grow organic food 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

🌱 How to Protect Tender Pea Sprouts from Frost (Without Breaking a Sweat!)

Debby WardLeave a comment

If you’re a gardener, you know that nothing says spring or autumn like the delight of seeing your pea sprouts push up through the soil. But one surprise frosty night can undo all your hard work. 😱

This happened at my garden recently. The weather went from spring, to a couple days of hot summer-like weather, then went back to spring and then whoops – hard frost! Whoa – the peas have just sprouted. 🌱

Luckily, there’s a simple, sustainable trick you can use to shield your tender pea sprouts from frost —no plastic tarps or complicated gear required.

The Magic of a Dark Cloth & a Bit of Straw

When a cold snap threatens, or the one-off cold night, your pea sprouts need just a bit of cozy protection. Here’s how to create a quick, eco-friendly frost shield for a row of peas. 🫛

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

✂️Drape a dark-colored cloth (like black, deep brown or navy-blue cotton) gently over the row of pea sprouts. If you have an old towel, or T-shirt that you can cut up, that is perfect. You want to rip or cut it into strips that are about 8” wide and as long as you can make them.

You can cut up strips of landscape fabric. This is the only thing I use landscape fabric for, as it acts as a weed anchor vs a weed block and there I don’t recommend it be used for annual vegetable gardens.

Make sure the cloth is large enough to cover them without crushing.

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

✔️Secure the cloth in place with a light, about 1-inch layer of straw. This keeps the cloth from blowing away and adds insulation.

Remember we are talking about straw, not hay. As my Dad taught me, 🐴 “Hay is for horses, straw is for gardens”. 🌿

If you don’ t have quite enough straw, so that parts of the cloth show through the straw, that’s okay! The dark color absorbs sunlight faster when the sun comes out, helping to warm the area underneath and keep the peas protected in their little blanket.

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

Timing this Pea Sprout Frost Protection Strategy

Apply this setup before the frost hits and remove it as soon as temps rise the next day to prevent overheating. This allows your little pea plants to soak up the sun.🌞

Why This Way of Keeping Peas Warm from a Freak Frost Works

This method creates a mini microclimate for the rows of your little peas so they can be nourished through the cold night.

The straw traps air for insulation and holds down the cloth, and the dark fabric absorbs and holds warmth, keeping the soil just warm enough to protect those baby peas from freezing temps.

Organic, Gentle, Effective Pea Sprout Protection

This approach is chemical-free, low-cost, and perfectly in line with your values as an organic grower. It allows your peas to flourish and prevents the damage that comes from frost. 🫛😊

Want more clever tips and tricks for growing thriving organic veggies year-round? 🌿 Subscribe now to keep up with my pro tips, seasonal advice, and exclusive offers designed just for organic gardeners like you!

Your peas (and your garden) will thank you.

May Your peas thrive so you manifest an abundant harvest! – Debby

What to do with your garden in fall & winter post series – Grow Food in the Fall – 3 Quick Pro Tips

Debby WardLeave a comment

Do you crave the fresh produce you get from your spring & summer garden? The bounty can continue!

One of my 1-on-1 clients, Rachael wanted to grow food in the fall and get my help on her garden layouts. She started out unsure of growing food in the fall and winter because she is in zone 4.

It has been super fun to hear how her fall garden progresses each year, as well her warm season crops.

Fall is the simplest time to grow food.

You have less weeds and less bugs.

Here are three super simple tips to get started growing food to harvest in the fall:

1 Decide what cool weather crops you like to eat. Think greens for your smoothies, salads and soups as well as root crops for stews, casseroles and autumn roasting

2. Choose what crops you will direct sow from seed, and which are better from transplants. Generally, here I suggest you buy transplants for your greens like chard, broccoli and lettuce. Sow your root crops, herbs, peas and spinach from seed.

3. Choose which areas of your garden are best suited for putting in your cool loving fall crops.

You might have areas in your veggie garden that are cleaned out of summer crops, or you might have an area in another bed, that gets more light once the leaves have fallen from the trees.

Perhaps this bed is one with herbaceous plants that have died back that you can sick some transplants into. This will make the area look better and give you food!

Remember, fall is the simplest time to grow food.

