Q The instructions on seed packets refer to starting seeds or transplanting seedlings a certain number of weeks before the last frost date. What is this?

A Gardeners mark the growing season according to the last spring and first fall frost dates for their area. The last spring frost date is the average date when temperatures dip below freezing for a particular area. It is a useful benchmark for timing when to start seeds so transplants will be ready to move to the garden at the proper time. The last spring frost date is also useful for timing transplanting: Cold-tolerant crops like cabbage can be transplanted to the garden several weeks before the last spring frost, whereas heat-loving plants like peppers shouldn’t be moved outdoors until several weeks after it. The first fall frost date is the date when temperatures typically dip below freezing for the first time. It is used to time sowing and planting for fall crops.

Keep in mind that these dates are based on averages, and the last spring or first fall frost in your garden in any given year may occur before or after the published dates for your area. Check the Internet or your local Cooperative Extension Service for information on your area.

Reprinted from The Veggie Gardener’s Answer Book
Copyright 2008 by Barbara W. Ellis, with permission from Storey Publishing.

Crisp, crunchy, tangy, zippy, zesty, snappy, peppy, pungent, piquant and sparkly. These are some of the adjectives that the United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association, in a 1977 pamphlet, proposed to radish growers for marketing their product. Radishes “give zing to salads,” the association wrote.

Well grown and well displayed, radishes sell themselves. I think of exquisite, bunched French Breakfast radishes heaped high in an outdoor market stall, their leaves a healthy green, their small, red, white-tipped cylindrical roots firm and inviting. No need to label them “piquant.” But cooks aren’t always familiar with the full range of radish types, beyond the little red balls served at Thanksgiving. Some are hard to come by unless you grow your own.

Edible landscapes are everywhere it seems rights now: from the front lawn of the White House to the display gardens of slick design magazines. Each spring seed catalogs highlight new colorful varieties of tomato and pepper to add splashes of vibrant color to the vegetable beds.

Seed catalogs, like Territorial Seeds, offer open pollinated heirloom varieties.

But all this glossy marketing has a real basis in the need for many of us to reconnect with our food sources and ensure that the meals we serve our families are safe and free of harmful pesticides. But the success of any new garden is in knowing the basics and how to get started from the soil on up.

Raised beds are the ideal way to start growing tasty organic food

Vegetables are the true athletes of the garden world. Strong vigorous hybrids bred to perform with the biggest fruits, best disease resistance, and longest harvest. But just like top athletes they need a good diet to fuel that performance. That is why soil preparation is so important to edible garden success. Vegetable roots need nutrients and water available easily to fuel rapid growth; so garden soil needs to be open and full of oxygen. Tilling is the way farmers break up soil, but you can perform the same function with a garden spade, turning the soil one spade depth at a time. Add lots of organic matter like organic compost and manure to feed the new vegetables.

Some gardeners who have some patience have learned that a low-work method gives the same result. It is called sheet mulching or “lasagna” gardening. This method basically covers the existing soil, weeds and all, with thick layers of straw, compost, manure, and good soil to create a “lasagna” layered effect that builds new healthy soil and allows the roots of the vegetable athletes to do the heavy lifting on their own. Young seedlings are planted in this layered mass and the roots eventually delve deep, beginning to break through the compacted soil underneath and leaving airspaces for water to penetrate. New layers of mulch and organic matter are added to the top of the bed every few months, slowly building a deep bed of rich soil without ever wielding a spade. Whichever method you use to create a good garden bed, make sure to add new compost and manure each time you replant a crop.

Q. Do I have to get my soil tested?

A There are good gardeners who have their soil tested regularly and equally good gardeners who have never had it done. If your plants don’t seem to be growing as well as they should or you suspect your soil’s pH is out of the best range for vegetables (6.5 to 7.0), testing your soil will help you adjust nutrient levels and pH. On the other hand, if everything seems to be growing well, and it doesn’t bother you that you don’t know your exact pH, don’t worry too much about it. If you do decide to have your soil tested, follow the directions for collecting the sample carefully. Also, ask for organic recommendations for correcting nutrient deficiencies.

Many local Cooperative Extension Service offices provide soil-testing services. Contact your local office to find out where to pick up a kit. They are sometimes available through the office itself but also may be available at the local library. Commercial soil-testing labs are another excellent option. Finally, you can also purchase a home soil-test kit to test for pH as well as nutrient levels.

Reprinted from The Veggie Gardener’s Answer Book
Copyright 2008 by Barbara W. Ellis, with permission from Storey Publishing.
Creative Commons photo credit: Terriem

colorful heirloom tomatoes fresh off the vine

But then there is the sucker punch.  No sooner are the seedlings home but the night turns cold and the wind blows endlessly for days.

Some of the tomatoes will be potted up and kept in the greenhouse. They will put on fast growth in the sheltered environment and bear fruit by early June.  The remaining tomatoes, including ‘Sun Gold’ and the peppers will get planted out despite the cold and tough it out protected by black plastic collars cut from 5 gallon cans.  the collars protect the seedlings from the wind and absorb the sun’s heat.