Category: Garden How To (Page 2 of 5)

From the ground up. Digging into garden basics and beyond.

Cover Crop Basics

Adding a cover crop to the home vegetable garden was a game changer for me, and the garden has been happier ever since. Planting cover crop seed is an easy and effective way to practice good soil health on any scale. There are a few tips and tricks for having the best luck for home gardeners. Timing and seed selection are key!

There are many different ways of cover cropping, from holding a field for a full year, or part of spring or over the winter. Because I succession plant so much of my garden space from early spring to past the frosts of fall, I don’t leave much of my soil bare at any one time. But one of the reasons I have incorporated cover crops is how easy it is to just sow the seeds once I’ve harvested a late summer crop.

There are also a few different reasons people plant cover crops to benefit the garden. One is to build up organic matter in the soil. Another is using legumes to add nitrogen to the soil (or directly to the plants if grown simultaneously). A final reason is to help break up compacted heavy soil with plants that have think roots. If left to rot they create wonderful space in the soil for nutrient and water transfer. Basically, cover cropping is another way of Companion Planting for your garden.

Soil Health Starts with Cover

Image from Kiss the Ground

It always helps me to know the WHY behind whatever I’m doing- so… before I started planting cover crops a few years ago I took a deep dive into soil health. Asking, “Why are we planting seeds in the fall when they won’t have time to mature?” The basic answer is soil health.

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No Dig Gardening + Hugelkultur: Layer a Lasagna Garden

No Dig Gardening includes recycling, composting and improving soil all by layering it on! This process is known by a few different names; Hugelkultur, Lasagna Gardening and Sheet Composting, but the ideas are based on “No Dig Gardening”.

Laying out the new beds

Making garden beds this way works with nature’s existing cycles, creating healthy soil, less weeding and happier plants!

This process does NOT need to be created inside a box, just easier to keep layers tidy, I’ve success both ways…

Build It and They Will Come!

The idea of setting up a garden bed like this is to let nature do the work for you. You’ll be helping nature create good soil by composting in place- and that requires things for the soil organisms to eat. By giving a diverse group of soil life things to feast on you can create a very active and healthy soil to plant into.

Building Better Soil

Soil biodiversity creates a more resilient garden. I like to equate good soil organisms with good gut health. We’ve likely all heard of pre- and pro- biotics; the helpers of digestion (and so much more). Soil organisms help break things down and make them available to plants in a similar fashion.

Everything from worms and beetles we can see, to bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes and actinomycetes (though I sure couldn’t tell you what those looked like!) have a specific job to do- and many work in relationship with vegetable plant roots to feed them. There is a whole world of info about the soil food web out there, and I suggest watching THIS by Dr. Elaine Ingham if you want to dig a little deeper.

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Succession Planting to Extend Your Harvests

Succession Planting Basics

When I harvest I usually already know what will go in this plant’s place

Succession planting is a simple way to harvest more food for longer in your existing garden space! I am constantly blown away by how many times and how much I can plant in my backyard garden beds.

Succession planting boils down to “out with the old and in with the new’. It’s the practice of planting one crop right after another is harvested. This practice can keep you eating fresh from your garden all season long, even after frosts.

Spoiler: Successful Succession Planting has a lot to do with planning and picking the right plants.

There are a few ways to go about this kind of planting.

  1. Succession Planting: two or more different crops following each other in the same space
  2. Staggered or Relay Planting: same crop with repeated plantings in the same space
  3. Interplanting / Companion Planting: when you plant multiple things at the same time in the same space that mature at different times and mutually benefit each other.

For now, let’s focus on the practice of planting different crops one after another in the same space, what most people think of as ‘succession planting’. Many of the same plants that star in our Northern spring gardens do well when started in summer to mature in the fall. Choosing cool weather plants, that can take a slight frost, will grow your summer efforts into delicious fall side dishes.

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Creating Wildlife Habitat in your Garden

Why You Want Wildlife in Your Garden

Bringing wildlife into your garden will bring you higher pollination rates, more food, less pest pressure and the joy that comes from watching an ecosystem thrive. The best part about it is that the ways to bring wildlife in are all tied together, kind of like nature itself. This is a great reminder that we and our yards are part of nature and not separate from it!

There are lots of specifics to follow, but it really comes down to diversity, and making all the things you want to live in your garden feel welcome. This is my take on companion planting in general as well. You can listen in on a companion planting conversation of mine on the Grow It Minnesota! podcast.