Brassica Varieties to Try & Not Try – What I have been Trialing

Debby WardLeave a comment

Some of you might be ready to try a new variety you haven’t grown before, but are not sure what to try.

Others of you might want to try and grow a different crop, but are unsure about doing so.

I realized in the last few days it has been a while since I passed on info on varieties I have been trialing. Each year I try new varieties along with ones I have loved to grow for years.

So in this blog post series I’ll pass on some varieties that I’ve fallen in love with and some I don’t ever want to grow again.

Both perspectives are important because the descriptions you’ll get from seed companies put every variety in a good light. We can get some idea from those descriptions what we might want to try, but there is nothing like growing them yourself to see if you like them.

I like to try a variety for at least two years before I make a decision about it. Each year the weather is different and can affect their growth. To give each variety a fair shot, I grow them in different beds each time, because each has a bit different soil or light. Plus, it may have had a different type of crop preceding it in crop rotation.

Today lets go through some brassica family plants. I start here because for some of us, it will soon be time to start spring plants indoors.

Lets Talk Broccoli

For years I have grown the same open pollinated varieties and they did okay. I kept reading descriptions of hybrids as being more uniform and the last three years I broke down and decided to try some.

Okay, as you know, I am a champion for seed sovereignty and preserving genetic diversity in seeds, so historically I have tended not to grow that many hybrids. It has been interesting to start growing some to make comparisons.

So at this point both Fiesta and Belstar broccolis have outperformed my standard open pollinated varieties. They are both hybrids, both organic and both available from both High Mowing Organic Seeds and Territorial Seeds. The germination rates are higher, the plants are stronger and they head more reliably and hold up over winter better. Want to know why I choose those seed companies, get my free 15 seed company criteria here.

Cabbage Rocks

Another cool season crop that gives you loads of food is cabbage.

The best new cabbage I have been growing is Caraflex, another hybrid. I admit I was pretty darn skeptical about growing a hybrid cabbage, but my rep at High Mowing Seeds convinced me to try it and I am thrilled she did!

One late spring, after I have harvest the last Caraflex head, I left the roots in the ground and it kept growing other heads. We ate from it all summer.

I tend to get 100% germination, the cabbage heads well, holds better in the garden through heat and cold better than any cabbage I have ever grown, and I have grown over 25 varieties.

One cabbage listed for short season is Red Express. It seems to be the only short season offering in red cabbages. I have tried to get a decent head out of it for over five years and it just doesn’t happen. It takes about 120 days to get a head the size of a gold ball for me, so I’d say, don’t bother trying this one.

Kales – King of Winter Greens

*Dazzling blue kale grown with peas in spring*

A kale I have kept trying to grow for years is Scarlett, red-purple curly kale that continually has very low germination rates. I have tried seed from four companies I trust, tried starting it indoors in winter for spring and again in summer for winter and tried seeding it directly outdoors in spring and fall and in all these scenarios, I get maybe 25% germination, so I quit and can’t recommend it.

But I can highly recommend Dazzling Blue kale, which is a lacinato type. Great germination, hardly plants in both cold and heat, they taste great and color is just awesome. Bluish leaves with purple/red veins in hot weather and deep purple when overwintered. I have gotten my seed from Territorial Seeds, but many good companies carry it.

Lookout for the next post on varieties I have been testing .. until then, have an awesome day!

Debby

Spring Seed Starting Master Class & Workshop – Making Seed Starting Simple – Learn More

Designing Your Spring Veggie Garden

Debby Ward1 Comment

Bak choi is a great spring crop — Bak Choi

A client of mine, Deanna loves spring greens yet was daunted by lack of success with her spring garden. She realized she didn’t really know how much space different plants needed. She also wasn’t certain what spring plants grow well with each other. She had grown Bak Choi successfully, but that was about all. She wanted to add more greens and cool weather root crops like radishes, carrots, beets and turnips, yet she was not sure how to integrate them with the greens.

In previous years, the root crops ended up being small at best and the greens ended up rotting. She was tired of buying what she felt like was wasted seed. She had tried a couple times and wasn’t happy with the outcome. When she came to me, this was one of her major concerns to insure productivity in her garden. She was so happy when she learned that some simple adjustments could make a huge impact on her productivity.

Here are a few ways she improved her spring garden.

