choosing veggie friends

a big part of being successful gardener is choosing the right plants to grow in your climate, space, and ones to suit your skill levels. often beginner gardeners don't have the experience to know which plants do and do not work in their particular garden, so there are some tried-and-true plants that are fairly easy to grow, hardy, and most importantly for veggie growers....delicious.

COLD-WEATHER CROPS:

plant these now (late March to early April), and again in the fall (September up until first frost):

leafy greens like lettuce, kale, spinach, chard, cilantro, parsley, mesclun lettuces, arugula. sow these as seeds across your dirt, either in a pot or in your yard. choose 'cut-and-come-again' varieties; this means that the more you snip their leaves to eat, the more they produce. (specifically lettuces, spinach, and arugula.) in addition, i re-sow seeds around the existing plants once or twice more before the season is over so you have a continuous crop of baby leaves for salads and such. you might need to cover these at night if our weather dips below the 30s or so.

root veggies like beets, carrots, turnips, and the like. sow them now and pull them out to eat as babies (carrots) or let them mature and eat them before the weather gets hot and they turn nasty.

sow peas and beans in your garden now. they like to get a head start in cool weather before they start producing in the warmer months. cover them if we get a hard freeze or (god forbid) snow.

WARM WEATHER CROPS:

if you are starting seeds, start these now. otherwise, buy seedlings and plant these the first week of May (Derby day). NO EXCEPTIONS OR THE LOUISVILLE WEATHER GODS WILL SMITE YOUR BABY PLANTS.

cucumbers, melons, squashes, and other members of the curcubit family.

nightshade plants like tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants.

continue to sow cilantro around your existing plants and cut often to prevent bolting. same with chard, it will grow all summer with enough water and frequent harvesting. spinach and lettuce season can be stretched out with enough shade and water.

annual herbs, or perennial herbs that you want to get started in your yard for future seasons.

annual flowers, including edibles such as nasturtiums and marigolds.


RANDOM WISDOM:
you can never have enough basil. plant a lot. you can, however, have enough squash and zucchini. plant none and take advantage of your foolish neighbors who planted way too much.