6 SIMPLE TIPS FOR GROWING YOUR OWN WARM-WEATHER VEGGIES AND HERBS
We made it to June. And this year, we have the ideal conditions for planting—moderate temps, plenty of moisture and hopefully a little time on your hands to do something you love.
I’m going to make this short and to the point, because it’s a busy time of year and our goal is just to arm you with the information you can act on.
6 Simple Tips for Your Warm-weather Gardens, Raised Beds and Containers
1. Harvest early-season staples as they ripen.
Turns out animals and insects love our strawberries, lettuce greens, radishes and peas as much as we do. So, do a sweep through your plants to enjoy them as they’re ready and over time.
2. Add organic soil amendment.
We like to add Schoodic Blend Cow Manure Compost by Coast of Maine to soil (80/20 soil to amendment) and till/fold/mix.
3. Plant up warm-weather fruits and veggies in the sun.
Now is the perfect time to plant perennial berry bushes, beans, corn, cucumbers, peppers, summer squash, tomatoes, zucchini and more. Most veggies thrive in full sun, but some root vegetables and leafy varieties will tolerate some shade.
4. Plant up warm-weather herbs in the sun.
Remember to plant what you’ll use (and share) for recipes, summer drinks, drying or freezing. We are partial to basil, chives, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, thyme, verbena and have so many more to choose from. Most herbs need at least four hours of sunlight, and can tolerate much more.
5. Harvest herbs when they’re most flavorful.
Most herbs are their freshest and most flavorful when harvested in the morning and just before flowering, when the oils are most abundant.
Leafy/foliage herbs can be snipped by about half, allowing enough of the plant to continue growth.
Perennial herbs with more rigid, woody stems should have about the top third of the plant snipped.
6. Water low, slow and early.
Watering in the morning is always our first choice. If you do later in the day, try to give your plants time to dry before nightfall.
The general rule is that your veggies and herbs need about an inch of water a week. You can use a rain gauge and supplement from there, follow weather reports, or just place multiple cans (the Farmer’s Almanac recommends a low, shallow tuna can, for example) around your garden, all marked one inch from the bottom of the can.
Most of all, if the soil is dry about an inch below the surface, it’s time to water.
You want to water the base of the plants, rather than the foliage, with a stream that won’t puddle and is slow enough not to displace the soil.
Ready for your own farm to table experience? Let us know if you have any questions about soil, planting, watering or harvesting. We’re growing right along with you, so we’d be happy to share our experience. Just stop in or give us a call at (603) 472-8880.
