June is an important time for lavender care. In many growing regions, this is when the fragrant herb starts to bloom. In warmer regions, your lavender should already be actively flowering. This means that maintenance is important for keeping your plants healthy and productive.

Growing lavender isn’t difficult, but it does require timely care, including these June tasks that will ensure healthy growth, continuous flowering, and a tidier appearance.

Let's dig in to the essential care tasks for your lavender plants in June.

1. Start Harvesting

This is one of the best summer chores for lavender. If your plants have begun flowering, you can start harvesting now. English lavender is in peak bloom in many regions in June, while other types are just getting going. Harvesting lavender now—and throughout the summer— allows you to enjoy the flowers and prevents plants from getting leggy.

Use sharp, clean shears or scissors to snip off entire stems in bloom. (Our editors swear by the Felco 2 pruning shears, which can be found on Amazon). Make the cut a few inches below the flower spike, but avoid cutting down to the woody part of the stem. Lavender plants won’t produce new growth from old wood.

Use your harvest as fresh cut stems for arrangements or let the flowers dry for use in potpourri or sachets, soaps and other beauty products, or culinary recipes.

2. Deadhead Spent Flowers

You probably don’t want to harvest all of your lavender flowers. The pretty, fragrant flower spikes that remain on plants are part of their appeal in garden beds and along walkways. However, it is important to deadhead these as they fade.

Deadheading lavender redirects energy away from seed production and back into the plant to keep it healthy and to promote strong growth next season. Depending on where you grow lavender, deadheading may also encourage a second flush of blooms this season.

Snip off flower stalks once they are totally spent and before they start producing seeds. Snip each stem just above the first set of healthy leaves. You can use any flowers that dried on the stalks as long as they haven’t begun to rot. They should still be fragrant.

3. Check Soil Moisture and Water as Needed

Lavender is generally a drought-tolerant plant. In fact, it can suffer if grown in soil that stays consistently moist and will not survive standing water for long. On the other hand, rising temperatures and dry spells in summer can be problematic for any plant.

Finding balance in the soil for lavender is key. Check the soil around your plants periodically. If there is too much moisture, you may need to improve drainage. If the soil is always dry due to weather conditions, water your lavender periodically. Use a moisture meter like this one from Amazon, or check the soil with your finger. Water when the first two inches (5 cm) or deeper is dry.

Use a soaker hose irrigation system to water deeply and avoid getting the leaves wet. Give the roots a good, deep soaking infrequently during dry periods without rain. Water more often for new and young plants to help them establish deep roots. Regardless of the age of the plant, less is always more when it comes to watering lavender.

4. Prune Lightly and Check for Problems

Lavender can get leggy and floppy during its active summer growing season. Pruning lavender can prevent or fix this issue, but keep it light. Save heavy pruning for later in summer or fall. Now is the time to tidy and gently shape your lavender plants to keep them looking shapely and healthy.

When you make pruning cuts on lavender, always keep at least an inch of green growth above the woody part of the stem. New growth rarely comes from the old wood on lavender plants, so if you cut too far, that stem might not recover.

You can double up this chore with another important one: checking for pests and disease. Lavender isn’t as susceptible to these as other plants, but it’s still worth being vigilant. Look for aphids, spittlebugs, root rot, and fungal diseases. Signs of issues include wilting or blackened stems, especially if the soil is moist, yellow foliage, and sticky residue on leaves. Remove diseased parts of the plant and use a spray of water or neem oil to manage minor pest infestations.

5. Manage Weeds and Airflow

Too much moisture is the most common killer of lavender plants. Water that gets trapped close to stems, on leaves, and in the soil can quickly lead to fungal diseases and rot. Manage the soil with appropriate watering.

To keep leaves and stems dry, take steps to ensure good airflow within and between plants. If your lavender plants have grown over the years to the point they crowd each other, do some light trimming to open up spaces between and within them.

It’s also important to keep up with weeds. Not only do they compete with plants for nutrients, but they also reduce airflow and trap moisture when they crowd your lavender plants. Pull weeds that are likely shooting up now that the weather is consistently warm.

June care for lavender plants is basic but essential. Start harvesting flowers, deadhead those that remain in place, prune lightly, water as needed, and keep on top of weeds, pests, and moisture to ensure ongoing healthy growth and a summer of delicate, aromatic lavender flowers.

I’ve been a gardening editor for longer than I want to admit, and I’ve been growing tomatoes from the start. My work has meant I’ve been lucky enough to visit goodness knows how many nurseries and talk to a gazillion professional growers, and I’ve hoovered up tips and tricks the whole time. So believe me, I’ve tried out way more than my fair share of professional hacks in pursuit of a perfect crop of juicy toms that keeps on coming all summer long.

And yes, as a regular Instagram scroller, I’ve tried out plenty of unprofessional tips too. Honestly, quite a few of both types turned out to be absolute hogwash. Some had the potential to be downright deadly (here’s looking at you, baking soda making tomatoes sweeter). But a few actually worked.

Heeding tomato care basics such as supporting and pruning tomato plants will bring you a decent initial crop of tomatoes. But here’s the thing: if you want to keep tomato plants producing plenty of tomatoes as the weather gets hotter, foliage and fruit become more susceptible to disease, and sap-sucking insects move in, you need some extra tricks up your sleeve. These days, I only raise six tomato plants each summer because I’m confident – thanks to my trial and error testing of all those hacks – that I can keep them producing bumper crops of toms for months on end. And just look how many tomatoes those few plants produce.

These are those expert tomato growing tips, so you too can harvest more than ever before.

1. Basil Supports Tomato Plant Health

You’ll hear all sorts of hype about companion plants when growing tomatoes, and mostly they’re used either to attract beneficial bugs or deter pesky ones. But there’s one companion plant that does things a little differently and it's an absolute must, because basil directly increases tomato yield by as much as 20%. Scientists have shown that basil releases volatile compounds that prime a tomato plant’s defense mechanisms. So, if a tomato plant is attacked by pests or disease, if it’s got a wingman basil plant growing next to it, it’ll react to that threat faster and more robustly.

Research proves that growing basil alongside a tomato plant helps it grow stronger roots, too, that allow it to cope better with drought and heat. Basil also helps to attract pollinators and deter pests, and even makes fruit taste sweeter.

There are around 150 types of basil and for the full benefit, it’s best to grow a few varieties. Greek basil (Ocimum minimum) is the variety used in the stress-reponse study and seeds are available from Amazon. Purple basil (Ocimum basilicum var. purpurascens) has an intense aroma so is particularly effective at repelling pests, and seeds are available from Eden Brothers. Lemon basil (Ocimum x africanum) is the variety used in the study that found basil can improve tomato flavor perception, and seeds are available from Botanical Interests.

2. Banana Peel is Full of Potassium That Tomatoes Need

You’re likely feeding your tomato plants every 10-14 days with a liquid fertilizer that’s high in potassium, like this Espoma Organic Tomato Feed from Amazon. Plants need many nutrients for healthy growth but broadly speaking, nitrogen promotes leaf and stem growth, phosphorus aids root development, and potassium helps flowers and fruit form; these are collectively known as the NPK ratio.

And as luck would have it, banana peel is super-high in potassium, and you can use it to give plants an extra boost with a mild, slow release of nutrients. Some people mix chopped-up banana peel into the compost at the base of planting holes when moving tomatoes outdoors. I choose to make a supplementary banana peel tea whenever the opportunity arises, steeping a couple of chopped-up peels in a quart-jar of water for three or four days, then pouring the strained tonic onto the soil, diluting first if it looks strong.

Banana peel also contains a small amount of calcium, which helps prevent blossom end rot (which causes those leathery black patches on tomato bases), and trace elements that support photosynthesis. Importantly, it doesn’t have any nitrogen, so won’t fuel leafy growth.

3. An Electric Toothbrush Improves Pollination

Tomato flowers need to be pollinated before they can set fruit. Happily, each flower contains both male and female parts so all that needs to happen is a little movement to shake the pollen free from the male anther cone and onto the female stigma. If you’re growing tomatoes outside then buzzing insects and the wind will naturally ensure this little jiggle happens. But, if you’re raising your toms on a kitchen windowsill or in a greenhouse, your plants could probably do with a little pollinating help.

Flowers can increasingly fail to pollinate as summer temperatures heat up, too. Once daytime temperatures are above 90°F or if it's over 70°F at nighttime – and remember, greenhouses can be far hotter than the air outside – pollen can become too dry or sticky to easily be distributed. Those flowers that dry up and drop off your plants? They're likely to be the blooms that failed to pollinate and, as the season progresses, you’ll see an increasing number of these on each truss.

Unless, of course, you employ an electric toothbrush to deliver that essential buzz. Hold the back, non-bristly side of the toothbrush head gently against the stem directly above each flower for a couple of seconds, when conditions are dry. Tomato flowers only have a 50-hour window for pollination so, to get full trusses across all your plants, you’ll need to do this every two days. You can buy super-cheap rechargeable electric toothbrushes such as this from Amazon, so don’t even consider using your own!

Shading plants in a greenhouse from the midday sun will also help pollination rates. Opt for 40-50% sunblock so plants still get plenty of sun to photosynthesize, with a shade cloth like this from Amazon, and position it so it only blocks the strongest overhead midday rays.

4. DIY Drip Irrigation is a Game-Changer

Let’s be honest, how regularly do you water your tomato plants? Most toms are on a rollercoaster ride between saturated and dry soil, and one of the most important things you can give a tomato plant while it’s fruiting is consistent moisture. Any big swings in soil moisture stresses plants, leads to blossom end rot, and cracked, split fruit. A dehydrated plant may also drop its flowers.

Drip irrigation systems are great, but there are lots of other, cheaper ways you can stabilize soil moisture between waterings or rainfall. I’ve DIYed drip irrigation systems from upcycled pop bottles, and you can see how I made them here.

I now also use clay LECA balls such as these from Amazon as pot-toppers to regulate moisture, and I DIY sunken water reservoirs alongside my bigger tomato plants to mimic how ollas (like these from Amazon) work. Mixing coconut coir such as this from Amazon into the soil is another way to help it hold onto an excess of water then release it slowly.

Yes, I water just as often, but the soil is delivered to my plants far more evenly and that means they’re far less stressed. It also means that I can go away for the weekend without having to ask my nosy neighbor to water my precious toms, so I'm far less stressed, too.

5. Stopping Feeding is as Important as Starting Feeding

We all know we need to feed our tomato plants to produce lots more fruit, and to start as soon we spot the first flowers. But when do you stop feeding? Because if you carry on feeding too long, you encourage the plant to pointlessly keep on growing rather than directing its energy into ripening the existing fruit.

You should stop feeding around a month before your first expected frost, or once nighttime temperatures start to dip below 50°F. At this point, snip off the top of the main growing stem(s) too, known as ‘topping’. This stops the plant growing upwards and forces it to direct all its energy into ripening its existing trusses of tomatoes.

Basil downy mildew moves fast, and by the time most gardeners notice something is wrong, the plant is usually well into trouble. The good news is that the earliest signs are easy to spot once you know exactly where to look.

One day the basil looks fine. A few days later the leaves are yellowing, the undersides have gone fuzzy and gray, and half the plant is headed for the compost. That’s basil downy mildew, and it has wrecked more summer harvests than almost any other trouble this herb runs into. It’s a fairly recent arrival that spread fast, and most basil growers now run into it sooner or later.

It ranks among the nastier basil diseases because it works so quietly at first, doing a fair impression of a nutrient problem before the damage surfaces. By the time the cause is obvious, the plant is often too far gone to save. That slow start is most of why downy mildew on basil earns its reputation, and why knowing what it is helps.

What Is Basil Downy Mildew​?

Despite the name, the culprit isn’t a fungus. It’s an oomycete, which is a water mold (Peronospora belbaharii) closer to the organism behind potato blight than to anything an ordinary fungicide was built for. Garden-store sprays don’t hit it the way they would a fungus, and that’s much of why it stays so hard to shift. It spreads on windborne spores, so a plant can catch it even in a spotless garden with no obvious source nearby. (Luckily, there are now some downy-mildew resistant varieties of basil like ‘Noga’ from Botanical Interests.)

Downy mildew spores don’t ask for much once they land. Warm days and muggy nights suit them, especially with water sitting on the leaves overnight. From there they germinate, work into the leaf, and infect the plant before the first yellow patch even shows. Sweet basil, the big soft-leaf type most people grow for pesto, takes the worst of it. The spicier small-leaf and citrus-scented basils shrug it off a bit better, though none are truly safe. Spores ride along on seed, too, so even a clean start from a fresh packet isn’t a guarantee you’ve dodged it.

Catching Basil Downy Mildew Early

The first signs don’t usually look like a disease. Leaves begin to yellow, usually in patches fenced in by the veins, so the discoloration looks blocky and angular rather than spreading evenly across the leaf. A lot of growers take this for a feeding issue and reach for fertilizer, which does nothing here except burn a few days the plant can’t spare.

Flip an affected leaf over and look hard at the underside. There’s a dusty gray-purple coating down there, the sort of thing you’d swipe at assuming it was soil splash, except it doesn’t rub away. That coating is the pathogen making its spores, and a plant at that point is already dusting the air around it with the next round of infection. Turn a few leaves over twice a week through warm, humid weather. It’s the one check that actually buys you any time.

Treating a Basil Downy Mildew Infection

Here’s the blunt version: once downy mildew has a real grip, the plant isn’t going to recover. No home spray reverses an active infection. What you can do is slow it and rescue a harvest. Strip off affected leaves and pull hard-hit plants. Bag that debris rather than composting it, since the spores carry over, and get whatever is left drier and airier; the disease stalls once leaves stop staying wet.

Commercial products work better as shields than cures. Biofungicides built around beneficial bacteria, the Bacillus subtilis sprays like this from Amazon sold for vegetable patches, can hold the disease off plants that aren’t infected yet, applied before trouble starts. Copper-based fungicides like this from Amazon do something too, but keep expectations low; the effect on a water mold is modest, and rain rinses it off.

None of it brings back a plant already furred over with spores. Get the first spray on before symptoms, or save your money.

Keeping Downy Mildew off Your Basil

Once it shows up in your area, it’s not a matter of if—it’s when, and airflow is what decides how bad it gets. Prevention mostly comes down to one idea: take away the damp, stagnant air the disease feeds on. Spacing is where a lot of people slip up, crowding basil when it wants room to breathe. Give each plant more room than feels necessary and the air keeps moving.

Watering basil matters, too. Aim for the base, do it in the morning, and the leaves dry off over the day. The harder case is indoors or under glass, where the air just hangs. That’s where a small oscillating fan from Amazon earns its keep, pushing a breeze across the foliage to keep surfaces dry.

The easiest defense against downy mildew is actually to choose a variety of basil that is mildew resistant! A lot of sweet basils exist now because breeders set out to beat this thing. A downy mildew-resistant basil variety, like ‘Noga’ from Botanical Interests, paired with good airflow is about as safe as basil gets.

The rest is small stuff that stacks up. Choose healthy transplants and look them over first, since it rides in on infected starts as readily as on the wind. And keep cutting. Basil that gets picked often stays open and airy, and an open plant makes a frustrating target for something that needs everything damp and still.

Oh what a beautiful morning! It’s a great feeling and a great song. But the lyrics are sufficient to convince you to leave corn out of your small garden design. Yep, that’s the song that says “The corn is as high as an elephant’s eye, and it looks like it’s climbin’ clear up to the sky.”

Now that’s a lovely image, but it doesn’t work in a small, urban garden. Combine that with the common wisdom that you need multiple rows to get the plants pollinated, and growing corn gets crossed off the list of garden tasks.

But – to stick with the lyrics theme – “the times they are a-changing.” Today there are several dwarf species that might work well in the backyard garden. We’re here to introduce you.

The Problem with Growing Traditional Corn

Fresh corn on the cob is one of the garden crops emblematic of summer! You pick the largest ears in the garden, pluck them, shuck them, then roast them over the fire. A large ear of ripe corn is almost a meal itself.

But typically, gardeners with small backyards don’t plant this crop. The individual plants tend to grow taller than you are, and some species can achieve a height of 14 feet (4.5 meters) tall. That’s just not practical for someone with an urban garden. Even a few plants would shade out lower sun-loving crops like tomatoes and peppers, and you’ll need more than one or two.

Because all types of corn are largely wind-pollinated, with the breeze carrying pollen from the tassels to the silks, the ideal is to plant corn in block formations. This system increases the chances of pollen reaching the silks. Even if you plant corn tight, an 8-by-8 block will take up at least 21 feet (7m) squared.

New Stalks on the Block

Today, corn in the backyard garden is no longer a pipedream. Several types of corn have been developed that are small enough to grow in a regular, behind-the-house garden. Some corn can be grown in a container on a sunny patio! One is a Burpee special called On Deck Hybrid. The other is a dwarf variety known as Blue Jade Dwarf Sweet Corn.

1. On Deck Hybrid Corn

Burpee has done it again. They’ve developed the first-ever sweet corn you can grow in a container. It’s known as On Deck Hybrid, and specimens never grow above 5 feet (1.5m) tall, yet the delicious, bicolor ears grow to 8 inches long.

This tasty breakthrough bicolor variety grows well on containers. You can plant 18 seeds in a single, 24-inch (.6m) container on your patio. The stalks grow fast, with each one producing two or three ears - while also adding that vertical interest your deck needed. And it’s speedy! The time from planting to grilling is only two months. You can find On Deck corn seeds from Burpee.

2. Blue Jade Dwarf Sweet Corn

Neither you and I would select a corn variety because we like the color of the ears, but I've got to say that the deep silver-blue kernels of Blue Jade Dwarf sweet corn is utterly lovely. They start out white but mature to a steely blue. That blue deepens even more once the corn is cooked. And these ears of blue corn taste as good as they look.

Blue Jade Dwarf sweet corn really are dwarf plants, never growing taller than 4 feet (1.3m). Low-growing and reliable - with each stalk producing two ears - Blue Jade take about 80 days after planting to mature. Harvest the ears when they are blue with a little light-yellow in the kernels. Cobs can only be called cuties, each one about half the size of a standard ear of sweet corn. You can find Blue Jade seeds from Hudson Valley Seed Co.

Other Dwarf Corn Options

There are other dwarf corn options out there that you might want to consider, each with its own characteristics. All of these varieties stay under 5 feet (1.6m) tall and mature in 80 days or less.

• Early Sunglow. Did you know that some corn is sugar-enhanced? Early Sunglow is a dwarf variety that contains a sugar enhancer gene that makes the kernels sweeter and more tender. It’s a dwarf yellow corn that grows 5-6 inch ears with sweet, tender kernels. Count on 60-65 days to mature. Find Early Sunglow corn seeds from Ferry-Morse.
• Bodacious. Bodacious is even smaller than Early Sunglow, the stalks topping out at 3-4 feet (1-1.3m) tall. It's a miniature yellow hybrid corn that grows ears between 6 and 8 inches. Seed to harvest is about 10 weeks. You can find Bodacious sweet corn seeds from Park Seed.
• Peaches & Cream. Here’s a pretty dwarf corn plant. Peaches & Cream is really lovely, growing to 4 feet (1.3m) with bicolored kernels - bright yellow and white. The ears are 7 inches long and take 11 weeks to mature. Peaches & Cream sweet corn seeds can be purchased from Ferry-Morse.

June is a big month for tomatoes. Right now they should be putting out tons of new branches and leaves, their stems should be thickening, and the first flowers and fruit should appear soon. But if your tomato leaves are turning yellow this early in the season, then it’s crucial to figure out the cause and treat the problem fast.

Yellow leaves on tomatoes can occur for a variety of reasons. Some of them are no big deal and easy to fix. But if others are left untreated, they could have serious implications on your plants for the rest of the season. Your harvest could be much smaller or even nonexistent, depending on the severity of the problem.

Whatever the issue, though, there is a solution. But the first step is identifying the problem. I’ll walk you through the three most common causes of yellow tomato leaves in June and how to deal with each of these complications.

1. Nutrient Deficiencies

The most likely cause for yellow leaves on tomatoes in June is a nutrient deficiency. Tomato seedlings often turn yellow before you even transplant them into the garden because they’ve used up all the nutrients built into the seeds from which they sprouted. That’s why it’s important to fertilize tomatoes in June, especially if you didn’t give them a dose of fertilizer when you transplanted them into the garden.

Often leaves turn yellow when there is a nitrogen deficiency in the soil – nitrogen is what stimulates lots of green, leafy growth. But phosphorus and potassium are also key for producing lots of fruit, so you don’t want to overdo it with the nitrogen in order to get green leaves at the expense of actual tomatoes. Though, a potassium deficiency can cause yellowing around the edges of your tomato leaves as well.

Iron and magnesium deficiencies can also cause yellowing leaves on tomatoes. But rather than the entire leaf turning yellow, these nutrition problems exhibit themselves in different ways. Iron chlorosis causes the leaves to yellow and the stems to remain green. A magnesium deficiency causes leaves to take on a yellow, splotchy appearance.

The best course of action is to first do a soil test – this quick and easy at-home soil test kit from Home Depot is a great option for immediate results – before choosing a fertilizer for your plants. A one-size-fits-all fertilizer is not ideal, especially if your plants are already turning yellow. A simple soil test will tell you exactly what nutrients your tomatoes are lacking and guide you to choose the proper plant food for your particular plants.

2. Diseases

A variety of different tomato diseases can cause leaves to turn yellow. In June, the most likely diseases to impact your plants are:

• Early Blight
• Late Blight
• Septoria Leaf Spot
• Leaf Mold
• Bacterial Spot
• Fusarium Wilt
• Tomato Pith Necrosis
• Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus

The best way to both prevent these diseases is to provide proper tomato care. Do a soil test before planting and amend your soil based on those results. Water plants at the base to prevent splashback onto leaves, which can spread diseases. Provide consistent irrigation so plants are not stressed and more vulnerable to disease. When pruning tomato plants, always clean your pruners between each plant to prevent disease spread.

As an extra precaution, especially if you’ve encountered any of these diseases in previous years, choose disease-resistant tomato varieties to grow in your garden. Botanical Interests is a great source for disease-resistant tomato seeds. Or you can shop disease-resistant tomato starter plants from Bonnie Plants.

3. Herbicide Drift

Another cause of yellow leaves on tomato plants is herbicide drift, however, this is much less common. Still herbicides can travel via the wind for up to a mile and harm your tomato plants, causing them to twist, turn yellow, and become stunted. This issue is more likely if you live near a commercial farm, but it can still occur in any neighborhood.

If you use herbicides in your landscape, never apply them on a windy day and try to stay as far away from your tomatoes as possible. Ideally, you should hand-pull weeds with a tool like Grampa’s Weeder from Walmart, which works wonders on the dandelions in my yard. You can also try a safer organic weed control method instead, so you don’t accidentally harm your own plants.

Herbicides are also sometimes present in low-quality soil mixes, composts, and mulches. That’s why you should sometimes be careful when using free mulch, free compost, or free garden soil. If possible, find out the source of the material to ensure it does not contain unwanted herbicides that can ruin your garden.

The type of lavender tea that you might be aware of is drinkable, refreshing, and well documented for calming frayed human nerves. But there is another type of lavender tea that can give some of your most beloved plants the ultimate pick-me-up. It comes from the clippings of lavender prunings you’ll be starting to make in June. So before you head to the compost pile to dump armfuls of aromatic stalks, read this.

It turns out the compounds that make lavender so insect-resistant and structurally resilient are really useful to plants, too. They can be extracted to form a defensive shield for key backyard favorites. When their fresh stems and spent blooms are steeped in water, they release water-soluble elements, including tannins and polyphenols, which carry mild antifungal and pest-deterrent properties. So why should the compost heap get all the benefit of that deal?

You can make a lavender tea or tonic that can be used as a foliar spray in your yard, in much the same way as you apply many other types of fertilizer. Of course, this herbal steep can’t fully replace a balanced soil approach to plant care. But the unique blend of antifungal and pest-deterrent elements you find in lavender prunings simply don’t come with most other conventional sprays and applications. So why not take advantage of this easy lavender tonic?

Why Lavender Tea Plant Tonics Work

The main compound you need to know about for this lavender tonic is linalool. This is what produces that crisp, recognizable fragrance we love. In the insect world, it also functions as a warning sign. In terms of lavender tea benefits, a cold water steep won’t produce the same clout that concentrated oils achieve, but soft-bodied pests like aphids and whitefly treat even a dilute chemical signal as a suggestion to look elsewhere. It’s about natural displacement rather than chemical destruction, which is exactly what we want for sustainable, preventative backyard maintenance.

Beyond the insect-repelling powers of linalool, rich stores of plant tannins handle the defensive antifungal side of the equation. Lavender is reasonably tannin-rich, and those tannins have recognized antifungal properties. When you spray this mixture over clean foliage, it can thwart devastating fungal issues like powdery mildew. Another of your great lavender tea uses involves the trace amounts of potassium that will leach into the tonic. When absorbed by target plants, potassium helps to fortify plant cell walls, making the tissue tougher for pests to pierce.

Applied before problems appear, the combination gives treated plants a strong head start. Used as a foliar spray, the antifungal compounds can limit fungal development. So if you grow lavender and you have more June trimmings than you know what to do with, this lavender tonic is a win-win. If you’re worried about early signs of pests on plants like roses, grab a loupe or magnifying glass. You can buy XYK’s 40X Jeweler's Loupe from Amazon to steal a closer look before making our tonic.

Best Lavender Varieties to Use

Not all lavender varieties are made the same way, and understanding the distinct profiles can be helpful. If you fancy a potent, high-vitality garden tonic, then true English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) is ideal. Thriving in USDA hardiness zones 5-9, these varieties are packed with a clean, concentrated volume of linalool and polyphenols. Cultivars like classic 'Munstead' or robust 'Hidcote' yield a potent tea from mid-season trimmings. If you’d like to add to your lavender collection, you can buy Munstead Live Plants from Burpee for a reliable, oil-rich plant tonic source.

Then there are massive hybrid lavandins (Lavandula x intermedia), like the popular 'Phenomenal' or 'Grosso' varieties. These gorgeous, long-stemmed beasts love the heat and offer a profusion of stalks. Their oils lean much heavier into camphorous notes. While this makes them slightly less sweet to our noses, that high-camphor punch makes them perfect if your main garden headache is repelling soft-bodied insects. For a heavy-blooming hero, buy Phenomenal Live Shrubs from Nature Hills.

Avoid using French or Spanish lavender (Lavandula stoechas) for brewing tea. Their ruffled blooms look stunning, but their resinous chemical composition is less effective in a simple, cold-water backyard bucket setup like this one. So now we know about the benefits of lavender tea, it’s time to crack on with making some…

Making Your Lavender Tonic

The best time to gather your raw ingredients is during June, as we enter the summer pruning and deadheading window for lavender. Collect a mix of spent flower spikes, tender green stems, and small leafy debris from shaping plants. Just exclude woody old growth or any parts showing signs of disease. A rough working ratio is a loosely packed double-handful of freshly chopped garden material for every one gallon (3.8L) of clean water. If you’re after precision snips or shears for harvesting, Corona Forged Steel ClassicCUT Bypass Pruners from Amazon make clean cuts.

Place your chopped prunings into a clean container and submerge in cool or ambient room-temperature water. Don’t use hot water, which drives off the volatile linalool oils faster than they can steep out. Pour into a bucket or jar and cover with water, then stir. Place in a cool spot out of direct sun. A daily stir can help to pull out more water-soluble tannins. When the time is up, strain through a fine mesh filter, such as Reusable Fine Mesh Straining Bags from Walmart. The resulting tonic should be amber or pale-straw in color. Aim to use it within a week, before it begins to sour.

Using Your Lavender Tonic

Dilute your fresh lavender tonic before using it. Go for a straightforward 1:1 ratio with clean, fresh water for foliar use. Some gardeners skip the dilution for a more concentrated application, but starting diluted is safer for sensitive plants and young, tender leaves. A standard pressure sprayer is fine for foliar sprays, as long as it gives you a fine mist that coats each leaf smoothly. If you’re after a good model, Chaplin’s 1-Gallon Pump Sprayer from Amazon gives excellent uniform coverage.

Apply your foliar spray early in the morning on a dry, calm day. This schedule gives the lavender wash plenty of time to dry before nightfall. Spraying late in the evening leaves foliage wet and cold overnight, which creates the exact stagnant environment where fungal diseases like black spot can thrive. Every 2 weeks through summer is a workable cadence for established plantings. For new transplants, skip the spray and instead apply a diluted drench at the root zone, at least until plants have settled.

Plants That Love It – and That Don't!

So which plants are most likely to benefit from this lavender tonic? Try to target plants that are prone to seasonal pest invasions and fungal leaf spots. Ornamental garden roses are perfect candidates for your lavender tonic. Given their soft, succulent spring growth and high susceptibility to powdery mildew and aphids, they will really appreciate a bi-weekly preventative coating. Don’t forget to deep-feed roses with a balanced granular feed, too, though. A good option is Espoma Organic Rose-Tone Plant Food, available from Home Depot, for robust root nutrition.

Perennials like garden phlox, stately delphiniums and colorful zinnias also benefit, as they are magnets for midsummer fungal leaf infections. And if you grow vegetables, treating heavy-feeding crops like tomatoes and squash will help to keep whitefly numbers down without introducing harsh synthetics around edible harvests.

Avoid drought-loving plants like stonecrops (sedum) and soft succulents. Gray-leafed Mediterranean herbs like rosemary or sage also loathe having their foliage frequently wetted. Also avoid spraying plants with fuzzy or velvety leaf surfaces, such as lamb's ear or alpine woolly thyme, as the extra trapped moisture can leave plants vulnerable to rot. And don’t spray blooming plants where beneficial predatory insects or native pollinators are working. Even natural bug deterrents can disrupt foraging patterns.

What to Expect from this Tonic

The results of using this lavender tonic tend to be cumulative rather than dramatic. A few applications over a few weeks typically push soft-bodied pest numbers down rather than eliminating them outright, but in most cases that’s enough to keep things in check. You should notice a steady downward trend in visible numbers. The bugs simply find the treated leaves deeply unappealing and quietly relocate elsewhere, allowing your plants to outgrow any initial, early-season damage.

The long-term antifungal benefits are harder to track directly, because success is defined by an absence of symptoms. By late August, your treated perennials will be clean, green, and vibrant, while untreated neighbors will likely be showing signs of mildew. Remember to show your lavender some love, with a light top-dressing of organic mulch and a light feeding of a balanced feed, You can buy Dr Earth Premium Gold All Purpose Fertilizer from Amazon to keep your hard-working lavender vibrant, healthy, and pushing out oil-rich stems for many summers to come.

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Making this useful lavender tonic doesn't require a massive financial investment or a shed full of complicated equipment. Just a few well designed, hard working items are all you need to prepare, store, and apply this super-useful plant tonic. This trip of lavender tea goodies will help you cleanly harvest your materials and safely deliver every drop of your homemade pest-busting tonic where your garden needs it most.

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Planting tomatoes in spring is important, but don’t underestimate the importance of caring for your plants in June. If you start good tomato-care habits now, you’ll get better quality fruit more fruit, and a plant that lives longer.

When you are growing tomatoes, you can’t rest on your laurels in June. Early summer is a critical period for tomato plants as they develop from green leaves into summer fruits. Don’t worry – the tasks are not complex.

The top five things you need to do for tomatoes in June are simple actions like giving them water, fertilizer, a support system, mulch and a haircut.

What Tomatoes Need in June

For tomatoes to be happy campers, they need a proper growing location where they get at least 6 hours a day of direct sunlight each day and moist, well-draining soil. If you planted in May, upkeep starts in June. Here are the five most important tasks to keep those plants healthy and growing.

1. Provide Support for Tomato Plants

If you have young kids, you know that sense of shock when you see how fast they grow. One minute they are babes in arms; the next minute, it seems, they are riding a bike. The same is true for your tomato plants in June.

Tomato plants shoot up amazingly fast. In early June, it’s time to set up a support system for them. By late June, the plants are too heavy and tangled to move them around. What happens if you don’t support them? They can drag on the ground, bend, develop disease, and even snap. Great support options include modular tomato cages, stakes, and trellises.

This snap-together system, available from Amazon, is a personal favorite of Gardening Know How Senior Editor Liz Baessler. If you have waited too long to install a traditional cage, you can just build this modular system around your plants with no fuss!

2. Water Deeply and Regularly

Think of cutting into a big ripe tomato; it’s full of juice! That suggests that you can’t grow tomatoes without regular water. While all young tomato plants need moist soil, tomatoes require even more water in June as temperatures rise.

For June irrigation, regular deep watering is the rule. It encourages deeper, stronger root systems and better drought resistance. Water slowly and deeply, putting the water around the roots of the plants, never overhead. Installing a drip irrigation system like this Rain Bird watering kit from Amazon is easy to do and will keep your tomatoes perfectly watered, even while you're on vacation. Watering early in the morning is ideal so that the leaves will be dry well before nightfall. Wet foliage at night is a recipe for fungal issues.

How often should you water? You want to irrigate at least once a week, but you might need to water more frequently if the weather is hot and dry. The idea is to keep the soil consistently moist. Going from very dry to very wet will cause your fruits to crack.

3. Add Mulch Around the Base of Plants

One way to help tomatoes hold moisture in the soil is to apply mulch. This is particularly important as summer temperatures rise. Spreading a few inches of mulch around the base of each tomato plant will also suppress weeds and keep the roots cooler.

Mulching also prevents soil from “bouncing” up onto foliage when it rains, an event that results in soil-borne diseases to spread to the lower leaves.

When mulching in June, remember to keep the mulch an inch or so from the main stem. What to use for mulch? Some good choices are straw, pine needles, compost, and shredded leaves.

4. Clip Out Lower Leaves to Improve Airflow

It’s hard to imagine when you are planting your crops, but, by June, tomato plants often become thick and crowded. The lush leaves reduce airflow and increase the risk of fungal disease as the weather grows warmer. Fungal diseases spread fast when leaves remain wet for long periods, the air is stagnant, and plants are overcrowded.

So take your snippers and prune your tomatoes in June. Focus on leaves that touch the soil, and leaves that are yellowing. This will allow more air to circulate, reducing humidity around the plant. It also helps prevent soil-borne diseases from splashing into the lower tomato leaves.

5. Monitor for Early Pest and Disease Problems

What happens in June? People get married, we celebrate the summer solstice, and tomato pests and common tomato diseases first begin appearing. With careful monitoring, you can get out ahead of the problems and avoid severe infestations later in the summer.

What are you looking for? Any signs of bug damage, including yellowing or wilting foliage, spots on leaves, or chewed leaves. You should also note any and all bugs, including aphids, hornworms and whiteflies. Treat these critters ASAP with diatomaceous earth. Be sure to only use food-grade diatomaceous earth, which can be found on Amazon, so that you can enjoy your tomatoes safely.

When it comes to diseases, fungal diseases are on the top of the list. Think about early tomato blight and Septoria leaf spot. Treat diseases when spotted, and take steps to prevent diseases in the future, including watering early in the morning, trimming leaves that touch the ground, and spacing the tomatoes appropriately.

Tomatoes are heavy feeders and fast growers. During June, they enter a stage where they need proper support, balanced watering, airflow, and regular maintenance to continue growing strong through the hottest part of summer.

Nothing says summer like a sweet slice of watermelon. Interestingly, the original watermelons were quite bitter and were selectively bred to be sweet over the course of thousands of years. The ancestors of our modern watermelons were first cultivated in Africa and scientists have recently traced the genome back to a wild variety found in Libya and Sudan at least 6,000 years ago.