Plant Spacing

When you direct seed it is harder to get plant spacing right. Many folks only direct seed because they do not have a setup to start seeds indoors. This was Deanna’s situation. She was direct seeding all her crops. Seeds are small and can be hard to handle, so folks at the seed companies tend to expect you to scatter all the seeds in a packet in a row and then “thin” them so they have room to grow. This is one way to give your plants more space, but a wasteful one.

It is far better to seed with wider spacing. My rule is to seed at about 1/3 the spacing listed on the seed packet as the final plant spacing distance. This allows you to harvest smaller root crops or greens as they begin to crowd and leave some to get larger. You also don’t waste seed this way and can have one seed packet often last for a couple of years. Very handy to keep costs down.

Avoid scattering seed close together and then leaving them that was as they get larger. This is how Deanna had rotting plants. Not only, were so close they could not get any air circulation and rotted, but they did not have the space to grow to full size and produce the yield you would want.

If you fingers struggle with small seeds consider these options:

Buttercrunch lettuce from Territorial Seed Company — Territorial Seed Co.

Buy pelleted lettuce and carrot seed which is much easier. Check Territorial Seed Company for a variety of pelleted lettuce seed.

You can also get an inexpensive hand seeder that will allow you to dispense smaller seeds a bit easier. These can be super simple up to more sophisticated. Territorial has a selection of these also. One advantage is they can be used for all kinds of seeds.

If you have the advantage of being able to start greens seedlings indoors, it is easier to give each plant the space it needs. I still tend to transplant a bit close together and harvest every other or third one as they begin to crowd each other. This extends the harvest and allows the remaining plants to get larger for harvest later and fills in the space so you are not wasting space in your garden.

Timing

Another key to spring garden success is timing. Granted this is trickier as the weather gets less predictable and computer models are unable to keep up with climatic changes, yet there are some tricks you can employ.

First is to succession plant. This is where you plant a new batch of the same crop about every two weeks. This gives you a couple advantages and can be done with either indoor or outdoor seed starting.

Outdoors, if weather turns too warm/hot/wet/dry for a crop, you can try again. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, it is another way to spread out your harvest. This means you don’t harvest at once. This is especially useful for root crops where you are harvesting the entire plant.

Valmaine Lettuce is great in all seasons — Valmaine Romaine Lettuce

Indoors, succession plant your spring greens and then transition to following those on with summer greens. Some lettuces will take much more heat than others. A couple of my warm weather favorites here are Valmaine and Jericho romaines. These can follow-on after cooler loving lettuces such as most of the butterheads.

Lettuces, cabbage and chard are cool loving crops and you’ll get an earlier harvest if you can start these indoors while it is still too cold to start them outdoors. After you harden them off, they can be transplanted into the ground for your first greens harvest. Spinach though, doesn’t transplant well so start that one directly in your garden.

As always there is trial and error in your specific microclimate and this is another reason for not scattering all your seed at once.

Companion Planting

Spinach and beets are great spring companion plants

Another way to increase the use of your spring garden space is to interplant root crops with leaf crops. Gratefully this is pretty easy with cool weather crops because most greens and roots combine just fine.

Lettuces are happy with all the cool weather roots. Spinach and chard go well as they are in the same plants family. Same idea with kale, cabbage, kohlrabi, turnips, rutabagas and radishes, which are all in the brassica family.

peas can feed the kale so they make great companions — Peas and Kale

Don’t forget a star of your spring garden – peas! Peas thrive in spring so plant some of your pleasure be it snow peas, snap peas or shelling peas. We love shelling peas best, granted they hardly make it out of the garden as I tend to just pick and eat them, fresh, raw and oh so sweet!! My favorites are Green Arrow and Alderman/Telephone Pole. Check the vine height of pea varieties to be sure they match your pea fence. If you don’t have a pea fence, get one what doesn’t need support like Sugar Ann snap pea. There is a reason why you may have heard “peas and carrots” they go tougher in the garden. Plant your carrots in front of your pea fence.

Pulling this all together

May people have asked me about how to design a spring veggie garden, so lets pull some of these tips together.

Choose your varieties and see when they will mature, if they can take some heat and how big they will be full sized.

Next use the companion planting tips to choose which plants to put in which bed.

Then decide how long you want to harvest each type of plant to create a succession planting schedule. This will tell you when to start your seeds, be it indoors or out. Remember root crops are all direct seeded.