We started by deciding to not use synthetic chemicals in our garden. This is a first step that is truly the most important! Then we added a bird feeder and a bird bath and luckily had some beautiful mature trees on our property. Since then, we’ve added more wildlife features as we could, from more native plants they feed from, more watering spots and more cover, creating a little wildlife sanctuary. We actually went ahead and made it official with the National Wildlife Federation as a Certified Wildlife Habitat .

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Seed Starting 101

Seed Starting Tips Step by Step

Tiger Eye Beans

Seeds are nothing short of magic!

You hold this seemingly inanimate object in your hand. Once you place it in soil, give it some water and light it GROWS! And it keeps growing, giving pollinators a purpose and habitat, sequestering carbon, building soil, and giving you food—plus providing its own seeds to continue the process.

Being part of this process ties us back into nature in a way that very few things can. And more of us are feeling that pull back to nature as gardening continues to grow as a hobby and passion across the globe.

*This post contains affiliate links*

Why Start Seeds?

Slow Bolt Napa Cabbage

On a more practical level, an obvious benefit of growing a garden from seed is major cost savings. A packet of seeds is usually less than the cost of a single small potted vegetable or herb start. Add perpetual savings if you can save the seeds that grow from the plants as well. More about this in my article, Seed Saving Starts Now.  

Remember only open pollinated varieties are recommended for seed saving, as these are the only kinds that will grow back ‘true to type’. Many seeds sold are hybrids, meaning that they took certain traits from two different plants and combined them. Growing seeds saved from those hybrids will likely revert back to parts of their parent plants, sometimes with really funky outcomes!

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Using the Winter Sowing Technique with Vegetables

I’m always looking for ways to stretch my growing season up here in Minnesota, and Winter Sowing lets me get a jump on starting seedlings – without extra lights! The trick is in choosing the right seeds to start and when!

Late in January, you can find me thawing out some soil to plant seeds. Not seeds to grow under lights just yet, though; I send these earliest planted seeds out into the elements. This is the art of Winter Sowing! And of course I wanted to share what I’ve learned over the last few years.

Before we get crafting the weird little mini greenhouses that make winter sowing feel sort of like a pre-school art project, let’s go over the basics.

What is Winter Sowing?

Winter sowing is a way to work with Mother Nature to grow plants from seed. You plant seeds in a container and set them outside. They sprout in the containers and are ready to plant out into your garden from there. Trudi Greissle Davidoff was the first to write about this process, and still has a website dedicated to this style of seed sowing.

Winter Sowing Jugs planted and outside in February

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Growing Microgreens

GROW THOSE (micro) GREENS!

Microgreens are so much more than the trendy ‘vegetable confetti’ you see on foodie Instagram accounts!

Beyond being photogenic, microgreens are the poster child for the phrase “Good things come in small packages”.

  • They Pack 10-40 times as much nutrition as their full-grown counterparts
  • They are ready to harvest in 2-3 weeks
  • They don’t require any extra equipment to grow

In case you’re wondering what I’m talking about… Microgreens include a wide variety of edible immature plants. Varieties of greens, herbs flowers and vegetables lend themselves to being eaten while small. You do not eat the roots like with sprouts. You harvest by cutting above the soil level and eating the stem and leaves.

It is no secret that I LOVE my microgreens… and I want to share with you how easy it can be to grow your own nutritious and delicious micros! I also love my local farmers, so I’ve invited Amanda Yadav, Microgreen Farmer at Fiddlehead Farm to join us and give pointers along the way… So let’s go over the basics of getting started!

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Getting the Garden Going during COVID 19

Many of you have been asking me about vegetable gardening this year and I love it! I wanted to take this chance to cover (more of) the bases at once.

Specifically, you’ve been asking me about planting seeds versus getting plants later – not sure how COVID 19 will affect things this season… While I don’t have a crystal ball, I have been looking into things, and talking with local garden centers and farm stores, communicating with seed companies and plant distributors here’s what I can gather…

Seeds Stocks

Purchase seeds from local stores, near me in White Bear Lake places like Hugo Feed Mill, Costa’s Greenhouse, Niemczyk Gardens, Egg Plant Urban Farm Supply and Bachman’s are all stocked with seeds (if they carry) and growing out plants for you. Many online seed companies are waaaaaay behind in orders, not taking orders for a while or just closed to everyone but farmers for this season. Places like those above carry seeds from some of the best known and trusted, organic companies around, like Seed Savers Exchange, Renee’s Garden and Botanical Interests. For browsing beautiful varieties check out my earlier blog post about Seed Companies.

My Local Favorites:

Hugo Feed Mill: Phone orders, 651-429-3361, prepayment with curb/dock side pick up. Here’s a BLOG all about this Hugo institution..
Costa’s Greenhouse: orders@costagreenhouse.com or Call 651-653-1269, curbside pick-up. Free delivery over $125. (greenhouse opens April 24th) Here’s a BLOG I wrote about them.
Bachman’s Maplewood:    Online or phone (612-861-7311) ordering, Curbside or Delivery.
Niemczyk Gardens: Online preordering, pickup, (greenhouse opens April 25th)
Egg Plant Urban Farm Supply: order@eggplantsupply.com, call back for payment, curbside pickup.

White Bear Lake Seed Library: email wblseedlibrary@gmail.com for FREE seeds, detail on their BLOG. Scheduled seed pickup on Saturday April 25 from 9-10 am at the White Bear Lake library’s parking lot. To pick up seeds on this date you must have your order in by Friday April 24 at 7pm.

Farmers Markets: Yes Farmers markets will continue to run, but with an increase in interest in growing your own food, and market restrictions, it just makes sense to purchase what you can ahead of time. And many farmers markets won’t start until many gardens are fully planted.

**Sadly, all of the small local spring plant sales put on by garden clubs, master gardeners, and even the Friends School Plant Sale are cancelled for this season.**

Buy from Locally Run Stores

Same goes with buying plants later in the season (Once spring finally wins this drawn out battle over winter). Try to shop local and small companies that have online or phone ordering with curbside pickup in place. The above stores all have that happening.

Typically, April 15 is our last frost date in MN, but who knows what typical is these days. Tomato plants likely won’t be in stores until much closer to May, when our climate can handle them without cover. So let’s look at what you can get going sooner rather than later!

Seeds to Start + When

There are lots of seeds you can start outside before the frost is gone, such as: peas, spinach, lettuce, kale, radish, beets, kohlrabi, carrots can all be started NOW!
Many of the seeds listed will start germination at soil temps of 40-45F. And, even though we’ve been cold, the soil is warming up well!

The next week or two will be a great time to start broccoli, cauliflower, cabbages, Swiss chard and other brassicas outside as well.

If you feel like trying something new, how about making a tiny Greenhouse of your own! Cutting a milk just in half, poking some holes on the bottom and planting cool weather crops in them is a great way to jump start the season! Just don’t plant carrot seeds in these, as root crops don’t tolerate transplanting.

Starting seeds Indoors

**Use only seed starting mix (not garden soil) when starting seeds!**

anything that is sterile with perlite or vermiculite works

The time for starting peppers from seed has mostly past, unless you get the fasted maturing varieties and can wait until August to harvest.

It’s getting right on the edge of time to plant tomatoes, but still worth it, look for faster maturing varieties- tip* Cherry Tomatoes usually produce a few weeks earlier than full size varieties.

Now and up to the next two weeks is a great time to start both summer and winter squash, cucumber and herb seeds indoors.

Don’t forget the easy to start flowers too, marigolds, cosmos, calendula and nasturtiums love a little head start!

I know this is a LOT of ‘overview’ info, but I wanted to cover the basics in one swoop. If you have other questions, please ask away… And I know we all have lots going on right now, but gardening is a truly calming and rewarding adventure-  I hope you give it a try!

**If you are interested in learning more, I’ll be adding a recording of my “Vegetable Gardening Basics” class to my website soon! Stay Tuned!

And, because we all do better together, **please add to the list of places you know that have seeds to start for your garden, or that will have their greenhouses filled with safe and healthy food plants!**

I hope this helps you sort through some of the unknowns of starting your garden this season!

Can’t wait to Dig In!
-Michelle

Grow a Container Salad Garden

Growing your own salad greens is one of the easiest ways to kick start spring. Greens are fast growing, nutritious, and delicious. And like every early spring after a long winter, it’s a great time to have something to nurture that will nurture you back in a few short weeks.

It’s also a great project to introduce kids to the basics of gardening as lettuce greens grow FAST- as close to instant gratification as growing food gets!

You don’t need much in the way of supplies to get started; just a container, some potting mix and a few seeds. If you happen to have a grow light, great- but once the Spring Equinox arrives, even up north in Minnesota, a southern facing window will grow good greens. So let’s get planting!

Container

After picking many salads from this container it is still growing strong on the 4th of July!

Any container with holes will do; so you’ll need a drip pan/saucer too. If you have used the pot before, please take the time to Disinfect it (wash in warm soapy water, then soak in a 1:9 bleach solution for 10+ minutes (I leave mine in the water for a few hours).

Potting Mix (NOT soil!)

Potting mix is sterile and gives baby seedlings the best chance of growing past the delicate first few days when they are prone to ‘damping off’ which are pathogens (fungi and bacteria) that break down the tiny stems. Many solid brands exist; Epsoma, Burpee, Miracle Grow, a smaller company, called Purple Cow Organics is available at small shops near me as well, like Bachmans, Hugo Feed Mill and Hedberg Landscape. Some of these businesses are offering pay ahead and curbside pickup during the Covid19 outbreak.

Seeds

There are so many lettuce ‘greens’ combinations it’s deliciously staggering! The basic types of lettuces are leaf lettuce, butterheads, crisp heads and romaine.

My best advice is just to grow what you will eat! But for the beauty of it, add in some reds too 😉 Lolla Rosa, Red Iceberg, Red Salad Bowl, Rouge D’Hiver ( I added scarlet kale in the video).

Try growing more salad items in the same pot- radishes, basil, dill, cilantro.

Kids love the flavor combos!


Many Seed companies sell a “Salad Mix” that include a variety of shapes and colors all maturing around the same time. Here’s a link to my favorite seed companies and their online + mailed seed catalogs for fun lettuce variety browsing!

Leaf lettuces:

These are typically pick and come again types that you’ll pick a few outer leaves and let the plant keep growing, these are best for a small container garden.

Mesclun:

This is baby leaf lettuce mix; traditionally of leaf lettuce, arugula, endive, chervil – now we’ve gone flavor crazy and add in spinach, kale, mizuna, Swiss chard, mustard greens, frisée, mâche, radicchio, sorrel… and I love it!

Butterhead:

These are the tender the bib lettuces, soft and sweet, great for wrapping . They do form a head, but its looser and you can harvest the outer leaves like other cut and come again types.

Crisphead:

Icebergs fall into this category. Typically having tighter heads and crisp structured leaves, these are best suited to grow to maturity and be taken as one full head, doing well as either the ‘last lettuce standing’ left in a container, or being transplanted out into a garden bed once the weather warms.

Before jumping onto the next variety, just remember how much more flavor all homegrown veggies have compared to their grocery store counterparts. I bet you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the taste and crunch of a homegrown ice berg!

Romaine:

Romaine’s outer leaves can be tough when you buy it from the grocery, but you can enjoy the outer leaves all season wen you grow it at home! If you can let it grow to a full head it is also amazing on the grill!

There are many other fast growing greens I love, from Mizuna, Cress, Mustard Greens etc. Even radishes grow happily with lettuces. Get as creative as you want, and enjoy the variety of flavors that grow well in a container!

Kale

A special word about kale, since I have a known addiction to this hardiest of garden greens, see this previous blog post for further proof. Please know (and consider) that you can transplant these out into the garden from the container and they will continue to grow and produce through fall’s frosts.

Get Growing

Most lettuce seeds need to be barely pushed into the soil. Some, like spinach, require a mere 1/2″ of soil covering them to germinate. Most germination will happen in a few day, so seeing seeds emerge 3-5 days after planting is a fast reward as well.
**Lettuces need on average Six Inches of Soil to grow solid roots.**

Light

We all know plants need light to grow, and lettuce greens are no exception, but they only require part sun, so a sunny window, as long as it’s not in the months surrounding the winter solstice, should grow just fine. If you have an indoor grow light, use it by all means!

The best part about growing in a small container is that you can move it. Eventually, being able to bring it outside, leaving it on a deck or balcony, after ‘hardening off’ the lettuce seedlings… If you have questions about seed starting in general check out my Seed Starting 101 blog.

I hope you try your hand at growing a little salad bar garden of your own! Let me know which are your favorite varieties, and of course ask any questions!

Dig In!
-Michelle

Seed Catalog + Company Overview

Who doesn’t love those Free Seed Catalogs– right!?!

*Updated 1/30/24*

They can fast forward the time to lush summer gardens without that pesky weeding. Their pages are saturated with possibility and so much incandescent color inspiring us to dream a little bigger, a little bolder, a little MORE each year.

Looking for help planning your Vegetable Garden?
I’ve got a FREE Garden Design Class on my You Tube Channel!

Seed Stash

And dreaming is an important part of gardening for me – so of course I want to share that with you! There are a surprising number of well established Organic and Heirloom seed companies. Turns out there are almost as many seed companies out there as there are ways to plant those seeds. And after a while you find what fits best for you.

I’ve gathered my favorite Free seed catalogs, and online links for ordering those beauties, along with the accompanying online versions for those that want to stay paper free. There’s a bit about each of the companies to hopefully inspire YOU to dream big – but purchase responsibly – with an eye to saving more seed each year. For more on saving Seeds and local Seed Libraries, check out my earlier Post on just that.


Botanical Interests

WEBSITE
Request Free Seed Catalog HERE

Recently acquired by EPIC Gardening, Botanical Interests was started 25 years ago and they are sticking to their motto of inspiring and educating gardeners.

Hungarian Bread Poppy

I adore their seed packets. They are by far the most beautiful, illustrated with Botanical art with and the most informative. I read somewhere that most gardeners get their ‘how to’ info right from seed packet (which puts me in my place – ha!) another reason to choose these packets if you’re new to the garden game.

I adore their flower selection, from Hungarian Bread Poppies, Mexican Sunflowers and Bachelor Buttons and had great luck with their Sugar Magnolia snap peas and Calliope Carrots as well!


High Mowing Organic Seeds

WEBSITE
Request Free Seed Catalog HERE

As their name implies, you’ll find only Organic Seeds here. I have been consistently satisfied with their seed stock from germination to disease resistance- which is exactly what comes from growing seeds organically (and not coddling them with chemicals).

Arugula + Pea shoots

They take educating gardeners and farmers seriously, and did a great Joe Gardener podcast called Why Buy Organic Seeds with Joe L’Ampl of Growing a Greener World. Their seed catalog is extra enticing to me, I’m going to have to control myself. I especially love their microgreen seeds, pea shoots and arugula are some of my favorites. I also have great luck with their Midori Edamame and many of their herb seeds.


Johnny’s Selected Seed

WEBSITE
Request Free Seed Catalog HERE

These guys have a huge inventory of seeds and sell more F1 hybrids than the other seed companies I’ve mentioned, they also grow lots of heirloom seeds that germinate well. There are some things that I do prefer to grow that are hybrids, or things that, as a Nothern gardener, I just can’t get to overwinter to set seed (looking at your cole crops) and Johnny’s is usually where I buy those from (Bellstar Broccoli, Graffiti Cauliflower, Veronica Romanesco). They are also 100% employee owned, which you gotta love!


Seed Savers Exchange

Heritage Farm Display Garden at Seed Savers Exchange
In the garden with Diane Ott Whealy

WEBSITE
Request Free Seed Catalog HERE

SSE holds a special place in my heart and garden, and the only seed farm I’ve visited. I wrote another blog post about these grass roots people and their love and stewardship of so many rare seeds. They grow most of their seeds out on Heritage Farm just outside of Decorah, Iowa. Worth a visit to one of their events, especially the annual Conference + campout!

Their seed catalog shares seed stories and recipes, and does an amazing job of welcoming you into their community.

Seed Savers Exchange is also where I’ve gotten some of my favorite seeds that I save annually (Glass Gem, Tiger’s Eye, Borage, Cilantro, Wisconsin Lakes Bell Peppers, Black Hungarian Peppers, Winter Density Romaine). When you buy from them you are helping save seeds for future gardeners, which is becoming more important each year!


Southern Exposure

WEBSITE
Request Free Catalog HERE

Southern Exposure is a well-loved small seed company that grows most of their seed in Virginia, a little further south than I usually like, but these guys grow great seed! They have a history of helping others save seeds and other great growing guides on their website. Their seed catalog is a fun mix of illustrations and photos. I also got to meet one of their leaders, Ira, at the Seed Savers Exchange Seed Swap. She was a joy to meet and talk with. Owning that I had a fan girl moment 😊!

Meeting Ira at the Seed Savers Exchange Seed Swap!

After hearing about all those seed catalogs, you might be ready to jump in but don’t know exactly how or where. Check out some of the local gardening resources, under HomeGrown Garden Resources. And, if you’re ready to get growing I’ve got a Seed Starting 101 article to take through step by step!


Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company is no longer on my recommended list because of the way they conduct business. From Linda Black Elk, member of the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Lakota Nations and  Food Sovereignty Coordinator at United Tribes Technical College:

* Baker Creek has been confronted by Indigenous, Black, Asian, and many others for their use of white supremacist dog whistle language.

* They have been confronted for taking seeds from Indigenous communities and re-naming them. This is Indigenous erasure.

looking forward to seed starting fun!

**UPDATES** Since I first wrote this piece a few years ago, I’ve added more eco friendly Seed Companies to my favorites list:

Experimental Farm Network – The seed stock is growing just as fast as the social justice side of the company. I recently interviewed the co-owners for a Northern Gardener Magazine article.

Territorial Seed Company – I started with their root crops and found my favorite white beet, Avalanche here!

North Circle Seeds
Fruition Seeds

And there’s another way to share seeds, and what you think of them from Seed Linked, find out what they’re about HERE.

What seed companies do you love that I didn’t mention? Do you have any other seed catalog tips?

Looking forward to Digging In again,
Michelle

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