It’s the end of May here in Connecticut, and how is your garden doing? Things here are painfully slow going here. We’ve had a wet, cold spring and in between rainstorms, we’ve been busy rebuilding the yard and changing some things around for easier maintenance. We’re not as young as we used to be and its time to transition the gardens into the next phase of its life. More perennials and fewer annuals.

To add insult to injury, this winter’s brutal polar vortex combined with the wet, cold spring has taken its toll on our garden. Many trees, flowering bushes, and lavenders didn’t survive. My hubby has been busy digging up the deceased and replacing with new softwood bushes and flowering plants. I’m amazed at the extent of the damage. Mother Nature can be so cruel!

I’ve been surveying the raised bed area and figuring out what new perennial herbs I can plant that will survive our crazy winters. My big experiment will be seeing if I can grow old fashioned big bush roses. I’m planting them in the largest raised bed we have. Winter freeze will be a huge concern since the beds are above ground. Will the roots overwinter in a raised bed? I don’t know, so stay tuned…

In the greenhouse, we ripped out the aquaponics system and reverted the 2 beds back to dirt. I planted more rosemary and experimenting with scented geraniums. The variety I’m starting with is “Rose of Attar”. The leaves really do smell like roses! If they survive the winter, they will be a wonderful addition to my herb garden.

Time Well Spent!

The good news is, the time spent waiting for storms to pass and temperatures to rise has been productive. I’ve been working on the last bits of my garden book. It will be published sometime this summer titled “My Garden Journal” (although, the title may change…I’m currently playing with different titles).

I started journaling my gardens 20 years ago to remind me what worked and what didn’t from one season to the next. Gardening is a journey – your yard is an ever-changing ecosystem and I found that journaling gave me a higher success rate.

My personal journal evolved over time. It wasn’t fancy, just a list of plants and comments in the margins of how things went during the growing season.

However, when I was teaching children how to garden, I discovered by accident, my journals were a great teaching tool. My simple journal pages made the perfect outline for the curriculum I was creating. I took what I learned from these very talented students and reworked the format. The results were a simple easy to follow garden journal for children (and adults too!)

In addition to the journal pages, I also added other useful sections. For example, Parts of a Plant, Themed Gardens, How to Make Compost Tea and 10 Easiest Plants to Grow from Seed. These sections were designed to give young gardeners basic tools to be successful in their first years of gardening.

Excerpt from “My Garden Journal”

Here is the section from the book on the “10 Easiest Plants to Grow from Seed”.

1. Arugula

Arugula is a small leafy green that has a peppery taste. It makes a perfect addition to salads and pasta recipes. To get ideas on how to prepare this green, do an online search. There are lots of recipes to pick from.

Arugula can be direct seeded into the ground and prefers to grow in cooler temperatures and is best grown in early spring and late summer into fall skipping the hottest part of the growing season.

2. Basil

Basil is an excellent herb to grow. Basil does not do well if direct seeded into the soil.  Start your seeds indoors in small containers and then transplant outside when it’s warm enough.

When the plant gets big enough, pick the leaves off to add to a fresh tomato salad.  Dry the leaves and save them for your herb and spice collection.  There is nothing better tasting than homegrown basil in spaghetti sauce!

Basil prefers hot weather and full sun and best-grown late spring through the hottest part of the summer. Make sure the flowers are pinched off frequently for a bushier plant, which will produce more leaves.

If you are growing this plant in a container, water frequently.  Plants grown in containers dry out quicker than plants grown in the ground or in raised beds.

3. Microgreens

Microgreens are 5 to 10 day old baby plants that you can harvest and eat. Don’t confuse them with sprouts which are seeds that have sprouted in water and then eaten. The difference is to grow microgreens you must plant them in potting soil or some sort of growing medium sprout them and then harvest the plant.

These baby plants are high in nutrition and can be grown on a kitchen counter with no sunlight. They are the perfect plants for a kitchen garden.

The easiest microgreens to grow are:

• Kale
• Arugula
• Broccoli
• Spicy mustard greens

4. Cucumbers

Cucumbers are a gardener’s summer favorite. Make sure you have plenty of room to grow these plants; they like to spread their vines everywhere.  Do an online search

to learn how to save space by growing up.  There are many ideas on how to build simple trellis’ using materials such as long sticks and twine. 

