Planning for a bountiful veggie harvest

While most of the garden sleeps and requires minimal care, it’s time to dive into planning your vegetable garden and look forward to the pleasure and rewards of just-picked produce.

First, make a list of vegetables you want to eat and grow this year. Try some new varieties! Add heirlooms to your list. Plant some edible flowers and choice herbs to dress up your summer salads.

Next, decide where you want to plant everything, keeping in mind that it’s best to rotate veggie crops to keep soil healthy and to discourage pests. Once your garden is mapped out on paper, it’s time to shop for seeds.

Selecting seeds is fun! Don’t be intimidated by the choices, jump right in. A good tip especially for new veggie gardeners, is to consider buying seeds that are produced in the Northwest. Check out Territorial Seeds, Ed Hume and Irish Eyes, all are sure to be successful in our climate. Best to go seed shopping at your local independent garden center, they have knowledgeable staff to guide you through your choices.

Growing a veggie garden is very satisfying and can be approached many different ways: you can start seeds indoors then transplant outdoors, sow directly outdoors, buy starts, or combine all three methods. If some seeds don’t germinate, no worries, you can always buy starts and plant those later in the growing season. Some crops are better started indoors, and some seeds perform well sowed directly into the soil.

Another popular resource for vegetable gardening is Seattle Tilth’s “The Maritime Northwest Garden Guide” a planning calendar for year-round organic gardening by Carl Elliott and Rob Peterson. It is packed with easy-to-understand information specific to this region and a great value at $14.95, available at Molbak’s.

Now is a great time sow veggie and herb seeds indoors, for crops that will be transplanted outdoors in late April or May. Great choices include: Beets, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Celery, Chives, Eggplant, Fennel, Leeks, Lettuce, Marjoram, Onions, Parsley, sweet and hot Peppers.

In early March, herbs and some veggies can be sown outdoors: Arugula, Cilantro, Fava Bean, Garlic (cloves), Onion Sets (for green onions), Potatoes, Radishes, Shallots (bulbs), Shelling Peas, Snow Peas and Swiss Chard.

Veggie starts usually appear in garden centers in March. Some hardy herbs are available now and more arrive soon.  

-Happy Gardening!

Molbak’s, with their friends at Seattle Tilth, announce their FREE Veggie Growing email series. Sign up and receive two emails a month filled with timely tips for a great harvest. Exclusively for Rewards Members (membership is free).

Register for Rewards HERE. Once you've registered, log into your Rewards account and on the Profile page, sign up for the series, under Email Preferences.