Finally, choose a block of your garden for each set of plants for example, one for brassicas, one for peas and carrots, once of lettuce and radishes, etc. Split up each block by how many rounds of succession planting you want. So if you want three rounds, split it up into three sections. Plant the first section, two weeks later the second section and three weeks later, the third session. Tada! You’ve designed your spring garden.

Don’t want to design your garden yourself? Manifest a beautifully designed garden with Debby’s Professional Custom Garden Designs. Get Yours!

Companion plant cabbage and broccoli with root crops like carrots, betts, turnips and radish — Spring Boundy of Companion Planted Cabbages, Carrots, Beets, Brocolli and more!

Concurring Cucumber Beetles – Organically

Debby WardLeave a comment

Had a client ask me yesterday about Cucumber Beetles so thought I’d write up this post so you can all benefit form the information too.

I admit, of all the bug type critters I have dealt with in my gardening endeavors, these little buggers have been the hardest to deal with and some of the most prolific. I also admit, I have stopped growing cucumbers because of them. With those caveats, let look at why these critters are such a challenge.

First, there are two types, striped (Acalymma vittatum/A. trivittatum) and spotted (Diabrotica undecimpunctata howardi Barber). This can be confusing, with some folks thinking they are dealing with something other than cucumber beetles. So, yes, both of these are cucumber beetles:

Cucumber beetles attack, yes, cucumbers, but also other members of the Cucurbit plant family that includes summer squash (and zucchini), winter squash and melons. I have also found that they love, I mean LOVE, Amaranth, both the ornamental and grain type, so we strictly avoid growing all types of Amaranth. They will really love to eat your Cleome, so we have stopped growing those beauties as well. They have also been known to munch on beets, beans, peas, sweet potatoes, okra, corn, lettuce, onions, and various cabbages although, gratefully, I have not had them go for these other crops.

These little critters do munch on your plant leaves, but the main issues is that they transmit bacteria that cause Fusarium or Bacterial Wilt and this is what will often kill the plant first. Adult cucumber beetles can severely defoliate plants and scar fruit. Adults generally reach their peak activity in morning and late afternoon and are fast and pretty hard to catch. If you do catch them, they have very hard shells so are hard to squish. Don’t try and put them down to step on them like you might a worm, as they’ll fly before you can get them. If you are able to catch them, put them in soapy water. All that said, this is not the best way to deal with them.

As with handling any pest predation, a good Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy that includes more than one option works best. All the products on this list are OMRI rated for organic use. Not sure what that means, check out this video.

Ways to concur cucumber beetles:

Row cover or growing in completely protected culture in a high tunnel or greenhouse. I recommend this at the beginning of the season to give your plants a good head start. This client, Kathleen, did this and I am sure this is why her plants have done as well as they have. She also used..
Neem oil spray. Neem can be effective here as it is a wide spectrum killer. It is also effective against fungal diseases, which is an added benefit. When sprayed on garden plants, it does not leave a lasting residue because it washes away with rain and is broken down by ultraviolet rays. It can kill some beneficial bugs if they are directly sprayed. Most of Neem’s action is from critters biting leaves that have been sprayed with it. Your beneficial insects are carnivores, eating those other bugs who are eating your food.
Kaolin Clay, or Surround. We love this stuff and use it often. The product name is Surround, which is made from a specially modified Kaolin clay. This forms a barrier that protects plants from many pests. We spray it on and it makes a white barrier not only repels bugs, but causes them irritation, confusion, and is an obstacle for feeding and egg-laying. We have found it very effective against deer too! The deer look at those ‘white plants’ and don’t think are food. Like the Neem, you have to keep applying it after rains and as new green growth appears.
Cleaning up. Cucumber beetles will overwinter eggs in the mulch under your plants. If you have had an infestation, remove all the mulch from the area and don’t even compost it. Dispose of it off property or burn it, depending on your location. Then you can apply ..
A spray containing Spinosad, like Monterey Garden Insect Spray used to drenchto the soil tokill the larvae before they pupate in the soil can be effective to avoid further infestation in following seasons. I should mention here, I only see these critters in the warm summer months.
Beneficial insects. Ladybugs, Green Lacewing, Spined Soldier Bugs and Assassin Bugs will all feed on various life stages of cucumber beetles. Attracting and keeping these garden helpers in your garden will not only help keep the cucumber beetle population down, but many other less desirables from eating your food. A few good plants to start with are: yarrow, sunflowers, dill, cilantro and parsley. Makes sure you let the dill, cilantro and parsley go to flower.