That’s a lot of generations of humans and their agricultural efforts to get us to our sweet and juicy modern watermelons! Luckily for the modern home gardener, growing watermelons is easier than ever. A few simple tips and tricks will help you grow the sweetest, juiciest watermelons you have ever tasted. It just takes a little bit of gardening know-how.

Let’s crack open the secrets to growing best watermelons this summer!

1. Turn Up the Heat

As mentioned above, watermelons are native to the northern part of the African continent so they like it hot. The hotter the conditions, the sweeter your watermelons will be. Soil temperatures should be at least 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18.3 C) before you plant seeds or transplant any indoor-grown seedlings. You can check the top couple inches of soil with a soil thermometer to ensure proper conditions for good germination and healthy plants. This soil thermometer from Urban Worm is available on Amazon and has a large easy-to-read dial.

If you live in a cooler climate, you can increase the warmth of your watermelons by growing them under a floating row cover until temperatures are hot enough. Row cover fabric, our favorite is on Amazon, can be used with hoops or just laid directly over plants. If using a row cover, be sure to ventilate when air temperature reaches 80 degrees F (26.6 C), and remove the cover if temperature reaches 90 degrees F (32.2 C). Watermelons need at least 8 hours of direct sunlight to convert the sun’s energy into tasty fruit.

2. Banish Pests

If your watermelon is destroyed by pests, it isn’t going to be juicy or sweet because you won’t be eating it! Common watermelon pests include aphids, armyworms, cucumber beetles, leaf miners, cutworms, crickets, darkling beetles, and spider mites. Your backyard wildlife might also try to take a bite of your melons (I’ve lost many to a family of groundhogs living under my shed). However, pest management needs to be thoughtfully applied because your watermelons rely on pollination by bees and other beneficial insects. Pesticides don’t discriminate between good bugs and bad bugs.

Using row covers early in the season can help keep pests off of watermelon seedlings, handpicking armyworms and other caterpillars from the plants is an easy daily task. You should also rotate your crops to reduce pests. It’s important to pay attention to plant types when rotating, too. Watermelons and cucumbers are both in the same family (Cucurbitaceae), so pests that were attracted to your cucumbers last year will attack your watermelons this year.

I have had success in keeping animals from taking a bite out of my watermelons by slipping the fruits into some old pantyhose. Pantyhose also make a great sling material to support melons that are growing from a trellis or need a lift off the ground. And even something as simple as placing a laundry basket upside down over the fruits and weighing it down with a brick will keep most animals at bay.

3. Give Them Space

Watermelons need plenty of elbow room to grow big and sweet. Each plant needs at least 3 to 5 feet (1-1.5 m) of space. The tremendous leaves on your plant convert the sun’s rays into sugars in the fruit, so giving them room to grow will help you get the tastiest watermelon possible.

Planting watermelons too close to each other or other plants increases the likelihood of fungal infections on the leaves like powdery mildew and anthracnose. Your watermelon leaves and vines need good airflow to prevent fungal infections. You should also keep an eye on the bottom of your watermelons, if they sit on damp soil the fruit can develop belly rot. Place a thick layer of straw or wood mulch under the fruit to keep them from becoming too damp.

4. Proper Watering

Watermelons are more than 90% water so they need to be watered deeply to be juicy and delicious. It is recommended to give watermelon plants 1 to 2 inches of water per week. A soaker hose buried under the mulch will help keep leaves dry and prevent fungal infections. You can find an affordable soaker hose from Walmart if you don’t already use one.

However, at the end of the season, everything changes. You should stop watering about a week before harvesting watermelons. This will concentrate the sweetness in the fruit and prevent it from bursting as it continues to ripen.

Proper watering, plant spacing, pest control, and growing conditions will ensure your watermelons will be filled with the sweetness of summer. Time to get growing!

Your pepper plants in June might not look like my pepper plants in June. That’s because the date for planting pepper seeds indoors and the date for transplanting them outdoors will vary quite a bit depending on your climate.

However, anyone who is growing peppers this summer will need to take some of the same basic steps in June. These are not complicated vegetables. If you give them a site with the proper amount of sunlight, the appropriate soil, and sufficient water then you are likely good to go.

So here are five essential tasks that you need to do for pepper plants, at any stage, in June.

What Your Pepper Plants Need in June

Hello, summer! You’re just starting to enjoy being outdoors which is a lucky thing, since June is a big month in the garden. Here’s what to do with your pepper plants now for a huge harvest later in the season.

1. Give Them Plenty of Water

This is not a shocker. All young vegetable plants need water. No matter where you live in the United States, June weather will be warmer than May, April, or any of the previous months of the year.

June signals the beginning of summer, with more sun and hotter days, which sends peppers’ water requirements to the top of the to-do list for June. This is true whether your plants are recently transplanted seedlings or established plants.

All pepper plants need water, across all of the growth stages of their lives. Young seedlings need soil that is always moist, but they will die in soggy soil. Give transplanted seedlings a deep, slow watering two or three times a week, depending on weather. A drip irrigation kit from Home Depot, like this one Content Editor Laura uses in her own garden, is a great way to give peppers consistent irrigation at the source.

You want to encourage those young pepper plants to send their roots deep into the soil. Deep roots mean greater drought tolerance. Established plants require 1 or 2 inches (2.5-5 cm) of water per week, ideally through drip irrigation.

2. Make Sure They Get Enough Sun

Yes, some vegetables are happy to grow with more shade than sun – think lettuce – but peppers are not among this crowd. They grow fast and require many hours of direct sunlight every day to produce those crisp and luscious fruit.

Insufficient sunlight means tall, leggy plants and poor pepper crops. One of your June pepper tasks will be to check on their sun quotient and do what’s necessary – whether that's clearing branches above them to transplanting, if necessary – to provide enough sunlight.

How much sun do peppers need? As much as possible. That is, peppers require at least 6 hours per day of direct sun and won’t complain if you give them up to 12 hours. The ideal situation for a pepper plant is a site that gets direct morning sun and a bit of afternoon shade rather than no morning sun and full afternoon sun, which can cause sunscald on peppers.

3. Watch for Pests

The June weather is so nice that the whole family spends more time outside in the backyard. But you aren’t alone. A variety of common pepper pests also like the early summer weather. They show up in the garden, happy and hungry. The golden rule for dealing with pests in the garden is to catch them early. That makes it easier to get rid of them.

The pests you are likely to see in June may depend on where you live. But almost everywhere there are aphids, European corn borer, corn earworm, and pepper maggot. Aphids form colonies on pepper plant leaves, often on the underside, and such out the sap. The other three insect species will damage the fruit.

Monitoring for pests means inspecting those pepper plants every week or even twice a week. Look on the undersides of the leaves for aphids, use yellow sticky traps like these from Amazon, and search for signs of damage. Neem oil, which you can also get from Amazon, is effective on all of these pests as well.

4. Pinch Out Early Flowers

This is a hard one for some gardeners, including me! But it’s a proven fact that pinching out early flowers on pepper plants is a good strategy over time. Early flowers suck energy from the plant during a time when they should focus on developing strong roots and foliage.

Pinching out those blossoms will make your plants more vital and healthier. It can also mean that you’ll get more peppers from each plant. It also puts the brakes on premature pepper fruiting and gives the plant a chance to mature before producing peppers.

5. Add a Protective Layer of Mulch

Mulch is kind of magic. It protects the roots of the plants from temperature spikes and drops, putting a buffer between the soil and the elements. Mulch can also hold moisture in the soil, especially in the hot sun, and reduce the risk that soil-borne pathogens that splash up on the lower leaves of the pepper plants when it rains.

What type of mulch should you use? Pick something natural, a product that will disintegrate into the soil over time. This organic wood mulch from Back to the Roots is a good option. I also like leaf mulch, straw, or grass clippings for peppers.

Be sure that the mulch doesn’t actually touch the stems of the plants or else this can cause fungal diseases. While you are laying the mulch, take the time to clip out the lowest-hanging leaves, too. This is another way to reduce soil splashing.

Lavender deserves a place in every garden, and this easy addition will make your plant feel more at home and produce abundant flowers and more of that exquisite fragrance. It takes minutes to do and works however you grow lavender, whether that's in a pot, a raised bed or in the ground, for all lavender varieties and types.

This perfumed perennial herb, loved for its tall spikes of purple flowers and silvery evergreen foliage, is native to the drier, warmer regions of the Mediterranean basin. From southern Europe to north Africa, western Asia and India, lavender thrives in the full sun and well-drained soil of harsh mountainous and coastal environments and has evolved to flourish with little in the way of water or nutrients.

Now, does this habitat sound like the conditions you’re raising your lavender in? Because if you’re growing Lavandula in a rich potting mix or compost-improved soil and feeding it in the hope of growing a bigger plant and more flowers, you’re missing a trick. Because the key to success with lavender is to mimic the conditions it naturally grows in, which is easily done with a mulch of sand and gravel.

June is lavender's primary growing month, when it's forming lots of flowerbuds so, make the switch now to give your plant the conditions it craves, and you'll see fast results.

How to Mulch Lavender

Whether your lavender is in a planter or in the ground, top-dress the surrounding soil with a 1-2 inch layer of coarse sand and gravel. Use a ratio of three parts gravel to one part sand.

This helps the plant in multiple ways:

• The coarse sand naturally moves down into the soil and gradually improves drainage.
• The gravel improves airflow around the base of the plant and keeps the growing environment drier.
• The gravel also reflects sunlight onto the plant, and retains warmth.
• Weeds are suppressed, as with any mulch.

Finer gravel such as pea gravel like this from Amazon brings best results, though you can use use any type of gravel you already have. It’s important to use coarse sand, though, and preferably sand intended for horticultural use like this from Amazon. Don’t use fine play sand as it can compact and clump together when wet, defeating the purpose of your dry mulch.

If your lavender is currently mulched with organic matter such as bark chips, rake this layer off the soil surface first. An organic mulch works in the opposite way to a gravel mulch, holding moisture around the plant – leading to conditions that lavender hates, and even rotting stems and roots.

Leave a 3-inch gap all around the plant’s core woody stems, and extend the mulch past its outer extremities, or to the pot rim. The further you extend the mulch, the drier and warmer a microclimate you'll create. Visit any lavender field or farm and you'll see how it's done, and how effective this dry mulch is.

What Else You Can Do to Help Lavender Thrive

Giving your lavender plant a sand and gravel mulch is the very best thing you can do to help it thrive. But there are a number of other ways to foster conditions that your plant will flourish in.

1. Skip the fertilizer

For a start, don’t feed lavender plants. Lavender thrives in poor, nutrient-deficient soils and over-fertilizing it stresses the plant, results in weak, floppy growth and can significantly reduce the number of flowers produced. Even in a container, where the plant has limited access to nutrients, it’s better to refresh the top layer of potting mix every year rather than apply fertilizer.

2. Don’t Overwater

While lavender plants should be regularly watered when first planted, once they’ve had a chance to grow their roots down into the ground to source their own moisture supply, gradually reduce how often you irrigate. Depending on your USDA zone, lavender plants will happily rely on rainwater for most of the year, and you need only water once every couple or weeks through prolonged dry spells of weather. Don’t worry if your lavender is planted among perennials that need watering more often: as long as your soil drains well (and your new sand and gravel mulch will aid good drainage), your plant will be fine.

3. Improve Drainage

Lavender planted in pots needs watering more often, but only when the top couple of inches of potting soil are dry. What containerized lavender plants really need is great drainage. Improve it by drilling extra drainage holes into the pot base, moving your plant into a porous terracotta pot, or raising the pot up on risers so roots don't sit in a puddle of water after heavy rain.

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4. Count the Sunshine Hours

For maximum production of that fabulously fragranced oil, lavender needs at least six hours of sunshine a day through spring and summer. Check just how much your plant gets as the season progresses, and make sure it’s not getting shaded out as its neighbors grow.

5. Prune twice a year

A trim in early spring, and again once it’s finished flowering, will encourage healthy, bushy growth. Pruning lavender is an easy job. Make the spring trim light, just to tidy up your plant after winter, and do any shaping in late summer. Then, as long as you leave at least a half-inch of this summer’s growth (you’ll be able to see the difference between this year’s fresh growth and the older, darker, woodier growth), cut off as much as you want to, depending on whether you want to keep your plant compact or let it grow bigger. Leaving this half-inch safety margin means you’ll never cut into the old growth, which the plant may struggle to resprout from.

Lavender’s ability to adapt to diverse environments is one of the reasons why it’s been cultivated for so many centuries, across the globe, so it likely already grows pretty well in your garden, whatever conditions you’ve given it. But just wait till you make your lavender feel properly at home with a sand and gravel mulch: your plant will flourish, and your reward will be more of its glorious flowers and gorgeous fragrance.

What to do with strawberry plants after fruiting in June? Well, there’s one easy and obvious answer: eat them! But along with indulging, there are a few other things you need to do this month. Because what you do right now, in the immediate wake of your strawberry harvest in June, directly dictates whether you will be enjoying that same juicy abundance next June.

When you make the commitment to grow your own strawberries, you have to be prepared to roll up your sleeves and tend to your plants in summer, even after the yummy berries have been enjoyed. Indeed, the things you do now are critical to plant health and vigor and the future quality of your strawbs. Good strawberry care extends well past picking day, and this post-harvest period is a vital transition phase for June-bearing strawberries. Eating a few of those ripe, luscious fruits should be plenty of motivation for taking the best possible care of your plants.

June-bearing strawberry plants shift into a phase of structural repair and energy storage during midsummer. Take care of a few easy steps this month, and you’ll be helping your plants cultivate the rooting networks and dense foliage needed to generate a jackpot of free, luscious, and high-yielding strawberries next year.

5 Things to Do for Strawbs in June

Before you dive into these strawberry care steps for June, confirm that your berries are June-bearing. There are several types of strawberries commonly planted in home gardens. One type is June-bearing, and if you plant these in your berry patch, you get one big harvest of strawberries in late spring or early summer, often in the month of June. After that, the plants stop producing until the following year. The advice given in this article applies to June-bearing strawberry plants such as 'Jewel', 'Chandler', 'Cabot', and 'Allstar' strawbs.

These plants enter a semi-dormant phase for 4-6 weeks after harvesting strawberries, making June the ideal window for these quick steps across USDA hardiness zones 3-9. Before starting, just check soil moisture levels in the ground around your plants before making significant additions. You can buy the highly rated Yamron 4-in-1 Meter from Amazon to ensure the ground is well draining.

Everbearing or day-neutral strawberry varieties behave differently, producing a big crop in early summer, followed by lighter flushes through summer and fall. If you clean up the patch and cut back the everbearing foliage in June, you will forego all the rest of the berries, which would be a shame. For June-bearers, however, these steps are both vital and very straightforward. Once you have checked the soil, grab your trusty trimming tools and don’t forget some sterilizing fluid. You can buy Vi-Jon Swan Isoprophyl Alcohol from Amazon to sterilize cutting tools.

If you’re growing June-bearers in towers, hanging baskets, or terracotta planters, these rules still apply after strawberry harvest time. Container-grown strawberries experience quicker nutrient depletion and moisture loss than in-ground beds, making immediate post-harvest feeding and plant care even more critical. Just use handheld shears for container-grown strawbs so you don't accidentally nick favorite planters.

1. Renovate Strawberry Foliage

Just like you take dead branches off shrubs and trees when pruning, you need to take off dead or dying foliage after strawberry harvest. This tidies the plant and makes more room for healthy foliage to grow. Known as strawberry renovation, this process helps to give plants a new lease of life when they need it most. Wait roughly 7-10 days after harvest time for strawberries so the plants get a brief rest first.

For small beds, use hand pruners to clip away the old leaves. If you’re looking for a reliable bypass pruner, Corona’s ComfortGEL Bypass Pruner from Lowe’s is perfectly sized for making clean, precise cuts through dense strawberry leaf stems without crushing live tissue. If you manage a large, expansive patch, you can drive your lawnmower over the bed, making sure the deck is adjusted to a high setting.

The goal is to get rid of the old, worn-out leaves, while not touching the crowns and roots. This encourages the plant to put its energy toward new growth. It also eliminates the risk of common fungal diseases like leaf spot and powdery mildew. Just don’t renovate a newly planted strawberry patch during its first summer in the ground, and avoid mowing if your region is suffering a blistering heatwave.

2. Propagate or Prune Runners

Runners are shoots that I think of as babies to the mother strawberry plant. These runners (often referred to as stolons) are long, horizontal stems that extend outward from the mother plant. At the end of each long shoot, a small new plant begins to grow. If this baby touches the soil, it will grow roots and propagate a new plant.

In June: you can either let these babies grow into new plants to replace aging crowns or expand your patch size, or clip them off and toss them in the compost bin to preserve the mother plant’s strength. Generally, it’s not a good idea to let many of the runners develop any one year since it weakens the mother plant.

To maintain peak vigor, prune away excess runners so daughter plants are 7-11 inches (17-28cm) apart within a structured matted row. This intentional spacing allows sunlight to penetrate into the crowns, which improves fruit size and sweetness next year. You can buy team favourite Fiskars Micro-Tip Pruning Snips from Amazon to make light work of snipping wiry strawberry runners. Everbearing types rarely produce excessive runners, so this task is just for June-bearing varieties.

3. Feed Your Plants

Once your June-bearers are neatly trimmed and narrowed, it’s time to feed them. June-bearing strawberries require a targeted application of nitrogen after renovation to help regrow and repair leaves and roots. Apply a balanced feed or nitrogen-rich amendment directly to the soil surrounding the plants. Spread one-half teaspoon of a balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer around the base of each individual crown.

Avoid going overboard, though. Excessive nitrogen triggers a massive explosion of lush, green leaves and wild runners at the direct expense of next year's flower buds. You can buy balanced, gentle feeds like Espoma Berry-tone Fertilizer from Walmart, which stimulate fresh summer leaf canopy growth. Gently work your granular feed into the top inch of soil and follow up with a deep watering.

Strawberries possess shallow root systems and need an inch of water per week, from rain or irrigation. Consistent moisture through July and August ensures the roots can easily access those soil nutrients, setting the stage for a spectacular spring showing.

4. Tackle Weeds & Check for Pests

Weeds like the same nutrients and water that strawberry plants need for growth. Strawberry plants have shallow roots that are easily overwhelmed by aggressive weeds chasing the same moisture and nutrients. Water deeply the evening before you plan to weed. Moist soil loosens its grip on invasive roots, allowing you to pull out stubborn weeds cleanly without dislodging nearby strawberry crowns.

Maintaining weed-free alleys between your fruit rows improves air circulation, which helps dry out morning dew and keeps devastating fruit rots at bay. The Fiskars Ergo Scratch Weeder from Walmart is a lovely ergonomic option to dig deep and pop out stubborn weeds by the roots without disturbing neighboring strawberry crowns.

Keep an eye out for common pests. June is prime time for strawberry root weevils, spittlebugs, and tarnished plant bugs, which manifest as chewed leaf margins or distorted, stunted foliage. Also check the undersides of leaves for powdery mildew or the speckling of spider mites. If you spot signs of mildew or mites, worry not. You can buy Bonide Captain Jack’s Neem Oil Ready-To-Use Spray from Home Depot to clear out summer spider mites, aphids, and preventative powdery mildew.

5. Lay Down Some Mulch

The final step in your June strawberry routine is to pick a snuggly mulch to spread around your June-bearing strawberry plants. Excellent organic options include clean straw, pine needles (which maintain the slightly acidic soil pH that strawberries love), or dry, shredded leaves. Mulching adds a natural barrier that locks in vital moisture, regulates soil temperatures during baking heat waves, and prevents fresh weed seeds from germinating in your clear rows. It also helps prevent soil-borne diseases.

Spread a two-inch (5cm) layer of mulch across the open spaces of your rows. Just don’t let it touch the crowns of the plants. This light summer mulching keeps the environment clean and structured. In fall, add an extra four inches (10cm) of straw over the tops of plants to insulate the crowns against freezing winter temperatures. You can buy HealthiStraw Garden Straw All-Natural Mulch from Amazon.

Shop Strawberry Care Essentials

Taking proper care of your strawberry patch corner is really easy with the right care kit. Make room in your garden shed for these high-quality, task-specific tools so your fruity perennials can keep coming back stronger (and fruitier) than ever – for many seasons to come. Treat your berry patch to these curated berry treats to make your summer renovation work a breeze.

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June is here and that means for most gardeners across the US, it’s time to transplant your tomatoes. Transplanting time is also the perfect moment to give your tomatoes a boost with their first dose of fertilizer for the season.

Maybe you live somewhere warm and you’ve already put your tomatoes in the ground or you live in the far north and you’re still waiting for that final frost date. Either way, whether you’ve already moved your plants into the garden or that’s on your to-do list for this weekend, now is the ideal time to fertilize tomatoes.

But before you start feeding your favorite vegetable, it’s important to understand exactly what kind of fertilizer your tomatoes need at this stage in their lifecycle. It’s also vital to apply fertilizer in the right way to ensure your plants get the biggest benefit and you don’t accidentally set back their growth.

I’ll walk you through how to fertilize tomatoes in June for a huge harvest this summer. Plus, I’ll reveal the biggest tomato feeding mistake that can potentially ruin your plants for the rest of the season.

Do You Have to Fertilize Tomatoes in June?

June is a great time to start fertilizing tomatoes. Most gardeners begin transplanting tomatoes outdoors between mid-May and mid-June. The exact date varies depending on your growing zone and last frost date in spring.

But by mid to late June, almost everywhere in the contiguous US should be free of frost, which means it’s safe to plant your tomatoes outdoors. When you transplant your tomatoes outdoors, you should also give them their first dose of fertilizer.

Benefits of Fertilizing Tomatoes in June

Fertilizing tomatoes in June at the time of transplanting or just after planting tomatoes outdoors gives them a head start that will benefit them for the rest of the summer. It helps them establish a healthy root system that will set them up for strong growth the rest of the summer. Fertilizing in June also provides them with a much-needed boost of nutrients that will help them transition from indoor growing to thriving outdoors in the garden.

If you started tomatoes from seed, by June, your seedlings have likely depleted all the nutrients that were stored in the original seed. Most seed starting mixes don’t include much fertilizer – if any at all – so by the time your seedlings are big enough to transplant, they are in need of more nutrients.

Fertilizing tomatoes in June, just after planting, replenishes your plants with necessary nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and other micronutrients they need to thrive. If your tomato seedlings are turning yellow, that’s a clear sign that they need a dose of fertilizer when you transplant them.

How to Fertilize Tomatoes in June

The easiest way to fertilize tomatoes in June is when you transplant them into the garden. There are two ways you can do this. The first way is to amend the soil in each individual hole. After you dig the hole for each tomato plant, add a dose of a slow-release organic fertilizer. My favorite tomato fertilizer is this one from Jobe’s on Amazon. Follow the instructions on the package for the proper dosage. Then mix the fertilizer into the surrounding soil and plant your tomato.

The other way to fertilize tomatoes at planting is to amend the soil in the entire area where you plan on putting your tomatoes. Again, use an organic slow-release granular fertilizer that will gently feed your plants all season. Follow the recommended dosage on the package for the size area you need to cover. Then use a rake or one of my favorite gardening tools, the Garden Weasel from Amazon, to incorporate the fertilizer into the soil and plant.

Water plants after you finish transplanting your tomatoes to help spread the nutrients to your tomatoes’ roots. Always water plants after fertilizing and transplanting to help them settle into the soil and prevent transplant shock.

If you’ve already transplanted your tomatoes into the garden and forgot to fertilize, don’t worry – it’s not too late. You can apply a side dressing of an organic granular fertilizer to your plants now to give them a boost. Simply sprinkle the recommended amount around each plant and gently use your fingers to mix it into the soil. Don’t get too aggressive with this or you could damage some of the roots. Next, water in the fertilizer to help it seep down into the roots.

Alternatively, you can use a liquid tomato fertilizer like this organic option from Espoma. Mix the recommended dosage for your number of plants into a watering can and drench your plants at the soil line. After the first dose of fertilizer for the season, keep reapplying your organic fertilizer of choice every two to four weeks or follow the directions for the specific plant food you use.

Don’t Make This Feeding Mistake

Feeding tomatoes in June can give them a huge boost that will serve them well during the peak of the summer growing season, but there’s a common fertilizing mistake that can actually set back plants. You should never fertilize plants during the heat of the day.

Fertilizing tomatoes in the middle of a hot June afternoon is a recipe for disaster. It can cause fertilizer burn on plants and scorch the foliage they need to capture the sun for photosynthesis to grow. Young plants, especially newly transplanted ones, are most at risk of fertilizer burn and leaf scorch.

The best time to fertilize plants is in the morning. This allows time for any excess water that may get on foliage to dry before the end of the day. That’s important because wet leaves invite many common tomato diseases. So give your plants a dose of fertilizer in the morning some day this month for an even bigger harvest of tasty tomatoes later on in the summer.

Tomato Fertilizing Essentials

If you’ve been staring at seed packets thinking you’ve missed your window, I’ve got good news: it’s absolutely not too late to start growing your own veggies. In fact, you can plant quite a few vegetables in June, especially if you choose the right fast-growing crops.

Yes, while spring often gets all the attention in gardening guides, early summer is where things really take off in much of the US. Soil temperatures are warm, daylight hours are long, and seedlings can establish quickly without the risk of late frosts in most regions, all of which is great for anyone hoping to start a vegetable garden.

At this point in the season, it’s less about perfection at this point and more about getting seeds in the ground and letting nature do its thing. If you’re gardening in USDA zones 3-6, then, you’ll want to focus on quick crops and varieties with shorter days to maturity, since your growing season is tighter. And in warmer USDA zones 7-10? Well, you’ve got plenty of time to succession sow and extend your harvest well into late summer and early fall.

Try Planting These Vegetables in June

If you want to plant vegetables in June, you need to do more than choose vegetables that just survive heat and longer days; you want them to thrive in them. Fast germination, quick harvest windows, and repeat picking crops are your best friends right now.

So if your garden beds are still empty or your containers are only half-planted, don’t worry. These are the vegetables to sow right now for a bumper harvest before summer is over...

1. Bush Beans

Best for USDA zones 3-10, bush beans are one of the easiest and most reliable summer crops. They germinate quickly in warm soil and can be harvested in as little as 50–60 days. And, in warmer zones, you can actually keep sowing every few weeks for a continuous crop right through summer.

Try something like these Early Bush Italian Bean Seeds from Burpee if you want a robust plant that yields early with zero support.

2. Zucchini

Few vegetables feel more like summer than zucchini (so long as you are based in USDA zones 3-10, of course). Plant something like Burpee's Best Squash Seeds directly into warm soil and you’ll often see harvest-ready fruit within 6-8 weeks.

Just be warned – once they start producing, they really don’t stop.

3. Radishes

If you are planting vegetables in June with almost instant gratification in mind, then radishes are the answer. Some varieties are ready in as little as 25–30 days, making them perfect for filling gaps in your garden or container beds.

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4. Cucumbers

Ideally suited to USDA zones 4-10, cucumbers love heat and long daylight hours. In June, the soil is more than warm enough for fast germination, and plants will quickly start vining.

Choose bush varieties if you’re short on space or growing in containers; something like these Bush Champion Cucumber Seeds from Burpee will work perfectly.

5. Lettuce

While traditional lettuce can struggle in peak summer heat, loose-leaf and heat-resistant varieties do much better. If you are based in USDA zones 3-9, in fact, they are great vegetables to plant in June, so long as you sow in partial shade and keep well watered for continuous picking.

Naturally, the Heatwave Blend Lettuce Seeds from Burpee knows how to keep its cool when things get hot, hot, hot.

6. Carrots

Carrots might be slower than other crops on this list, but June sowing still works beautifully. In warmer regions, choose shorter varieties for quicker harvests, and keep soil consistently moist to aid germination.

Bag yourself a packet of The Old Farmer's Almanac Heirloom Carrot Seeds and get sowing.

7. Basil

Basil is one of the easiest and most rewarding herbs to grow in summer, and June is actually a prime time to sow it in most US regions. It thrives in warm soil and plenty of sunlight, making it perfect for containers, raised beds, or a sunny kitchen garden.

Sow seeds (like Seed Needs Basil Seeds) directly once temperatures are consistently warm, or start indoors and transplant if your season is shorter. Regular harvesting encourages bushier growth, and the more you pick, the more it produces. Just keep it well watered, as basil will quickly wilt in dry heat but usually bounces back fast.

8. Pumpkin

Pumpkins might feel like a crop you should have planted months ago, but June is actually a brilliant shout if you want yours ready for picking come October 31st. They need space, sunshine, and a long growing season, but they’re surprisingly forgiving once established.

Sow seeds directly into mounds or large garden beds, or choose compact varieties if you’re short on space. In warmer USDA zones (6–10), planting in June can still easily lead to a full harvest by autumn, just in time for Halloween and seasonal cooking.

The Jack O Lantern Pumpkin Seeds from Burpee are best for carving.

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With the right crops, you can still plant vegetables in June. In fact, a few seed packets, some warm soil, and a bit of patience are all you need to turn an empty patch into a productive kitchen garden before summer even thinks about winding down.

Ready, set, grow!

You’ve likely seen all the stories about sprinkling baking soda on compost to supposedly sweeten your homegrown tomatoes. But does it actually work? Well, we hate to bust a good myth, but the truth is that it could kill your plants. There is, however, a genius use for baking soda that will help your tomato plants grow strong and healthy. Ready for the facts? Let’s get into it!

Does Baking Soda Sweeten Tomatoes?

The idea behind using baking soda to grow sweeter tomatoes is that this pantry staple is naturally alkaline, so adding it to the compost will reduce the acidity of your crop. In real life, that simply doesn’t happen. Sprinkling bicarbonate of soda onto soil around tomato plants won't affect the taste of the fruit.

It could, however, do a lot of harm. Tomatoes naturally prefer to grow in slightly acidic soil and if conditions become too alkaline, plants are unable to take up some nutrients, and that can cause leaves to yellow. What’s more, baking soda is a salt so using too much of it can stunt plants, cause them to wilt, and even kill them.

So the answer is a resounding no. Don’t use baking soda on tomato plants in an attempt to grow sweeter fruit. It doesn’t affect the taste and you could kill your plants. If you have the slightest concern about the pH of your soil, use a Soil Test Kit such as this from Amazon, and find out exactly what you’re dealing with before you do anything to amend it.

What Does Sweeten Tomatoes?

The sweetness of tomatoes is mostly down to the variety, and how much sun the plants get. Super-sweet cultivars are usually cherry, grape or baby plum tomatoes, as these have a higher concentration of sugars. The amount of sunshine also has a say, as plants photosynthesize sunlight to produce carbohydrates that convert to natural sugars. It’s not so much that more sun grows sweeter tomatoes, but that an absence of sun results in a blander taste. If a tomato is to develop its optimal flavour, the plant needs to be basking in a minimum of six hours of sunshine a day.

Another factor that affects how tasty your tomatoes are is the overall health of your plants. The first step in growing flourishing tomato plants is to pick a variety that's well suited to the conditions you’re growing them. Choose the exact right cultivar for your situation, whether that's a windowsill pot, a patio container or a veggie patch, and you’re already halfway to the tastiest toms in town.

How Can I Use Baking Soda to Help My Tomatoes Thrive?

While baking soda doesn’t help a jot to sweeten tomatoes, it’s incredibly effective at preventing fungal diseases in tomato plants. So effective, in fact, that it’s recommended as a preventative by the US Department of Agriculture.

The magic formula is to mix a heaped tablespoon of baking soda with a level teaspoon of vegetable oil, stir in a squirt of liquid dish soap, then dilute with a gallon of water. Pour into a simple plastic spray bottle such as this from Amazon and spray onto leaves every 7-14 days. The solution works by increasing the pH of the leaf surfaces which makes it more difficult for fungal spores to survive.

Ensuring good airflow around your plants, watering the soil rather than the foliage, and being able to recognise common tomato diseases so you can take swift action before they spread, will also help.

Does Baking Soda Deter Pests as Well as Disease?

Baking soda irritates soft-bodied pests such as slugs, snails and ants so, if you’re growing tomatoes in pots or grow bags, you can sprinkle some on the ground around them to deter these critters.

However, ants are rarely a problem on tomato plants and their presence can actually be helpful, alerting you to an aphid infestation. If you spot ants crawling on the leaves or stems, they’re likely feeding on the sweet liquid that aphids secrete. And aphids do damage tomato plants. Have a close look at the undersides of the leaves and if you find aphids, apply neem oil such as this from Amazon.

Dilute the neem oil according to the instructions and only spray in the evening once plants are out of the sun to avoid scorching.

Ants may also bore into splitting and over-ripe tomatoes, but it’s far easier to simply water more consistently and pick your toms more regularly than it is to control the ants. And if you really don’t want ants on your tomato plants, then a good smear of petroleum jelly – yes, the basic stuff you smear on chapped lips that you can buy for less than $4 on Amazon – around the main stem is a much more effective barrier than baking soda.

While slugs and snails do love to snack on young tomato seedlings and will happily snaffle up fruit that sits on the soil, they don’t often trouble mature plants. If you find they’re a problem then there are better ways to deal with them than using baking soda. Sluggo, available from Amazon, is based on iron phosphate which occurs naturally in soil, and is safe to use around pets and other wildlife. Or simply use a natural treat that these critters adore even more as bait, then rehome the pests far away from your tomato plants. I find that using cucumber slices to deal with a slug problem is the most effective method of all.

What Works Way Better With Tomatoes Than Baking Soda?

If you want to grow tastier, healthier tomatoes and enjoy an abundant harvest, the single best thing you can do – after the basics of sunshine, consistent watering and weekly feeding with a liquid fertilizer such as Espoma Organic Tomato Food, available from Amazon – is to plant basil alongside.

Using basil as a companion plant for tomatoes has a number of proven benefits: it helps tomato plants grow stronger roots and respond faster to stress such as pests and disease; and it attracts pollinators and deters pests. That all combines to increase tomato yield by around 20%. And guess what? Planting basil makes tomatoes taste better, too. Yes, the holy grail of more delicious tomatoes – and that's a fact, backed up by research from the University of Florida.

While we all love a TikTok gardening hack, sometimes it's better to stick to science.

SUMMARY

• Baking soda doesn’t sweeten homegrown tomatoes.
• An excess of baking soda can harm and even kill tomato plants.
• A diluted solution of baking soda, vegetable oil and dish soap is effective at helping to prevent fungal disease on tomato plants.
• Baking soda can act as a deterrent to slugs, snails and ants, but there are more effective ways to deal with these pests.
• Planting basil alongside tomatoes is the best way to increase and improve your crop.

By June, many of us are spending more time admiring our container gardens than tending to them. Pots overflowing with petunias, calibrachoa, herbs, and tomatoes are one of the easiest ways to add color and interest to a yard, patio, or balcony, and yet...

Well, and yet as temperatures climb, they can also become incredibly thirsty. Unlike plants growing in the ground, container plants have a limited amount of soil available to them, which means they dry out much faster – making them especially needy during hot spells.

If you've ever found your containers looking limp and wilted by the afternoon despite watering them the day before, though, you're certainly not alone. Sometimes, keeping them hydrated just isn't enough; rather, it's about watering at the right time of day and using the right technique.

