you won’t get frost for the summer.

This date is calculated in the US by the USDA Planting Zones. They update the zones and dates every four years.

You can put in your zip code on their website and it will tell you your planting zone and your last and first frost dates. (Your first frost will be in your autumn.)

So that is it! A simple formula, based on when your seedlings want to be planted.

Want to get more seed starting support, Get my free Seed Starting Checklist.

Gardening with Natives & Veggies – Part 1, Three Benefits of Growing Both

Debby WardLeave a comment

Hey folks,

I’ve chatted with some gardeners who primarily grow natives and some who primarily grow veggies. Turns out, there are folks who feel they have to grow one or the other. Since diversity is one of the two top ways to help insure a healthy thriving garden (living soil being the other) I wanted to give all you gardeners out there some inspiration and ideas on how I like to grow both.

In this first part, we’ll go into the benefits.
The second part we’ll look at it from the veggie gardener point of view and,
in the third part, we’ll look at it from the native gardener point of view.

3 Benefits of growing both natives and veggies:

Diversity! Every critter that happens into or around your garden is part of the priorly connected web of garden life. Insuring you have a large diversity of plants in your garden is an insurance policy that not any one critter will wreak havoc on your entire garden. By including both a vegetable garden and some native garden beds in your landscape, you add even more diversity that if you have one or the other.

Annual Flowers, Veggies and Natives
Beauty. As I am fond of saying, “Beauty is food too”. Natives can add flowers and leaf shapes to your landscape and veggies can be grown in a pleasing manner, they don’t have to be in rows.

Mixing Food, Flowers and Natives
Food for everyone. Native gardeners tend to pride themselves on growing food for wildlife. Veggie gardeners tend to pride themselves on growing food for themselves and their families. Why not have some of both – everybody wins!

In this introduction, we took a quick look at three benefits for growing both natives and veggies.

Subscribe so you don’t miss more tips to simplify organic gardening.

5 Simple Steps to Seed Starting Success

Debby WardLeave a comment

Fellow gardeners take heart that spring will come and the snow will melt! In the meantime, starting seeds indoors helps keep the winter blues away.

Here are 5 simple steps to successful start your plants indoors:

Choose high quality seed from a reputable seed company. As an organic grower, you understand the importance of your food choices. By choosing seed companies who have a reputation for sustainability, you have a valuable voice in shaping how seeds are grown in the future. For the criteria I used to vet seed companies, click h ere.

Pick crops to start indoors that transplant well like tomatoes, peppers, basil, marigolds, squash, melons and cucumbers. Read your seed catalogs or the back of seed packets to see if that type of plant is good started indoors. Some crops like spinach an corn don’t like being transplanted and need to be direct seeded.

Use quality organic seed starting mix. Either choose an organic mix from a reputable company or make your own with a peat substitute like coco fiber, mixed with organic vermiculite and perlite. If you are buying a product, look for it to have mycorrhizal fungus in it to boost root production. If you are making your own mix, add it in.

Give your seedlings lots of light and warmth. You can set up a simple home seedling rack with 3’ shop lights over a shelf that can hold 5 seedling trays. Building it yourself will save you money.

Read my post on building your own seed starting rack, here.

Start your seedlings at the right time. Seed catalogs and packets will tell you when to start your seedlings. For example, tomatoes can be started 6-8 weeks before your last frost date. Cucumbers, melons and squash are generally started 2 – 4 weeks before they will be planted out. Remember to add in time for hardening off. Read my post on hardening-off here.