Assassan bug eating a spotted cucumber beetle

7. You can also buy cucumber beetle lures and use these with yellow sticky traps. The lure is effective for 45 days. If the trap becomes covered with insects or other debris before that time, remove the lure and attach it to a fresh trap. One advantage is that these are not a spray and therefore you run less risk of killing other critters you would rather not kill. I confess I have not tried these although it seems a reasonable thing to try and I might get some for the cucumber beetle population currently in my garden. If anyone uses these, let me know how they worked for you.

8. The last option in this article is adding a Heterorhabditis bacteriophora beneficial nematodes to your soil. Nematodes occur naturally in our soil, but we might not have the ones that really like beetle, and specifically cucumber beetle larvae.

So to wrap up, here is my recommended IMP strategy if you have a cucumber beetle infestation:

Spray Neem to get the population down.
Put out lures and traps for adults you have missed or that continue to hatch.
Depending on how diseased and chewed up your plants are, remove them off site or burn them.
Remove all the mulch under where the plants were and spray Monterey Garden Spray heavily into the soil.

Next spring:

Apply beneficial nematodes to your soil.
Use row covers for young plants.
Apply Surround as your plants grow.
Put in plants that attract beneficial insects.

Get a FREE Soil Class.

Have an awesome day and good luck with those cuke beetles! – Debby

Debby’s Top 5 Round Red Tomato Varieties

Debby WardLeave a comment

tasting different tomato varitieties we grew — Tomato Tasting Tray. One thing we sometimes to for dinner at Prior Unity Garden is the tomato tasting tray, where we just try all the different kinds of tomatoes from the garden. Here is a tray with over 15 varieties – Yum !

Okay, so pretty much everybody loves to grow tomatoes, and even if some of us like the funky colors and shapes, I find that loads of gardeners keep asking me for ‘round red tomatoes’.

The main reason for growing these is because they taste good.

So, here goes with my top picks and note of why they are on my list…

Old Virginia – Here in Virginia, or anywhere you have hot, humid summers, this one is the one grow.
Old Brooks – it just tastes so darn good, with my preferred acid/sweet balance, a bit on the old fashioned acid side
Thessaloniki – the dependable tomato for drought or dry conditions, amazingly so!
Siletz – the only determinate on the list that I have grown for 30 years. Great for salsa.
Carmelo (F1) – the only hybrid on the list because it performs so well and tastes so smooth and rich

Hope this inspires you to step out and try more varieties.

Grow Great Tomatoes Master Class – Have Your Best Tomato Season Yet!

Master Class includes:

Planting tomatoes
Supporting tomatoes
Pruning tomatoes
How to handle common tomato diseases
How to handle common tomato pests
Companion plants for your tomatoes
Bonus: Some of Debby’s recommended varieties for different climates

Dealing with Extreme Heat, part 1

Debby WardLeave a comment

Learn How to Grow Soil & Water in one Simple System

Plants can withstand heat better when they are grown in high quality living soil.

Build Living Soil Master Class

Vibrant Living Soil is the foundation of your thriving soil because it grow plants for you.

Get the Master Class

Growing Great Blueberries

Debby Ward1 Comment

Enjoy home grown blueberries — Blueberries ripening on the bush

Blueberries are very satisfying and easy to grow.

They can cost a pretty hefty amount at the store and are really easy to grow here in the mid-Atlantic area of the US.

Blueberries are native here, so even if you choose to grow cultivar varieties which produce larger fruit like I do, you can be assured they like this climate.

Blueberries are beautiful in the landscape, having white or pink flowers in spring and bright red, yellow or bronze foliage in autumn.

There are two types of blueberries: high bush & low bush. Low bush are generally grown in northern climates like Maine and Canada. High bush are generally grown further south and the ones mostly grown in Virginia gardens.

A question I am often asked is: Should I buy them in a container or bare root?

Either is fine.

It is best to only have bare root plants shipped vs. container grown because shipping container grown plants is pricey.