The Best Time To Water Container Plants

Timing is everything, especially when it comes to potted plants. And, according to Gardeners' World presenter Monty Don, the best time to water your container-clad beauties is early in the morning, before the sun has had a chance to heat up the soil and foliage.

"Particularly if they're in a container so they do need watering much more often than normal," he explained. "In fact, every day when it's as hot as this and, if you can, the best time to water your container is early morning before the sun warms up."

For most gardeners, that means aiming to water sometime between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m., depending on your climate and local temperatures. Watering during the cooler part of the day gives plants time to absorb moisture before the heat arrives, helping them cope better with the stress of hot afternoons.

If an early start isn't realistic, Monty recommends waiting until the evening rather than watering during the hottest part of the day.

"If you can't get it done early in the morning, don't do it during the middle of the day – wait till the evening. Basically, when it's cool."

Midday watering isn't necessarily harmful (although it can result in scorching, depending on the weather), but it's often less effective. High temperatures and intense sunlight can increase evaporation, meaning less moisture reaches the roots where plants need it most.

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if you're going to put in the effort to figure out the best time to water your container garden, you should also know that how you water can have a huge impact on the health of your plants.

Now, many gardeners make the mistake of giving containers a quick splash every day. While this dampens the soil surface, it doesn't encourage roots to grow deeper into the pot where moisture lasts longer.

"The rule of watering is always the same – soak, don't sprinkle," Monty says, which basically means you should water slowly and thoroughly at the base of the plant until water begins to drain from the holes at the bottom of the container.

"Water directly to the roots of the soil or the compost and go on until the water is running out of the bottom of the container," Monty explains, noting that this deep watering approach ensures the entire root ball is moistened, helping plants become more resilient during periods of heat and drought.

There is no real hard and fast rule when it comes to how much water your container plants will need; check the soil and see how dry it is to figure things out (although remember that smaller containers and hanging baskets may dry out much more quickly).

Once you know the best time to water your container garden, life is easy; just soak them when it's cooler and wait for your pots to gift you a colorful, and productive display right through the hottest days of summer. Win!

Picking out a Halloween pumpkin from a store or farm is such fun, so just imagine how exciting it will be to grow your own! And early June is the exact right moment to sow seed if you want your pumpkins to mature just in time to carve jack o’lanterns for 31 October.

Growing pumpkins for Halloween is straightforward, even if you’re a beginner gardener, and everything you need to know to get great results is right here. You can direct sow seeds straight into the ground where your plants are to grow, too, so there’s no faffing around with hardening off seedlings. And while it’s true that pumpkins are typically big plants, there are compact varieties small enough to grow in any garden, even in a pot.

As long as you prepare the planting hole properly, you’re diligent about watering and feeding, and not dead-set on growing record-breakingly big fruit, then it’s fine for vines to trail over gravel or hard surfaces rather than soil, too – so you don’t need to give up too much garden space.

And just wait till you see those first pumpkins starting to swell – you’ll be as happy as a kid out trick or treating! Ready to grow your own pumpkin for Halloween? Here’s what to do…

1. Choose Your Pumpkin Variety

These are my recommendations for the best pumpkin varieties to grow at home.

Best Pumpkin for Easy Carving

The classic variety to grow to carve jack o’lanterns is – you guessed it! – ‘Jack O Lantern’. This is a reliable grower and you can expect good-sized, well-rounded vibrant orange fruit of around 18-24 pounds. The vine grows 12-18 inches tall and spreads to 72 inches, and takes 110 days to mature. The skin is straightforward to carve and the flesh is super-tasty in a pumpkin pie, so don’t throw away what you scoop out.

Best Pumpkin For a Fun Jack o'Lantern

This ghostly pale variety is ‘Lumina’ and they’re fun to paint as well as carve. Or why not press a few flowers over the summer then glue them onto the pumpkin skin for beautiful table decor? 'Lumina' pumpkins are smaller, weighing around 10lb, and faster to grow, maturing in 80-90 days. This vine also grows 12-18 inches tall and spreads to 72 inches, and has tasty flesh.

Best Pumpkin for a Small Garden or a Pot

‘Cherokee Bush’ has a bushier habit, growing 14-24 inches high and, though vines spread to 48-58 inches, it doesn’t sprawl like some other varieties. That makes it an excellent pumpkin to grow in a pot, though it’s going to need to be a big container such as this resin half-barrel planter from Lowe’s. If you’re growing a few plants, then a cheaper option is to use fabric grow bags such as these from Amazon, or a small raised bed like this, also from Amazon. Whatever you choose to grow it in, capacity needs to be a minimum of 15 gallons, preferably more.

Maturing in 100-110 days, ‘Cherokee Bush’ grows lots of smaller pumpkins around 5-8 pounds, and the yellow flesh is tasty in a pie.

Best Pumpkin for Unusual Fall Decor

‘Sanchez’ has wonderfully lumpy skin so it’s a super witchy, warty addition to Halloween decor. Pumpkins grow to 4-6 inches across but you’ll get plenty as this vine grows to 12-18 inches high and spreads 120-144 inches. It matures in 95-105 days.

With long vines and small fruit, ‘Sanchez’ can also be grown vertically in a raised bed planter with a sturdy trellis such as this from Amazon. You’ll need to tie in the vine to the trellis – cut-to-length reusable Velcro plant ties, available from Amazon, are the easiest option. You may also need to support the fruit, and retired pantyhose is the very best material for this job!

2. Pick a Sheltered Sunny Spot

Pumpkin plants need warmth and sun, so choose a spot that gets at least 6 hours of sunshine a day and is sheltered from cold winds.

Make sure you have enough room for the vines to spread, though it’s fine to coil them around and keep them in place with bamboo canes pushed into the ground. Pumpkin vines do put down additional roots wherever the stems touch soil, to access additional nutrients and water, but as long as you provide a good supply of those, it’s okay to let them stretch over gravel or paving. Just watch that water doesn’t pool beneath or stems and leaves get scorched by the heat from paving, though sliding a plank of wood underneath easily solves such issues.

3. Prepare the Soil

Pumpkins are hungry plants and while they need plenty of moisture, they hate to sit in soggy soil. Ensure your soil is both fertile and well-draining by digging a hole that’s around a foot wide and deep and mixing compost – homemade or shop-bought such as this Life Cycle Organic Compost from Amazon – into the soil.

If you’re growing your pumpkins in a pot or planter, fill with any multi-purpose potting mix such as Back to the Roots All-Purpose Potting Mix, available from Amazon.

4. Sow Seeds

Now we’re in June, the soil temperature is warm enough to sow seeds directly into the ground. Pumpkin seeds are big and easy to handle, so simply push them into the soil, around an inch deep. They do have a tendency to rot, so sowing them on their side will help prevent this.

Sow two or three seeds for each plant you want to grow, keep moist and, once they sprout in a week or so, carefully pull out the weakest so you’re left with the strongest seedling. Do pay attention to planting distances recommended on the seed packet as these are big plants.

Pumpkin seeds need temperatures of at least 60°F to germinate so, if you live in a colder zone or have an exposed garden, staking plastic cloches such as these from Amazon over helps keep conditions cozy. You can make your own by upcycling 2-litre clear plastic bottles, cutting off the bases and pushing your homespun cloches into the soil.

5. Protect From Pests

Slugs and snails love to snack on juicy young pumpkin plants so because you’re sowing directly outdoors, you need to have some protection in place. I find the most effective method is to provide food that these slimy critters like even more, and set out cucumber slices to catch them.

Squash vine borers and cucumber beetles are also a threat, and the best way to guard against these is a floating plant cover such as this from Amazon. You’ll need to remove this once your plant starts flowering to allow bees to pollinate the blooms, so fruit can set.

6. Water Well

Unsurprisingly, these big plants need plenty of water. It’s important to water the soil rather than getting leaves wet, so a handy aid is to sink a plant pot into the ground alongside the spot you sowed your seeds. Direct the hose into this when watering and moisture will be delivered straight to where it’s needed most. This also helps you know just where the plant center is, as that can get confusing once there's a lot of foliage.

Mulching the soil will help to conserve moisture and keeps out weeds that will compete for water. Use homemade compost or a natural mulch such as Back to the Roots Organic Premium Mulch, available from Amazon, and keep it away from the central stem to avoid rotting.

7. Feed Plants in a Container

If roots have restricted access to nutrients in a planter, then they’ll need feeding. The time to start feeding is when you first spot baby pumpkins starting to swell at the base of flowers. Don’t worry if you get a few flowers first that don’t turn into pumpkins. Pumpkin plants grow male and female flowers. It’s the male flowers that appear first on long thin stems, followed by female blooms closer to the vine – and it’s these females that will grow into pumpkins once bees have transferred pollen over from the male flowers.

Feed with a water-soluble liquid plant food that’s high in potassium, such as this pumpkin fertilizer from Amazon, every two weeks. There’s no need to feed pumpkin plants growing in the ground as long as you prepared the soil well, and aren’t trying to grow enormous fruits.

8. Care for the Fruit

Pumpkins sitting directly on damp soil are likely to rot, so place a piece of wood, a tile or a nest of straw beneath them if necessary. These fruit need plenty of sun to ripen so, once pumpkins reach full size, remove any leaves that are shading them.

9. Know When Your Pumpkins are Ready to Harvest

Your pumpkins are ready to harvest when their skin has lost its sheen and hardened, so press a fingernail into the skin to test: if you can scratch the fruit, leave it to ripen a while longer. Tap the fruit with your knuckles, too – a ripe pumpkin will sound hollow.

As long as you keep the stem intact when you harvest your pumpkin, it will keep well, so don't worry about harvesting early. Bring your homegrown pumpkins indoors to a sunny greenhouse or conservatory and let them cure for a couple of weeks, and the skin will harden further so they can be stored for up to six months.

And you know what that means, don't you? You can have homegrown pumpkins for Christmas as well as Halloween!

Lemon tree growth really takes off in June. As summer gets underway, the days are getting longer, the sun is more intense, and temperatures are starting to soar. Paying lemon trees a little extra attention during this period of accelerating growth is important.

The lemon tree care you provide now will lead to healthier foliage, better fruit development, and fewer problems later. It doesn’t take much to give trees a big boost at this point in the season.

Follow these easy June care tips for your lemon tree – and any other citrus you grow – and your branches will be full of juicy fruit in no time.

1. Move Potted Trees to Full Sun

Lemon trees thrive in full sun, especially during the active growing season. Full sun is necessary for healthy, strong growth, flower development, and fruit. If you grow a lemon tree in a pot, you have the flexibility to move it around to find the sun.

If you had your potted lemon tree indoors to stay warm during the dormant season, you should have started transitioning it outside in late spring. The exact timing depends on your local climate and weather, but generally, citrus trees should go outside after the danger of frost has passed and nighttime temperatures are around 50°F (10°C).

By June, your tree should be ready to move to a spot where it can soak up 6 to 8 hours of sunlight per day. Once you’ve transitioned your plant by placing the pot outdoors for a few hours a day, find it a full sun spot for the rest of the summer. A heavy-duty plant caddy, like this one from Amazon, makes moving large pots much easier.

2. Water Deeply & Consistently

As temperatures rise in June, watering citrus trees becomes increasingly important. The soil dries out more quickly and your tree uses more water as it puts out new growth. So in June, it’s time to increase how much water you provide.

For in-ground lemon trees, focus on watering deeply once or twice a week. Deep watering encourages strong root growth and ensures the soil won’t dry out too quickly. Soil in pots dries out much more quickly, so you’ll likely need to water a container tree daily during this time of year. Check the soil in the pot and water as needed. It should stay consistently moist but not soggy.

Signs of underwatering in citrus trees include dry soil, curled leaves, and fruit dropping early. Signs you might be overwatering include yellowing leaves and soil that is wet or soggy rather than lightly moist. If you need to repot or refresh your potted tree’s soil, that’s a great time to mix in some water-storing crystals like these from Miracle-Gro. They help soil in potted plants stay at the proper moisture level.

3. Add Mulch

If you haven’t done so already, it’s time to add a layer of mulch around your lemon tree. A 2 to 4-inch (5-10 cm) layer of mulch helps keep moisture in the soil. Citrus trees grow best with consistent moisture. Mulch also stabilizes soil temperatures during the soaring summer heat. Finally, a good layer of mulch helps keep down weeds.

Replace or refresh any old mulch around your tree or add a layer of new mulch if you have never mulched before. Keep the mulch a few inches away from the trunk of the tree. Moisture trapped against the trunk can lead to rot.

The best mulch to use is one that is organic and will naturally break down and add nutrients back into the soil. This organic mulch from the Home Depot is a great choice.

4. Fertilize for Summer Growth

You probably started feeding your lemon tree back in May, but if not then now is the time to start. Regular feeding helps your tree put out more new, strong growth. It also supports flower and fruit development to ensure you get the best possible harvest.

The simplest way to fertilize a lemon tree is to find a product specifically designed for citrus trees, like this one from Espoma. These fertilizers have nitrogen to promote new growth. Citrus trees also have a particular need for the micronutrients iron and magnesium.

How and when you feed your lemon tree depends on whether you use a liquid or slow-release fertilizer. The latter is best for in-ground trees, while liquid fertilizers work well for potted trees. In either case, follow the product’s instructions. Resist the urge to overfeed. Overfertilizing can damage roots or even reduce the fruit harvest by promoting foliage over flowering.

5. Watch for Pests

Summer is the time for your tree to thrive, but insects also thrive with the increased warmth and light. Inspect your tree regularly in June to catch and manage any common lemon pests early, before they become unmanageable and destructive.

Some typical pests of lemon trees are aphids, scale, mites, and citrus leaf miners. Look for the pests themselves, including on the undersides of leaves, as well as signs of pest damage. This could be sticky residue, curled leaves, sooty mold, or speckling on leaves.

A spray of water can usually dislodge pests and end a light infestation. You can also try neem oil or insecticidal soap, both of which are available from Amazon.

6. Thin Out Fruit Clusters

Depending on where you garden, you might already see fruit clusters on your lemon trees in June. While it’s fun to see all the potential new lemons, too many fruits can actually stress a tree. This is especially true for young trees and small potted trees. Branches holding big clusters of lemons now may break under the weight later as the lemons grow larger.

Thin out a few of the smallest lemons from any emerging clusters. In addition to protecting the branches, this will improve the quality of the remaining fruits. Thinning out citrus trees also provides more airflow, which reduces the risk of rot and other common lemon diseases.

June is one of the most important months of the year for lemon tree care. Regular water, fertilizer application, pest management, and fruit thinning will ensure your tree grows strong and healthy through the hottest part of the year, resulting in a good harvest of juicy, tasty fruits.

Growing beets is akin to conjuring rubies from the soil – both are valuable and unimaginably beautiful. Beets have a leg up over rubies, however, as these delicious roots are nutritious and way more accessible than precious gems.

Beets – also known as beetroot – are beloved for their deeply earthy roots and tender, flavorful greens, making them a versatile addition to everything from fresh salads and pickles to hearty stews and sautés. Native to the Mediterranean, where wild versions once grew along coastal salt marshes, beets have been cultivated for thousands of years for both their leaves and roots.

These popular root vegetables thrive in cool, sunny, and moderate growing conditions. Similar to growing carrots, beet seeds can be sown either in early spring for a summer crop or in late summer for a fall harvest. For anyone starting a vegetable garden, they’ll be blessed with a beautiful harvest of both vibrant roots and delectable greens. This combination of ease and culinary versatility makes beets a great crop for beginner and experienced growers alike.

Quick Beet Facts

What Is a Beet?

A beet is an enlarged root of the Beta vulgaris plant. It is a cool-season crop with many of its home garden varieties being grown for both its roots and edible leaves, making it a “two for one” vegetable. Beets are a member of the amaranth family and are adapted to cooler growing conditions.

Types of Beets

There are several main types of beets, each bred for a specific purpose.

• Garden or table beets are grown for eating and include familiar red, golden, white, and striped types used fresh, roasted, pickled, or juiced.
• Sugar beets are grown on a large scale for sugar production and have pale, high-sugar roots not usually used in home kitchens.
• Fodder or forage beets are bred as livestock feed, producing large, energy-rich roots.
• Leaf beets, commonly known as Swiss chard, are grown for their large, colorful leaves rather than their roots, even though they are the same species as garden beets.

Burpee has seeds in a kaleidoscope of beautifully colored and tasty varieties, from round ruby-red varieties to cylindrical shapes and multi-color mixes.

Planting Beets

Beets are most often grown from seeds, as they don't like being transplanted. A big, beautiful beet crop begins with care and attention to preparing the soil. As with carrots, a uniform soil will let your beets’ growth expand outward without impediment, creating smooth round or cylindrical roots. In the proper soil texture, beet seeds will germinate quickly.

The rest of the planting procedure is straightforward and easily completed in short time. In fact, the quick planting means you can plant a little row of beets every week or two, resulting in a prolonged and fruitful harvest.

When to Plant Beets

Beets are a cool-weather crop, and planting dates depend on one’s USDA zone. In southern US climates, beets can be grown all winter long, but do poorly in summer’s heat. In northern soils, beets shouldn't be planted until the soil temperature warms up to at least 40°F (4°C), usually around midspring. While they don’t fare well in summer, even in northerly locations, a second crop sown in late summer will produce a fall harvest.

Best Soil for Beets

Beets love soil types that are soft, rich, and easy to sink into – think loose and crumbly, something that lets roots grow round and smooth instead of twisted and tough. A sandy loam or well-worked garden bed with plenty of compost is ideal. Rocky or heavy clay soils lead to misshapen roots.

Aim for a slightly acidic to neutral soil pH, around 6.0 to 7.0, and keep the soil evenly moist but never soggy. Use a soil testing kit such as the MySoil Test Kit, available on Amazon, to pinpoint soil pH, allowing you to adjust accordingly. When the soil is right, beets practically do the rest themselves.

Light Requirements

Beets are happiest soaking up the sun, growing best with at least six hours of direct light each day. Full sun means faster growth, sweeter roots, and stronger greens. If full sun is not possible for you, beets will still grow decently in light shade. This is especially true in hot climates where a little afternoon shade can prevent stress. Otherwise, a sunny, open space will result in beautifully colored, richly flavored, and sturdy roots and leaves.

When choosing a planting site, be sure it is away from tall neighboring plants or structures such as a house or garden shed that cast long shadows. In cooler regions, a full sun spot also helps warm the soil more quickly in spring, helping you get your beet crop going sooner.

How to Plant Beets – Step by Step

Now that you’ve determined the right time of year to plant beets depending on your location, and have chosen a sunny spot, it’s time to plant your beet seeds!

1. Prepare the soil. Loosen soil to about 8–10 inches (20–25 cm) deep. Remove rocks and clumps, then mix in compost or well-rotted organic matter. A soil sifter, such as the Round Capacity Compost Sifter from Home Depot, can help remove larger items from the soil as you dig. Rake the soil surface so it is smooth. A level surface helps you sow the seeds evenly and helps them make good contact with the soil.
2. Sow the seeds. Sow beet seeds ½ inch (1.25 cm) deep and about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart in rows spaced 12 inches (30 cm) apart. If you want a continuous supply, plant your beets in several plantings, about three weeks apart.
3. Cover and water. Gently cover seeds with soil, making sure the surface is level. Water lightly but thoroughly. A level surface ensures pools of water don’t remain.
4. Keep soil moist. Water regularly to keep soil evenly moist until seeds germinate, usually in 7–14 days if temperatures are between 55 and 75°F (13–24°C).
5. Thin seedlings. When plants are 2–3 inches (5–7.5 cm) tall, thin seedlings to 3–4 inches (7.5–10 cm) apart so roots have room to grow. Snip the seedlings rather than pulling them up because pulling will disturb the developing root systems of the plants still in the soil. Bonus – use the seedlings you’ve snipped to top your salad!
6. Mulch lightly and remove weeds. Add a thin layer of mulch to hold moisture and reduce weeds.
7. Water consistently. Consistency with soil moisture is key to growing most any root crop. Regular watering helps prevent tough or woody roots.

Beet Care

Beets may be an easy-care crop, but paying attention to the basics results in a far superior crop to one that is left to its own devices.

How Often to Water Beets

Beets’ water requirements depend on their maturity, soil conditions and the climate. In cool spring and fall temperatures, the soil dries slowly, especially in humid areas. Small, young plants won’t require as much water as those close to maturity; however, their relatively shallow roots may need water a bit more frequently until they reach the moisture reserves deeper in the soil.

Generally speaking, a good watering schedule for beets provides an inch (2.5 cm) of water per week. This is a combination of rainwater and supplemental irrigation. If you receive a half inch (1.5 cm) of rain, you only have to provide an additional half inch (1.5 cm) of irrigation water. Use a rain gauge to measure the amounts of rainfall and irrigation water your garden receives. This simple AcuRite gauge from Amazon does the job without spending much.

The watering schedule for beets should be less about assigned days of the week and more concerned with providing consistently moist soil. It never hurts to stick your finger in the ground to feel for moisture. Overwatering beets can be just as detrimental as underwatering this thirsty crop.

Fertilizing Beets

Beets are not heavy feeders, but they benefit from nutrient-rich soil. About one week before planting, apply a general-purpose balanced fertilizer – ideally with an NPK of 10-10-10.

After that initial application, a lower-nitrogen product is best for fertilizing beets. These root vegetables need more phosphorus and potassium than nitrogen to promote root growth. Choose something like 5-10-10 or 4-8-8. Cz Garden Organics' 5-10-10 Tomato & Vegetable Fertilizer is a good pick.

About 2–3 weeks after seedlings emerge, apply fertilizer along the row, about 3–4 inches (7.5–10 cm) away from plants. Use roughly 1 tablespoon per 10 feet (3 m) of row, then water well. A second fertilizer application may be necessary if growth seems slow or the soil is poor. Repeat once more about 4 weeks later using the same amount.

Note that boron is a necessary element for growing beets. Low levels of boron will cause black sunken spots on and in the root. Internal black spot can be prevented with ½ ounce of Borax per 100 square feet (14 g per 9 m²). For additional sources of boron, try this Opulent Boron liquid fertilizer.

Mulching Beets

Mulch around beet plants to retain moisture and suppress weeds. Water stress within the first six weeks of growth will lead to premature flowering and low yields.

Organic mulches such as straw, shredded leaves, untreated grass clippings, or compost work well, helping to keep the soil evenly moist and cool during warm weather.

How to Prune Beets

Beets require very little pruning, which is one reason they’re so easy for home gardeners to grow. In general, avoid cutting healthy leaves during the growing season because the tops are what feed the developing root.

The only routine “pruning” is cleaning up damaged or distressed foliage. If leaves become yellow, damaged, or diseased, snip them off at the base using clean scissors or pruners. This helps keep plants tidy and improves air circulation.

Harvesting Beets

Beets can be harvested at almost any stage, depending on how you plan to use them. Will you use beets and greens fresh in salads? Will you pickle the roots and sauté the greens? Will you juice the entire plant? Smaller roots tend to be sweeter and more tender, while larger beets are better suited to roasting, pickling, or storage.

Most varieties are ready to lift once the exposed shoulders reach around 1–3in (2.5–7.5cm) across.

To harvest beets, loosen the soil if necessary and pull the roots gently by hand, grasping them where the leaves meet the crown. Watering the bed a day before harvest can make lifting easier in dry conditions.

Young beet green leaves can be picked sparingly throughout the season, or the entire top can be removed once the root has been harvested.

Beets Care Calendar

Overwintering Beets

In mild climates, mature beets can be left in the ground over winter and harvested as needed. Protect roots from repeated freezing and thawing with a thick layer of straw, shredded leaves, or another organic mulch. In colder regions, harvest and store roots before the ground freezes solid.

Storing Beets

When harvesting, you should have a plan for what you’ll do with the beets afterward. Beet greens will last only a few days in the refrigerator. Beet roots will remain usable for only a few weeks unless stored in sand or sawdust in a cool place, such as a root cellar. When picking beets, try to eat some of them fresh for the best flavor and highest nutritional content.

Propagating Beets

Beets are typically propagated via seeds. Most gardeners purchase beet seed from a nursery, garden center, or home store, but it's possible to harvest your own seeds. To do this, you must first wait until the beet tops have flowered and then turned brown before attempting to harvest. Then cut 4 inches (10 cm) off the top of the beet plant and store these in a cool, dry area for two to three weeks to allow the seeds to ripen. The seed can then be stripped from the dried foliage by hand or placed in a bag and pounded. The chaff can be winnowed, and the seeds plucked out.

A fun project is to attempt to regrow a beet plant from the top cut off of a grocery store root. The tops will regrow, but you won't get a whole new root. Simply place the beet top in a shallow dish, just covering it with water. After a few days, new leaves will have begun to form, and you can harvest these once they are big enough. Change water frequently to avoid rot.

Beet Problems

Beets are usually a trouble-free crop, but gardeners can run into certain common garden pests and diseases on occasion, especially in warm or wet conditions. While some pests and diseases affect leaves, it is not a huge issue for root production unless the damage becomes so severe as to kill the entire set of leaves.

For sap-sucking pests such as aphids, an insecticidal soap spray, like Bonide's ready-to-use spray from Amazon, can help keep populations under control.

Good spacing, crop rotation, well-drained soil, and keeping leaves dry when watering go a long way toward preventing most beet problems.

Development Problems

• Bolting – Beets may bolt in response to temperature fluctuations or heat stress, causing the plant to flower and reducing root growth.
• Wilting or falling beet plants – Sudden wilting may indicate insect damage, root rot or other diseases affecting the plant's roots and foliage.
• Small or misshapen beets – Usually caused by overcrowding, insufficient sunlight, poor soil conditions, or nutrient imbalances that restrict root development.
• Black heart (boron deficiency) – A nutrient issue that causes dark, cracked centers.

Common Pests

• Leaf miners – Tiny larvae tunnel through leaves, leaving winding white trails. Leaves may look blotchy or papery.
• Armyworms – Can eat tender young transplants to the ground and defoliate older plants.
• Flea beetles – Make tiny “shot holes” in young leaves, slowing early growth.
• Aphids – Cluster on the undersides of leaves, sucking sap and spreading disease.
• Cutworms – Chew through young seedlings at soil level.
• Root-knot nematodes – Yellowing foliage, poor growth, and swollen roots can all be signs of root-knot nematode damage.
• Slugs and snails – Feed on leaves, especially in damp gardens.

Common Diseases

• Cercospora leaf spot – Causes small purple or brown spots on leaves that can merge and kill foliage.
• Downy mildew – Creates gray or fuzzy growth on leaf undersides, often in cool, wet weather.
• Powdery mildew – White, dusty coating on leaves during warm, dry spells.
• Root rot – Happens in soggy or poorly drained soil; roots become soft and discolored.
• Curly top – Causes curled, stunted foliage and distorted roots, and is spread by beet leafhoppers.
• Southern blight – A soil-borne fungal disease that causes yellowing, wilting and root rot, often identified by white thread-like fungal growth around the base of plants.
• Mosaic virus – Spread by aphids, causes yellow mottling and pale blotches on leaves, sometimes leading to stunted growth

Growing Beets in Containers

When growing beets in containers, choose a variety that will not grow to an overly large diameter. You want plenty of room in the pot to grow a healthy crop, so choose one with a minimum depth of 6 inches (15 cm). The Eclipse Round Planter for indoor and outdoor use from The HC Companies via Amazon is ideal.

Fill the pot with potting soil amended with organic matter to improve drainage and fertility. Then, plant the seeds ½ to ¾ of an inch (1.5–2 cm) deep and keep the soil lightly moist. It will take 7–12 days for seedlings to emerge, which should be thinned once they are 4–5 inches (10–13 cm) tall.

Position your potted beets in a full sun position and harvest them when grown in the ground.

Growing Beets Indoors

Yes, beets can be grown indoors, especially smaller or round varieties that don’t need deep soil to form good roots. They need bright light – ideally 12–14 hours a day from a sunny window or grow lights – and containers at least 6–10 inches (20–25 cm) deep so roots can develop properly.

Use loose, well-draining potting mix, keep soil evenly moist, and thin seedlings so each plant has room to grow.

While indoor beets may grow a bit slower than outdoor ones, they can still produce tasty roots and tender greens right in your kitchen or sunroom.

Companion Planting Beets

As with most other crops, companion planting beets helps improve success and yields. This might be through adding nitrogen to the soil, providing shade, and encouraging beneficial insects. Good beet companion plants include:

• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• Bush beans
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Chard
• Cilantro
• Dill
• Garlic
• Kohlrabi
• Lettuce
• Onions
• Shallots
• Tomatoes

However, not every plant makes a good companion plant for beets. Bad plot neighbors include:

• Carrots
• Field mustard
• Wild mustard
• Pole beans

Frequently Asked Questions

Beet Growing Essentials

• Looking for seeds? Burpee has many to choose from, including different shapes and colors and even multi-color mixes.
• Beets grow best in soil that is slightly acidic to neutral pH. Use a soil testing kit such as the MySoil Test Kit, available on Amazon to pinpoint soil pH.
• For smooth and round beets, remove rocks and clumps from the soil with the Round Capacity Compost Sifter from Home Depot.
• If growing beets in containers, provide plenty of depth for growth, the Eclipse Round Planter from The HC Companies on Amazon.

There are a few things you learn quickly when you marry into a family like mine. One is that my mother-in-law is kooky in the best possible way; she is a crystal healer, runs her own holistic and complementary therapy training centre, keeps tarot decks coming out of every drawer like they’ve been multiplying in the dark, and consults psychics whenever she needs help making a major life decision.

When she started talking about installing a copper pyramid in her veg bed, then, I didn’t even blink. I did, however, have a few questions – or, rather, just the one question: why?

As it turns out, the decision was entirely driven by the idea of electroculture. Sitting somewhere between ancient wisdom, modern pseudoscience, and very committed curiosity, the basic theory is that plants can benefit from atmospheric energy, and that certain structures – often copper coils or pyramid shapes inspired by the Great Pyramid of Giza – can act as passive antennas.

Shop Electroculture Garden Tools:

Copper, being highly conductive, is believed by proponents to help “collect” or amplify this energy and channel it into the soil, supposedly improving plant vitality and growth. And, keen to put the theory to the test, my mother-in-law set to work constructing a copper pyramid to pop one of her raised beds.

It is worth pointing out that this is not a small structure. It is worth pointing out, too, that next to it sits another raised bed without a copper pyramid; just the usual mix of soil, seeds, hope, and compost. If you were trying to run a controlled experiment, you could hardly ask for a neater setup.

Now, I want to be very clear that, while I love the concept of lunar gardening, witchy herbs, and (ahem) birth month trees, the majority of my gardening decisions are driven by soil structure, sunlight, water, spacing, and my husband (who, as I have mentioned before, is an RHS-trained professional gardener). I also understand coincidence; plants are variable, seasons are unpredictable, and sometimes one bed just takes off while another lags behind for reasons that have nothing to do with copper geometry.

And yet...

Well, and yet the pyramid bed has consistently outperformed the non-pyramid bed. The vegetables are bigger, the leaves are lusher, germination has been more reliable. Even the general “vibe” of the plants (yes, I realise this is a scientifically meaningless metric, but hey, emotionally accuracy is key!) feels more enthusiastic.

Meanwhile, the neighboring bed is... fine, I guess. It is doing a perfectly respectable job. However, the vegetables it produces lack the va-va-voom of its pyramid-topped rival, and while I could try to come up with a reason for this (maybe it gets slightly less light? Maybe the soil is ever so slightly different? Maybe it really is just “the energy”?

Personally, I have been quietly working on another theory, which is absolutely not focused on whether electroculture “works” in any provable sense, but how it changes the way you pay attention to a garden.

I suspect a shiny copper pyramid is likely to make you a) tend to your plants a little more lovingly, and b) notice everything more closely – the way plants respond to structure, to placement, to small shifts in environment. It turns an ordinary raised bed into something you observe almost like a living experiment.

Gardening, at its core, already asks a kind of faith from us. We put tiny seeds into soil and trust that something will happen. In that sense, my mother-in-law’s copper pyramid doesn’t feel entirely out of place. It is just a more dramatic expression of the same impulse: to believe that unseen forces might be at work in the soil.

And whether those forces are electrical, symbolic, psychological, or simply the result of good compost and a favourable microclimate? All magic, in my opinion. A thriving garden is always a gift, no matter who sends it our way.

Summer is almost here, which means that your tomato plants are probably due for their first pruning. As May turns into June and temperatures climb, newly transplanted tomatoes start to make big leaps in terms of growth. They relish the longer days and warmer nights of late spring and early summer.

But as tomatoes grow, they can start to get a little bit out of control. They grow quickly and put out lots of suckers that direct energy away from fruit production. When this begins, it’s time to start pruning tomato plants. Making some simple cuts now will keep your tomatoes tidy – which helps prevent disease – and it will also increase your yields.

Before you pick up the pruners, there are a few basics you need to learn to ensure you make the right cuts. Not all tomatoes require pruning. Plus, cutting in the wrong spot can actually ruin your chances of a big harvest. Here’s how to start pruning tomatoes and why right now is the most important time to make the cut.

Do All Tomatoes Require Pruning?

Not all tomatoes are created equal. There are two main types of tomatoes: determinate and indeterminate. Determinate tomatoes are bush-type tomatoes, which means they stop growing at a certain height. They are much shorter and more compact than indeterminate varieties and they don’t require pruning.

Indeterminate tomatoes can reach up to 6 feet (2 m) or higher, if you let them keep growing. They put out lots of suckers that divert energy and nutrients away from fruit production. These vining types of tomatoes produce best when you prune them. This directs the plant’s resources towards growing lots of big, juicy tomatoes. Pruning also makes fruit ripen faster, especially at the end of the season.

Benefits of Pruning Tomatoes

A bigger harvest isn’t the only benefit of pruning indeterminate tomatoes. Making smart cuts can also keep plants healthier.

Tomatoes can quickly produce lots of branches full of leaves that become crowded. Pruning away suckers and unnecessary branches improves airflow, which helps prevent common tomato diseases.

Keeping plants tidy by pruning them regularly also makes it easier to spot common tomato pests. There are less leaves where hungry tomato hornworms and annoying aphids can hide.

Best Time to Start Pruning Tomatoes

The best time to start pruning tomatoes is once plants are at least 12 inches (30 cm) tall. Depending on where you live and when you started your tomatoes, the exact date will vary. But many gardeners’ tomatoes pass this threshold in early June. So now is the perfect time to pick up your pruners – our team of gardening experts swear by these Felco pruners – or use your fingers to start pinching off suckers.

New sprouts show up fast, so you need to continue pruning away tomato suckers every week or two throughout the rest of the growing season. Luckily, pruning opens up the structure of your tomato plants and makes it easier to see suckers as they emerge. Snap or cut off suckers before they get too big. It’s best to remove them when they’re under 2 inches (5 cm) long. This handy thumb knife from Amazon makes plucking suckers easy – and kind of fun!

Prune tomato plants in the morning, but don’t make any cuts if plants are wet. This can invite disease. If your plants show any signs of disease, be sure to sterilize your pruners between each plant or else you risk spreading the problem to other plants.

Even if your tomato plants aren’t 12 inches (30 cm) tall yet, there may still be some pruning you need to do. Tomatoes that are producing flowers, but are under the 12-inch (30 cm) threshold require pruning as well.

Pluck off any tomato flowers that appear on plants under 1 foot (30 cm) tall. If you leave them, they may develop into normal fruits. But at this point in the growth cycle, letting a small plant bloom and produce a fruit is only going to sap your tomato of energy it will need later. Wait until your tomatoes hit the 1-foot (30 cm) mark before allowing flowers to progress into fruit.