Cucumber seeds can be direct seeded into the ground in late spring, or can be started indoors (early spring) in small containers and transplanted into the garden when it’s warm enough.

5. Green Beans

These are one of the easiest plants to grow, and you get a lot of beans in return for your work.  They can be direct seeded in the ground late spring. Beans like to grow in direct sun and love hot temperatures.

When researching seeds, make sure you know which kind of beans you’re buying. There are bush beans and pole beans.  Bush beans don’t need any trellising.  Just plant and watch them grow and harvest them when big enough.

Pole beans need a trellis to climb on.  

6. Green Onions

Green onions are tall, green and white stalks and they are fun to grow.  Patients will be essential, because they may take most of the growing season before you can harvest them.

Green onions grow well in containers but need frequent watering during hot weather. They are a perfect vegetable to grow if you have a spot that has partial shade.  Direct seed in early spring and keep watering.  Onions take many weeks before they sprout.  So be patient.

Onions also do well if left in the garden over winter. Once the garden bed is established, they will self-seed (the seeds drop into the garden bed after they flower), and new plants will grow the next season.

7. Kale

There are many kinds of kale to grow, so do your research on which varieties will grow well in your area.  Kale likes cooler temperatures but will tolerate some heat if the plants are well established.

Kale is another plant that can be stared in early spring and late fall and will tolerate colder temperatures until a hard freeze or even snow.  These can be direct seeded into the ground.

Dinosaur Kale is a good recommendation if you are looking for tender leaves, which are perfect for salads.  If you want to grow big leaf varieties like Red Russian Kale, their leaves are perfect for making crispy kale chips – which are like potato chips.  Yum!

8. Peas

Peas are another early spring and fall plant to grow and can be direct seeded into the ground.  My peas never make it to the kitchen because I eat them right off the vine while working in the garden.  They make a great snack!

These plants require something to climb on otherwise they will grow in a heap of strings on the ground. 

9. Tomatoes

There is nothing more satisfying than a fresh picked homegrown tomato! They are gardener’s pride and joy! Do your research on what kind, or color you want to grow.  There are hundreds of varsities to pick from and you need to know the difference between an Indeterminate and Determinate tomato variety.

For beginner gardeners, I would recommend not growing tomatoes in the heirloom (or determinate category) until you are an experienced gardener. Heirloom tomatoes taste great but can be very temperamental if the plants don’t get an even amount of water and sustaining hot temperatures.  They are also prone to disease and fungal problems.

If the plants get stressed this results in what is called end rot or blossom rot.  The tomato is not ripe enough to pick but instead starts rotting on the bottom of the fruit and the falls off the plant.  Once a plant starts producing rotten fruit the problem cannot be fixed. The plant must be pulled out of the ground and thrown away.   

I recommend varieties like “Big Beef” or “New Girl” for a nice evenly round healthy tomato and are perfect for sandwiches or salads.  These varieties are what is called “Indeterminate” hybrids and are not prone to disease or fungal problems.

There are smaller tomato varieties you can grow too.  Grape and cherry tomatoes produce a lot of fruit and are fun to grow.  Make sure you share with friends and family if you have too many.

Tomato Definitions:

Indeterminate Tomato: Tall plants that require staking for trellis and will keep producing fruit up until first frost.

Determinate Tomato: A bush variety that is low and compact and doesn’t require staking. These plants grow a certain number of fruit and then the plant stops growing and dies.  Unlike the indeterminate tomatoes where the plant continues to produce fruit until it’s too cold.  Heirloom tomato varieties are determinate plants.

I recommend you start your seeds indoors in small containers and then transplant into the garden in late spring. Do not direct seed into the ground the seeds will have difficulty sprouting.  Tomatoes need full sun and plenty of hot temperatures.

10. Sunflowers

Sunflowers are beautiful and can be a showy centerpiece to any garden. The good news is sunflowers now come in many different sizes.  These are a perfect plant to direct seed into the garden.

There are shorter more compact varieties that produce multiple flower heads that are smaller. These are great for flower bouquets.

The tall varieties like Royal Hybrid produce one big flower and need lots of sun.  Make sure your seeds are organic if growing these flowers for bird food and don’t spray your plants with pesticides or herbicides. Chemicals hurt the birds and wildlife that will live among your plants in the garden.

At the end of the season, cut the flower heads and dry them. The birds will appreciate a nice snack when there is little food to forage on during the cold winter months.