Planting a Summer Garden

If you have space, I recommend planting with two types of summer garden in mind. Plant an early season garden where you can be harvesting within 3o days and plant a late season garden where you will be harvesting at the end of summer. That way you can be harvesting all throughout the season and also grow summer crops to save for the winter months. However, crops that can grow year around such as lettuce, radishes, beets, carrots, etc. should be planted in successions to get a constant harvest.

But here are the basics to planning a garden:

First, get a general idea of what you'd like to plant. Decide on what vegetables you can grow and what you'd like to eat. Pick a wide variety of vegetables. (I've listed all the spring and summer crops at the bottom of this email.)

Second, read about all different varieties you'd like to try and pick the ones that suites your fancy. But make sure you consider your growing conditions before choosing your variety. Especially when selecting heirlooms, check to see where they originated. A variety breed to succeed in the deep south with hot summers will not be so productive in coastal weather; however, varieties that originate from up north or mountain regions may do better in cooler summer temperatures.

Third, once you've select which plants you're interested in growing start planning out your garden. Consider how big your plant will be once it's fully grown, and how long it will be till the plant reaches the size. Using the recommended spacing information on the seed package will give you an idea of how big the plant will grow and how far the next plant should be planted. However, there's a loop hole to this rule.

For example a fully established tomato plant can be 3ft in diameter, but takes 2-3 month to reach that size. So you wouldn't want to plant a squash right next to it which grows at a similar pace. But you can maximize your plot by planting lettuce, radish, spinach, basil, or parsley within the potential growth zone since they will grow much faster than the tomato and will probably be done by the time your tomato and squash reach its full size.

Or consider the three sister's method. Plant the corn first. Allow it to get a head start. Plant pole beans under the corn once the corn is at least a foot to foot and a half tall. The bean will utilize the corn to grow up. Plant a vining melon at one corner of the plot once the bean's sprouted. As the melon grows it will shade out the ground keeping it most and controlling the weeds. However, if the melon is planted too early then it will shade out the beans and corn. If the beans are planted too early it will choke the young corn.

Fourth, its important to try to keep most of your plot planted. This will ensure that the soil will be shaded more which will decrease the amount of evaporation. Google "companion plants" and see what types of plants will grow well with each other and fill in the gaps of your garden.



Other words of wisdom:

1. Cucumbers, melons, and other vining vegetables. Look for varieties that don't vine, but grow in compact bush type if space is limited. Also get creative by training your vines to grow on a fence.

2. Green vegetables. Probably the best thing to plant for small gardeners. They will probably be your most productive producers. Swiss chard and kale are slow to bolt and can grow for over a year. During the summer time look for bolt resistant varieties of lettuce and spinach.

3. Tomatoes. Determinate varieties are easier to manage for first time gardeners and can be grown in pots. Indeterminate varieties can grow tall and unruly. They don't do so well in pots and need to be trained. But the way a tomato grows does not dictate the deliciousness of the tomato. Try to select tomatoes that will mature during different parts of the season. I always try to go for one cherry tomato (they are usually very early), one beefy slicing tomato that will be early in the season (Early Girl), and at least one late season tomato.

4. Peppers need at least 70-75F consistently to germinate. So they will need to be started indoors then moved outside. If you put seeds directly into the ground you may be waiting till June before they actually come up.

5. Eggplants. Same for peppers, but are even harder to start from seed. Don't let this discourage you, a healthy plant can give you eggplants well into November if it gets 75+ days and warm nights.

6. Plant some edible flowers. Flowers are an important part of gardening. They attract beneficial insects while some can deter pests. I always try to plant dual purpose flowers in my garden. Dual purpose: ones that you can eat the green, seeds, flowers, or roots while at the same time can be used as cut flowers. Of course all vegetables will flower over time, but some such as lettuce, mustard greens, turnips, and brassicas (think small seeds) are very invasive when they start flowering so you rather not let them do so. If you have a shady spot in your garden, its a perfect place to tuck away some shade loving flowers. (There arn't too many shade loving vegetables.)

7. Dry Beans, winter squash, popcorn or flour corn varieties, several varieties of blackeye peas (or cowpeas), peppers, and pumpkins have long growth days and are great for growing all summer to harvest in the fall. Snap beans, green beans, summer squash, sweet corn, okra, and eggplants are usually better utilized as short growing day plants.

8. Pick your vegetables. Although it is pleasing to walk out and see our garden full of vegetables, more you pick it the more your plants will produce. However, don't be hasty about picking more vegetables than you're planning on eating. Most heirloom and homegrown vegetables do not always store well and will loose their flavor quickly if you don't eat them right away. Most squash will store from a month up to... 6 months.

9. Be sure to save some space for herbs. And try to plant companion herbs close to your main vegetables. I.e. Basil, parsley, and chives all have similar watering needs as your tomatoes, and they helps improve the flavor of your tomatoes. However, plan on planting your thyme, rosemary, sage, and oregano in a dryer part of your plot.


Happy Gardening,

Earl K.

PS If you have any questions regarding planting, choosing the right variety, etc. feel free to email me.

Examples of Spring/Summer Crops:

Beans
Beets
Collards
Cucumber
Eggplant
Herbs
Kale
Kohlrabi
Leek
Lettuce
Melons
Mustard Greens
Okra
Onions
Parsley
Peppers
Pumpkins
Radish
Spinach
Squash
Sweet Corn
Swiss Chard
Tomatoes

Where to find Seeds and Tomato Transplants

Are you tired of expensive Seeds of Change seeds? Not sure where to find seeds? Want to grow some beautiful heirlooms but don't know where to get them? Here's a link to a site with a great list of heirloom seed companies. http://www.halcyon.com/tmend/links.htm

My go-to company for seeds is Bountiful Gardens. They have a pretty good selection, they give a good amount of seeds for the price, a good description of seeds and are "local". But read the description of each of the seed companies and see which one you like the most. (Bakers creek, Fedco, and Sand Hills also have amazing selections.) Each company has different varieties, specialties, and even for the same variety some have shorter growth days! (Growth days are roughly defined by number of days that are 85F+ during the day and 75F+ during the night. Growing season is the number of days between last day of frost and first day of frost.)

If you'd like to purchase transplants then Whole Foods and Henry's grocery store offers a great variety of organic started herbs and vegetables through out the season. They also carry Botanical Interest seeds (which I've had a lot of luck with, even though a bit pricey.) Walter Andersen Nursery and Armstrong Garden Center are two that also have a great selection of transplants (organic and non), and is a lot closer than City Farmer's in San Diego. City Farmer's does have a great selection also, but they are a hit or MISS for me. If you can talk to Bill, then he's very knowledgeable. If you're a first time gardener, try Home Depot varieties. I like to call them "just add water" vegetables since they seem to always do well in which ever soil condition as long as you water them regularly.

For heirloom tomato transplants all the places listed above will have them. But I like to go and pick mine up from http://heirloomtomatoplants.com If you're planning on growing one tomato plant, then it'll be the same price to buy a transplant than a package of seeds and struggle to germinate them. She also has a great selection and you can pick it up directly from her in Southern Los Angeles County by appointment only.

Composting and soil prep.

I find that composting and soil preperation is an art form that must be done correctly to ensure happy plants. Most people think both are easy, but there are a lot of factors that go into doing both properly.

Last weekend, I gave a workshop on composting at UCSD's Spring Convergence for California's Student Sustainability Coalition. Most students were under the impression that if you take food scraps and leave it sitting then they are composting. True if they stack enough food scraps in a pile then eventually (after 6 months or more) the scraps on the bottom will have decomposed, but there will be pest problems.

A healthy traditional compost heap should be properly layered with a 30:1 ratio of browns (Carbons) and greens (Nitrogens) and kept moist, well aerated, and covered with soil to allow the growth of healthy composting microbes. Diseased or insect ridden plants, yard trimmings treated with chemicals, pesticides, and weeds with seeds should be kept ouf of the compost heap. Even then it takes between 3-6 months for all the components to fully break down and be usable for your garden.

Now for most of us living in the Urban world in apartments and small spaces it is hard to maintain a proper composting heap. Thankfully there are options for us: Vermicomposting, Bokashi Composting, and emulsifying your compost.

Vermicomposting is composting using red worms Eisenia foetida or Eisenia andrei. Although the common earthworm or nightcrawler may be used, they are not as effective. Red worms must be provided with propper bedding of newspaper or cardboard shreds and greens. In addition to bedding they require something gritty (eg sand, sawdust, soil, cornstarch, or ground egg shell) to help them chew the food and paper. The worm bin/container needs to be maintained at temps between 40 to 80 degrees F and kept moist. They don't handle proteins and fats well and will cause the bin to stink. But there may also be other reasons if your bin starts stinking. Just feed them less, chop the food up into smaller pieces and add layers of brown materials to cover the decomposing materials. Keep the bin well ventilated and keep citrus peels out and you'll be fine.
The downside to vermicomposting is that because it needs to be kept well ventilated you run the risk of attracting fruit flies.

My new prefered method of composting is bokashi composting. Bokashi composting is a Japanese developed method of fermenting your food waste in an anaerobic environment. Start by adding a small mixture of wheat bran or sawdust, water, molasses, and effective microorganisms to your airtight bucket/bin. (The last three are added to the wheat bran at ratio of 100:1:1.) All food waste can be added to your bucket, but they should be chopped into smaller pieces for faster decomposition. As you add more food scraps, add enough wheat bran to thinly cover the scraps and mix it all up. The trick is to press down all the scraps so its air tight and compacted. If you can add a spigot to the bottom of the bucket you can collect the "tea" fertilize plants with (mix it with water to 20 part water and 1 part tea). The process takes about 2 weeks and if you allow the mixture to dry out a bit the next week you can actually plant directly into the compost.

Creating emulsions is a slightly different process. You still require a bucket with a lid, molasses, and effective microorganism. But instead of using wheat bran, you add your food scraps to a bucket of water, keeping the scraps fully submerged. Also you insert an air pump into the bucket and allow the liquid to decompose. When a white foamy layer appears on top of the water your emulsion's ready. Just take the liquid and mix it down and fertilize. The scraps on the bottom can be added to your main compost pile or use it to top dress your plants. (I havn't tried this type of composting yet, but I saw a family friend doing it in her yard and thought it was worth sharing since her yard looked awesome.)

List of What to Compost:
Browns (Carbon)
Sawdust
Straw or Hay
Shrub pruning, Leaves
Wood ash
Newpaper
Shredded paper
Cardboard
Wood Chips
Dryer Lint

Greens (Nitrogen)
Table Scraps
Fruit and Vegetable Scraps
Fresh Grass Clippings
Seaweed and Kelp
Chicken Manure
Coffee Grounds
Tea leaves
Lawn and Garden Weeds
Egg Shells (are neutral)



Now that you've got your compost... what do you do next?

If you have rich soil then great, but if your soil is full of sand and clay like most of Southern California, you want to do a 60/40 compost to top soil mixture to create a rich soil. Or lay 2-3 inches of compost on top and mix it in with the dirt underneath. Water the soil and see how it absorbs water. A good way to check is to water the soil and then dig 6inches down and see if its absorbed water. If not, then add sand to your soil to allow water to flow down. New soil that hasn't been fully watered in a while it will take a bit of time for it to absorb water, so if you're amending a spot in your yard that's never been watered... fully soak the ground then check the soil a few weeks after before added sand. Also make sure your soil has been leveled to the best of your ability so that water will sink down evenly.