Don’t Make This Pruning Mistake

Pruning tomatoes is quick, simple, and – honestly – kind of fun to do. It’s a great time to check on your plants’ health, look for any unwanted bugs, and train your tomatoes to grow big and strong. But it’s also easy to get carried away when pruning and end up making a cut you shouldn’t have. And there’s one tomato pruning mistake in particular that can ruin your harvest for the rest of the summer.

Do not cut off the top of the main stem. Only prune off the suckers that emerge in the joints between the side branches and the main stem. If you accidentally top your tomato plant at this point in the season, you will severely cut down on your yield of fruit for the rest of the summer. All of the other branches come off of this stem and that’s where your tomato fruits emerge and develop.

However, if you do accidentally top your tomato, you can allow a couple of suckers to develop and turn those into new main stems. They probably won’t be as strong as the original main stem, but they will still produce plenty of fruit.

Tomato Pruning Essentials

Garden paths are fundamentally utilitarian, designed to get us from A to B without trampling our favorite borders. Yet, all too often, they can be a source of frustration, seeming to become magnets for stubborn weeds. We can fight a never-ending battle with paving cracks, constantly scraping out dirt, or filling gaps with sterile gravel and sand. But your walkways hold untapped design potential, waiting to be transformed from cold, stone channels into dynamic, living expressions of color and fragrance.

If you feel like swapping out heavy weeding for a sensory-rich herb path, then you’ll love these resilient plants. By turning ordinary paths into living carpets of sturdy, creeping herbs, you create a garden path that is both lovely and transformative. These low-growing groundcovers are capable of wafting sweet vanilla, crisp mint, or warm apple scent into the air every time you take a step. You can use them to soften hard edges, inject character, and suppress opportunistic weeds with ease.

The true wonder of an herbal path is its interactive nature. Unlike delicate ornamental flowers that must be admired from a distance, these rugged herbs are built for impact – indeed, the more you step on them, the better they smell. So, instead of fighting weeds or trying to grow grass in the cracks, why not plant these pathway herbs to release waves of scent with every step? Meet the walkable herbs that help you banish weeds and turn a simple stroll into a multi-sensory experience.

Set-and-Forget Plants for a Herb Path

With garden paths, there’s always the question of what to do with the gaps between stones or pavers. You can constantly spray or pull weeds, try to grow grass where it doesn’t really want to be, or just fill the spaces with gravel or sand. But fragrant herbs that act like sturdy groundcovers give you an easy win, and they aren’t tricky to introduce or maintain.

Transforming a stone walkway into a sensory-rich herbal path begins with assessing your structure. Whether you are dealing with a pre-existing flagstone walkway or concrete pavers, or constructing a new stepping-stone trail over gravel and sand, these DIY garden path herbs thrive in microclimates where traditional turf grass fails. The stone absorbs daytime solar heat, radiating it back down into the root zones, while the narrow gaps minimize moisture evaporation.

To set these living groundcovers up in USDA hardiness zones 4-9, just make sure those gaps and cracks are good for planting. Before inserting plugs, remove existing weeds, roots, and debris from the joints to a depth of 3-4 inches (8-10cm). Where you can, add a light gritty soil blend, such as a mix of organic compost and sharp sand, fine gravel or perlite, such as Espoma Organic Perlite from Amazon, to ensure ideal drainage within tight paving gaps and cracks ahead of planting and sowing.

Don’t be afraid to play with layouts and herbal combinations. You can lean into a manicured, modern minimalist style by planting a single uniform species around geometric pavers, or embrace an organic cottagecore vibe by intermingling several contrasting textures and tones. Small cell plugs are easier to wedge snugly into tight paving joints. Water deeply until plant roots anchor firmly beneath the heavy pavers and they are ready to withstand your very regular visits.

1. Woolly Thyme

Many types of thyme grow low and are sturdy, but woolly thyme (Thymus pseudolanuginosus) is ideal for a sturdy pathway herb. It gets its name from the dense silvery growth that creates the effect of a woolly carpet or rug. Its scent is earthy and herbal, but not as strong as culinary thyme, and the small pink flowers will attract pollinators. It grows a couple of inches (5cm) high and tolerates dry, rocky soil, drought and (crucially) foot traffic. It just needs good drainage and full sun.

Plant woolly thyme in south- or west-facing pathways that receive a minimum of 6-8 hours of direct, unfiltered sunlight daily. For an exquisite visual companion planting strategy, nestle woolly thyme alongside contrasting stonecrops (sedum), or aubrietia along the lower-traffic perimeters of your walkway, to create a stunning multi-textured mosaic. Buy Perennial Farm Marketplace’s Woolly Thyme Plants from Amazon to quickly fill in paving seams and bring a cloud of soft summer blooms pollinators love.

2. Corsican Mint

Like woolly thyme, Corsican mint (Mentha requienii) grows densely and very low to the ground, often only an inch (2.5cm) tall. This mint has a strong and sweet fragrance that intensifies in the sun and whenever the leaves are crushed underfoot. However, it is not as invasive as other types of mint. It will spread readily between pathway pavers, but it won’t take over your garden or lawn. It just needs soil that retains some moisture and a little bit of shade, especially on hot afternoons.

Corsican mint thrives in damp, partially shaded, morning-sun paths. However, don't plant in very heavy areas of foot traffic. Save this fragrant herb for secondary garden paths where light steps will gently release its signature crème-de-menthe aroma. It pairs beautifully with minor bulbs like dwarf iris or miniature hostas, planted just off pathway edges, creating a soft, cohesive transition. You can buy Corsican Mint Seeds from Eden Brothers for quick developing rugs of crisp, fresh green scent.

3. Sweet Woodruff

For shady pathways, try sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum). As the name suggests, this low-growing herb has a delightful aroma reminiscent of vanilla as well as hay (which explains its other name of sweet scented straw). Sweet woodruff also offers pretty leaves and delicate white flowers in spring. Hardy in zones 4-8, it’s a great plant for partial or full shade. It grows slightly taller than thyme or mint, maturing at 6-10 inches (15-25cm) high when left undisturbed, but its pliable stems readily compress underfoot without snapping or sustaining permanent damage.

Plant sweet woodruff in paths flanked by mature trees or along the north-facing sides of buildings where shade is persistent. To maximize its beauty, plant it in wide, spacious flagstone joints alongside complementary shade lovers like jewel-toned caladiums or delicate Japanese painted ferns for a luminous, light-reflecting woodland walkway. You can buy Sweet Woodruff Plants from Amazon.

4. Roman Chamomile

Chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) is a delicately apple-scented herb often used for a calming tea. While some types grow tall, Roman chamomile grows lower and is often used as a groundcover and even a turf substitute, hence its other name of lawn chamomile. It thrives in zones 4-9 and grows best in sun-drenched pathways. The soil should drain well, and occasional pruning will keep plants full and dense. Just don't overfertilize with high-nitrogen feeds, as this encourages weak, floppy growth.

This herb works brilliantly alongside low-growing dwarf oregano (next on our list), creating a tough, drought-defying pathway matrix. You can buy Roman Chamomile Seeds from Eden Brothers for pretty daisy swathes. Alternatively, to maintain a neat profile, try non-flowering 'Treneague' which stays prostrate. This is a lovely pathway plant with a sweet apple aroma, keeping paving joints tightly knit and weed-free.

5. Dwarf Oregano

Dwarf oregano (Origanum vulgare 'Compactum') is a low-growing aromatic herb that is drought-tolerant and hardy in zones 5-9. You just need to grow it in full sun and soil that drains well. This oregano variety is one of the toughest, most tolerant herbal groundcovers available. Its woody, resilient root system binds tightly to the gravelly sub-base beneath heavy paving stones, serving as an exceptional structural stabilizer that actively blocks invasive weeds from gaining a foothold.

Allow the soil around your dwarf oregano to dry out between watering sessions. It prefers mimicking the arid slopes of its native Mediterranean habitat, so don't plant it in sunken, low-lying areas of the garden where stormwater pools and stands. Plant alongside woolly thyme or purple rock cress for a durable walkway with multi-season interest. You can buy Dwarf Greek Oregano 'Compactum' Plants from Walmart.

Make the Most of Your Herbal Path

These pathway heroes are very easy to maintain, and in many respects it is possible to set and forget your herbs. However, to keep them going year after year, sensible watering is key, especially in dry spells. Give them infrequent but deep soaking sessions late in the evening. This encourages roots to push down beneath the shield of the pavers, rather than staying shallow and vulnerable near hot stone surfaces.

Regular trimming also preserves density and resilience. Run a lightweight lawnmower over established patches of chamomile or thyme once a year. Do this in late summer to stimulate fresh, tight growth. And keep an eye on foot traffic during that first year of planting. Consider placing your toughest characters, like dwarf oregano and woolly thyme, directly in the primary centerline cracks of a path, while reserving softer, moisture-loving choices, like Corsican mint, for the outer margins.

Shop Herb Path Superheroes

Your fragrant walkway is only a few seeds or nursery plants away. These charming low-profile groundcovers fit neatly into paving gaps and cracks, bringing instant texture, vibrant color contrasts, and rich aromatic appeal. Get ready to watch your garden walkways transform into weed-suppressing wonder trails that release incredible scent with every step.

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Indeterminate types of tomatoes can grow incredibly tall and flop over under their own weight. The traditional conical metal tomato cages are often too weak and too short to support the full weight of a productive tomato plant, especially, if it’s a larger variety like a beefsteak tomato.

Staking tomato plants with a support rod is another option that also leaves a lot to be desired. They are easier to store than the spiky metal cages, but require gardeners to tie the plants onto the stakes which can pinch off the stem of the plant leading to vine death.

Luckily, there are some really great modular tomato support systems on the market these days so you don’t have to compromise!

1. Snap-Together System

This snap-together system, available from Amazon, is a personal favorite of Gardening Know How Senior Editor Liz Baessler. Liz was tired of fussing with metal tomato cages that get tangled, rusted, and don’t quite fit in the shed, so she decided to give this adjustable trellis a try.

Sturdy stakes get pushed into the ground around your plant and you build the trellis with snap-in pieces as the plant grows. You can make the cage triangular or square and as tall as you want! It’s also really nice to not have to worry about trying to weave parts of the plant back within the cage. I can’t tell you how many times I have accidentally bent and snapped a healthy tomato-bearing branch trying to coax it inside the cage so it can get proper support. With this system, you can add a support bar wherever you need it. No more broken branches.

Possibly the best part of this tomato support makes itself known at the end of the season. All these pieces pop apart and you can store them in a fraction of the space that a traditional tomato cage takes up. Liz stores hers in a reusable grocery bag. Nothing better than a clean shed at the end of a busy growing season!

2. Flexible Growing

I am justifiably obsessed with the clever FlexGrow tomato cage system from Vego Garden. These strong, adjustable tomato cages can support up to 33 lbs of tomatoes and stack on top of each other to grow with your plants. Not only is the height adjustable, you can also form the pieces into an A-frame, a trellis, or a fence. Mind blown. This means you can grow perfect tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, or flowering vines with the same 4-pack of cages.

Vego Garden also designed these cages so they open wide and can be installed around a mature tomato plant without damaging it. I needed this a few years ago when I left town without caging my tomatoes and came back to plants that had doubled in size and couldn’t be shoved into the cages I had. I put on my problem-solving cap and built a strange string trellis system with leftover wood from refinishing my deck. It barely worked and my tomatoes were a messy jungle the whole season.

The modular panels are made from powder-coated galvanized steel that will resist rust and stay sturdy for years to come. This clever system grows and changes with you and your garden through the seasons and folds completely flat for easy storage.

3. Stacking Ladders

The stacking tomato ladder from Gardener’s Supply Company is another fabulous, modular tomato support system. Made of powder-coated steel, these adjustable supports can stack up to 6.5 feet tall and hold over 100 pounds of plant and produce! They are open on one side so they can be slipped around a mature tomato plant and their patented “plant cradle” design gently supports your tomato plants. No pinched stems here!

I think the red tomato plant ladders are absolutely adorable and they will look great for years to come. These ladders come in a set of 6 and you can use one for dwarf or bush tomato varieties or stack up to 3 for those big indeterminate plants. Last summer I had one indeterminate plant that grew up and over my traditional, conical tomato cage and continued to vine through the rest of the vegetable garden. It was a mess and the plant was so heavy that it eventually crushed its cage. All the fruit ended up on the ground and was eaten by animals and pests. This might just be the perfect solution for those jumbo indeterminates!

These tomato ladders have almost 900 5-star reviews, so clearly Gardener’s Supply Co. is doing something right! The ladders nest inside each other for clutter-free storage over the winter.

So go ahead and recycle those flimsy, rusty tomato cages that clog up your shed and try out a modular tomato support system. The flexibility, ease, and effectiveness of these modular systems will make your tomato garden happier year after year.

Starting a vegetable garden is one of the most fulfilling things you can do. Nurturing homegrown crops is even more enjoyable when plants don't just die off at the end of the season, but return bigger and stronger the following year.

Most of us usually only grow annual veggies, such as tomatoes and potatoes, which die at the end of the season and must be replanted the succeeding year. However, perennial vegetables return year after year, often yielding a bigger crop each time. Perennial crops are the ultimate easy-to-grow vegetables because you only have to plant them one time and once they are established, they practically take care of themselves.

Many of these cut-and-come-again crops are also unusual vegetables that you will not find at the grocery store. That means you can expand both your palate and your gardening skills at the same time. Let's take a look at some of tastiest perennial vegetables you can grow in your garden.

What Are Perennial Vegetables?

Like all perennial plants, perennial veggies are those that live for more than two years. The word "perennial" distinguishes them from the short-lived annuals and biennials. There are fewer true perennial vegetables than annuals, but there are still plenty to choose from.

Perennial crops extend the growing season by providing food both earlier and later in the year. Since they return each season, they give you more bang for your buck than annuals. They also often require less care than annuals.

Planting perennial vegetables in the garden is a smart way to expand your growing potential without having to invest in new crops every year. If you only have a small space to work with, then growing perennial vegetables in pots is also a possibility.

Best Perennial Vegetables to Try

There are a few readily known perennial vegetable plants, but there are a number of fascinating less recognized perennials that make a great addition to the garden landscape, too.

Each perennial has a unique habit and planting requirement. But as a general rule, once the plant is established, it is fairly maintenance-free. Below is a roundup of the best perennial vegetables to grow in your garden.

1. Rhubarb

Rhubarb is notable for its colorful red stalks topped with huge leaves that thrive in cool spring weather. Plant rhubarb in full sun and side dress with well-rotted manure to fertilize in the summer and fall.

Plant the crown in the early spring, with the central bud 2 inches (5cm) below the soil and crowns 6 feet (2 m) apart. Don't harvest the first year of growth. Thereafter, the plant will thrive for six to eight years, at which point the plant should be divided in the spring or fall.

You can buy bareroot rhubarb plants from Tractor Supply.

2. Asparagus

Like rhubarb, asparagus shouldn't be harvested in its first year of growth. It is another perennial that thrives in the cooler spring temps. Mature plants may yield for 10 to 15 years.

Amend the soil prior to planting with a 2-inch (5 cm) thick layer of compost in a trench that is 6 inches (15 cm) deep. Plant crowns in the spring, 6 to 8 inches (15-20.5 cm) deep and 14 inches (35.5 cm) apart. Cover the crowns loosely with 3 inches (7.5 cm) of compost-rich soil. Finish filling the trench in the fall.

Start a whole asparagus patch with 25 bare root plants from Burpee.

3. Artichokes

Another popular perennial vegetable is the globe artichoke. Not only are they delicious but the plant is quite spectacular. Artichokes are a member of the thistle family, which is obvious if you ever leave the edible flower bud on the plant; they open up into fuzzy vibrant purple flowers much like a thistle.

Plant artichokes in full sun in moist, well-draining soil that is amended with 2 inches (5 cm) of compost. This perennial can be grown either from root divisions or seed. Plant 24 to 36 inches (61-91.5 cm) apart in rows that are spaced 36 inches (91.5 cm) apart.

Amend the soil around the plants in the spring with 1 to 2 inches (2.5-5 cm) of compost. Cut the artichoke back in the fall and cover it with a 6-inch (15 cm) layer of straw.

Shop artichoke seeds from Amazon to start growing these perennials for cheap.

4. Sunchokes

Sunchokes, or Jerusalem artichokes, are not the same as the above. Grown for its small, sweet tubers, the plant is actually related to the sunflower, and like the sunflower, is notable for its height of 6 to 12 feet (2-4 m). They will spread rampantly and should be contained and thinned often.

Hill the plants like potatoes to increase production and harvest after the first frost. Plant the tubers directly in the ground in the spring.

You can find sunchoke tubers for sale online from Walmart.

5. Welsh Onions

Welsh onions are more commonly grown as an annual, but they can be grown as a perennial too. They produce mild onion-flavored greens that can be harvested throughout the year.

Plants are very easy to grow, requiring just occasional watering and a full sun location – though they will tolerate part shade. Start Welsh onions from seed, and they will grow into a clump that can be divided in the spring.

You can find this unique perennial vegetable as seeds on Etsy.

6. French Sorrel

French sorrel is a lemony, acidic green that is easy to grow from seed and can be eaten either fresh or cooked. French sorrel, which is also known as Good King Henry, is a European native that can be planted in either sun or partial shade.

Young shoots can be cut in the spring and cooked like asparagus while the leaves can be harvested and cooked like greens through the late summer. The plant is cold hardy and low maintenance.

You can find Good King Henry seeds online from Amazon.

7. Walking Stick Cabbage

“Walking stick” cabbage or kale – also known as the Jersey cabbage – is one of the most unusual vegetables you can grow.

This plant can get very large – shooting stalks up 10 feet (3 m) in one season – and looks like a thin palm tree. Its leaves can be harvested from early to mid-fall and will keep you going all season. They should be cooked prior to eating.

Walking stick cabbage is a short-lived perennial in USDA zones 7 or above, lasting for two or three years. In cooler regions, it is grown as an annual. Plants prefer well-fertilized soil and need watering weekly.

Get walking stick kale starts that are ready for planting from Etsy.

8. Bamboo Shoots

Bamboo shoots are edible in most varieties and provide a nice crunch in stir-fries. Running bamboo is an invasive plant, but can be confined to a large metal planter and be kept to a manageable size by regularly harvesting it for its crunchy shoots. Alternatively, opt for clumping bamboo, which has a short root structure and is slow to spread.

Bamboo shoots need to be peeled before use in cooking, as the culm has a thick exterior that is difficult to chew.

You can start edible bamboo shoots from seed, like these ones from Etsy.

9. Nettles

Nettles are actually common weeds (like dandelions) that are high in vitamins A and C, iron, calcium, magnesium, and more. The young shoots are mild in flavor and can be used cooked in any recipe calling for greens.

They are surprisingly delicious in soups and make a beneficial tea. However, nettles are also good plants to deter deer, so can be included in the garden for a dual purpose. Wear gloves to harvest them to avoid getting stung. The sting disappears when the leaves are cooked.

Start nettles from seeds you can get on Amazon.

10. Skirret

A cousin of the carrot, skirret is a low-maintenance crop grown for its roots, which have a lovely, sweet flavor. It is cold-hardy, pest-resistant, and thrives in moist, shaded areas. Its pretty flowers attract pollinators.

Skirret can be grown from seed, or divided from existing clumps. Once the roots are harvested, they can be eaten like a carrot, and are commonly boiled, stewed, or roasted to bring out their sweetness.

Skirret is a hard-to-find vegetable, but you can get this plant on Etsy from New Bear Nursery.

11. Ramps

Ramps are delicious members of the onion family that taste like a combination of onion and garlic. Often found growing wild on the forest floor, they are easy to grow, and the bulbs can be divided every year in the spring to be eaten or replanted.

Ramps naturally grow in shaded areas with rich, moist, well-draining soil. They can be grown from seed or via transplants. Add organic matter into the hole before planting and keep the plants moist.

You can get this favorite of foodies as bare root bulbs from Etsy.

12. Water Celery

Water celery (Oenanthe javanica) is an edible ground cover that can be grown in the sun or shade. It does like moisture and will form dense colonies. Water celery is both frost and heat-tolerant and easy to grow from transplants or seed.

All parts of the plant can be eaten. The raw leaves taste somewhat like celery and parsley combined.

You can find water celery plants at the Home Depot.

13. Ostrich Fern Fiddleheads

Ostrich fern fiddleheads are harvested for the tender, young shoots in the early spring. The plant thrives in shaded areas with moist soil and may spread.

The delicious fiddleheads should be harvested when they are tightly coiled and just a few inches (7.5 cm) tall then cooked for at least ten minutes to bring out their unique, crisp, and nutty flavor.

Get ostrich fern plants for just a few dollars each from Native Wildflowers Nursery.

Companion planting when growing vegetables isn’t just based on folklore passed down through generations: recent studies show some classic combinations work in ways we never imagined possible. Take tomatoes and basil. They’re not only best friends in the kitchen, but incredible allies in the veggie patch, and studies now explain the science behind why growing basil alongside your tomatoes really does increase the yield by as much as 20%.

Intercropping and companion plant research is being led by the agricultural industry as a response to the increasingly problematic practice of growing single crops as monocultures, where abundant harvests rely on the use of pesticides and fertilizers. About 200 million metric tonnes of tomatoes are commercially produced around the world every year, so you can understand why this crop has attracted plenty of attention from the scientific world. One of the most significant findings is that superhero basil is one of the best companion plants for tomatoes – and we gardeners growing crops at home can enjoy the benefits, too.

So, once you've decided the best tomatoes for you to grow this summer, it’s now a given that you should plant basil alongside. Here’s why.

1. Basil Makes Tomato Plants Respond Faster to Stress

Recent studies show that basil releases volatile compounds that prime a tomato plant’s defense mechanisms. So, if a tomato plant is attacked and damaged by pests or disease, one that's growing alongside basil will react more quickly and robustly than one that isn't. Tomato plants are vulnerable to all sorts of pests and diseases, so strengthening the stress response is an across-the-board benefit, because healthy plants grow more fruit.

If you're wondering how to increase tomato yield, you should sow basil as a companion plant for this reason alone.

2. Basil Helps Tomato Plants Grow Stronger Roots

The preliminary findings of a 2024 study showed that planting basil significantly increased the symbiosis of mycorrhizal fungi in tomato plant roots. Mycorrhizal fungi are beneficial microorganisms that form a symbiotic relationship with roots and improve their ability to absorb water and nutrients.

This doesn’t just make for stronger, healthier plants, but ones that can tolerate drought and extreme environmental conditions better. In the face of this year's predicted super El Niño event, it makes more sense than ever to grow resilient plants.

3. Basil Blooms Attract Pollinators

A tomato flower needs to be pollinated before a fruit can form. Pollination can be done naturally by bees or the wind, or by us gardeners giving the plants a gentle shake; some folk hold an electric toothbrush to a flower stem for a few seconds to mimic the buzzing of bees and trigger pollen release!

Plant some basil and let it bloom, however, and it will attract plenty of bees to ensure thorough pollination. It's a common issue with homegrown tomatoes that only the lower half of a truss fruits while the later flowers don’t set, and this will solve that problem. One study found that the average number of fruits per cluster on tomatoes grown by themselves was 5.88, compared to 7.2 fruits per cluster on plants grown with basil.

We normally pinch off the flowerbuds to prevent basil leaves becoming bitter and tough, but leaving some to bloom will also give you edible flowers and seed to save for next year’s sowings.

4. Basil Helps Control Tomato Pests

Leaving basil to flower will also attract ladybugs, which will help to control aphids. Basil’s strong fragrance will also help general pest control, masking the scent of the tomato plants so fewer aphids arrive in the first place. The powerful smell of basil’s aromatic oils also confuses whiteflies and tomato hornworms.

And the less energy your tomato plant has to put into dealing with these stressors, the more energy it has to grow fruit.

5. Tomatoes Grown With Basil Taste Better

This supposition has long been bandied about in the gardening world, but a study by the University of Florida concluded that tomatoes grown with lemon basil were indeed tastier than ones grown without. We know that aroma contributes significantly to flavor perception, but whether the tomatoes actually tasted better or the research volunteers simply perceived them as more flavorful as a result of the basil’s scent is a moot point. Delicious tomatoes are delicious tomatoes!

How to Grow Basil With Tomatoes

Because basil plants have shallow roots, they won’t negatively impact the growing conditions of your tomatoes. Both need similar conditions of consistent moisture, well-drained soil and 6–8 hours of sunlight a day, so they’ll thrive together. Space basil 10–20 inches from the tomato plant for optimum protection without congestion.

Leave a few basil plants to flower, but keep picking leaves and pinching off flowerbuds and stem tips from the rest to encourage strong, bushy, fresh and aromatic growth. Harvest no more than a third of a plant’s leaves at a time.

Most types of basil are short-lived perennials but won’t survive temperatures below freezing, so are best treated as annuals in all zones. Collect seed in late summer to re-sow the following year once soil temperatures have reached 70°F.

The Best Basil Varieties to Grow With Tomatoes

The latest estimates suggest there are as many as 150 types of basil but as this species cross-breeds so easily, it’s impossible to know for sure! These are the types considered most effective as companion plants for tomatoes. It’s likely that different varieties may each work more efficiently in the many ways basil supports a heavy yield so, until we know more, it’s probably best to plant a few different varieties with your tomatoes.

Sweet Basil

Ocimum basilicum is the basil most often used as a companion plant for tomatoes. Also often referred to as common basil, it’s grown as an annual in zones 3–10, inside and out. It’s fast-growing and has a sweet and slightly peppery flavor. Seeds are available from Eden Brothers, and seeds and plants are stocked by Burpee.

Genovese Basil

A variety of sweet basil Ocimum basilicum, Genovese has a similar sweet anise flavor but larger leaves, and is considered the go-to for making pesto. It’s also fast-growing, raised as an annual in zones 3–10, inside and out. Seeds are available from Eden Brothers, Burpee and Botanical Interests.

Italian Large Leaf Basil

Also a sweet Ocimum basilicum variety and similar to Genovese, this has even bigger leaves, up to four inches long. Fast-growing, it's easily raised as an annual in zones 3–10, inside and out. Seeds are available from Burpee and Eden Brothers.

Purple Basil

The aroma of purple basil is more intense than regular sweet basil, so this is particularly effective at repelling pests. Its flavor is equally strong and fast-growing Ocimum basilicum var. purpurascens can be grown as an annual in zones 3–10, inside and out. Those purple leaves are pretty, too. Seeds are available from Eden Brothers.

Greek Basil

With tiny-leaved plants growing into a tidy 8-inch-high mound, Greek basil is handy for container-grown tomatoes. Ocimum minimum is the variety used in the study that found basil strengthens a tomato plant’s stress-response, too. Despite its compact size, this variety has a strong clove-anise aroma for pest-repelling purposes, and a robust flavor. This is a fast-grower raised as an annual in zones 3–10, inside and out, and seeds are available from Burpee.

Lemon Basil

While lemon basil doesn’t have the eugenol content of sweet basil that works so effectively as a pest repellent, this is the basil used in the tasty tomatoes study. As its common name suggests, Ocimum x africanum has an intense citrus aroma and taste, with just a hint of anise. Grown as an annual in zones 3–10, inside and out, seeds of this fast-growing basil are available from Botanical Interests.

And the best thing about growing basil alongside your tomatoes? You’ll be able to harvest plenty of tasty leaves to add to your bumper crop of tomatoes, for all sorts of delicious dishes.

May is the gateway to summer. Warmer nights and longer days mean lemon tree care needs to shift from your early spring regimen towards a summer-focused one.

Lemon trees are hardy to USDA Zones 9-11, but they can be grown indoors in the winter and transitioned outside even into Zone 3. Container-grown Meyer lemon trees (which are currently on sale at Fast Growing Trees) are a wonderful addition to any garden and can bear fruit in 1 to 2 years.

Meyer lemon trees produce flavorful lemons that are perfect for lemonade, desserts, and cooking. If you have a lemon tree, keep reading to learn more about adjusting your care routine now that we are in the merry month of May.

1. Transition Lemon Trees Outside

If you don’t live in USDA Zones 9-11, you have probably been growing your lemon tree in a container indoors through the winter. May’s consistently warming temperatures mean lemon trees can begin to transition outdoors. Start acclimating your tree to the outdoors by moving it outside in the shade on days that are above 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 C). Make sure the last frost has passed.

Start slow and gradually increase the time the tree is outside so it can build a tolerance to sun, wind and the great outdoors. Make tree moving easy by planting into a self-watering rolling citrus tree planter from Vego Garden or by placing the pot on a plant dolly like this one from Amazon.

Expose the tree to one hour of direct sun before moving it back into the shade and then indoors at night. After about two weeks of slowly increasing the time in the sun, it should be able to handle 6 hours of direct sunlight which is what it needs to produce fruit. Once temperatures are consistently above 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15.5 C) at night, your lemon tree can stay outside for the summer.

2. Maintain Proper Watering

One of the biggest problems for container grown lemon trees is inconsistent watering. Containers dry out faster than inground gardens, and citrus trees can become stressed and drop leaves and fruit if you aren’t careful to maintain proper moisture levels. Moving trees outdoors into warmer, breezy weather can further dry out the soil.

Water your lemon tree when the top 2 inches of soil are dry. You can check this by just sticking your finger down into the soil or you could use a simple but effective soil moisture meter, available from Amazon.

If you are planning on going out of town this summer, you might want to invest in a smart irrigation system or plant your lemon tree into something like the Vego Garden self-watering rolling citrus planter. This will help keep your lemon tree healthy even when you’re not home.

3. Prune Suckers

May is also a good time to prune any suckers or “water sprouts” that are growing from your lemon tree. Suckers are green sprouts that lack bark and grow from the trunk or larger limbs of the tree.

Suckers take precious energy away from your tree that is better spent on producing juicy lemons. These sprouts are thorny, unproductive and should be pruned away regularly.

Your lemon tree is no longer in a dormant state by May, so you will see these suckers begin to grow and they’ll continue to appear throughout the growing season. Snip them away with a pair of cleaned pruners so you don’t spread pests or diseases to your lemon tree. No fancy equipment needed, just your regular pruners will do fine.

4. Fertilize Lemon Trees

In May, your lemon tree will see increased growth and begin to work on developing flowers that will turn into lemons. This increased activity means the lemon tree will need more nutrients to support its health and fruit production.

Lemon tree fertilizer is typically high in nitrogen and applied between April and September. Regular feeding will give your lemon tree the nutritional boost it needs for the best harvest possible. The GrowScripts Citrus Tree Care Kit from Fast Growing Trees has everything you need measured out and an application guide to take all the guesswork out of fertilizing.

You can also use Espoma Citrus-Tone from Amazon which is an organic feed that also improves soil by introducing beneficial microbes. Yellowing leaves are often an indicator that your lemon tree needs more nutrients.

A little work now will set your lemon tree up for fruitful success. Taking care of a lemon tree in May is a little like taking good care of yourself. Going outside, staying hydrated, eating a balanced diet, and a little maintenance is good for all of us!

Ancient grain plants are having a real moment, and for once the culinary hype and the gardening case line up. These are crops that sustained entire civilizations for millennia before industrial agriculture narrowed our plates down to just wheat and corn. Now, they are reappearing on gourmet menus and in seed catalogs at the same time. Many are ornamental enough to carry a flower border on looks alone, offering high impact structure as well as nourishing crops.

The beauty of growing these ancient power grains is that they are often far more resilient, forgiving, and easier to grow than our pampered hybrid vegetables. These plants are survivors and are generally heat-tolerant, unfussy about soil quality, and productive without much fuss. Integrating these dual-threat ancient wheat grains allows you to effortlessly bridge a gap between a productive kitchen garden and a curated flower display. These must-have edimentals offer a unique way to experiment with heights and colors while cultivating exceptional crops.

They span a range of climates, uses, and growth habits, and May is a great time for sowing these hardy, high impact beauties. By planting these fast-growing annuals now, you set the stage for summer harvests that are as nutritious as they are visually spectacular. From high-altitude staples to sun-baked resilience, there is an ancient grain here that can help you create beautiful and edible borders. Let’s get stuck in.

Ancient Grains for Crops and Color

So what are ancient grains going to need in the way of modern yard spaces, which are often quite modest or already bulging with plants? Luckily, integrating ancient grains doesn’t require a dedicated grain plot. Most fit into a vegetable garden or mixed border without much planning, and thrive in the same conditions as your favorite summer annuals. They generally just need a spot in full sun and well-draining soil, making them perfect companions for zinnias, sunflowers, or marigolds. Because many of these species originated in challenging climates, they possess a natural drought tolerance that makes them perfect for water-conscious gardeners.

Whether you are in a northern USDA zone with a shorter window or the humid south, sowing now ensures they establish in time to produce heavy seed heads by mid-to-late summer. While they aren't heavy feeders, a light application of organic mulch or a balanced fertilizer can help them reach their maximum height which, for some, can be a towering 8 feet (2.4m). Just consider their structural role. Use taller grain crops as living screens, with airy plume options softening the edges of a path. Here are the 7 gorgeous ancient grains you can weave into garden gold.

1. Amaranth

The Victorians knew what they were doing when they called this plant love-lies-bleeding. While they would grow amaranths for the bold weeping tassels that look like cascading velvet, modern gardeners appreciate that the seeds are a superfood, high in protein and lysine. This is poppable but can also be ground into flour or cooked whole, depending on what’s needed. The grain varieties produce massive seed heads in deep burgundy, molten gold, and lime green, stretching 2-3 feet (60-90cm) long. Plants can reach 6 feet (1.8m) by late summer, and provide an architectural and visual punch that few other annuals can replicate.

To get the best from your amaranths (Amaranthus spp.), find a sunny spot with poor to average soil. Too much nitrogen leads to more leaves and fewer seeds. They are drought-tolerant once established, but staking early on will prevent toppling during late-summer rainfall. Watch seed heads closely in late August. When the seeds pop out easily between your fingers, you can harvest amaranth. Try 'Hopi Red Dye' for its deep purple foliage or 'Golden Giant' for sun-colored heads. There are some gorgeous amaranths available at Eden Brothers, including ‘Red Garnet’ and ‘Hot Biscuits’ varieties. You can also buy Seedville USA ‘Midnight Red’ Amaranthus seeds from Walmart. Grow in zones 2–11 as an annual.

2. Quinoa

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) is often treated as fussy, which comes from its love of cool summer nights. Originating in the high Andes, quinoa was bred at altitude, and lowland heat tends to stress it. It was bred where summers run cool and nights drop off, and it prefers temperatures to stay below 95°F (35°C). Meet these conditions, and quinoa is a spectacular annual in northern and coastal US zones (4-10). Its seed heads develop in rich sunset hues of neon pinks, oranges, and yellows, which make the plant look more like a deliberate ornamental than a staple crop.

This ancient grain is a relative of spinach and beets, so it appreciates soil that is rich in organic matter but also well-drained. It’s a complete protein source, making it a must-grow for vegetarian gardeners. However, the seeds are coated in a bitter substance called saponins, which naturally deters birds. Before you cook quinoa, give the seeds a thorough rinse in a fine-mesh strainer until the water no longer bubbles. Look for vibrant 'Brightest Brilliant' or 'Cherry Vanilla' for creams and pinks. You can buy ‘Cherry Vanilla’ Quinoa seeds from Amazon.

3. Pearl Millet

When quinoa gives up, pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) is just getting started. This crop came out of sub-Saharan Africa and was built for conditions that knock out other grains: sustained heat and poor, sandy soil. Often grown as a cover crop, it turns heat into rapid growth. You may recognize ornamental 'Purple Majesty' with its near-black foliage, but the grain-producing varieties are just as beautiful and great for crops, with upright spikes that are densely packed. Reaching 5 feet (1.5m), it’s a fast-grower that adds a wonderful vertical element to a flower bed.

Pearl millet is virtually pest-free and requires very little supplemental water once its roots are down. Just add a little seaweed feed, such as Neptune's Harvest Fish & Seaweed Fertilizer from Amazon, at the time of sowing to give plant roots a bolster. This ancient grain is annual and performs well in zones 2-11, but shines in southern heat, and doesn’t need much once it’s in the ground. The grain has a mild, nutty flavor and is often ground into a gluten-free flour. You can harvest the spikes as they turn golden-brown, or leave them through winter to provide a natural bird feeder for local songbirds. Buy CZ Grain Pearl Millet seeds from Walmart.

4. Sorghum

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) doesn’t get enough attention, which is odd. You can pop the grains like popcorn, grind them into a silky gluten-free flour, and even press the stalks of sweet varieties to make syrup. It handles heat and reasonable drought without complaint, and can double as a temporary screen or windbreak, growing 6-8 feet (1.8-2.4m) tall. It develops wide, corn-like leaves and heavy, textural seed heads that are favorites for dried floral arrangements. Very few plants check this many boxes while being edible. Grow in zones 2–11 as an annual.

This plant is a heat-seeker and can handle significant dry spells by going dormant until the next rain arrives. Plant seeds an inch (2.5cm) deep after all danger of frost has passed. Because sorghum can grow so tall, it’s a good idea to mulch the base to retain moisture and suppress weeds that might compete for nutrients. You can get Timberline Cedar Mulch from Lowe’s. Look for 'Tarahumara Popping' sorghum for a fun snack crop or 'Black Amber' for seed heads that add a dark contrast to borders. You can buy Thresh Seed’s ‘Dale Sugar’ Sorghum seeds from Amazon.

5. Teff

Ethiopian injera (that spongy, slightly sour flatbread) is what most people associate with teff (Eragrostis tef). It’s been a Horn of Africa staple for millennia and deserves more attention outside of that context. Teff is a tiny grain with a huge garden presence. Unlike the towering sorghum, teff is a graceful, fine-textured grass that grows 2-3 feet (60-90cm) tall. It produces delicate, airy panicles that catch the light, behaving like ornamental pony tail grass. It’s an excellent choice for the front or middle of a border, or anywhere you want a soft, meadow-like feel.

Teff is a warm-season annual that handles heat and mild dry spells without issue. The seeds are the size of a poppy seed, so to harvest you’ll want to lay a tarp down and shake the dried heads over it. However, the nutritional payoff is worth it, as teff is packed with calcium and iron and has a faintly malty flavor. This low-maintenance ancient grain plant adds elegance to any landscape from June to first frost. You can buy Country Life Organic Teff seeds from Amazon. Grow in zones 2-11 as an annual.

6. Fonio

Fonio (Digitaria exilis) is probably the least familiar name on this list and one of the more interesting crops to grow. It might be the most modern ancient grain on the list, recently gaining fame as a climate-hardy superfood. This West African grain can go from seed to harvest in 60-70 days, depending on conditions, making it perfect for short seasons or as a way to fill a midsummer gap. Fonio remains short and grass-like, producing dainty seed heads. Because it’s so fast-growing, it’s often used in West Africa to provide food in the hungry season before other crops are ready.

This ancient grain plant thrives in poor, sandy soils where other plants struggle, and doesn't need much in the way of fertilizer. Just a pinch of Dr Earth Organic Starter Fertilizer from Amazon at the time of planting is fine. Naturally gluten-free, the grain is tiny and tastes like a cross between couscous and quinoa, with a signature nuttiness. While it’s still gaining a foothold in garden centers, it’s a conversation starter for any adventurous grower looking to try something truly unique. You can buy Fonio seeds from Etsy. It is a resilient annual in zones 2-11.

7. Buckwheat

Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) is related to sorrel and rhubarb, and is technically not a grain at all, though nobody seems to care once it’s in the bowl. This pseudocereal is a staple of the ancient grain world, and is perhaps the most beneficial plant you can put in your border. It’s ready to harvest 70-90 days from sowing. Its heart-shaped leaves shade out weeds, and its clusters of white flowers are a magnet for honeybees and beneficial insects. If you have a patch of bad soil that needs loosening, its deep roots will do the heavy lifting for you.

This crop is a cool-season lover, and can be tucked into the garden whenever there is a 70-day window of mild weather, or when you need a late push as the season is winding down. It’s often used as a cover crop, but if you let it go to seed, you’ll be rewarded with triangular nutty groats that can be toasted into kasha or ground for noodles and pancakes. It’s a low-maintenance, high-reward plant that finishes its cycle quickly, allowing you to replant for fall. You can buy Buckwheat seeds from Eden Brothers. Grow in zones 2–11 as an annual.

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Add another dimension to modern growing with some dynamic ancient grains. Whether you are looking for the architectural drama of pearl millet, the neon-bright seed heads of quinoa or the exotic, tassel-laden hues of amaranth, these grain-tastic crops are tasty, healthy, and perfect for color and texture in beds and borders.

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Imagine stepping out into your backyard to harvest a few edible flowers for a pretty garnish on a lovingly prepared plate of food. And it’s not just about improving aesthetics or impressing dinner guests: good-looking food genuinely tastes better. Studies show that well-presented food is rated as tasting 18% better than the very same ingredients plonked on a plate, showing that pleasing our eyes tricks our brains into perceiving improved flavor. And growing your own edimental flowers – blooms that are edible as well as ornamental – is such an easy way to enhance your dishes as well as your backyard.

Edible flowers can bring additional physical flavor, too, from the peppery kick of a nasturtium bloom to a green-apple crunch of a dahlia petal or fruity-floral profile of a rose. And there’s nothing new about eating flowers – some plants we now view as ornamental were historically cultivated as food crops. And while it may be Instagram foodie aesthetics that are steering us back to edible blooms, many of us are fast discovering just how delicious it is to grow flowers to eat. There are even new varieties of edible roses bred specifically for their fabulous flavor.

If you fancy dipping a green finger into the wonderful world of edible flowers, these are the six plants to start with. They’re all both straightforward to grow and superbly versatile to use in the kitchen, adding serious flower power to a wide range of dishes.

1. Nasturtiums

Both the flowers and leaves of nasturtiums are edible, and have a peppery flavor rather like watercress. They’re best tossed into salads for a dash of colour and a spicy taste kick, or use the leaves to make a pesto. Nasturtiums are generally grown as annuals (though are perennial in zones 10 and warmer) so need to be sown every year – but that means you get to explore the enormous range of colours and flavors.

Some cultivars have a stronger taste than others, and if you find yourself with one that’s too peppery for your tastes, simply nip the back spur from the flower as that’s the spiciest part.

Super-easy and quick to grow from seed, sow nasturtium seed in a sunny spot, in the ground or a container. There are two types: Tropaeolum minus is bushy and doesn’t need supporting, and my pick would be ‘Black Velvet’ for its glamorous ruby-black petals, available from Botanical Interests. Tropaeolum majus are climbers so need a cane wigwam or net to climb up, or you can simply let the stems ramble up through a shrub. Another option is to pop these plants in a hanging basket and let the stems cascade down rather than climb up. A super choice for trailing stems is ‘Purple Emperor’, also available from Botanical Interests, as its flowers open in various shades of purple then fade into lavender and dusky rose tones for a color-changing display.

2. Dahlias

Native to Mexico, dahlias were historically cultivated for food and it’s only in the last half-century that they’ve become a global hit for their fabulous flowers. The petals are a pretty addition to salads and bring not just color and taste but a pleasing crunch, or can be crystalized with egg white and caster sugar to make showstopper cake decorations. Flavors are as diverse as the forms and colors, ranging from green apple to refreshing water chestnut. The tubers can be eaten, too, raw or boiled or baked like a potato, though peel the bitter skin.

While all dahlias have edible petals and tubers, bear in mind that modern cultivars have been bred for their looks, so you’ll typically find the best flavor in heirloom varieties and in particular, native Dahlia coccinea. Take a look at Eden Brothers’ diverse dahlia range, because there really is a cultivar to suit every garden, from the huge dinnerplate blooms of ‘Penhill Watermelon’ and ‘Labyrinth’ to tiny orchid-like flowers of ‘Honka Fragile’. If you’re new to dahlia growing, then a great way to start is with a curated mix of varieties such as this ‘Old Rose Mix’.

Perennial Dahlia are straightforward to grow in a sunny, sheltered spot, though they won’t survive cold temperatures so in chillier climates, you’ll need to lift and store the tubers over winter. It’s well worth the effort, though, as they’ll reward you with spectacular blooms from summer into late fall.

3. Roses

No garden is complete without a rose, and crystallized petals make for gloriously decorated cakes, bringing fragrance and flavor as well as aesthetics. Use the petals to make jam, too, and to infuse honey or vinegar. Do only use roses you’ve grown yourself without chemicals, though, as flowers brought from a florist or nursery that aren’t labelled as edible likely have been treated.

Rose petals typically taste sweet and floral, and some varieties can be more fruity, others citrussy. Sample a petal before using and, if there’s a bitter note, remove the white base to sweeten the flavor profile.

There are even rose cultivars that have been specifically bred for flavor. The Flavorette range is hardy in zones 4–8 and thrives in a sunny border, reblooming continuously without deadheading. The ‘Flavorette Pear’d’ cultivar, available from Nature Hills, has soft pink petals with a delicious pear flavor, while ‘Flavorette Honey-Apricot’, also available from Nature Hills, has fragrant apricot-toned petals with a sweet, fruity taste.

4. Cornflowers

Bachelor’s buttons are widely used in the hospitality industry as garnishes for everything from restaurant dishes to cocktails. Rather than using whole flowers, treat the petals as food confetti, sprinkling into savory salads and stir-fries or over sweet dishes. Their mild flavor means they add color without any overpowering flavor, though their slight sweet-spicy taste pairs well with soft cheeses or mixed into butter.

Centaura cyanus couldn’t be easier to grow from seed in a sunny or partially shady spot, and are annuals so suitable for all zones. Eden Brothers stocks a wide range of cultivars. ‘Dwarf Blue’ is an excellent choice for a container, and there are plenty of colors to try besides the benchmark bright blue, such as the dramatic plum tones of ‘Almost Black’ or white-edged multicolored blooms of ‘Frosty Mix’.

5. Daylilies

Much of the daylily is edible, from its tubers and shoots to the flowers and buds. Harvest young Hemerocallis shoots in spring to enjoy like asparagus, and sauté the buds in butter or dip in batter and deep-fry. Enjoy the tubers when the plant is dormant through winter, and cook as you would a potato. But the easiest way to enjoy daylilies is to simply toss a few petals into a salad. The flavors are as diverse as the flower forms and colors, but petals typically have a slightly sweet, refreshing flavor. You can dry daylily petals and unopened buds, too, to add to soups and stews.

Jackon and Perkins stock a superb range of daylilies with all sorts of different petals, from the plush and velvety purple of ‘Bela Lugosi’ to the distinctive coral pink of ‘Strawberry Candy’ and ruffled edges of lemon-yellow ‘Fragrant Returns’. Returning year after year, perennial daylilies couldn’t be easier to grow in a sunny spot. The trick is not to plant them too deeply, but keep the crown level with the top of the soil.

Be sure you have correctly identified your plant as a Hemerocallis daylily, as true lilies (Lilium) can be poisonous.

6. Zinnias

Zinnia petals are edible and, while they have little flavor, the color they bring as a garnish is a feast for the eyes. If you’re a fan of charcuterie boards, then a scattering of vibrant zinnia petals will take your entertaining up a level. It’s also fun to freeze petals into ice cubes for dazzling drinks.

As it's color you’re after, choose a mix of Zinnia elegans seeds such as this Cut and Come Again Mix from Botanical Interests in shades of pink, red, orange and yellow. Direct-sow where they are to grow, in a spot that enjoys plenty of sunshine, in all zones. As zinnias are annuals, completing their lifecycle in a year, you’ll need to resow every spring after your last frost date. However, zinnias often self-sow, or you can collect the seed in late summer, to save yourself splashing out.

While still edible, the central disk of a zinnia flower has a bitter taste so it’s best to pluck the petals from the blooms.

Always be certain you have correctly identified a plant before eating it, and understand which parts are edible. If it's your first time trying a plant, consume a small amount first in case of allergy. Always eat in moderation. If you’re not growing the plant yourself from seed or tubers, check that it has been grown organically and hasn’t been treated with pesticides. If you’re pregnant or have any health conditions, check first with your doctor before eating any new plant.

I was born in April, the month most associated with spring, but it’s impossible not to love May just as much. May is the month of blossoms, when baby birds learn to fly and spring breezes whisper through the new leaves. Life feels easy and everything is coming up roses.

For those growing apple trees, May is particularly sweet. The fruit is set a week or two after the petals fall in late April, so, by mid-May, the tree is full of baby apples. And there’s nothing irksome to accomplish this month, no tricky pruning or grafting.

Instead, the tasks of the moment involve simple steps like looking out for pests and making sure your trees get enough to drink.

What to Do With Apple Trees in May

Every month has its task list in the garden, but some lists are lighter than ever. When it comes to apple tree care, May is one of the easy months. I always feel butterfingered when I’m pruning and grafting fruit trees, but all these hard jobs are done by May. That leaves basic tasks that do not require step-by-step instructions.

Still, you need to take care of your apple trees in May. Be assured, as you begin, that you will be skipping happily through May’s tasks, not trudging up a rocky road. Here are the five most important tasks to accomplish.

1. Give the Apple Trees a Drink

Apple trees may bud in April, but they begin their active growth phase in May. That means that they need more water, from rainfall or supplemental irrigation. Keep in mind that water requirements for apple trees depend on rainfall. The more rain you get in May, the less you need to water.

Your first-year apple trees will need up to 2 inches (5cm) a week in May. Established trees need about half that much. It’s a good idea to check the soil moisture regularly. If the soil feels dry, provide a little extra water. If it feels moist, all is well. When the earth beneath your apple tree feels wet, it’s received too much water. You can even purchase a low-cost soil moisture meter from Amazon if you want more precision.

2. Clear Weeds from Beneath the Apple Tree

When rain has fallen or you’ve just watered, it’s the perfect time to go weed hunting. Now weeds don’t actually compete with big trees for nutrients. On the other hand, they do provide hiding places for insect pests. Pull up the weeds by hand and dispose of them.

While you are weeding, take time to clean up the area. Rake and collect any fruits that fell to the ground as well as broken branches and winter mulch, if any remains. Add a fresh layer of organic mulch, keeping it a hand’s distance from the tree trunk. You can find Miracle-Gro organic mulch at Home Depot or your local hardware store. Organic is always a good choice for mulches used around edible plants.

3. Monitor Apple Trees for Pests

Common apple tree pests like codling moths and aphids can get started in the orchard in springtime. Your job in May is to keep an eye out for these pests.

Codling moths are about half an inch long, with gray banding and shiny bronze scales on their wings. They can cause real apple tree damage. They like to eat apple seeds, and tunnel into the new fruit to get the prizes, making the apples unappealing and often inedible.

Monitoring for codling moths means more than keeping an eye out for moths flying by. The best monitoring tools are pheromone traps. Put them high in the tree canopy, in the upper third of the tree, and check them every week or so. If you find pests, use organic control methods. You can find codling moth traps on Amazon.

Aphids are the familiar, small sap-sucking insects that are often found in groups on the underside of leaves. On apple trees, aphids feed on sap, causing leaves to curl, turn yellow, and weaken the tree. You can spray them off with the hose, use insecticidal soap, or purchase and release lady bugs, who like to eat them.

4. Monitor Apple Trees for Fungal Diseases

Another “look-out” job in May is to scout the apple orchard regularly for fungal diseases. Even the names sound icky: apple scab, cedar apple rust and sooty blotch! These are easily controlled by fungicides if you catch them early, so monitoring apple trees in May is important.

The three most common fungal diseases are in fact those named above. Apple scab leaves darkened, scabby areas on fruit and foliage. Cedar apple rust only attacks if there are both cedar trees and apple trees in the area, since both are required to complete its life cycle. It presents as bright orange spots on leaves. And, as you might have guessed, you can recognize sooty blotch on the surface of the fruit. Trimming and thinning apples is the main treatment for sooty blotch.

Make a close inspection every week. That allows you to catch these problems early and apply fungicides. Immunox fungicide, available at Walmart, is a good option for treating apple tree fungus issues.

5. Thinning the Apples

If you think that there is no such thing as too many apples, I have to agree with you. I personally can chomp through a small bag of apples a week. But the task of thinning apples is not intended to reduce the crop of apple fruits. Rather, it eliminates the small or misshapen apples in order to limit the harvest to big, healthy fruit.

Now we have to admit here that Mother Nature takes care of this step in large part. I remember my early years of raising apples - how horrified I was to find half of the young crop dropping off and littering the ground beneath the tree. This is known as the “June drop” although it usually takes place in May in my region. And June drop is Nature’s way of giving the healthiest fruit more elbow room, sunshine, and nutrients to fatten up into crisp, juicy fruit.

However, it sometimes works out better when you aid in this process a little. Take a look at the apple clusters and prune out any that are imperfect or noticeably smaller than the others. Then, just keep pruning.

If you are extremely disciplined, prune out most of the apples, taking out all but one from each cluster. If you have a hard time with this, like I do, leave two per cluster. You are sure to get a healthier, bigger crop for your troubles.

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An herb garden is a simple way to grow attractive plants you can also use in the kitchen. While many gardeners plant herbs in beds, some varieties actually perform better in pots, where their growth is easier to manage.

By growing herbs in containers, you can make the most of limited space – whether that’s a small yard, patio, or windowsill – while keeping conditions like soil, drainage, and sunlight in check. You’ll also have better control over how plants spread, making container gardening an easy, low-maintenance option that’s ideal for beginners.

Most herbs are straightforward to grow, but how you start them can make a difference – some are quick and reliable from seed, while others establish more easily when bought as young plants.

How to Grow Herbs in Containers

While each type of herb has one or two unique needs, there are some basic rules to follow:

• Container. First, start with the right container. Different materials have their pros and cons, but what really matters is drainage. Make sure whatever pot you choose has drainage holes in the bottom.
• Potting Mix. Use a sterile, high-quality potting mix. Do not be tempted to simply dig dirt out of your garden. Drainage is so important in container growing. You need a light mix that doesn’t compact or hold on to water.
• Spacing. Whether you start herbs from seeds or use transplants, follow spacing suggestions. Overcrowding leads to disease.
• Water and Light. Water and light needs vary, but most herbs need full sun. Some tolerate dry soil better than others. All should be watered regularly and never allowed to dry out completely or get soggy or waterlogged.

Container Herb Essentials

The Best Herbs for Easy Container Growing

These six herbs will actually perform better in a pot than in the ground, but before planting, check that they are compatible with your USDA hardiness zone. If not, you can always grow outdoors in summer and move indoors over winter. Together, they offer a versatile, kitchen-ready mix that works across a wide range of cuisines.

1. Mint

Mint is a delightful culinary herb with many uses, both fresh and dried. It’s tolerant of neglect and hard to kill. This makes mint incredibly easy to grow, but also a menace in the garden, as it spreads very aggressively by runners. Planting mint in the ground can lead to a quick takeover of beds and even lawns.

Instead, grow mint in pots. This keeps the rapidly spreading plants contained and allows you to grow them on patios, balconies, and porches. It's much quicker to start with plants, like this Strawberry mint from Burpee, which is perfect for dropping into cocktails and sprinkling over ice cream.

Once your mint plant is four to six inches (10 to 15 cm) tall, start harvesting it regularly by pinching off stems just above nodes. This will give you a regular harvest and encourage branching and dense growth. Mint is hardy in zones 3 through 11.

2. Basil

Basil is a culinary staple. In the garden, it requires warm weather and soil that tends towards dry. Soggy soil can kill a basil plant quickly. It’s this factor that makes container growing ideal for basil. It gives you better control over soil moisture and drainage.

Basil is only hardy in zones 10 through 11, but it grows fast as a summer annual. You’ll have time to grow several rounds of basil plants by succession planting seeds every couple of weeks. This basil selection from Seed Needs via Amazon has eight aromatic varieties to suit every cuisine.

You can harvest basil leaves by pinching as soon as the plant has several sets of mature leaves. Pinch off flowers as soon as you see them appear to keep the leaves fresh and tasty.

3. Rosemary

This Mediterranean herb needs dry soil to thrive. Like basil, rosemary will deteriorate rapidly in soggy, poorly draining soil. It will thrive in a large container with a light potting mix and excellent drainage. By growing rosemary in a pot, you can be sure you don’t overwater the plant and risk getting its roots soggy.

It's best to start with plants, as it takes a while to grow from seed. This Arp rosemary from Burpee is one of the most fragrant varieties going.

You can start snipping off stems once the plant is large and full. Choose newer growth for cooking, but remove any type of growth to use as seasonal décor and fragrance.

Rosemary is hardy in zones 8 through 11. If you live in a colder climate, bring your pot in for winter and enjoy this woody shrub year-round.

4. Thyme

Thyme can be tricky to grow in the ground if you don’t get the soil or water right. Don’t even attempt it if your garden soil is heavy or clay-based. Instead, grow thyme in pots. As with rosemary, use a light mix and ensure your pot drains very well.

Because it grows low, thyme can be grown with taller herbs in the same container, as long as they have similar growing conditions. It takes a while to start from seed, so buy young plants, like this Summer thyme from Plant Addicts, or try a more unusual variety like lemon thyme.

Once established, start trimming off stems of thyme to use the tasty leaves in the kitchen. Thyme’s hardiness varies depending on the type and includes zones 4 through 10.

5. Parsley

This versatile kitchen herb isn’t hard to grow, but it can be a little particular about soil and moisture. By growing parsley in a pot, you have better control over these factors. Use a rich soil that stays consistently moist but not soggy. Parsley is hardy in zones 4 through 9, so you can keep it outdoors in winter or bring it in, depending on your region.

The main choice of parsley is between curly and flat leaf – you can get the best of both worlds with this twin pack of seeds from Sow Right Seeds on Amazon.

To harvest parsley, snip off outer stems at the base. Leave the inner stems intact so that the plant keeps producing new growth. These Fiskars' Pruning Scissors have microtips for better precision when cutting. Do harvest regularly, though, as this will promote more new growth.

6. Chives

Chives have a mild onion flavor that complements many savory dishes when snipped fresh from a kitchen garden. Suitable for zones 3 through 9, this tasty herb is also very appropriate for containers, with its tidy, clump-forming growth.

You can grow potted chives indoors or outside. This twin pack of common and garlic chive seeds from Amazon is all you need to get started. When grown outside, the edible purple flowers will attract pollinators.

To harvest chives, snip stems an inch or two (2.5 to 5.0 cm) from the base. Harvest regularly to encourage more growth.

If you’ve ever planted squash in summer, you likely know a thing or two about cucumber beetles and squash vine borers. These are not vicious pests, just hungry bugs looking to chow down on your crops – and squash tops their desirable food list.

Almost every gardener who has ever tried growing squash has had to combat these pests – and, unfortunately, many of us have resorted to pesticides. But there’s a better way to protect your tender young squashes. It’s called trap cropping.

If this sounds tricky, it’s only tricky in the best sense of the word. This organic pest control method tricks pests into eating the trap crop planted around your squash, leaving your garden crops alone and untouched! There’s one type of vegetable in particular that common squash pests can’t resist. I’ll share what it is and how to use it to protect the precious gourds in your garden.

Know Your Enemy

What exactly do cucumber beetles and squash vine borers do in your garden? They can destroy your entire squash harvest. But let’s take a closer look at how, so you understand how to defend against them.

Squash vine borers might be the most problematic pest of summer squash. Their parents are moths who lay eggs in the soil near squash plants. The borers emerge from cocoons to eat right through the stem of your squash, killing plants in the process. Since this happens underground, it’s easy to miss this problem until it is too late.

Despite their name, cucumber beetles also love zucchini and other types of squash. They are not squirmy, nor do they live underground like squash vine borers. In fact, they look a lot like ladybugs, except they are yellow with black markings. These pests eat the leaves, flowers, and fruits of your squash plants and they can also transmit bacterial wilt.

What Is Trap Cropping?

When I think of a perimeter intended to protect my plants, fencing is the first thing that comes to mind. When I was sowing acorns on my land in France in order to start a forest, I installed fencing all the way around the land to keep the wild ponies from chowing down my seedlings.

But a protective perimeter doesn’t have to be made of chicken wire and stakes to be effective. In a vegetable garden, the pests are smaller than Basque ponies and can crawl through or fly over almost any physical barrier. That’s why trap crops work so well.

A trap crop doesn’t block the passage of pests. Rather, it attracts the pests so much that they never need to go past it and into your garden.

Meet Your New Ally: Blue Hubbard Squash

There is one vegetable that is practically irresistible to squash pests: the Blue Hubbard squash. It is a delicious, edible squash that doubles as the perfect trap crop. You can get Blue Hubbard squash seeds on Amazon.

It’s a large, heirloom winter squash with tough, bumpy skin that’s a weird shade of blue. And when I say large, I mean large! Blue Hubbards can grow up to 40 pounds (18.1 kg), offering plenty of sweet orange flesh for cooking.

But the main benefit of Blue Hubbard squash is that it’s wildly attractive to pests that eat other types of squash. Spotted and striped cucumber beetles as well as squash vine borers would rather eat Blue Hubbard than most other squashes any day of the week. That means that you can organically control pests using Blue Hubbard squash as a trap crop.

Benefits of a Blue Hubbard Trap Crop

Using Blue Hubbard squash for pest control is a win-win for your garden. It has been proven to lower pest infestations on summer squash by up to 95% for cucumber beetles and 88% for squash vine borers. And it does so without killing any beneficial insects, like pollinators.

This system also decreases the need for chemicals in the garden, focusing on an environmentally friendly practice that supports biodiversity instead. Over time, you will see better yields for your squash at a low cost.

The cherry on the top? Blue Hubbard squash plants grow so fast that they help keep weeds out of your garden, too. That means less toxins and less effort to combat weeds. Plus, they make delicious pies and breads!

How to Use Blue Hubbard as a Trap Crop

There are several ways you can use Blue Hubbard squash in your garden to protect your other squash plants as well as other cucurbits like cucumbers, pumpkins, and melons.

The first is to plant a literal perimeter of Blue Hubbard around your garden bed. Plant sufficient Blue Hubbard crops to completely encircle the main crop you wish to protect. This keeps your squash free of pests and also free of pesticides.

But you don’t have to do a complete perimeter to get the benefits of Blue Hubbard. You can use just 6 to 8 Blue Hubbard squash plants at the corners of your garden, placing them about 3 feet (1 m) from the center crop. This will protect a small garden of cucurbit plants.

Kill the Pests

Now that you’ve lured all the unwanted pests to your Blue Hubbard trap crop, it’s time to capture and kill them. If you don’t kill the cucumber beetles and squash vine borers on the trap plants, they will continue to reproduce on those plants. Subsequent generations may move over to the squash garden with the plants you wanted to protect.

It’s best to kill pests using a non-toxic method, like sucking them up with a reverse leaf blower, hand-picking them from plants and squishing them, or by spraying them with an organic pesticide like neem oil, which you can get on Amazon.

May is graduation month for most tomato plants. If you're growing in a temperate climate, this is probably when you're moving your seedlings from their coddled life indoors to the rugged reality of the garden. It can be a little daunting.

But don't worry! As long as you follow a few simple rules, you can send your tomatoes out into the world with confidence. Here are six absolute must-do's for tomato care in May if you want a bumper crop come August.

1. Harden Off Seedlings

This one comes first, no matter what. Whether you've started seeds indoors yourself or you've bought seedlings at a nursery, your little plants are likely used to the cushy indoor life. That means no wind, no bright sun, and especially no cold. If you plant them straight in the ground, all that sudden change is going to give them a rude awakening.

Will it kill them? Unless it frosts, probably not. But it will shock them, and they'll spend the next several weeks struggling to recover when they could be putting down roots and shooting out leaves. It's best to avoid it.

Here's how to harden off seedlings:

1. Place seedlings outdoors in a shaded, sheltered spot for 2 hours during the day.
2. Bring them back indoors.
3. Repeat, increasing outdoor time by 1-2 hours each day, gradually exposing them to dappled sunlight and then direct morning sun.
4. Keep up the process for 7-10 days.
5. As long as temperatures are consistently above 50 F (10 C), you can move them outside permanently.

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2. Dig Deep and Transplant

Once your tomato seedlings are hardened off, they're ready to transplant... as long as the soil has warmed to at least 60 F (16 C). Don't try to sneak them in early! Just like with hardening off, cool soil won't kill them, but it will set them back.

When you do transplant tomato plants, dig deep! Tomatoes and other nightshades have a unique ability that lets them develop roots anywhere along their stems. That means that whatever part of the seedling you bury, it will sprout roots.

If your seedlings are a bit leggy, that's totally fine. Just snap of the leaves on the bottom two thirds of the plant, and bury it so the remaining leaves are a few inches above the soil line. If the stem is extra long, you can try trench planting. Dig a long angled trench, and lay the seedling along it so its leaves are poking up above the soil line, then fill in the trench. The plant will benefit from having more roots close to the surface, where the soil is warmer and water is more readily available.

3. Add Support

It happens to the best of us. We plant our tomatoes, and we swear we'll add a cage as soon as we get to it. Then life happens, and weeks go by, and by the time we finally get to it, the plant is huge and it's impossible to fit a tomato cage around it without breaking some branches and dislodging some fruit. Or we stab part of the now-expansive root system and damage the plant. I know I've done it.

Learn from my mistake: add support to your tomato plants the day you put them in the ground!

4. Mulch Mulch Mulch!

Tomatoes are notoriously susceptible to soil-borne diseases like early blight and Septoria leaf spot. These spores live in the soil and ride up to your tomato's leaves in drops of water that splash onto them. If a seedling is surrounded by bare soil, every rain or watering is going to be an opportunity for splashback.

Keep spores from splashing by laying down 2-3 inches (5-7.5 cm) of mulch. I like to use straw mulch for all my vegetables.

5. Fertilize, and Keep It Balanced

Tomatoes benefit from an application of fertilizer when they're first planted, but it's important to keep it balanced. Too much nitrogen now, and they'll have a growth spurt much too fast. Too much phosphorous and they'll focus on making flowers when they should be growing leaves. A balanced fertilizer like this from Amazon will give them a good start.

Though it's tempting, don't put fertilizer in the hole with the seedling – it'll burn any roots it comes into direct contact with. Side dress them, or dilute it in water and drench them with liquid feed.

6. Prune, and Be Ruthless

If you're growing indeterminate tomatoes, you'll probably notice suckers – these are the small shoots that develop between the main stem and a branch. Pinch these suckers off to improve airflow.

If your plant is less than 12 inches (30 cm) tall and it starts to produce flowers, you should pinch them off, too. It feels like a crime, but it forces the plant to invest that energy into its root system, leading to a much higher yield later in the summer.

It’s May, it’s May – the merry month of May. With warmer weather and bluer skies settling in, a gardener’s thoughts naturally turn to the vegetable patch. Not every crop belongs in the ground just yet, but this is a prime window for sowing many favorites.

So, what vegetables should you plant in May? Timing depends on your local hardiness zone, so let that guide you. If you’re still a week or two away from your last expected frost, hold off on tender crops like tomatoes and eggplants – patience now saves disappointment later. But for most gardeners, the door is open to direct sowing seeds, especially for those in warmer regions where warm-season crops can go straight into the soil.

As spring matures and begins its gentle handoff to summer, you’re no longer limited to cool-season staples like lettuce and spinach. This is the moment to start layering in warm-season vegetables, building toward a fuller, more productive garden. As April fades and May takes hold, final frost dates pass quickly, and “real” vegetable gardening gets underway in earnest.

In northern climates, May typically brings soil that’s finally warm enough for tender crops to germinate reliably outdoors – a soil thermometer, like this Yamron 4-in-1 design from Amazon, is invaluable for getting the timing right. Farther south, the focus shifts – now is the time to sow heat-loving crops that will thrive as summer temperatures climb.

Here’s a shortlist of the crops you can get sowing over the next few weeks.

1. Beans

It’s no coincidence that Jack’s fast-growing crop was a beanstalk. If you’re after something that takes off quickly in May, beans are hard to beat. With soil temperatures reliably above 60°F (16°C), most bean varieties germinate rapidly and evenly. Whether you choose bush or pole types, beans are refreshingly low-maintenance and won’t demand constant attention.

Jack may have planted pole beans, but I tend to favor bush varieties, which stand neatly on their own without the need for trellising. That said, pole beans will reward you with a longer harvest period – something to consider if space allows. Like most summer crops, beans need full sun, well-drained soil, and consistent moisture. Avoid waterlogged ground, though – beans dislike “wet feet” and can quickly struggle in poorly drained soil.

From sowing to harvest typically takes around 45–60 days, depending on the variety and conditions. Pods are ready when they feel firm and snap cleanly from the plant. Pick regularly – every couple of days at peak production – to encourage the plant to keep flowering and producing new pods.

Bean Seed Picks

2. Cucumbers

Has your region seen its last spring frost? If so, May is your cue to plant cucumbers. These vigorous climbers thrive in warm soil – ideally above 65°F (18°C) – and a full-sun position. Well-drained soil is essential, and consistent, even watering will prevent bitterness and misshapen fruit.

For best results, sow seeds at the base of a vegetable trellis or support. As they germinate and grow, the vines will naturally climb, keeping fruit off the ground, improving air circulation, and reducing the risk of disease. It also makes harvesting far easier – no rummaging through foliage to find hidden fruit.

Most cucumber varieties are ready to harvest in about 50–70 days. Pick cucumbers while they’re still young and tender, before seeds fully develop. And, as with beans, frequent harvesting encourages the plant to keep producing rather than slowing down.

Cucumber Seed Picks

3. Carrots

Bugs Bunny may be their most famous fan, but I’m right there with him. Crunchy, bright, and full of flavor, homegrown carrots are noticeably sweeter when grown well – and May is an excellent time to sow them.

For straight, well-formed roots, focus on the soil as much as the seed. Carrots prefer light, sandy, stone-free ground that allows roots to grow without obstruction. Full sun – at least 6 hours a day – and consistent moisture will keep them developing steadily. Avoid letting the soil dry out, especially during germination, which can take 10–20 days.

Sow seeds thinly and evenly, then thin seedlings early to prevent crowding, which leads to misshapen roots. Most varieties are ready in about 60–75 days, though you can begin harvesting earlier if you prefer smaller, more tender carrots.

And don’t wait for them to bulk up too much – smaller carrots are often sweeter, more delicate, and far better on the plate.

Carrot Seed Picks

4. Tomatoes

If there’s a belle of the ball in the vegetable garden, tomatoes win hands down. These heat-loving plants are arguably the most anticipated crop of the May planting season. They thrive in full sun – ideally 8 hours a day or more – and need consistently warm soil, at least 60°F (16°C), to establish and grow well.

Support is essential for tomatoes. Whether you use cages, stakes, or trellises, giving plants structure early prevents stems from snapping under the weight of developing fruit and keeps growth orderly and accessible.

You may be enjoying your first vine-ripened tomatoes in as little as 60 days, though many varieties take closer to 70–85 days to reach full production. For the best flavor, allow fruits to ripen fully on the vine, developing rich color and a slight softness to the touch.

Harvest regularly as fruits ripen – not only for peak taste, but to encourage the plant to keep flowering and setting more fruit throughout the season.

Tomato Seed Picks

5. Corn

Will your corn grow as high as an elephant’s eye? It just might – if you plant at the right time and give it the warmth it craves. May is ideal for sowing, once soil temperatures reach at least 60°F (16°C). Corn thrives in full sun – a full day of direct light is best – along with well-drained soil.

Patience is part of the deal. Most corn varieties take 70–100 days to reach harvest. Watch for the silks to turn brown and dry, and check that the ears feel plump, full, and heavy in the hand. A quick test – peel back a little husk and press a kernel; if it releases a milky juice, it’s ready to pick.

Corn relies on wind for pollination, and this is where many gardeners go wrong. Rather than planting in long single rows, sow corn in short blocks to improve pollination and ensure full, well-filled ears. Give each plant enough space to develop tall, sturdy stalks.

Water is especially important during tasseling and ear formation – dry conditions at this stage can lead to poorly filled cobs. Keep soil consistently moist, and you’ll be rewarded with sweet, well-developed kernels.

Corn Seed Picks

6. Summer Squash

Summer squash thrives on warmth, and May provides the ideal conditions to get it started. Popular types include zucchini (courgette), yellow crookneck, and straightneck squash – all fast-growing and highly productive. Wait until soil temperatures are at least 60°F (16°C), as cold soil will slow growth and leave plants vulnerable.

Choose a sunny, open position – at least 6 hours of direct sunlight, though 8 or more is better – and plant into rich, well-drained soil. Incorporating compost before planting will fuel the plant’s rapid growth and heavy yields.

These plants spread generously, so space them well apart to allow for airflow and easy access. Good spacing helps prevent common issues like powdery mildew, which thrives in crowded, humid conditions. Water consistently, directing moisture to the base of the plant to avoid wetting the leaves.

Flowers play a crucial role here – squash produces separate male and female blooms, and pollination is essential for fruit to develop. Female flowers can be identified by the small swelling (the immature fruit) behind the bloom. If pollinators are scarce, you may need to hand-pollinate to ensure a good crop.

Harvest begins in 45–60 days, but timing is everything. Pick fruits when they are small and tender – typically 6–8 in (15–20 cm) long – for the best flavor and texture. Zucchini, in particular, are at their finest before they get too large. Left too long, they become watery, seedy, and signal the plant to slow production.

Pick frequently – often every day at peak season – and you’ll be rewarded with a steady, generous supply.

Summer Squash Seed Picks

7. Peppers

I’m partial to red peppers, but green ones have their place too – crisp, fresh, and full of bite. May is the ideal time to plant both, so it’s worth growing a mix for a longer, more varied harvest. Plant in well-drained soil in full sun – at least 8 hours a day – for the best flavor and fruit development.

Peppers need consistent watering, but take care not to overdo it – soggy soil can lead to root problems and slow growth. Warmth is key here too, with soil temperatures ideally above 65°F (18°C) for strong, steady growth.

For the sweetest, most flavorful peppers, allow them to fully ripen on the plant. Green peppers are simply unripe fruits – given time, many will turn red, yellow, or orange, developing greater sweetness and complexity.

Most varieties take around 60–80 days to mature, with red peppers typically needing the longer end of that range. Once plants begin producing, regular picking will encourage continued flowering and a steady supply of fruit throughout the summer.

Pepper Seed Picks

8. Beets

Some people claim not to like beets – but they probably never tried growing them. A well-grown beet is a different creature entirely. Deeply colored, earthy, and naturally sweet, they’re as good roasted as they are in soups or sliced into salads.

Plant beets in May, and you can expect a harvest by mid-summer. They’re quick to establish in warming soil, with most varieties maturing in around 55–70 days. Like many crops, they prefer full sun and well-drained soil, along with consistent moisture to keep roots tender and evenly developed.

Because beets are root vegetables, spacing matters. Sow seeds thinly, then thin seedlings early to avoid overcrowding – each plant needs room below ground to form a proper root. (What looks like a single “seed” is actually a cluster, so multiple seedlings often emerge together.)

Don’t forget the bonus harvest – beet greens are not only edible but excellent, especially when picked young and tender.

Beet Seed Picks

Vegetables to Transplant in May

I understand the appeal of buying vegetable transplants – set them in the ground and your garden instantly looks productive. You’re also a step ahead of neighbors who are just sowing seeds. Plant Addicts has a good selection to order for home delivery.

That said, transplants come at a cost. They’re more expensive than seeds, and you miss out on the satisfaction of watching seedlings emerge and grow. A good middle ground is to start your own seeds indoors and transplant sturdy young plants into the garden in May, once conditions are right.

Whichever route you take, some crops are particularly well suited to transplanting. Leeks and members of the brassica family – such as cabbage, broccoli, kale, and Brussels sprouts – benefit from an early start and establish well when moved outdoors. These slower-growing vegetables appreciate the head start and will reward you with a more reliable harvest.

The old-fashioned idea that vegetables belong in a hidden work patch out back while flowers claim the glory out front is a rule nobody really enforced, but somehow everyone just followed it. Well, I’m here to encourage you to ditch that rule. Edimentals (plants that earn their keep on both aesthetic and culinary grounds) make a powerful case for a more integrated, joyful landscape where edibles can be beautiful, and border plants can be tasty. Just imagine a garden where crimson climbers provide a living privacy screen, and silver architectural leaves create a dramatic backdrop for perennials, all while cultivating homegrown harvests in a practical, thoughtful way that maximizes every square inch with flavorful abundance.

Early spring is the perfect time to start these dual-purpose vegetable garden border ideas, and sow the seeds of a multi-layered growing space that looks like a high-end cottage garden yet tastes like a gourmet feast. By growing these easy vegetables amongst your flower beds and borders, you aren't just saving space, you're attracting more pollinators, confusing common pests, and improving soil health by supporting a diverse root mix. Whatever your growing space, these plants offer vertical drama, low-maintenance beauty, and months of vivid color that you can actually eat.

This is your invitation to see your yard differently, to value a plant for the curve of its pod and hue of its leaf as much as the flavor of its crop. These pretty vegetable garden ideas thrive on a little neglect once settled, and offer electric color and prolific edibles with practically zero effort. You can start some indoors, or direct into the ground now it is warming up. Get them going now, and your borders will pop with sensational colors and crops through summer. So, forget everything you thought you knew about growing vegetables, and get ready for a season of tasty border beauties.

Plants for a Pretty Gourmet Border

Most of these edimentals are hardy, generally thriving across USDA zones 4-9, but they do share a love of the spotlight. Aim for a location that receives at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight. Before you make a start on planting your pretty vegetable garden, consider soil drainage. If it needs a boost, work in a few inches of well-rotted compost or an organic mulch, such as Back to the Roots Organic Premium Mulch, available from Amazon. This helps lock in moisture and suppress weeds, allowing you to spend more time harvesting and less time hoeing. In the first few weeks, keep plants well watered, and add a slow-release feed like Espoma Organic Garden-Tone from Lowe’s when putting transplants in the ground.

While many of these crops, like peas and beans, prefer to be direct-sown into the warming soil in early spring, slower-developing amaranth and artichokes will benefit from a few weeks indoors, or being purchased as plugs for planting out once the risk of frost is passed. When planning your layout, think in layers. These edimental options cover every layer of a border, with low frontal color, mid-border structure, and tall screening at the back. A few are climbing flowering plants that give a small space real privacy without the commitment of a hedge; all earn their space twice over. Spacing is key, so give these beauties room to grow and show off their foliage. A crowded border can hide the visual drama we want to showcase.

Creative planting schemes can really make these veggies pop. Try a modern potager vegetable garden border design, planting in geometric clusters rather than lines. Or you could try a cottage edimental look by interplanting with traditional ornamentals. The silver leaves of an artichoke look breathtaking next to some purple salvias, while the electric stems of chard gain a neon glow when paired with lime-green lady’s mantle. By treating vegetables as structural elements and as visual specimens, you create a yard that feels intentional – as well as packed with flavor.

1. Purple Podded Peas

If you find standard green peas a bit underwhelming, purple-podded varieties like 'Blauwschokker' or 'Sugar Magnolia' will be a revelation. Along with deep violet crops, these decorative climbers also produce stunning bicolor blooms in shades of violet and dusty rose to rival any cottage garden sweet pea. These flowers eventually give way to those midnight-purple crops that hang like jewels against the green foliage. And when you pop them open, their emerald green treasures gleam against their vibrant casings. Reaching heights of 4-6 feet (1.2-1.8m), these peas plants are perfect for a mid-border screen or a vertical interest on a trellis.

For the best results, sow direct in early May. Purple podded peas love a cool start but need the sun to develop the deep anthocyanins that give the pods their color. Plant 2 inches (5cm) deep and 3 inches (8cm) apart. These plants are fast-growing and relatively low-maintenance in zones 3-9, though they do appreciate consistent moisture during the flowering window, late spring to early summer. Pair them with silver-leafed companions or yellow marigolds to make that purple really sing, or interplant with nasturtiums or violas. While the pods turn green when cooked, the raw flavor is sweet and crisp, perfect for a garden-side snack. You can buy Purple Podded Peas from Burpee and‘Blue Shelling’ Heirloom Seeds from Eden Brothers.

2. Scarlet Runner Beans

Scarlet runner beans in full flower are very hard to walk past. The blooms are electric coral-red, produced in long racemes that hummingbirds love. They are also ferocious climbers, easily reaching 10-12 feet (3-3.6m), making them ideal for quick-growing privacy screens on fences or large tepees. The wow factor here is the coral shower of flowers, which appear in abundance and last for weeks. Unlike many other bean varieties, scarlet runner beans thrive in slightly cooler summer temperatures and keep pumping out flowers and pods until the first frost. Some key varieties to try are heirloom red-and-white ‘Painted Lady’ and classic intense ‘Scarlet Emperor’ beans. You can buy ‘Scarlet Emperor’ Runner Bean Seeds from Eden Brothers.

In early May, you can direct-sow your beans once the soil has warmed to 60°F (15°C). Because they are so vigorous, they need a sturdy support system. Think heavy-duty twine, a permanent cattle panel, or a sturdy trellis like the Lassmonk Trellis from Amazon to support and showcase these prolific flowering beauties. They aren't picky about soil, but do love a bit of mulch to keep roots cool. Interplant them with white-flowered climbers to create a high-contrast display. The young pods are delicious steamed, but you can also let them mature to harvest the stunning pink-and-black mottled dried beans in the fall. Hardy in zones 3-11.

3. Globe Artichoke

If you want a plant that looks like it belongs in a high-end architectural magazine, the globe artichoke has impressive visual prowess in a border. These are the giants of the border, reaching 5-6 feet tall (1.5-1.8m) and nearly as wide. Their silver-green, deeply serrated foliage provides a dramatic, fountain-like structure that holds its own against any ornamental shrub. Depending on variety, buds blush in hues of purple, olive or burgundy. If you don’t harvest the buds, they open into massive, neon-violet thistles in late summer which are genuinely spectacular and loved by bees. Try ‘Imperial Star’ or ‘Green Globe’ for a verdant twist, or ‘Violet de Provence’ Artichoke Seeds from Eden Brothers for dramatic structural interest and highly tasty crops.

Artichokes are perennials in warmer zones (7-11) but can be grown as annuals in zones 3-6 if started early. Early May is the time to get young starts into the ground. They are heavy feeders, so if you want to set and forget these generous croppers, dig in plenty of compost at planting. They are drought-tolerant once established and rarely bothered by pests. Use them as an anchor at the back of a border or as a centerpiece in a circular bed. Pair with dark purple flowers or fine-textured grasses to contrast with their bold, silver leaves. The first-year foliage alone earns its keep, and by year two, a well-established crown is one of the most visually arresting things a kitchen garden can produce.

4. Dragon Tongue Beans

Dragon tongue beans look like a seed catalog photograph come to life, and are almost too beautiful to eat. These compact bush beans (no staking required) produce flat, creamy-yellow pods heavily etched with vivid violet-purple streaks running lengthwise across them. They are the perfect front-of-border or mid-border plant, providing a tidy mound of interesting foliage and high-contrast pods. They also grow quickly (and are often ready to harvest in just 55 days), making them a great choice for gardeners who want fast results. For the definitive variety, buy Sherwood’s Seeds Dragon Tongue Seeds from Walmart.

Sow direct in May, planting an inch (2.5cm) deep, thinned to 6 inches (15cm) apart. They are very easygoing and handle heat better than many other bean varieties. Because they don’t climb, they are perfect for filling gaps in flower beds where a bulb has finished blooming. They are a set-and-forget dream, and you just need to keep picking them to encourage more production. The pods are stringless and have a buttery, nutty flavor. To keep the color story going, plant alongside purple alyssum or yellow pansies for a coordinated ground-level display in zones 3-10.

5. Bright Lights Rainbow Chard

Rainbow chard earns the word “vibrant” with stems in electric yellow, deep magenta, electric pink, coral orange, and white, all from one packet. It is essentially living neon lighting for your yard. The leaves are large, glossy, and often crumpled, adding a rich texture that complements delicate flowers. Because it is a cut-and-come-again crop, you can harvest the outer leaves for months, while the plant continues to provide a structural, colorful center for your border. This hori hori garden knife like the Perwin Hori Hori from Amazon makes harvesting at the roots clean and easy.

Sow direct in early May in zones 2-11, thinning to 9 inches (23cm). Chard is remarkably resilient – it handles a bit of shade better than most veggies, and is more heat-tolerant than spinach or kale. Plant in a sweeping drift, and try backlighting. When the afternoon sun hits those translucent colored stems, they literally glow. Rainbow chard is virtually maintenance-free once it reaches a few inches tall. Just provide regular water to keep the leaves tender, and enjoy the living spectacle from spring through hard frost. You can buy Bright Lights Swiss Rainbow Chard Seeds from Burpee for the classic mix of gold, pink, white and crimson stems, or ‘Peppermint’ for a quirky alternative featuring pink and white striped stems.

6. 'Hopi Red Dye' Amaranth

For sheer drama and vertical scale, ‘Hopi Red Dye’ amaranth is unbeatable. This plant sends up towering, plush flower spikes in a deep, brooding burgundy-red that can reach 6 feet (1.8m) in height. Flowers, leaves and stems all carry the same rich red-to-purple tint, making it a powerful color block for the back of a border. It acts as a fantastic temporary summer hedge, providing privacy with a structurally dynamic appeal. As privacy screening goes, this one looks more like a designer ornamental than a grain crop, and it really earns its place at the back of a border in zones 3-10.

Amaranth loves the heat, so May is the perfect time to transplant seedlings or direct-sow in sunny spots. It is exceptionally drought-tolerant once established, and really does thrive on neglect. While the young leaves are a delicious addition to salads (tasting like a nuttier spinach), the stunning seed heads are undeniably the big draw. These plumes remain vibrant for weeks, flowering midsummer to first frost, and can even be dried for indoor arrangements. Pair with gold-flowering perennials like rudbeckia for high-drama or pink and red zinnias for surreal color drenching. You can buy ‘Hopi Red Dye’ Amaranth Seeds from Amazon, for lush tassels on tall burgundy spires, while ‘Love Lies Bleeding’ offers a unique weeping form.

7. Tuscan Kale ‘Lacinato’

Also known as Dinosaur Kale or Cavolo Nero, this kale is the ultimate structural edimental. Its leaves are so long, narrow, and darkly puckered, it sits somewhere between vegetable and sculpture, and its deep blue-greenish notes look purple black in certain lights. Growing in an upright, palm-tree-like fashion, it provides a sophisticated, vertical accent that works beautifully in modern and minimalist garden designs. It reaches 3 feet (90cm) tall and retains its glorious shape in zones 2-11, long after other plants have faded in the summer heat or succumbed to the first frost.

Early May is a great time to transplant starts or direct-sow. This tough cookie isn't fussy about soil, though it does appreciate a nitrogen supplement with some chicken manure, such as Espoma Organic Chicken Manure from Walmart. To keep it looking its best, harvest lower kale leaves as it grows to emphasize that palm tree effect. It looks especially dynamic when paired with bright white flowers or silver foliage like dusty miller. As a bonus, the flavor actually improves after a light frost, making it one of the few plants that provides visual interest and food well into winter. You can buy ‘Lacinato’ Kale Seeds and Plants from Burpee. For something even darker, try ‘Black Magic’ for seriously sultry foliage.

8. Malabar Spinach

If you need a climbing vine that loves the sweltering heat, Malabar spinach is your go-to. While not a true spinach, it produces thick, glossy, heart-shaped leaves on vivid crimson-to-purple stems (in the 'Rubra' variety). It is a vigorous vine that will quickly scramble up a trellis, archway, or fence, providing a lush, tropical-looking screen. It climbs to six feet (1.8m) or more and handles summer heat in a way regular spinach can't, staying lush and productive long after other leafy greens have bolted. Malabar produces small, pinkish-white flowers, followed by dark purple berries, adding multiple layers of interest from midsummer through to first frost.

This is a heat-loving tropical, so don't rush it into the ground until the soil is warm in mid-to-late May. Wait until nights hold reliably above 50°F (10°C). This pretty climber needs a trellis to show off its crimson stems, making it an excellent choice for vertical gardening in tight spaces. Try fabric grow bags like Land Guard Fabric Pots from Amazon as the extra drainage suits a tropical vine. The leaves of this pest-resistant cropper have a mild, peppery flavor. Train it up an obelisk in the center of a flower bed to create a pillar of edible emerald and ruby. Try ‘Red Stem’ for crimson stems, or go classic with OutsidePride Malabar Spinach Seeds from Amazon. Grow as a perennial in zones 7-11, and an annual in zones 3-6.

Why the Edimental Approach Works

The magic of the edimental border is that it functions as a living community. When you mix these architectural vegetables with flowers, you’re practising companion planting on a grand scale. Tall climbers like scarlet runner beans provide much-needed shade for smaller, heat-sensitive flowers. The deep taproots of globe artichokes help break up compacted soil, improving drainage for everything nearby. Furthermore, by allowing some of these vegetables to flower, you are providing a buffet for beneficial insects, which in turn protects your crops from pests like aphids without the need for chemicals. Mix it all together, and the border runs itself better than a monoculture ever would.

As we move through early May, remember that the key to a beautiful border is layering, and what goes in now will define the border come July. Think about height, color, and cropping sequence before sowing — what emerges should feel layered rather than like a collection of things that happened to end up in the same bed. Place your amaranth and artichokes at the back, your ‘Lacinato’ kale and purple peas in the middle, and dragon tongue beans and rainbow chard at the edge.Don't be afraid to mix in traditional ornamentals. Nasturtiums are a classic companion for beans, providing a carpet of edible orange blooms. Marigolds and calendula add pops of gold, while deterring soil pests. This intentional mixing creates a garden that feels abundant, healthy, and deeply personal, as well as incredibly tasty. Bring on summer.

Shop Veg Seed Superstars

Ready to turn your borders into a gorgeous gourmet masterpiece? This curated trio of edimental seed favorites dutifully carry out "double duty" in beds and borders, producing crops that are as easy on the eyes as they are on the palate. Sow these gorgeous veg varieties for high-impact color and low-maintenance loveliness.

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Finding yellow leaves on plants is very common. The scientific term for the phenomenon is chlorosis. For mature plants, it might just mean you’re at the end of the growing season. For tomato seedlings, yellow leaves mean something is wrong – but don’t panic yet.

From nutrient deficiencies to incorrect watering, many of the factors that lead to tomato seedlings turning yellow are easy to reverse. This is one of the most common tomato seedling problems and once you determine the cause, you can resolve the issue.

I’ll share the top reasons why tomato seedlings yellow and how to fix them. Just avoid the care mistakes below that cause this problem. Then start working towards a solution so you can grow strong, healthy, green plants that produce tons of tasty tomatoes.

Why Are My Tomato Seedlings Turning Yellow?

Yellowing is very common among the possible problems when growing tomatoes and it's often fixable, so there's no need to stress. The list of care mistakes below will help you identify the cause of tomato seedlings turning yellow and provide solutions help plants regain their green color.

1. You're Overwatering

Overwatering seedlings is probably the most common underlying cause of yellowing leaves. It can be tricky to strike the right balance with water. Seedlings need consistent moisture, but too much water can cause roots to suffocate and ultimately rot. This leads to tomato seedlings turning yellow because they can’t absorb adequate nutrients.

When watering seedlings, aim for soil that never dries out entirely but is also never soggy or waterlogged. Your seedlings should be in trays or small pots with a light, well-draining potting mix like this one from Miracle-Gro and drainage holes, so water can’t get trapped.

If your seed trays have become waterlogged and the seedlings are yellowing, let them dry out a bit before watering again. If the container isn’t draining, repot your seedlings in a container that will drain excess water.

2. You're Underwatering

Tomato seedlings can also yellow if the watering balance tips in the other direction towards too dry. As with overwatering, underwatering prevents the roots from taking up enough nutrients to promote healthy, green growth.

If you catch this issue early, it’s very easy to fix. Aim to water your seed trays regularly, keeping the soil consistently moist but not soggy or drenched. When dryness is a problem, it’s important to check on seedlings daily. If you see any dry soil on top, give them some water.

A watering can that can direct water towards the roots and produces a fine spray, like this seedling watering can from Amazon, is good for delicate young tomato plants.

3. You're Not Fertilizing

Watering issues are common and easy to fix, but if you’ve mastered it and still have yellowing, it’s time to consider nutrient deficiencies. The deficiency most likely to cause yellow leaves is nitrogen.

Look at how the leaves have become yellow. If they started yellowing from the leaves at the bottom, followed by the upper leaves, then nitrogen is the likely culprit. Less commonly, a lack of iron or potassium can cause yellowing on the newest leaves.

To prevent nutrient deficiencies, you can use compost in your potting mix when starting seeds. This will provide them with a rich substrate to promote healthy growth.

Alternatively, you can fertilize seedlings with a balanced but diluted liquid fertilizer after the first true leaves emerge. This organic liquid fertilizer from Amazon is a good choice. Apply the diluted solution every two to three weeks as seedlings grow.

4. You're Not Providing Enough Light

Bright light is essential for healthy seedling growth. Are your tomato plants getting enough light? If not, they can definitely turn yellow from the reduced photosynthesis.

Another sign of inadequate light is leggy growth. This means the stems are growing tall yet thin as they stretch to reach any available light.

Be sure your seedlings are getting 12 to 16 hours of direct, bright light per day. If sunny windows are scarce, use artificial lights, like this affordable grow light from Amazon, to give tomatoes a boost.

Situate lights a few inches from the tops of the seedlings. If you are using light from a window, rotate the seed trays regularly so they get even sunlight.

5. Your Plants Have a Disease

Hopefully, you’ve found the cause of your yellowing seedlings in one of the above issues. Tomato diseases are much more serious and more difficult to manage. They're also less likely to be the problem compared to the typical issues of lighting, water, and nutrients.

Fungal infections are most common, but you might also have a bacterial issue. Less common are viral diseases in tomato seedlings. Diseases in tomato seedlings often begin with yellowing from the top of the plant down. They are also associated with other signs, like spots on leaves or wilting.

If you see signs of a fungal disease, like fusarium wilt or early blight, remove the affected leaves or entire seedlings. You can try a fungicide, like this one from Bonide, if the infection hasn’t spread too far.

Bacterial diseases, like bacterial leaf spot, often come from the seed. That's why it’s so important to buy from reputable sources. Burpee has tons of high-quality tomato seeds, including many disease-resistant varieties. If your seeds were infected, all your seedlings are likely impacted and you may need to start over.

To prevent diseases in tomato seedlings, start with good seeds. Use clean, sterile seed starting mix and seed trays. Avoid overcrowding your seedlings, which can lead to disease spread. Good air flow between plants is important, too. Water only at the soil level and remove any seedlings that look diseased as soon as you spot the signs of illness.

For tomato seedlings, yellow leaves can mean many things. It’s a common phenomenon and shouldn't be too worrying as long as you determine the cause. The most important thing you can do when growing tomatoes from seeds is to keep a close eye on the seedlings as they develop.

Check them at least once a day for signs of watering issues, nutrient deficiencies, diseases, and other problems. The earlier you catch these issues, the easier they are to fix and the more likely it is you’ll be able to save your little seedlings.

Have you ever found yourself completely overrun with one vegetable for a week, then completely without it the rest of the season? Or have you had a vegetable peter out before the end of the summer, leaving a bare and unproductive spot in its place? These are very common problems in the world of vegetable gardening, but luckily they’re very easy to fix.

The solution is called “succession planting,” and it’s the strategic art of staggering your garden’s production so that you harvest small amounts of food over a long period rather than facing a vegetable avalanche all at once.

There are a few different ways to approach succession planting, and you can implement one or all of them in your vegetable garden. Let’s dive in!

1. Relay Planting

Also called staggered sowing, relay succession planting is a way to get a fresh harvest of the same crop every week for an extended period of time. It’s a simple concept: instead of planting a full row of a specific crop on a single day, you plant smaller portions at regular intervals. Once the first portion matures, you harvest it. Then before you know it, the second portion will be ready to harvest, and so on.

Relay planting doesn’t work with every kind of plant (try it with tomatoes and you’ll drown in fruit), but it’s effective for a lot of favorites. The most common ones are:

• Lettuce
• Beans
• Peas
• Corn
• Carrots
• Radish
• Spinach
• Beets
• Greens

To do relay planting, simply plan on planting a new set of seeds every two to three weeks. It’s easiest to keep track of if you do it in rows, like the picture at the top of this article. Continue planting like this for the whole season. When the first batch is ready for harvest, you can reuse that area you just harvested to continue planting more seeds.

2. Intercropping

This involves planting a second crop into the spaces of a first crop before the first is even finished. In other words, you place a warm season plant right up next to a cool season plant.

For example, you can plant spinach interspersed with tomatoes. Spinach thrives early in the season, and will likely go in the ground well before the tomatoes are. When the tomatoes finally go in, they can be interspersed with the larger spinach plants.

The spinach will keep the soil cool and moist, creating a cozy spot for the fledgling tomatoes. By the time the tomato seedlings really start to take off and need more space, the spinach will have run its course and be ready to pull.

3. Crop Rotation

For the gardener with limited space, succession planting vegetables can double or even triple a garden's production. It does take a little planning, the results are worth it.

Basically, crop rotation takes advantage of the different needs of a wide variety of vegetables and your own seasonal cycle. For example, in an area where you get a temperate spring, summer, and fall, you would plant a short season cool crop in spring. Harvest that, then plant a longer season warm weather crop in summer. Harvest that, then plant another short season cool crop in fall. All three plants grow in the same patch of soil, and not an unproductive day goes by.

An example of this kind of succession planting in the garden might be lettuce (spring), followed by tomatoes (summer), and followed by cabbage (fall).

If you live in a hotter climate, you can even get away with planting four crops in one spot:

• Winter: short season cool crop (spinach)
• Spring: long season warm crop (squash)
• Summer: heat tolerant crop (okra)
• Fall: long season warm crop (tomatoes)

This style of vegetable garden succession planting takes full advantage of all of your garden space at all times during the growing season.

Succession Planting Essentials

Fig trees are a wonderful addition to a home garden and can live for more than 50 years if cared for properly. April is a crucial time for preparing trees for a healthy growing season and maximizing fruit production.

Growing fig trees is a mostly hands-off endeavor, but a few spring tasks will help you get the most out of your tree. A little care now will make all the difference this summer. You’ll be enjoying the fruits of your labor before you know it!

Let’s get down to business and prep your fig trees for their best year yet.

1. Last Chance for Pruning

If your fig tree is still dormant in April, which is common in cooler parts of the country, now is the time to prune. Pruning during the dormant stage is important. Pruning fig trees just before they begin to put out new growth in the spring will allow them to heal quickly when they get growing and won’t harm your crop of figs. Pruning too late will attract pests to the fig tree’s sap and open wounds in the tree can invite disease.

Cold-hardy fig trees like ‘Chicago Hardy’ figs (available from Fast Growing Trees) are frequently grown in containers and should be pruned so they don’t become too top-heavy. Mature fig trees should be pruned so 3-5 strong branches are the main scaffolding of the tree. Thinning the canopy and pruning away any tree suckers will allow proper airflow and sunlight penetration so the tree will grow well and produce good fruits.

2. Fertilize

When new growth begins, you should fertilize fig trees to give them a good nutrient boost. In warmer climates, this window might have already passed. In cooler climates, now is the ideal time to feed your fig trees. As figs enter the active growing stage of the year they need nutrients to ensure healthy roots, foliage, and an abundant crop of tasty fruits.

Firstly, water your tree the day before you plant to fertilize so the roots are hydrated and ready to absorb fertilizer. Apply a balanced organic fertilizer, like Burpee Organic All Purpose 4-4-4 fertilizer from Amazon, and work into the top inch of soil with a hand rake.

After fertilizing, apply mulch to keep roots cool and moist through the summer heat. Be sure to keep the mulch away from the trunk of your fig tree. Mulch touching the trunk will invite fungal problems.

3. Manage Damage

Your fig tree may look a little worse for wear after winter and April is the time to manage the damage. Limbs may have been snapped in early spring storms, pests are beginning to wake up, and the threat of a late frost is still in the air.

When you prune your fig tree, be sure to carefully prune out any broken branches and dead limbs. Pruning will help your fig to not waste energy on dying branches, but instead focus on new growth and fruit production.

Common fig tree pests like carpenter worms, dried fruit beetles, fig beetles, scale insects, and fig tree borers are waking up and getting to work in the spring. You should identify pests early in the season so you can remove infected wood or use physical barriers or chemical controls where appropriate. Don’t sleep on this task. Catching infestations early is critical to the survival of your tree.

In addition to pest management, you should keep an eye on the weather. Figs are native to the Mediterranean, so they won’t handle a late cold snap well, unless they are a specially bred cold-hardy variety. Cover trees with protective frost blankets, which can be found at Amazon. If you have container-grown figs, bring them back indoors when there is a cold snap in the forecast. A plant caddy, available from the Home Depot, can help you easily roll your potted fig tree indoors or around your patio for optimal sun exposure and easy watering.

Shop Fig Tree Essentials

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Lavender is a popular perennial herb, beloved for its delicate purple flowers and intoxicating scent. It’s easy to grow, too, and very forgiving, thriving even in poor soil and with minimal moisture. Although lavender tolerates some neglect, you’ll get the most out of your plants with thoughtful spring care.

Lavender care in April is all about helping your plants wake up from winter dormancy and taking steps to ensure they have a great start to the growing season. From pruning to weeding and soil maintenance, now is the time to pamper your lavender. The effort you put in now will result in shapely, dense growth and an abundance of blooms later.

1. Clean up Lavender Beds and Pots

All plants benefit from a spring cleaning. Tackle this chore in April for lavender to keep beds tidy and to minimize the risk that fungal spores hiding in debris will infect your plants. Clear away any old plant material that has accumulated around the bases of the lavender plants. This includes dead growth, leaves, twigs, stems, and old decaying mulch.

Mulching can be useful for protecting lavender roots and crowns from cold in winter, especially in colder climates. But any mulch that holds in moisture can cause issues during the growing season. Pull away protective winter mulch to let the plants get some air and dry out. You can add inorganic mulch around plants to help promote drainage. Use gravel or crushed stones for this purpose, like this pea gravel from Walmart.

2. Spring Pruning

Lavender doesn’t strictly need to be pruned every spring. The plants grow strong and sturdy even in the absence of regular pruning. However, a careful April trim will benefit the plants and help them look tidier and grow less woody and leggy. Do this task right, and you’ll also get more flowers in summer.

The most important thing to remember when pruning lavender in April is: easy does it. April is the time for light trimming, not a heavy pruning session. Remove any stems that look like they got damaged over the winter. Then, trim lightly to shape each plant into a rounded mound. Avoid cutting into the woody growth, which won’t regenerate. Instead, make cuts just above new spring growth on fresher stems.

This light trimming session promotes branching, so you’ll get denser, fuller growth throughout the summer. Extra branches also mean more flowers. If you need some new pruners, then Fiskars' Bypass Pruners are highly rated and excellent value for money.

3. Make Soil Amendments as Needed

April is a good time to ensure your lavender plants are growing in appropriate soil conditions. Lavender grows best in dry soil. Drainage is essential, as soggy roots are the number one killer of lavender plants. Use this time to check your plants for any signs that the soil is retaining too much water:

• Soil that stays wet for a while after snow melt or rain
• Yellowing leaves
• Wilted or limp growth
• Signs of rot in roots, including soggy, mushy, or stinky roots

If you are concerned about moisture, spend some time amending the soil to improve drainage. You can gently dig around the plants to remove some of the heavy soil and to mix in grit, sand, or small gravel.

You might also be tempted to add compost or fertilizer in April, which is beneficial for many plants waking up from winter sleep. This is not the case for lavender. It actually grows better in poor soil. Fertilizer now will promote a lot of leafy growth, but this can hinder flower growth later.

4. Start Weeding

Weeds are inevitable, no matter what you do to try to prevent their growth. Some gravel or stone mulch will help keep them down, but expect weeds to grow regardless. Early management of weeds is essential for keeping them under control. An abundance of weeds is a messy look, but it’s also a situation that can take moisture and nutrients away from your garden plants, compromising their growth and health. Weeds can also harbor and spread disease and pests.

April is an ideal time to start weeding. It can be an onerous chore, but starting now means they’re easier to pull and they won’t fill in so much of the space later. Focus on pulling weeds from the root zones of your lavender plants, but do so gently and carefully, avoiding damaging the lavender’s shallow roots. Grandpa's Weeder makes it easy to target each weed, without having to bend down.

5. Propagate for More Lavender

All of the above steps will help you enjoy more flowers on your existing lavender plants, but another way to get more is to propagate. Spring is the best time to take softwood cuttings. With a little patience, you’ll have new lavender plants at no extra cost.

Take cuttings of soft stems, not the woody stems. Cuttings should be at least three inches (7.5 cm) long. Remove the bottom leaves and put the cut end into moist potting medium. While not strictly necessary, dipping the cut end in rooting hormone first will promote faster root growth – like this Garden Safe TakeRoot.

Cover the cutting with plastic and set it in a warm area with bright, indirect light. Once you have several roots growing, remove the plastic and move the pot to a sunnier location. After a few weeks, it should be ready to be transplanted outside. Pot the cuttings on in this Soil Sunrise Lavender Potting Soil Mix.

Lavender April Essentials

Lavender is known for thriving on neglect, but the plants do welcome intentional and thoughtful care in April to support breaking winter dormancy and starting healthy, new growth. A little attention in April goes a long way toward a summer full of fragrant blooms.

If there were an award for “easiest herb to grow,” chives might just win it. They’re incredibly cold hardy perennials, and will pop up reliably every spring. I was given a pot of them years ago by a neighbor and they’re still growing, right where I set them down and continue to neglect them.

They’re a culinary herb, usually added fresh as garnish. (No baked potato bar would be complete without them). They’re beloved for their fresh, oniony flavor and bright color that comes to the rescue when a dish is in need of a little something green.

They’re also highly ornamental, producing the lollipop-esque pompom flowers all alliums share. Though they might not be the most versatile for cooking, they’re some of the most common herbs grown by gardeners due to their reliability and showy flowers. Here we’ll cover everything there is to know about growing chives.

Quick Facts about Chives

Common vs. Garlic Chives

When people talk about chives, they could be talking about either of two distinct species. There are common chives (Allium schoenoprasum), which have hollow, tube-like leaves and edible purple pom-pom flowers. They have a mild, delicate onion flavor.

Then there are garlic chives (Allium tuberosum), also known as Chinese or Asian chives. These have flat, solid leaves and white, star-shaped flowers. As the name suggests, they have a subtle garlic punch and bloom later in the summer (August/September) than common chives.

We’re going to be talking here about common chives, the purple headed spring bloomers.

Growing Chives from Seed

It’s very easy to start chives from seed, both indoors and outdoors.

Indoors

1. Start 6-8 weeks before the last frost.
2. Plant chive seeds about 1/4 inch (6 mm) deep in the soil.
3. Water well.
4. Place the pot in a dark spot in temperatures 60 to 70 F (15-21 C).
5. When the seeds sprout, move them into the light.
6. When seedlings reach 6 inches (15 cm), you can transplant them to the garden.

Outdoors

1. Wait until after the last frost.
2. Plant chive seeds about 1/4 inch (6 mm) deep in the soil.
3. Water well.
4. The seeds may take a bit longer to germinate than indoors, because the soil needs time to warm up.

How to Grow Chives from Divisions

While seed propagation is possible, the most common way to grow chives is to start from divisions. In other words, you have to separate an older plant into multiple smaller plants.

Chives are victims of their own success, growing in dense clumps that have to be separated every three to four years to prevent overcrowding. The upshot is, you get more plants out of it.

1. In early spring or mid fall, find an established clump of chives.
2. Gently dig up the entire clump and pull off a smaller clump that contains 5-10 bulbs.
3. Repeat this as many times as you want or can.
4. Replant the smaller clumps at least 8-10 inches apart, or wherever you want more chives to take hold.

Growing Chives Indoors

There’s no rule that says you can’t grow chives indoors. In fact, chives are very well suited to indoor life, and usually perform the best of all the plants in an indoor herb garden. Grow indoor chives in a pot that drains well and is full of good potting soil. Place the pot in bright light. Harvest them just as you would outside.

Harvesting Chives

This of course brings us to harvesting chives. Wait until the plant is at least a foot (0.3 m) tall, then using a pair of shears, feel free to snip away as much as you need. You can cut back half of the plant’s growth without hurting it – it’ll grow right back. I personally have never found myself able to eat chives faster than they grow. I usually stop trying and just let them look pretty.

Speaking of which, those pretty purple flowers are edible as well. You can crumble them over a dish for a surprising purple garnish.

Chives in Winter

Can chives grow in winter? Unlike many herbs, chives actually benefit from a period of cold. It triggers their natural dormancy cycle and helps them grow stronger in the spring. That being said, they will die back and won’t be any good for harvesting.

If you want to harvest chives through the winter, there is a way.

1. Leave them outdoors for the first few frosts – this will trigger dormancy.
2. Dig up a clump and pot it.
3. Bring the pot indoors and put it on a bright windowsill.

The dormant period followed by warmth will trick the plant into thinking it’s spring, and you’ll get a fresh winter harvest.

Essentials for Growing Chives

If you're growing a garden, there's a decent chance you're growing tomatoes. They're the most popular crop, and one that has a massive payoff in flavor.

Of course gardening is rarely as easy as tossing some seeds in the ground and walking away. Tomatoes, in particular, need a little extra TLC and a little extra gear, especially if you want to get the most out of your plant.

But how much is too much? Once you dip your toe into the world of tomato growing accoutrements, you'll discover that the sky's the limit on what people will sell you. They'll insist, naturally, that you need all of it.

You probably don't, though. And you especially don't need the most expensive tomato fertilizers or slings specially designed to support ripening fruit.

To help you out, here's a breakdown of the tomato garden products it's worth splurging on a little bit, and the ones you can feel fine saving on.

Where to Splurge

I've tried my best to find a "cheap" splurge for each one of these, because we're growing tomatoes here, not buying an engagement ring.

Strong Plants

This is possibly the most important one. No matter how much you coddle your tomato plants, you're going to be fighting an uphill battle if you don't start strong. Starting strong means buying disease-resistant, healthy seeds or seedlings from a reputable seller. (Burpee is great!) You can buy all of these as seeds or live seedlings.

High Quality Soil

Not all soil is created equal, and even good soil isn't necessarily right for the job you have in mind. If you're growing in a container, you really need potting soil, which drains better and will keep your potted container from getting waterlogged. Grow outdoors in a bed, and you can get that cheaper garden soil.

No matter what, don't just dig up dirt from outside to fill a container – that's a sure way to rot your roots. And if you want to grow tomatoes in the ground, get your soil tested first. A lot of soil contains lead and other heavy metals and shouldn't be used to grow edibles.

Proper Fertilizer

Tomatoes are heavy feeders, and while they will probably survive fine without it, regular feeding may be the difference between an okay harvest and a bumper crop. Opt for a vegetable or tomato fertilizer. This will ensure you get lots of fruit and not just endless green vines.

Rich Compost

Just like with the fertilizer, high-quality compost can be the thing that makes a good tomato crop. You don't have to break the bank, but opt for something a little richer and you'll notice a difference.

Sturdy Support

If you've read my other writing about tomatoes, you know that I have a long-standing beef with cheap wire tomato cages. Tomatoes spend all summer growing heavier and more unwieldy – you don't want them collapsing under their own weight at the height of production.

My personal favorite is the modular cage below. It's sturdy, it's adjustable, and it collapses down to fit in your shed at the end of the year. Plus it's cheap!

Where to Save

Now we get into the nice part of the article, where you can breathe a sigh of relief and actually save a little money.

Seed Starting Trays

Seed starting trays like this one from Amazon are super convenient, and they're really not that expensive. But you don't need one to have success starting tomatoes from seed indoors. You can start seeds in an egg carton, or you can make a seed snail from bubble wrap. Heck, you can even start seeds in an ice cream cone! Your tomatoes will probably come out the same.

Containers

You don't even need to diy this one. Want to grow tomatoes in containers? Have a container? You're good to go!

Just make sure your container is big – tomato plants can get massive. And make sure there's at least one drainage hole. If you want, you can buy special tomato containers with a built-in trellis, but it's really not necessary.

Mulch

Anything can be mulch! Wood chips, grass clippings, straw. You can always buy mulch, but it's not a necessity.

Ties

Ties are something you might not think you need when you first plant a tomato. After all, it looks so small. But as the tomato plant grows, you'll probably need to attach it to its cage or trellis, just to keep it moving in the right direction. Commercial ties like this one from Amazon are super cheap. But if that's still too much for you, try using pantyhose or ribbon. As long as it's flat, so it doesn't cut into the soft flesh of the plant.

April is a pivotal month in the garden as temperatures warm and plants begin to grow. You might call it the month in which spring has really sprung. This month is an especially important one for your fruit trees, and you’ll have to do some maintenance now for healthy growth and generous harvests later in the growing season.

Growing fruit trees is always exciting, since you witness progress month by month, and often week by week. The trees awaken from their winter rest, bud out, flower and leaf, then form fruit that develop over the season. Proper fruit tree care in April is the key to it all, and it can feel overwhelming.

That’s why having a shortlist is helpful. It’s always easier to complete proper maintenance tasks when you are clear about what needs to be done when. Here’s the list of six critical fruit tree maintenance tasks to get you through April.

1. Inspect Each Tree’s Soil

It’s easy to think of soil as a given, something that is always in place that you don’t have to worry about. But that is far from the truth. Good, well-draining, nutrient-rich soil doesn’t happen without regular maintenance, and the more effort you put into building good soil, the better your fruit trees will perform.

April is the moment to begin. Check the soil around the base of each fruit tree. Winter weather can compact the soil, reducing drainage and limiting the water and nutrients that get to the tree’s roots. Loosen up the top layer of soil and work organic compost into the mix. If necessary, aerate the area by poking holes into the soil that allow water and air to pass. You can do this with a lawn aerator spike, like this Walensee tool from Amazon.

It’s a good idea to test your soil at this time to figure out exactly what nutrients and micronutrients are needed. This allows you to provide the appropriate fertilizer. MySoil's Soil Test Kit provides a comprehensive soil pH and nutrient analysis.

2. Feed Those Hungry Roots

With the soil test results in hand, select the appropriate fertilizer. Generally, a balanced, granular fertilizer for fruit trees will be sufficient, like this Jobe’s Organics Granular Garden Fertilizer for Fruit and Citrus Plants and Trees. Fertilizing in April gives the tree a good start for the entire fruiting season.

Always water the soil before applying fertilizer around the root zone. Never allow the product to touch the trunk. Water again once the fertilizer is in place to move those nutrients into the soil.

3. Ensure Your Trees Get Enough Water

Everyone knows that fruit trees need water to survive and thrive, yet thoughtless irrigation can cause problems. Remember that while a fruit tree will waste away without enough water, overwatering is even more of a problem. Give your fruit trees too much water, and their leaves will yellow, wilt, and fall, and the roots may actually rot.

Poor drainage is often the cause of overwatering, so do your soil check first. Then start a watering program for the trees. They do best with consistently moist soil, and deep watering is the key. This means watering less often but for a longer time so that water passes down at least a foot (30cm) into the soil. This may require a hose drip for 20 minutes, like this Rainpoint Soaker Hose.

Of course, a fruit tree’s water needs in April depend in large part on the weather. If your spring is rainy, there may be no need to water at all. Try sticking a finger into the soil as far as you can. If it is dry, it’s irrigation time.

If you're finding it difficult to gauge soil moisture, then it's worth picking up a moisture meter, like this Raintrip 4-in-1 Soil Moisture Meter.

4. Mulch Now

Nothing makes me feel more like I am caring for my fruit trees than applying mulch to their soil. It’s like tucking a baby into bed. Mulching holds in the moisture, keeps away the weeds, and regulates soil temperature, cooling the ground in hot weather and warming it up in cold weather.

Layer a few inches of organic mulch around the base of the fruit tree in a donut shape, never allowing it to touch the trunk. What mulch to use? I like organic compost, but you can use wood chips, dried chopped leaves, shredded bark, or coconut husks, like this Back to the Roots Organic Expanding Mulch.

5. Keep Pests and Diseases at Bay

April brings out garden pests and fruit tree diseases that are ready, willing, and able to attack your trees. You’ll want to keep a close eye on the trees with weekly inspections and act early to deal with any problems. Be sure to inspect both sides of leaves for bugs and look along the base for sawdust or cankers. If the weather is damp, look for signs of fungal diseases as well.

As a preventative measure, clean up debris around the base of the tree, including fallen leaves and fruit. This is where many pests hide.

If you do spot an infection or infestation, select an appropriate organic fungicide or insecticide. Products like lime sulfur or fixed copper can prevent fungal infections. Neem or horticultural oil spray is a good place to start when insects are present. Bonide Captain Jack's Neem Oil is a highly rated option.

6. Prune Your Fruit Trees

You knew we’d get here – and here we are. There is no option that allows you to avoid pruning your fruit trees in spring to improve airflow and branch structure. Many gardeners worry about this task, since cutting off parts of a tree seems so definitive, and pruning directions can seem complex. Here’s an easy way to prune in April.

Start with basic pruning – learn the “three Ds” – and act before the tree leafs out. Remove dead, damaged, or diseased branches. If you need to take off entire branches, make the cut just outside the branch collar. Make other branch cuts at 45-degree angles, just above a bud. If you need to upgrade your shears, then Fiskars' Bypass pruning shears are highly rated and make a clean cut.

Remember that your job in April is to thin out branch growth to let sun and air penetrate the tree canopy. Remove crossing branches and work toward creating an open structure. This is very important for apple and pear trees that do best with a goblet-like shape.

April Fruit Tree Essentials

This proactive approach in April sets the foundation for an abundant harvest. By dedicating time now to proper soil health, strategic watering, and preventative care against pests and diseases, you are ensuring your trees can focus their energy on producing high-quality fruit. You’re not just performing maintenance; you’re investing in the sweet, generous yield that awaits you in the summer and fall.

But the work doesn’t stop once April ends. Continue to monitor your trees closely as the growing season progresses. May will bring new challenges and opportunities, from thinning developing fruit to adjusting your watering schedule during drier spells. The key is consistent, attentive care.

Potatoes are an incredibly versatile root crop. There are 5,000 different cultivars of potato plants to choose from in an array of colors, sizes, and tastes. With so many options available and their versatility in the kitchen, it's no wonder why growing potatoes is popular for many home gardeners.

Learning how to grow potatoes isn't hard, in fact, it is a fun activity for gardeners of all ages to try. But in order to get a big harvest of these delicious root vegetables, you have to provide potatoes with the specific care needs they require. Luckily, that's easy to do.

If you’re interested in planting potatoes in your vegetable garden, our team of plant experts has you covered. Just follow the care guidelines below to grow huge harvest of tasty taters!

Quick Potato Facts

How to Plant Potatoes

Potatoes are a cool weather crop. They are also one of the most important staple crops in the world. But they rely on specific light, water, temperature, soil, and fertility requirements along with attention to pests and diseases to produce a healthy crop.

Soil Requirements

Potatoes need well-draining soil, preferably a bit sandy. Soil that doesn't drain well can cause tubers to rot and ruin your whole crop. If you have a heavy clay soil in your garden, you may be better off growing potatoes in containers, like potato grow bags, to prevent issues.

Potatoes prefer a slightly acidic soil with a pH of 6-6.5. Acidic soil helps prevent potato scab on tubers. But they can tolerate a soil pH as low as 5.

Potatoes also need rich, fertile soil because they are heavy feeders. Mix compost into your soil before planting to ensure your potatoes get the nutrients they need to produce tons of edible tubers.

Light Requirements

Potatoes are sun lovers and should be grown in full sun. That said, in hotter climates, the hot afternoon sun can cause leaf scald while in areas with poor sun exposure, the plants will likely be lanky and spindly.

Temperature & Humidity

Potatoes are a cool season crop and thrive in temperatures between 65-80°F (18-27°C) during the day and around 55-65°F (13-18°C) at night.

Although they can handle short spurts of overly humid weather, it is not a necessity for potatoes. That said, somewhere within the range of 60-80% relative humidity will keep your potatoes happy.

Planting

Soil temperature should be at least 55°F (13°C) during the day and 45°F (7°C) at night before planting seed potatoes. If the soil is too wet and cold, sprouting will be delayed and seed pieces may rot.

Potato seed bed preparation is important before planting potatoes as well. Space pieces 10-12 inches (25-30 cm) apart and 4 inches (10 cm) deep in rows that are 30-36 inches (76-91 cm) apart. Smaller fingerling potatoes can be spaced closer together, about 8 inches (20 cm) apart.

Care

After planting, potatoes will begin to produce new tubers underground and lots of leafy foliage above the surface of the soil. Here's how to care for potato plants to ensure they grow tons of tasty tubers for your to harvest.

Watering

Potatoes thrive in consistently moist soil, but there can be too much of a good thing. Overly wet soil can lead to rot, so there is a fine line between too much and not enough when it comes to watering potatoes.

In general, depending upon the weather, potato plants need 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water per week to produce healthy tubers. Mulch around plants to help retain moisture and cut down on the need for watering as well as prevent underwatering.

Fertilizing

Potatoes have a shallow root system which means they tend to like more fertilizer than other crop types. Start feeding your potatoes at the beginning by incorporating some well-aged compost into their planting hole. A soil test will help you figure out when and how much fertilizer to apply thereafter.

In lieu of a soil test, use a balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer at the rate of 1 lb (454 g) per 10 row feet before planting and mixed into the soil. Then sidedress at the rate of 5 lbs (2.7 kg) per 10 row feet a week after emergence and water into the soil. Finally, side dress another 5 lbs (2.7 kg) per 10 row feet 4-6 weeks after emergence and water in.

Mulching & Hilling

Hill potatoes by adding 2-4 inches (5-10 cm) of soil or compost around the top of the plant when the tubers begin to emerge from the soil. This is to ensure that light does not cause tuber greening.

Mulch around the plants with wood chips or straw to retain moisture, block light and slow down weeds. Keep an eye on the hills and add more soil, compost, or organic mulch as needed to keep the emerging potatoes covered.

Harvesting

Early potatoes are ready to harvest in about 10-12 weeks as early as mid-June while larger spuds are ready from late August to October.

Harvest potatoes when their vines die back and lose their color. Use a potato fork to gently lift the tubers from the ground or remove the entire plant and harvest the tubers.

You can eat them right away or cure them for prolonged storage. Use or dispose of any damaged spuds immediately. If you want to store your potatoes for later, lay the tubers out in a single layer in a warm, dark, aerated area for about 10 days.

Brush any dirt off the tubers, don’t wash them, before storing. Store your potatoes in a dark, cool, area of about 32-40°F (0-4°C) with a 95% relative humidity. This curing process allows the skins to set and any minor wounds to heal over. If you plan on frying your spuds, store them at a warmer 40-50°F (4-10°C).

Potato Varieties

There are many varieties of potatoes. The kind you grow should reflect your particular climate and garden as well as your personal taste. Different varieties are better suited to certain culinary purposes than others.

Here are a few of the most common potatoes that gardeners grow, though there are many more unique potato varieties and heirloom potatoes to try as well.

• Russet potatoes are the classic variety you probably think of when you hear the word potato. They are great for baking, frying, or mashing! You can get Russet seed potatoes from Walmart.
• 'Yukon Gold' is a delicious potato with creamy yellow flesh. They are my favorite type to cook with, especially for mashed potatoes. Get Yukon Gold seed potatoes from Burpee.
• 'Red Pontiac' is a very popular choice, if you want to grow red potatoes in your garden. They are flavorful and make great new potatoes. You can get Red Pontiac seed potatoes at the Home Depot.

Common Problems

There are many pests, diseases, and disorders that may afflict potatoes. Healthy spuds are less likely to be susceptible to common potato problems.

Pests like aphids, Colorado beetles, and flea beetles to name a few are known to inflict damage on potato crops.

Diseases, usually fungal like early or late blight also may be an issue with potato production. These can be treated with fungicides but are best avoided by using disease resistant or free seeds, maintaining good fertility and proper irrigation techniques.

Disorders such as tuber greening is the result of light exposure on spuds. Keep the tubers covered with soil in the garden and store the potatoes in a cool, dark area after harvest.

Irregularly shaped tubers or those with dry, cracked skins are the result of fluctuating irrigation. Mulch around the plants to retain moisture.

Growing Potatoes in Containers

Potatoes grow well in containers. A potato container can be a pot or a bucket or a grow bag, like these one from Amazon. Use 2-3 seed potatoes per 5-gallon bucket. Grow them as you would in the ground, paying careful attention to add soil as tubers emerge to keep them covered up.

Frequently Asked Questions

Potato Growing Essentials

April is full of changes as spring gets under way. Lemon trees that you had indoors all winter are springing back to life from their dormant period. There are a few crucial care tasks that need to be done in April to give them the best chance to produce tasty fruit this summer.

Lemon trees are hardy to USDA Zones 9-11, but many gardeners across the country grow them outdoors in the summer and bring them inside in winter. Growing lemon trees in containers is a great way to stretch your growing zone so you can have delicious lemons even if you don’t have balmy weather year-round. Just bring them indoors when the weather gets cold and put them back outside as spring warms up.

In particular, Meyer lemon trees make wonderful potted fruit trees – if you don’t have one yet, they are currently on sale at Fast Growing Trees! Let’s dig into the tasks you need to complete before April ends so you can have your most bountiful lemon harvest yet.

1. Repot Lemon Trees

April is the perfect time to repot your lemon tree. After all its growth last year, it can use an up-potting. A sure sign that your tree needs a bigger pot is if you see roots coming out of the drainage holes or peeping above the soil. Typically, lemon trees need to be repotted every 3 to 4 years.

Choose a new pot that is about 25% larger than the old pot and make sure to choose a pot with drainage holes. Soggy soil will lead to fungus problems and harm the health of your lemon tree so good drainage is key. If your tree needs a substantial up-potting, I recommend planting into something like the Vego Garden self-watering rolling citrus tree planter. It is specifically made for citrus trees and features a self-watering system that prevents overwatering and underwatering. It also has wheels which will allow you to move your lemon tree easily for years to come.

On the topic of good drainage, you should give your pot a soil refresh by adding well-draining soil. You can use regular potting soil and mix in some perlite or vermiculite to improve drainage, or you can purchase a cactus and citrus tree potting mix. Miracle-Gro’s Cactus, Palm, and Citrus Soil mix, available from Home Depot, is a great option for a ready-made mix.

2. Fertilize Lemon Trees

Beginning in April, your lemon tree needs to be fertilized every 4-6 weeks. As they leave dormancy, lemon trees begin to show new growth and need nutritional support to ensure they are healthy and produce tasty fruit.

If you have a patio lemon tree that comes indoors in the winter, the GrowScripts Lemon Tree Care Kit from The Sill has pre-measured nutrient applications and a care schedule to go along with them. Just follow the instructions and your potted lemon tree will thrive all year long.

Espoma Citrus-Tone, available from Amazon, is an organic citrus fertilizer that is great for lemon trees planted in the landscape or in a container. It is gentle and won’t burn plants. In general, citrus trees need more Nitrogen than Potassium or Phosphorus, so look for an NPK ratio that reflects that. Additionally, it should be a pretty low concentration formula so as not to burn your lemon tree. Don’t use a fertilizer that has any number in the formula higher than 8 (e.g. 8-8-8).

3. Move Lemon Trees Outdoors

April is a great time for a little spring vacation! If you moved your potted lemon tree indoors to winterize it, now is the time to begin acclimating it to the great outdoors. Place your lemon tree outside during the day and bring it back inside at night when temperatures dip. Once temperatures are regularly above 60 degrees F (15.5 C), you can make the final move outside so your lemon tree will get plenty of fresh air and sunshine.

Citrus plants are native to sub-tropical parts of the world and are healthier and more productive when they are in conditions that imitate their natural environment. Warm weather and full sun (at least 6-8 hours per day) will help you get the best crop of lemons yet.

To make moving plants outdoors easier, you can invest in a plant caddy with wheels or a plant mover. This adjustable plant caddy from Amazon changes from an 8-inch diameter to 21-inch diameter and holds up to 330 pounds so it will grow with your lemon tree. A plant mover dolly, available from Walmart, is another good option to make moving your lemon tree outside easier.

Give your lemon tree a little love this spring. A new pot, fresh soil, good nutrition, and a vacation to your patio will set it up for summer success!

April is a “make or break” time for your strawberry plants. This is when the plants are waking up from winter dormancy and starting to grow and bloom. After a long, cold winter, new growth is ready to peak out from under the old mulch. Now is the time to treat your plants right, so they’ll reward you later.

Growing strawberries can be as simple as mostly leaving the plants alone, but if you want strong, healthy plants and to maximize your summer harvest, now is the time to get your hands dirty. Dust off your gardening tools, maybe wear a light sweater, and get into the strawberry patch to do these five crucial tasks.

1. Tidy Your Patch

Winter tends to leave the garden a little messy. It’s worth taking some time to tidy up your strawberry patch, and the plants will thank you for doing so. First, remove any unnecessary debris, like dead leaves and twigs. Clear out old mulch that’s decaying and remove any leaves still on the plants from last year. This lets the crowns breathe a little to prevent rotting.

Your tidying task should also include pulling out any early weeds. Weeds compete with berry plants for nutrients and water. Start to remove them now to get ahead of growth, but return to the patch throughout the growing season to keep pulling any weeds that pop up.

Finally, consider removing some of the runners. Snip off old runners that will divert energy away from the main plants. If you’re trying to control the growth of your patch, this is a good time to cut off new runners heading in directions you don’t want the plants to spread. Fiskars' Micro-Tip snips are perfect for this task. Press the runners you keep into the soil to encourage new plants to grow and fill in any empty spaces.

Strawberry Plant Picks

If you have lost some of your strawberry plants over winter, then April is your last chance to plant new bare-root plants for fruit this year, but you can plant nursery plug plants into May.

2. Add Fresh Mulch

Once you’ve given the crowns of your berry plants a little breathing time, it’s a good idea to add fresh mulch. Mulch is important for strawberries because it holds moisture in the soil and minimizes weeds. Mulch also provides a clean surface for berries to ripen.

Straw is a great choice for mulching strawberry plants as it's good at both holding moisture in the soil and allowing for airflow to prevent rotting. Try this HealthiStraw GardenStraw. Straw is also very clean, providing the ideal surface for ripening berries. Just be sure you get straw, not hay, and that it is clean and free of weed seeds.

Bark mulch is too heavy for strawberries and doesn’t let enough air through.

3. Feed Your Berry Plants, Maybe

Believe it or not, fertilizing the plants in spring may or may not improve the harvest later. Strawberries are heavy feeders, but April is not the time to fertilize June-bearing plants. Extra nutrients now lead to excessive foliage growth and softer berries that rot more easily. Late summer or fall is a better time to feed this type of strawberry plant.

However, if you have everbearing or day-neutral strawberry plants, now is the time to fertilize strawberries to support continuous fruit production. Use a balanced product, like a 10-10-10, or a product designed for strawberries, like this TPS Plant Foods Strawberry Fertilizer. Apply the fertilizer now and again next month.

4. Protect Early Blooms from Late Frosts

Depending on where you live and garden, you’re likely to start seeing some strawberry flowers as early as April. This is an exciting preview of the summer harvest to come, but it’s also a potentially dangerous time. A frost now could damage or totally kill those delicate blooms, preventing them from becoming berries later.

Keep an eye on the weather forecast and protect any April flowers if necessary. Use row covers – like these AGfabrics floating row covers – if you have a lot of blooms to protect. If you only have a few, you can use towels, blankets, buckets, or even extra straw mulch.

Remove any flowers that get damaged by frost, so the plant can put more energy into the others. Frost damage is easy to spot. You’ll see a black or dark brown spot right in the center within a day of the cold snap. If the damage is severe, the entire flower may darken and even fall off on its own.

5. Pinch Flowers (First Year Only)

This April strawberry task has a caveat: only do it if you have just put new plants in the ground this spring. For mature plants, you want to keep all flowers in place to maximize your harvest. For new plants, pinching some of the flowers will help the summer berries develop more fully.

Watch your plants and pick off any new flower buds that appear for the first two to three weeks. After that, let them grow. This allows the plant to develop healthy, numerous leaves during the early growth period. Having enough big, healthy leaves is crucial for ensuring the plant has enough energy later to develop large and juicy berries.

April is a critical time for summer strawberries, so don’t skimp on these tasks. Give your plants time and attention now to enjoy the best possible harvest later.

If you’re anything like me, patience probably isn’t your strongest trait... particularly when it comes to gardening. I know, I know; there’s something deeply satisfying about sowing seeds and watching them grow – but waiting months for a harvest? It sometimes feels impossible.

The good news is, if you time things right (and depending on your USDA Planting Zone), April is the perfect moment to plant a handful of fast-growing vegetables that will reward you in just a few short weeks.

Yes, whether you’re working with raised beds, containers, or a small garden border, there’s plenty you can grow now and enjoy before summer even begins. The key is choosing the right varieties. So, with that in mind...

7 Fast Vegetables to Sow in April

As the soil begins to warm and daylight hours stretch out, it's time to turn your attention to the quiet overachievers of the vegetable patch.

While crops like tomatoes and peppers need a longer growing season, leafy greens and quick-rooting vegetables can be ready to pick in as little as three to four weeks. And for gardeners in USDA Zones 5–9, that means planting in April can genuinely lead to harvests by May or early June. (In cooler regions, you may be looking at slightly later harvests, while warmer zones might see results even sooner).

If you’re after big homegrown flavor in no time flat (or as close to it as possible), then these are the vegetables to sow now.

1. Arugula

Ready in 20–30 days, arugula is one of the quickest crops you can grow. Even better? You can start snipping the baby leaves from these peppery salad staples in just a few weeks, and it will keep producing if you harvest regularly. Pick yourself up a packet of arugula seeds, then, and get sowing.

2. Lettuce

History buffs will know already that Catherine of Aragon made salad trendy after she married Henry VIII, and demanded specialized gardeners to grow lettuce for her. Little wonder; loose-leaf lettuce varieties are ideal for impatient gardeners (and queens) as they can be ready between 25-45 days. Rather than waiting for full heads, you can harvest young leaves early and often. Try Burpee Buttercrunch Lettuce Seeds and see for yourself.

3. Radish

If you want near-instant results, radishes are hard to beat. They germinate quickly and are ready to pull in under a month. With so many radish varieties available, why not mix things up and buy yourself a Multicolor Radish Seed Packet Collection so you can try out six different salad veggies and figure out your favorite?

4. Spinach

Spinach has always been a bit of a posterchild for green vegetables, hasn't it? Whether you're blitzing it into smoothies, wilting it into sauces, or eating it raw like Popeye the Sailor Man himself, spinach thrives in the cool conditions of early spring. Harvest leaves while they’re young and tender for the best flavor (they should be ready in under 45 days). Try the Burpee Double Choice Hybrid Spinach Seeds if you want them ready even quicker.

5. Green Onions

Also known as scallions, green scallions are wonderfully low-maintenance filler crops. You can start snipping the green tops early or let them grow on for a fuller harvest; either way, they'll be out of the ground and on your table somewhere between 30 and 60 days after planting. Grab yourself a packet of Scallion Seeds and get sowing, stat.

6. Sugar Snap Peas

Okay, we admit it: these are a little slower than leafy greens. Still, peas are still a great early-season crop, especially if you haven't the patience for anything too time-consuming. Plant them in April and you’ll likely be harvesting crisp, sweet pods by early summer. Try Sugar Daddy Snap Pea Seeds for the name alone!

7. Baby Kale

Kale might have a reputation as a slow grower, but harvested young, it’s surprisingly quick. Baby leaves are tender, mild, and perfect for salads, and they only need around 24-40 days to reach their tasty peak. Well worth the price of a pack of kale seeds, right?

Shop Raised Beds:

When you’re aiming for a quick turnaround, take care to sow into warmed soil where possible, water consistently, and harvest little and often to encourage plants to keep producing. And, failing all of the above, why not set up a container garden full of herbs?

Honestly, whichever route you go down, these fast-growing vegetables prove that you don’t need a huge garden to enjoy homegrown produce... or bucketloads of patience, either. All you need are the right crops and a willingness to get stuck in this April.

If you put the work in now, you'll find that you're bringing plenty of fresh flavor to your kitchen far sooner than you dreamed possible.

A raspberry patch that only produces for two or three weeks feels like a missed opportunity. The plants are already in the ground, the canes are already trellised, and then it’s over until next year. The harvest window doesn’t have to be that small, though. You just have to know which types of raspberries to plant for a harvest that lasts for months.

When first growing raspberries, it’s important to learn that varieties are split into two distinct fruiting types that run on different schedules. Getting both in the ground is central to a long-lasting harvest.

Summer-bearing varieties fruit once on second-year canes. They produce a concentrated flush in early to midsummer and then that’s it until next year. Everbearing types fruit twice – once in fall on new canes and again the following summer on those same canes.

I’ll share the best summer and everbearing raspberry varieties to grow together so you can harvest fruit from summer all the way into fall. Get ready for tons of delicious fresh berries, jams, and desserts!

Summer-Bearing Raspberry Varieties

Summer-bearing raspberries fruit on floricanes, or canes that grew the previous year. So year one is mostly about getting established. Year two gives you a dense harvest that all comes in all at once. For an early harvest, try these summer-bearing types of raspberry plants.

‘Boyne’

‘Boyne’ is a cold-hardy Canadian raspberry variety that grows in zones 3 through 7, with vigorous canes and medium-sized berries that are a bit tart. This variety is best for cooking and baking. Turn it into a delicious raspberry jam!

Berries ripen late in June to early July. Give plants full sun and well-drained soil. Keep plants watered well and this variety mostly handles itself. That tart flavor deepens when cooked, which is why it’s been a jam staple for years.

Pick up some Boyne raspberry plants from Scenic Hill Farm on Etsy.

‘Killarney’

‘Killarney’ is cold-tolerant and can be grown in USDA growing zones 3 through 6. It has firm, bright red fruit and a cleaner, sweeter flavor than Boyne – it tastes better straight off the bush. Fruit ripens a week or two after Boyne, which stretches the summer window without much extra effort.

Canes are moderately thorny but upright and easy enough to trellis. It handles humid summers better than a lot of varieties. Killarney has fewer fungal problems, which matters in wetter gardens.

You can get bare root Killarney raspberry plants from Burpee online.

‘Nova’

‘Nova’ is a productive mid-season variety. It produces large, firm berries that don’t fall apart in the freezer and have a sweet yet mildly acidic flavor. This raspberry variety handles heat better than most summer-bearers, so this is a good option for gardeners in USDA growing zone 7 and parts of zone 8.

Canes are sturdy and semi-thornless, so picking is faster and less painful than with most other types of raspberries. A pair of gloves like this from Amazon keeps your hands protected from thorns once the patch is producing.

Shop Nova raspberry plants from Stark Bro's.

‘Cascade Delight’

‘Cascade Delight’ comes out of Washington State University’s breeding program and is built for the Pacific Northwest, but it performs just as well in other areas.

This variety produces large, conical berries with a balanced sweet-tart flavor and firm texture. These raspberries store better than most, which is worth noting if you’re growing more than you can eat fresh.

It has a solid resistance to root rot and better tolerance of heavier soils than most varieties in this category. You can grow this midsummer ripening type of raspberry in zones 5 through 9. It's a good option if drainage has been an issue with other varieties you’ve tried.

Get starter plugs of Cascade Delight from Cane Creek Meadows on Etsy.

Everbearing Raspberry Varieties

Everbearing raspberry varieties produce on first-year canes in fall and again on those same canes the following summer.

They’re more flexible than summer-bearers and easier to manage if you prefer a simpler raspberry pruning approach. Just mow the whole patch to the ground each fall and you will get one big fall crop annually instead of two smaller harvests.

Here are some of the most delicious and easy-to-grow everbearing types of raspberry plants.

‘Heritage’

‘Heritage’ is the benchmark everbearing variety. It has been planted widely enough across zones 3 through 8 that its behavior is pretty well mapped at this point, though they do best in mild climates.

A fall crop of raspberries comes in September and October on new canes. Those same canes carry a summer crop the following year. Berries are medium-sized, firm, nothing flashy.

A raspberry trellis system, like this one from Amazon, keeps the canes upright and the rows workable. It's worth setting up before the plants get established rather than after, since it's much harder to train prickly, sprawling canes.

Buy your Heritage raspberry plants from Fast Growing Trees.

‘Caroline’

‘Caroline’ gets called an improved Heritage fairly often, and it’s not wrong. Berries are larger and the flavor is richer. They are more aromatic, deeper, and hold up after freezing better than most. This type of raspberry is more tolerant of root rot, too, which matters in heavier soils.

Fall crop ripens slightly earlier than Heritage, which extends the harvest window at the other end of the season. Zones 4 through 8, and a good choice if you want everbearing performance with better flavor.

You can find Caroline raspberry bare root plants from Burpee.