Bare root plants are grown in the nursery for a few years (a good company will tell you how old the plants will be that you are ordering) dug up in the dormant months, kept cool and shipped in spring.

Container grown plants would be obtained locally.

Currently, we do not have a good source of container grown blueberries locally. The nursery we liked is going out of business because the owners are retiring. Many local nurseries sell blueberry bushes for short, limited time in early spring. Be sure and ask them if their plants are sprayed with

grow fruit at home — Heavy fruit load not yet ripe

loads of chemicals that could kill your pollinators, including the neonicotinoids that have been so much in the news lately.

To get a great selection, we recommend ordering bare root from RainTree Nursery. They sell 2-to-3 year old blueberry plants that are good sized, at least 18” tall and bushy.

When buying blueberry plants, be sure to buy at least two varieties for pollination. Also check the ripening dates, choosing two bushes each of three varieties can extend your harvest and give you a very healthy crop.

Popular varieties include the old time ‘Jersey’, which has bright yellow leaves in autumn and ‘Bluecrop’ which has red fall color. Another yellow fall colored variety is ‘Bluegold’, which is popular with smaller space gardeners because the bushes are more compact at 4’ high. Most highbush blueberries are 6’ high. ‘Bluegold’ and ‘Earliblue’ can start your blueberry season off, then follow on with ‘Blueray’ for mid season and ‘Elliot’ or ‘Libery’ for late season fruit. We also really like ‘Patriot’ and ‘Northland’ as they has done very well for us.

growing blueberries — Blueberries that made it to the bowl

Container gardeners might like to try the cute ‘Top Hat’ that only grows to 18”. You can choose a variety that grows to 4’ for container culture and use a larger container.

In ground, space your blueberries as far apart as their listed mature height. So, if a variety is listed as 6′ high, plant them 6′ apart, or a little farther, if you have room, for good aeration and light.

Three important notes about growing blueberries:

Choose a sunny location. Although blueberries grow in partial shade, they need full sun to produce lots of berries.
Plant them separate from your annual vegetable garden because they have different soil requirements. Blueberries want acidic soil, unlike your annual veggies. A good mulch for blueberries is pine needles.
Plant your blueberries where they will naturally get plenty of water because they are shallow rooted plants. You can dig swales to capture water for your blueberries in heavy rains.

One last note, invest in a few post and bird netting so you get your crop instead of the birds.

Hope this inspires you to try growing some blueberries at home, whether you want to eat them fresh or make summer blueberry ice cream, they are an easy and satisfying perennial crop to grow.

Mix it up! Companion Plant your Annual Vegetable Garden

Debby WardLeave a comment

Make the most of your garden space by mixing flowers and herbs with your annual vegetables.

Backyard Foodscape incorporates flowers and herbs along with vegetables.

Pairing the right plants together, those that gardeners have observed grow well together, allows plants to do some of your garden work for you. This accomplishes several functions as we can see…

One classic example showing some ways plants work together is the native American corn/beans/squash combination:

Poll beans climb up the corn stalk, so the corn is the support, or trellis, for the bean. So the corn just saved you from building a pole bean trellis. The bean is a member of the legume family of plants. This plant family are what are called ‘nitrogen fixers’, which means they capture nitrogen and store it in nodules on their roots, making it available for other plants to take it in. Corn is a heavy nitrogen feeder, so in exchange for the support the corn gives the beans, the beans feed the corn. The beans just saved you from having to add something to feed your corn. The squash plants wind all around the base of the corn and beans, providing them shade cover to keep moisture in the soil longer for all of them. The squash just saved you from watering as much or putting down mulch to hold moisture in the soil. A couple nice additions to this already cool combo are:

Sunflowers in the mix to also support beans and provide seeds for humans and birds.
Nasturtiums attract a ‘beneficial bug’ called hoverflies. Beneficial bugs are so named because they prey on other bugs that like to eat your food, although, in a diverse ecosystem, all bugs are beneficial to maintain balance. Hoverflies like to eat bugs like aphids and thrips. Nasturtiums repel loads of critters who want to eat your crops including: cabbage loppers, worms and weevils; squash, cucumber and bean beetles and more. In addition, the leaves and flowers are edible!

Companion planting is a good way to design your garden beds. See what plants go together and plant in those combinations. Start with simple combinations and then get more complex over time. Good places to start are: