It’s been five years since I last attempted to grow vegetables myself. If you’ve been here for a while, you know not only is my property inundated with deer, rabbits and Lord know what else roams through at night, but my soil sucks. It doesn’t drain well due to our high water table and it is a nasty conglomerate of clay and stone. So fun.
Because of that, my attempts to grow vegetables in the past was limited to containers that reside on my back deck. On a scale of 1-10, my success rate was a 1.3 but most of the blame falls on me as my heart wasn’t in it. I used shit soil, whatever containers I could find in the garage and randomly tossed the seeds within the containers. I did thin the seedlings and I’m sure I shared that with you long-time readers to try and build cred, but I also failed to keep up with the watering and got started too late so my spinach and lettuce bolted before I could harvest just about anything.
Well we’re back and we’re going to do it right this time. My wife and daughter gave me their list and the seeds have already been purchased and are on the table next to me as I write this. Here’s what John will be growing in spring ’23 and here’s hoping he doesn’t screw it up this time.
A modest haul and nothing too exotic. We’ll start slow this year and then reassess at the end of the growing season. And yes, I know I could grow the cold-season veggies again in the fall and I vow to do that.
My seed buys weren’t limited to what you can eat. I added some green zinnias which I have had success with in the past (I’m not a complete amateur).
And some Dahlia tubers which I’ve never grown before and cannot wait to watch them emerge in late spring/summer. These were my wife’s favorites. Will look to buy some already grown from the nursery as well. A dahlia party it will be.
And for my proudest achievement, I purchased soil online and will do that right this time, realizing it’s kind of a big deal if I want this Markowski veggie resurgence (well not really a resurgence, resurgence means it actually worked at one time which it didn’t) to come to fruition. I identified the root cause (ahem) and acted accordingly.
So what do we all think?
Any key tips or advice?
What has worked for you and what hasn’t?
The only success I’ve had is with raised beds. Tomatoes peppers, kale, zucchini, and onions have worked well here in wi in mushroom soil. Good luck.
Thanks Patricia! I actually created a raised bed which was great for drainage but dummy me didn’t surround it with fencing to keep the critters out.
If you arrange your zucchini plants so they shade the spinach as it grows, you might delay the spinach bolting. Best of luck.
Love that idea, on to the spreadsheet that factoid goes.
How are you going to manage the deer in the pesky other varmints around your dahlias and zinnias? I’m not a vegetable person myself (too much work for two little pay out, and I can’t be bothered to keep on top of it), but I am always interested in Robert resistant flowers and such. Do tell.
I should’ve added, the dahlias and zinnia will be grown in containers on my deck as well.
(Only way to keep out rabbits is fencing. Auto watering washes off repellent. I only grow plants rabbits hate where it is not fenced…)
I had good luck with beets in very large pots and in shady spot next to echinacea. I roasted my harvest of 15 large beets and froze most of them. They were sooooo delicious! Like candy.
We ate them as a treat at 4 dinners.
02/13/2023
Hi John,
Use big containers. A 16″ diameter pot is good for many veggies including Swiss chard, Basil, kale. Deeper is often better than wider depending on plant growth habit. For example, use a container at least 6″ deep for your spinach or lettuces and 12″ is even better. I like to use 5-7 gallon containers for squash and tomatoes.
Be sure to add drain holes.
Cover these holes with a piece of window screen. This allows water to drain. A layer of stone or other material in the bottom of the pot sets up a pressure gradient that impedes drainage
Grow bags are also cheap, available in many sizes, and fun to use-choose ones with handles.
Start with the best potting medium you can afford. Some are available with micorrhizae which are beneficial to plants including making nutrients available in the right amounts and at the right time. Mix in compost perhaps 1/3 by volume. A slow release fertilizer is also good to add (according to package instructions) at planting time. Mid-season, your veggies will benefit from additional feeding. Containers are notorious for leaching nutrients and as the roots have access to a limited mass of the growing medium, additional feedings are often beneficial every 2 weeks or so as the growing season progresses. I like to use a liquid fish or fish/kelp emulsion. Yup, it is stinky but the smell quickly wears off. Note that carrots will be malformed if they are fed too much nitrogen. There are many organic options for potting mixes and fertilizers. Check out your local nurseries and garden shops ahead of season.
Potting soil mix is available as a peat-based or a coir-based product. Coir is processed coconut husk. Note: I have not found a coir-based seed starting mix that I like. Most are too coarse for small seeds and make it hard to plant at correct depth and to nestle the seeds in with good contact. This may change.
Mulch. It helps retain moisture and keeps the soil cooler in hot weather. I like landscape straw. It is chopped into smaller pieces and has a tacky material added which helps it stay in place. You can use leaf mold, compost, grass clippings (these may mat), bark mulch (be sure this stays on top of the growing medium and does not get mixed in as it will temporarily make Nitrogen unavailable. Remove the bark mulch at the end of the season and use it to mulch your perennials.
Carrot seeds may be mixed with dry spent coffee grounds or coarse sand to make them easier to sow. Radish seed may be mixed in with the carrots. They germinate quickly and can be used to mark rows. I like to water my row, sow seed, and cover lightly (only about 1/8″ of a good seed starting mix). It is very fine and it is easy to control its application. I sometimes also line my row/furrow with this and plant seeds directly into it. Then I use a spray bottle to water-in. Keep seeds moist until they germinate. You can cover with a board, cardboard, burlap to hold in moisture until they germinate-about 2 weeks I think. Be sure to follow directions for thinning. Using scissors to thin makes this job easier. Note that pelleted carrot seeds are available and are much easier to sow. They are only viable for one year. A fall crop of carrots is always nice. Cold weather sweetens them up.
Zucchini can be pestered by striped cucumber beetles which are active at night so be sure to monitor your plants after dark. Last year I planted 4 nasturtiums around each zucchini and was not bothered by these pests. The theory is that the nasturtium scent confuses insect pests. I have also used rat-tail radishes as deterrents but in my cucumbers. Some gardeners use yellow sticky pads to monitor insect pest populations but these may also trap beneficial insects. The Squash Vine Borer is also a pest that can quickly kill your zucchini. Monitor for clusters of rusty-colored oval egg masses on the underside of leaves. The larvae attack the squash stems near the base of the plant where you will see an oozing material at the puncture site. Sometimes you can remove the larva and cover the affected branch /stem with soil where it will recover and reroot. Mulch helps deter these pests from laying eggs. There is lots of good info on the web re these pests. Mildew can also affect zucchini and a home-made spray using milk and insecticidal soap can help keep it under control so your plants can remain productive. Best not to use dish soap although lots of recipes use this ingredient. Spray at the first sign of a problem. You can also spray as a preventative.
Harvest Be sure to check your zucchini plants every 2 days OR you will be sure to have some BIG fruits.
Recipes Be sure to collect a lot of recipes ahead of time so you will have creative ways to use your bounty,You can use zucchini in fritters, bread and other baked goods, ratatouille, pasta dishes, salad, soup. You can fry it (use your air fryer), stuff it, put it on pizza, make it into ribbons, etc.
Plant Later to avoid pests If you delay planting until mid-June-early July (here in my zone 4-5), you may avoid cucumber beetles and squash vine borers altogether
Compact or Bush Varieties are available and are great in containers. I grow Astia, a French variety, and Raven. For the most intense flavor, I prefer the Italian heirlooms Costata Romanesco (costata means rib) which has dark green and light green alternating stripes and lots of male flowers, and Cocozelle aka Cocozelle di Napoli which is a more robust plant with less-defined stripes. These regular size varieties are both less productive than hybrids but with more intense flavor.
Spinach is pretty easy to grow. It needs cool weather and can be planted when soil temps are 32 -60 degrees. You can buy a soil thermometer or use your judgement as to soil temp. Space F1 hybrid is a great choice as it germinates better than some varieties and grows better in sub-optimum conditions. There are also other varieties that are slow-to-bolt. Be sure to succession plant for a fall crop. You may wish to provide shade if afternoon sun gets too hot.
Catalogs are a great source of cultural and other information. I collect as many as I can and read them all year long. There is always something to learn. Some of my favorites are Fedco, High Mowing seeds, Johnny’s Seeds, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Burpee, Territorial Seed Co, Kitazawa Seed Co (a long time source of Asian vegetable seeds-think mizuna, tatsoi, cukes, white salad turnips, yod fah Chinese broccoli, etc.). And there are many other good ones.
Most veggies do best in full sun. Spinach and carrots will tolerate some shade.
Stake those dahlias right when you plant those tubers. They are heavy feeders and like lots of water.
Best of luck with your vegetable gardening adventures.
Dinah
Chautauqua County, NY
Dianne – this is incredible!!!! Thank you so much. I’ll be turning it into a checklist for sure.
Welcome back!
I’m also growing some veg here in Hunterdon County with deer and other critters. And I also stick to protected areas next to the house. Lettuces do well in planters that hook over deck railings and save space as they don’t require deep pots. I also have containers with collards, kale and herbs. Spinach and arugula were a bust- I may try again. Deer don’t seem very interested in sage or even my basil, parsley and rosemary that are in containers in unprotected areas. I suspect the sage is too woody and the strong scent of rosemary may keep them away from other herbs planted with the rosemary. Deer also don’t eat my chives or mint. So far so good with tomatoes on the patio that deer can access. They are in large tall planters with chicken wire and a windchime to discourage them. Broccoli hasn’t worked out so well for me, but think they weren’t getting enough sun. So far, I’m pleased with all my lettuces, greens, herbs and few tomatoes in the limited space I have to work with. I use organic potting mix- nothing fancy and am haphazard with fertilizing. Good luck with your veg!
Hello fellow Hunterdon County gardener. Thanks for the input! Love the lettuce on railings idea.
So glad you’re back to posting, and I loved seeing your garden in Fine Gardening! Just one short comment: last year I splurged and bought an organic potting soil mix (it was a well-known brand whose name I won’t mention but the first letter is an “E”) for my containers. By midsummer it was clear that it was a mistake. Every single container I used the organic soil in was in horticultural distress—slow growth (if any) and obviously lacking in some vital nutrient because the leaves of most looked terrible. Some container plants were euthanized, others managed to limp along till I composted everything at the end of summer, but only if I fertilized every time I watered. It could be I missed the fine print on its usage, but I’m going back to my old brand of potting mix.
Thanks Cynthia! I did a lot of research on the soil this time and hoping that makes the difference. Only time will tell.
The American Dahlia Society has great info on ways to be successful with dahlias. National show is hosted this year by my club in Portland, OR Sat and Sun Aug. 26-27. All free. There are local dahlia societies in your general area that are happy to share techniques for growing great cut dahlias for fun, or for those with competitive streaks, for competition. Glad your blog is back.
Still a fan of Michael Conforto, Adley Rutschman and Steven Kwan. Sensing a theme?
Hi Laura, thanks for the feedback! My wife loves dahlias so it’s about time I started growing them. Can’t wait for it. I miss Conforto now that he’s no longer with my beloved Mets. Wish him well in SF, except when he plays the Mets.
What Grandma Laura said about rabbits–I couldn’t agree more. I don’t have a lot of sun, so I only grow a few veggies. I don’t add much in the way of amendments because I have great soil (S. WI soil is like Illinois soil–deep and lush). Good luck with the Dahlias. Mine seem to grow best in pots with lots of supports.
Very jealous of your soil! One day I want to experience that. For the dahlias I definitely anticipate using supports. Thanks!
Zinnia Envy is one of my favorites! You might also try a variety called Tequila Sunrise (great name, right?) I planted Tequila Sunrise 3 years ago and left them alone, except for cutting some for inside the house (where they last a REALLY long time). They were planted in a bed with 80% natives and their strong stalks provided some support for my top-heavy Incarnata Milkweeds. Zinnias AND milkweeds reseeded themselves. Zinnia Envy did not (bummer.)
I tried something from Burpee called lemon cucumber 2 years ago – delicious (but don’t leave them on the vine too long.) The cucumber climbed all over my purple wood asters, so I didn’t bother staking them….and they reseeded last summer!
Thanks so much for the info Robin! I’ll check out Tequila Sunrise for sure. I’ve yet to try zinnias out in the garden rather than on the deck but I’m psyched to hear they reseed for you. I did grow cucumbers last year and only got one, but it was gigantic, although not edible, ha!
Good luck with the dahlias! We grow ours in pots because we’re too lazy to dig up the tubers at the end of the season. We just store our pots (tubers, dirt, and all) in our dirt basement every winter. The tubers do multiply so they have to be divided every couple years but we’ve had lots of success growing them that way.
Thanks Maria! I def plan to store them in my garage as well.