‘Joan J’

‘Joan J’ is thornless, which sets it apart from most everbearing varieties, and it produces some of the largest berries in this category – firm, sweet, and showy. It’s also the earliest fall-bearing primocane available, so the crop is underway before Heritage and Caroline have hit their stride.

Canes are vigorous and grow upright in zones 4 through 8. The thornless trait makes maintenance and picking considerably more pleasant, especially for a patch that gets worked frequently through fall.

Get your delicious Joan J raspberry plants online from Burpee.

‘Autumn Britten’

‘Autumn Britten’ is a UK-bred variety with unusually large, sweet berries and a long fall harvest window. The flavor is milder than Heritage or Caroline. It's less acidic and more dessert-forward. Zones 5 through 8.

This variety of raspberry ripens mid-fall and keeps going later into the season than most everbearing types. It's worth pairing with Joan J because Joan J starts early, then Autumn Britten carries the berries through the season, and between the two you get a fall harvest that’s hard to match with a single variety.

You can find Autumn Britten raspberry starts for sale online from Walmart.

Raspberry Planting Essentials

From beefsteak to baby cherry, heirlooms to hybrids, there are over 10,000 known tomato varieties, so we can be forgiven for finding it difficult to decide which is best tomato to grow in our gardens. But that incredible assortment does mean that, however big or small your backyard is, and whatever your USDA zone or growing conditions, there’s a variety that’s perfect for you. Not too big, not too small, but Goldilocks-just-right for an abundant harvest of flavorful fruits that makes the most of whatever outdoor space you’ve got.

I’ve been growing tomatoes for 20 years, starting off with a single small plant in a patio pot and gradually scaling my harvest up to match my garden size, and now I have a veggie patch heaving with ginormous vines. I like to experiment with different varieties every year, only regrowing those that really earn their garden space with lots of tasty toms, and zero hassle. So I can promise that, even if you’ve only got a windowsill to spare, you can enjoy flavorful, easy-to-grow tomatoes all summer long. The secret is simply to find the best tomato variety for your growing conditions.

Get that match right and rest is simple. All these varieties are straightforward to grow (I've included links so you can see exactly what products I'm talking about, but do support your local retailers, too). Start seeds in seed starter mix such as this from Gardenera via Amazon, or get a head start with a young plant that can go straight into a container of a nutritious all-purpose potting mix such as this from Amazon. Stake unless it’s a bush variety – using a cage is the easiest option, but make sure it’s strong like this one from Amazon as tomatoes are heavy!

If you’re growing tomatoes in the ground, then enrich your soil first with organic matter such as worm castings like these from Amazon. Adding coir like this from Amazon, too, will improve the soil’s drainage and ability to hold water – and consistent moisture is key to growing great tomatoes. Enriched soil or potting mix will have enough nutrients for strong growth but, once you spot flowers and the first fruit beginning to set, you can fuel an abundant harvest with a tomato feed such as Espoma Organic Tomato! from Amazon. Plants in pots will need more regular feeding than those growing in the ground.

Here are my top 10 tomato varieties to grow for maximum flavor in whatever garden space you’ve got. Which one is just right for you?

1. Best Tomato For a Windowbox or Balcony: Verandah Red

This little powerhouse of a plant means everyone can grow tomatoes as it only reaches just over a foot tall and wide. It’s been bred to thrive in a container so pop it in a windowbox or a balcony pot for abundant cherry tomatoes in the tiniest of spaces. You could grow it as a centrepiece for your outdoor dining table for the freshest of pickings for summer meals. Or it can even be grown on a sunny windowsill indoors: just gently shake the plant to pollinate flowers in the absence of bees.

As it’s a determinate variety, ‘Verandah Red’ naturally grows into a bushy shape that doesn’t need staking. Incredibly versatile and quick to mature in around 60 days, it can be grown in all zones.

2. Best Tomato For a Veggie Patch: Rain Drops

If you’ve got the room to stake 8-foot-high and 2–3-foot-wide ‘Rain Drops’ in a veggie patch, then you’ll enjoy flavorful cherry tomatoes right up to the first frost. This indeterminate hybrid has been bred to be direct-sown straight into the soil and it’s very straightforward to grow, even for beginner gardeners. And, as its name suggests, it’s pretty weatherproof with good resistance to cracking should a heatwave hit.

It takes 70 days to mature, so get seeds into the ground as soon as possible after your last frost date.

3. Best Tomato For a Huge Backyard: SteakHouse

One of the world’s largest beefsteak tomatoes, just one ‘SteakHouse’ tom can weigh up to 3lbs and a single slice is enough for a whole sandwich! Also known as ‘Gigantomo’, this variety is incredibly flavorful for its size, with a wonderful fragrance. This is an indeterminate variety so it needs strong support, and can grow up to 6 feet tall and wide. It takes around 80 days to mature so needs a long growing season in a warm, sunny climate, so it’s best suited to zones 7–9 but will be fine in zones 5–6 as long as it has a sunny, sheltered spot.

4. Best Tomato For a Hanging Basket: Sunpeach

Pop ‘Sunpeach’ in a sturdy hanging basket and you’ll have cascading stems studded with pretty pink-tinged cherry tomatoes all summer long. Give it the biggest basket you can and hang it high on a strong chain, though, because this is a highly productive variety and stems can grow to 8 feet long!

Choose a solid-sided hanging basket to conserve moisture, but you’ll still need to water extra regularly as compost will dry out more quickly in an exposed spot. Unlike many similar cultivars, this indeterminate variety is highly resistant to cracking and, as long as you look after it, it’ll reward you with toms till the first frost. It does best in a hanging basket in zones 5–8; while it will cope in zones 3 and 4, and 9, it's better to give it an easier life growing vertically in a trellised container.

5. Best Tomato For a Trellis or Fence: Super Sweet 100

‘Super Sweet 100’ is incredibly abundant with pendulous clusters of bright red cherry tomatoes, making it as attractive as it is productive. Plants can grow to 6 feet high – and even taller in the right conditions – but only spread to around 1½ feet, making it the perfect shape to grow up a trellis fixed to a fence. The tomatoes are beautifully sweet, so this variety will provide you with plenty of gardening snacks, too.

This is an indeterminate variety so it will produce tomatoes all summer long and, if you look after it, into fall. It prefers a warmer climate so zones 5–9 give optimal conditions.

6. Best Cherry Tomato For a Patio Pot: Baby Boomer

The competition for this category was tough, as plenty of cherry tomato varieties have been bred especially for patio pots. But ‘Baby Boomer’ earns my top spot on account of its incredible abundance in the smallest of spaces. One plant measuring just 2 feet high and wide can produce around 300 tomatoes, and each is a 1oz gem bursting with sweet flavor. It’s fabulously quick to mature, too, taking just 50–55 days to fruit.

‘Baby Boomer’s only downfall is that it tends to produce its fruit all at once so, if you want patio pickings that keep coming all summer, ‘Sweetheart of the Patio’ is a better choice. Or, even better, grow both! 'Baby Boomer' and 'Sweetheart of the Patio' are both suitable for zones 3–11.

7. Best Beefsteak Tomato For a Patio Pot: BushSteak

Years ago, you needed to have plenty of garden space to grow beefsteak tomatoes, but not any more! ‘BushSteak’ brings big 8–12oz tomatoes on compact plants less than 2 feet tall. The flavour is rich and the texture meaty, so don’t worry that this dwarf plant doesn’t pack just as tasty a punch as taller varieties.

Despite being determinate variety, it’s a good idea to support ‘BushSteak’ on account of the weight of those standout beefsteaks. Because it’s so versatile, and an early producer with toms in as little as 65 days, this variety can be grown in zones 2–11.

8. Best Tomato For Southern States: Heatmaster

Bred to excel in hot, humid climates where many other varieties struggle, ‘Heatmaster’ is the perfect choice if you live in zones 8–11. As it’s a bushy determinate variety, it’ll cope fine with life in a container as well as in the ground, though it’ll still need a cage as it grows to 3 feet high and wide.

This slicer produces 7–8oz toms with an excellent flavor, and though it’s a little slower to mature than others, taking 75 days, that’s not a problem with the long growing season of southern states.

9. Best Tomato For Northern States: Early Girl

This variety matures incredibly quickly, growing from a seedling to a fruiting plant in around 59 days, making an excellent choice for the shorter growing season of northern states. ‘Early Girl’ is an indeterminate variety with 5oz toms, growing to around 4½ feet high and wide, that carries on fruiting all summer.

If you want to stick seeds straight in the ground – yes, even in the North! – then this Garden Sown Early Bird determinate variety is cold tolerant so grows well from an early direct sowing. It grows smaller cherry toms and takes 75 days to mature.

10. Best Tomato For High Rainfall Areas: Mountain Magic

Think it’s not worth growing toms because your high rainfall and humidity invite every tomato disease going? Think again! ‘Mountain Magic’ has been bred for incredible disease resistance to blight and wilt so, even if you’re an organic gardener, this variety will treat you to a plentiful crop of red cherry tomatoes.

This indeterminate hybrid grows to around 4 feet high and wide, producing 2–3oz fruit all the way to the first frost. Because of its robust nature, ‘Mountain Magic’ can be grown in zones 3–11 but, as it’s a little slow to mature, taking up to 80 days to fruit, it’s best to start with a young plant rather than seed at this point in the year, if you have a shorter growing season.

A tomato harvest in summer and early fall is one of the joys of gardening for many. Tasty, ripe tomatoes are delicious raw and cooked, and with so many varieties to choose from, you can enjoy everything from tiny, sweet grapes to big slicers if you know what you’re doing.

Growing tomatoes isn’t difficult, but getting healthy plants and a good harvest depends a lot on what you do early in the growing season. April is a critical time for tomatoes to establish strong roots, grow strong stems, and transition to the outdoor environment. Patience pays with tomatoes, so take time now to do these critical April tasks and reap the benefits later.

1. Nurture Your Seedlings

In most growing zones, you will have started tomato seeds indoors before April. If you're in a colder zone, like 3 or 4, you might just be starting seeds in early April, but they should be taking off with steady growth by the end of the month.

Don’t make the mistake of being totally hands-off with your seedlings. They need care and nurturing now during this crucial growth period to ensure they develop strong stems and roots. First, make sure the soil stays consistently moist but not soggy. While still small, you can cover seedlings with plastic wrap to keep more moisture in.

Sunlight is also critical for strong growth. Make sure your seedlings get at least 12 hours of light per day. Even more is better. If using a window, rotate seed trays for even light distribution. The best way to get your indoor tomato seedlings enough light is to position them directly under a grow light, like this one from Amazon.

Brush your fingers lightly over the seedlings a few times a day. This mimics wind, which, when grown outdoors, helps seedlings develop stronger stems. Alternatively, you can place a gentle oscillating fan near the seedlings throughout the day.

Shop Seedling Care Essentials

2. Pot Up and Feed Larger Seedlings

Another important step in growing tomato seedlings into healthy plants is transitioning them into pots. Keeping them crowded in small seedling trays can lead to plants becoming rootbound, resulting in thin, weak root growth that won’t support plants well later.

Once you see the first set of true leaves and the seedlings are sturdy enough to be handled carefully, move them to larger accommodations. Use one small pot per plant to give them room to grow and to avoid the overcrowding that can lead to poor airflow and fungal infections.

This is also a good time to start fertilizing tomatoes. Use a balanced (10-10-10 is good) fertilizer like this one from Amazon, diluted to half strength, every two to three weeks.

3. Start Hardening Off

Tomatoes are hot-weather plants. They thrive in summer but struggle in the cooler shoulder seasons. Your growing zone and the year’s weather determine when you’ll transplant seedlings outdoors. Only if you live in zone 7 or warmer are you likely to be able to transplant in April. Soil temperatures need to be at least 60 F (15.5 C).

If the time is approaching, you can start hardening off your small tomato plants before making the final transplant. Hardening off is the process of gradually exposing plants to outdoor conditions, so they're not shocked and then damaged when moved out full-time.

Place your small pots of tomato plants in a protected area outdoors with dappled shade for a couple of days (bringing them back inside at night). Over the next few days, increase the amount of time they spend in direct sunlight outdoors by an hour or two. Finally, leave them outside all day in the sun for a few days and overnight if the temperatures are above 50 F (10 C).

4. Prepare the Soil

When it’s warm enough outside and the plants have been hardened off, they’re ready for transplanting, but is the soil? Take time to get the soil right, either in beds or large containers, to give your plants the best start in the great outdoors.

First, if you’re not certain about the temperature, check it. The soil needs to be at least 60 degrees. It is possible to warm cold soil. If air temperatures feel right but the soil is still cool, place black sheeting over it for a few days. The soil under it will absorb heat from the sun and warm faster.

If planting tomatoes in beds, dig down deep and mix some compost into the soil to improve drainage and add nutrients. If you’re growing tomatoes in containers, get your mix or ready-made potting soil prepared and ready for planting.

5. Transplant (If It's Warm Enough!)

When the time is right, and you’ve done all the preparatory work, you can transplant your tomatoes from their small pots to their permanent outdoor locations. Tomatoes can be planted deep. Dig deep holes for tomato plants and bury them up to the first set of leaves on the stem. Tomato plants grow extra roots from the stem, so this will stimulate more roots to help feed and stabilize the plants. If they're extra leggy, try trench planting.

Tomato plants should be spaced two to three feet (0.6 to 0.9 m) apart for good airflow. Provide some type of support for the vines, either stakes or tomato cages. Finally, add some mulch to the soil to help keep moisture in the soil and to prevent dirt from splashing onto leaves during rain or when watering.

April is a time of patient effort when it comes to growing tomatoes. Take time now to do the work, and you’ll be pleased with the results come August.

The idea of plants working together to protect one another is appealing enough that it sometimes gets ahead of the evidence. Gardening forums, seed catalogs, and well-meaning books have been circulating the same companion planting tips for decades, and it’s not always that easy to separate fact from fiction. Indeed, we may not even think there is fiction. We might believe that if a pairing has been suggested since the 1970s, it must have a definitive basis in reality. But are we being too trusting of what may often amount to vegetable companion planting myths?

Understanding vegetable companion planting properly means separating mechanism from myth. To empower your gardening choices this year, it’s time to get a handle on how effective certain plant partnerships really are. Some pairings offer measurable benefits, such as pest suppression, soil improvement, and structural support. But other pairings rely on assumptions about insect behavior that modern science doesn't support. This distinction matters if you’re planning a garden around these ideas.

It’s good to be confident that every square inch of your veg patch is working in harmony towards the healthiest, most bountiful crops. So let’s plant with purpose, and make sure we really are choosing plant partners that want to be together. To ensure fewer pests and bigger harvests, here are 6 companion planting truths every savvy homegrower needs to know.

Meet The Myths

It is easy to see why companion gardening myths persist. They can offer simple, poetic solutions to frustrating problems, like aphids and wilt. We’ve selected these 3 myths because they are some of the heavy hitters of garden lore, with familiarity in a range of USDA zones. They represent variations of the aromatic shield idea, which suggests that if a plant smells strong enough to us, it must be a nightmare for bugs.

By debunking these vegetable garden companion planting myths, we’re hoping to help you tool up in a more thoughtful way, for a more successful growing and harvesting season. When you stop relying on a single marigold to save your tomatoes, you free yourself to use more effective strategies, like physical barriers or integrated pest management. This myth busting can be very liberating: once the myths are gone, you have more room for the stuff that works!

1. The Marigold Shield

Marigolds (Tagetes spp.) turn up in almost every companion planting guide as a near-universal pest deterrent. The reality is narrower than that. Tagetes plants do contain alpha-terthienyl, a compound with documented effects on root-knot nematodes in the soil. However, producing a meaningful result requires dense, sustained plantings across the whole bed, the kind of coverage you’d get from a cover crop. A decorative border of a dozen plants isn’t going to do it.

To truly suppress nematodes, you need a solid block of tagetes grown for at least two months, then tilled into the soil. If nematodes are your actual target, a good soil test kit can help to confirm your soil health before you commit a whole bed to this labor-intensive approach. If you don’t have a kit, an easy option is the Luster Leaf Rapitest Soil Kit, which is available from Amazon.

For flying insects like whiteflies or cabbage loopers, the evidence is weaker still. Pests that navigate by smell need a high, consistent concentration of volatile compounds in order to be redirected – not the ambient drift from a few marigolds scattered around your vegetable beds. You’d need a wall of marigolds to mask the chemical signature of a juicy tomato plant from a hungry pest.

So it’s a stretch to think of marigolds as a broad pest deterrent (and by marigolds, we do mean tagetes varieties and not pot marigold calendula types). Marigolds do have value. They do attract beneficial hoverflies, whose larvae eat aphids. We just need to adapt our philosophy: these plants are beneficial magnets, not pest shields. If you are considering getting some French marigolds from seed, try sowing them as a dense green manure in a fallow bed rather than just a pretty border. If you need a compact variety, try ‘Queen Sophia’ French Marigold Seeds from Burpee.

2. Tomato and Lemon Balm

The logic behind this one is that a strongly scented herb (lemon balm, basil, take your pick) will confuse insects and mask the tomatoes. This seems reasonable if we think about it with our own sense of smell. The problem is that most flying pests don’t find their hosts through smell alone. Aphids and whiteflies use visual cues and specific chemical signals. Many pests land on a green surface and use specialized receptors on their feet to check if they’ve found the right host. A whiff of lemon balm nearby isn't going to scramble those sensors once the bug has touched down.

Lemon balm is worth growing for the tea and the pollinators, but it isn’t doing any defensive work for your tomatoes. Pairings like this are based on the logic of smell masking, which is rarely effective in open-air garden settings. Also, while lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is a charmingly fragrant perennial in zones 4-9, ground-based plants can be invasive, spreading until they choke out the plants they were meant to protect. So if you want to grow this herb, keep it in a pot to prevent a takeover.

If you’re looking for something nice and affordable, Target has lovely Classic Ribbed Terracotta Pots that can keep larger vigorous herbs contained.If you love the idea of herbal companions that smell good together, basil does share similar water and light requirements, making it a convenience pairing rather than a biological shield. You can buy pungent ‘Genovese’ Basil Seeds from Burpee.

3. Garlic and Roses

This is one of those companion vegetable planting myths that has been around so long, it shows up in mainstream gardening books. The idea is that garlic planted at the base of your roses pushes its sulfur compounds up through the plant, making the blooms smell faintly of garlic and sending aphids elsewhere. This is a classic case of misunderstanding plant physiology. Roses don’t absorb volatile compounds from nearby garlic roots and express them through their petals in any meaningful way.

While garlic does have real mild antifungal properties (and it does have some effect on soil pathogens), it isn't a systemic insecticide. Now, garlic spray, applied directly to foliage as a concentrated solution, can work as a short-term contact repellent. But that is a mechanical application. A clove in the ground doesn’t release anything close to the concentration needed to bother an aphid a foot away. If you are struggling with rose pests, go for mechanical removal. Use trusted shears to remove infested buds and improve airflow, which prevents disease. If you’re in the market for a new pair, try Fiskars Bypass Pruning Shears, available from Amazon.

Garlic is a heavy feeder, and planting it under a dense rose bush often results in stunted garlic and competition for nutrients. If you want to grow garlic, give it its own space in full sun. For roses, invest in a high-quality fertilizer to keep them strong enough to naturally resist pests. If you don’t have a dedicated rose feed, Espoma Organic Rose-Tone 4-3-2 for Flowers from Amazon is a highly rated expert blend.

The Pairings That Do Hold Up

Now for the good news: when companion planting works, it works beautifully. The following power trio hold up to scrutiny because they rely on mechanical and chemical realities, not just wishful thinking. These are the pairings that will help you grow more, healthier crops with fewer interventions. Whether you are in the humid southeast or the arid west, these principles remain consistent.

The right companion plants give you a chance to forge a genuine ecosystem in your backyard. You’ll see how one plant can act as a sacrificial lamb (called a trap crop), how another can act as a nitrogen fixer, and how the third can function as a living mulch. These are tried-and-true sneaky wins that pros use to maximize yield while minimizing labor. Let’s look at why these pairings are bulletproof.

1. Brassicas and Nasturtiums

This pairing is a genuine insider favorite because it relies on a strategic sacrifice. Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum) are hyper-accumulators for specific pests, particularly the small white butterfly (whose larvae are the notorious cabbage worms) and black bean aphids. These insects find the concentrated mustard oils in nasturtiums even more alluring than your prize kale, cabbage, or broccoli. By planting them together, you aren't repelling the bad guys; you are inviting them to a decoy party. This trap crop strategy works brilliantly across all growing zones. Yes, your nasturtiums take the hit, but your slow-growing harvests live to be munched (by you) another day.

For this to work effectively, placement matters. You don't want the nasturtiums touching your brassicas, or the pests will treat them as a bridge to your greens. Instead, plant them in a lush perimeter or in islands within your beds. Because you are essentially baiting pests into your garden, monitoring is essential. Sticky traps are a great tool for tracking when aphid pressure is peaking on trap plants, and you can buy Mosqueda Yellow Sticky Traps from Amazon. When you see the nasturtium leaves becoming heavily infested or crawly, simply pull the plant, bag it, and dispose of it, removing an entire generation of pests in one move.

Nasturtiums are incredibly easy to grow from seed and they thrive in poorer soils. They’re also easy to replant mid-season so you can keep those trap plants working for you. There’s a dizzying selection of colorful varieties available to grow from seed, and they grow superfast. Try tangerine ‘Vesuvius’ or mixed color ‘Sweethearts Mix’ Seeds, both available from Burpee. They are also edible, though maybe don't eat the ones covered in aphids. This pairing is one of the most reliable, because it utilizes the pests' own natural preferences against them.

2. Corn and Beans

The Three Sisters planting group (corn, beans, and squash) is a classic for a reason. Beans are legumes, which have a symbiotic relationship with Rhizobium bacteria. These bacteria pull nitrogen from the air and turn it into a mineral form in the soil that corn can then use. Corn is a heavy feeder, and craves nitrogen to grow those tall, sturdy stalks. While the beans are climbing the corn (saving you the cost of a trellis), they are also helping to replenish the soil.

For the best results, timing is everything. You should plant your corn first. Once it’s about 6 inches (15cm) tall, plant your pole beans at the base. This ensures the corn is strong enough to support the weight of the vines. If you’re looking for a great trellis-ready bean, try heirloom favorite Back to the Roots ‘Kentucky Wonder’ Pole Bean Seeds, available from Walmart, a classic high-yielding variety that is perfect for this companion planting idea. A garden soil inoculant like Park Seed Nature’s Aid Soil Inoculant, available from Amazon, can also help to give that nitrogen-fixing bacteria a head start when planting your bean seeds.

This companion planting arrangement is a real exchange, not just plants coexisting. It trades structural support for chemical nutrients. Squash (the third sister) rounds out the trio by covering the ground and shading the soil, but even as a duo, corn and beans create a formidable partnership. This pairing works across most growing zones, provided you have a long enough summer for the corn to mature. It’s the ultimate example of plants doing more together than they ever could alone.

3. Tomatoes and Squash

Big squash leaves sit low and spread out, and that’s the trick. Large-leafed plants like squash or pumpkins create a living mulch over the soil. When planted around the base of tall, upright plants like tomatoes, they shade the ground. This prevents the sun from hitting the soil, which cuts down weed germination and slows down evaporation. In heat-soaked summers, the ground stays cooler and doesn’t dry out as fast. This can be the difference between a thriving tomato plant and a wilted one.

That makes this pairing one of the most reliable companion planting benefits you can count on, because it doesn’t depend on pest behavior or soil chemistry going a particular way. Just use a sturdy cage or stake to keep tomato plants erect so they don't get smothered by squash vines, allowing the squash plants to scramble below. When the squash leaves get dense, use a moisture meter, like the XLUX Soil Moisture Meter from Amazon, to make sure your living mulch is doing its job.

The living mulch approach is an expert secret for reducing garden maintenance. Instead of spending your Saturday weeding and mulching with straw, you let the squash do the work for you. Choose a bush variety of squash if you have a smaller garden, or a vining variety like The Old Farmer’s Almanac Heirloom ‘Waltham’ Butternut Squash Seeds from Amazon if you have room to let them roam. This approach also works under other tall crops, wherever you have bare soil and a large-leafed sprawler available to cover it.

Shop Perfect Companions

Ready to put this insider knowledge into practice? April is a great time to lay the groundwork for some of the key planting heroes that can give your star performers and heavy croppers that helping hand. To get the best results, focus on high-quality seeds that have high germination rates. Whether you are looking for a trap crop or a pollinator magnet, these curated picks are the perfect companions for your plot.

Companion planting is as much about observation as it is about action. By letting go of the myths, you're not losing anything. Being able to separate fact from fiction brings great clarity, and helps you move towards cultivating a garden based on how plants actually grow and interact, from trap crops to nitrogen fixers, and everything in between. Your plants will be healthier, your harvests will be heavier, and you'll have some brilliant insider knowledge about companion planting for vegetable garden success – information that you can then pass on to your own gardening companions!

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You don’t need a big backyard to grow your own vegetables any more, because plant breeders have been busy creating small-space veggie varieties that not only thrive in containers but produce abundant crops. No matter how petite your patio or bijou your balcony, container gardening allows you to grow a huge range of veggies in pots to enjoy wholesome harvests of fresh produce. If you’ve been thinking about starting a veggie garden for a while, this is a great way to dip a toe in the water and see if you enjoy kitchen gardening, too.

There are many benefits to growing vegetables in pots besides saving space. For a start, raising your crops – literally! – in containers makes slug control far easier. Paving is a natural deterrent as 95% of slugs live underground. Add rings of conductive copper tape such as this from Amazon around your pots, and you have a second line of defence.

Growing vegetables in containers also means you can easily move them to give your plants exactly the right amount of sun and shade for optimum growth. That’s really handy with veggies because young plants often need plenty of sunlight to grow well in their early stages, but then a little more shade to stop them bolting (running to seed). Even a big container can be moved around easily if you stand it on a plant caddy with lockable wheels such as this dolly cart that holds pots up to 21" from Amazon.

Almost all of these tasty cultivars have been bred specifically to grow in containers, so they produce abundant crops in a small space, in record time. Many are attractive plants in their own right, too, adding aesthetic appeal as well as productive value. And some grow veggies that can be picked and eaten straight from the stem, for delicious patio snacks.

They can all be grown in all-purpose outdoor potting mix, such as this from Amazon, and I've chosen plants that mostly need similar-sized containers and the same plant food, so it's economical to grow a few together.

Which will you choose to grow this summer?

1. Tomato 'Veranda Red'

While many tomato cultivars have been bred to thrive in containers, ‘Veranda Red’ is a favorite for its small and sweet cherry tomatoes perfect for patio snacking. Despite this dwarf variety only growing to 20" high, it produces an abundant harvest, with one plant raising up to 75 tomatoes. And it’s hassle-free to grow: naturally forming a bushy shape, it doesn’t need staking, and there’s no need to pinch out the side shoots either.

Start seeds indoors as they need a temperature of 70–80°F for germination, or skip straight to the good bit with a young plant to pop straight into a 5-gallon pot such as these from Amazon (your dwarf plant will grow fine in a smaller pot but a bigger container means you need to water less often). Or use a self-watering pot such as this from Amazon to give your plant the even moisture it needs for optimum cropping. Feed regularly with a tomato feed such as Espoma Organic Tomato!, available from Amazon, and expect fruit within two months.

2. Corn ‘On Deck’

This is the first sweetcorn cultivar purposefully bred for container gardening, producing 7-8" cobs of sweet-tasting bicolored kernels. For your very own mini corn patch, sow 12–18 seeds in a 20+ gallon container once temperatures are reliably above 55°F, in all zones. Fabric planter bags such as these 25-gallon grow bags from Amazon are a far cheaper alternative to rigid-sided pots, especially when you need a larger size.

While this corn variety has been bred to be self-pollinating, shaking the tassels will help pollination along to ensure dense kernels. You’ll get two or three cobs on each 4–5'-high plant in around two months.

3. Pepper ‘Snackabelle Red’

This mini pepper cultivar is a must for a patio kitchen garden, and adults and kids alike will love the sweet flavour of the petite 2" fruits. Sweet peppers can be a faff to start from seed and typically take 2½ months to start producing, so it’s best to buy a young plant.

You’ll need a 5-gallon pot such as this from Amazon, and plant after the last frost has passed in zones 3–9. Give your pepper plant a feed with a liquid tomato feed such as Espoma Organic Tomato! which is available from Amazon, once a month. You can start harvesting the peppers when they’re green but, for the fullest, sweetest flavor, wait until they ripen to red.

4. Cucumber ‘Patio Snacker’

If you’ve never tasted a freshly picked cucumber before, harvest 'Patio Snacker' fruits while they’re still young and crisp and get ready to be surprised! This vine only grows to 2–3' tall but still produces plenty of 6–7" cucumbers. You can pick them early for a smaller, sweeter patio snack, too.

You’ll need a container of at least 5 gallon capacity such as these from Amazon. Though this is a super-short variety, you’ll still need some trellis to support the vine. Fashion your own from bamboo canes and string or push a container trellis such as these from Amazon into the pot. Make sure your trellis reaches to the bottom of the pot for sturdy support.

Heat is needed for germination so start seeds indoors using a heated seed mat such as this from Amazon, or wait until late May to sow outdoors. Grow it as an annual in a sunny, sheltered spot in zones 2–11 for cucumbers in two months.

5. Okra ‘Baby Bubba’

This dwarf okra variety is only half the height of most others yet still produces full-sized pods. It’s a stunning plant for a patio as it boasts pale yellow hibiscus-like flowers before growing up to 50 erect pods which are an architectural delight in their own right! This cultivar reaches 3–4' high so you’ll need a big pot with a capacity of at least 10 gallons. Fabric pots such as these from Amazon are a really cost-effective option when buying sizeable containers, and okra grows well in them, appreciating the excellent aeration and drainage.

Start from seed outdoors in early May and you’ll have pods in two months. Keep picking and your plant will keep producing till the first frost.

6. Eggplant ‘Patio Baby’

This little aubergine bush reaches just 16–20" and wide but produces plenty of 2–3"-long deep purple fruits. The pale lavender blooms are just as pretty as the mini eggplants, too. Start from seed indoors – they need a minimum of 70°F to germinate so use a heat mat such as this from Amazon – or buy a young plant to put straight into a pot after your last frost date has passed. It’s suitable for all zones as a summer annual but does best in a warm climate so, if you live in a colder state, be sure to give it your sunniest, most sheltered patio spot.

While you can grow eggplant ‘Patio Baby’ in a smaller container, it’s best to give it a 5 gallon pot such as these from Amazon as it’ll be far easier to maintain the consistent moisture this plant likes. This a hungry plant, too, so feed regularly with a liquid tomato feed such as Espoma Organic Tomato!, available from Amazon. It takes around 1½ months to start producing fruit in warm temperatures and up to three months in a cooler climate.

7. Summer Squash ‘Rise and Shine’

This revolutionary variety grows vertically, bringing abundant 4–8"-long squashes. The plant needs a big container and staking – or just use a tomato planter with a sturdy cage such as this metal-trellised container from Amazon. Plants grow to 4' high with huge shapely leaves and bright yellow squashes, so it makes an exciting central feature for a patio kitchen garden.

Sow seeds outdoors after your last frost date in zones 3–9, and your first squash will be ready around 55 days after germination.

8. Carrot ‘Tonga di Parigi’

These little orange delights are round instead of the usual long roots so they’re perfect for a container. The carrots aren’t any less flavorful than their bigger brothers, and are sweet and tender. This variety is an exception to our list of new cultivars as it’s been around since the 19th century, so you know those roots taste good enough to keep growing!

You can start these tough-cookie seeds off before your last frost date in all zones. Seeds can take 2–3 weeks to germinate but don’t worry and keep the compost just-moist and they’ll soon pop up. They’re fast to mature, however, and will be ready to pull in 50–70 days when the roots are 1–2" in diameter. Grow them in a container that’s at least 5 gallons in capacity, like these from Amazon, so it’s easy to keep the potting soil evenly moist, and plant a few seeds every three weeks for a continuous harvest.

9. Bush Bean ‘Porch Pick’

As their name suggests, bush beans don’t need supporting, and this variety only grows to a petite 18" high and wide so is ideal for a patio pot. You can fit four plants into a 5 gallon container (such as these from Amazon) and seeds germinate readily so start them off outdoors once your last frost date has passed. If it’s warm, you’ll see them sprout within a few days, but don’t worry if it takes up to two weeks to see growth.

Because these plants produce all their beans at once – and they do grow plenty of tender 5" green beans – if you want a steady harvest it’s best to succession-sow. This simply means sowing a couple of new seeds every 2–3 weeks.

10. Radish ‘Easter Egg’

The peppery flavor of these bright pink and white radishes varies along with the color so they’re just as much fun to eat as they are to grow. Suitable for zones 3–10, they’re super-fast to germinate and mature, and you’ll be pulling radishes around a month after sowing. They don’t appreciate the midsummer heat, though, so are best for spring and fall crops.

Sow in a container with a capacity of at least 5 gallons such as these from Amazon. Keep the potting soil consistently moist, and sow a few more seeds every 2 weeks for a long harvest.

Because these are so shallow rooted and quick to mature, you can also grow them around the pot perimeter of a bigger, slower-growing plant such as okra or corn.

Nothing says summer like a nice, juicy tomato, but pests can ruin all the tasty fun. Your crop of delicious tomatoes can perish from pest infestations if not treated quickly and efficiently.

You don’t have to let tomato plant pests destroy your harvest. Take control with the help of an organic, non-chemical pest solution: diatomaceous earth. Diatomaceous earth (DE) is a physical method of insect control that is cheap and incredibly effective. A little sprinkle of DE when pests pop up will keep your tomatoes from becoming a bug buffet. You can find food-grade diatomaceous earth on Amazon or your local garden center.

Let’s dig in and explore how to use diatomaceous earth to control insects on your tomato plants.

Common Tomato Pests

First, we need to explore what types of pests are most likely to affect your tomato harvest. Common tomato plant pests include: aphids, cutworms, hornworms, flea beetles, and root-knot nematodes. These pests can wreak havoc on your tomato plants and it is best practice to inspect your plants every day so you can jump on any infestations that may pop up.

Grab a cup of coffee in the morning and go check on your plants as you get your day started! Keeping on top of pest problems is important to the survival of your plants.

In addition to daily monitoring, a sprinkle of diatomaceous earth around the base of your plants can help keep pest problems from cropping up. Pests like root-knot nematodes and cutworms are at the soil level and can be stopped before they even get started.

What is Diatomaceous Earth?

Diatomaceous earth, or DE, is a powder made from fossilized microscopic sea creatures called diatoms. DE is a physical pest control method. All the tiny fossils in the powder are jagged and scratch the bodies of insects as they crawl over it. This causes the insects to dry out and die. It works on common tomato pests, slugs, snails, and any other insect with an exoskeleton. It is a very effective method of pest control, but it needs to be used wisely.

DE doesn’t discriminate between pests and beneficial insects. You don’t want to hurt bees, butterflies, moths, and other beneficial pollinators so you should use DE sparingly. As a general rule, don’t use DE on the leaves or upper stems of plants when they are in bloom. If bees and flies come into contact with it while they are pollinating your plants, they will die.

It is important that you purchase “food-grade” DE so that it is safe to use on plants you are going to eat.

How to Use DE

Before you use diatomaceous earth in your garden, you do need to take some safety precautions. DE is not toxic to humans or pets, but the tiny fossils that scratch up bug bodies can also irritate our eyes, noses, and lungs. It is important to use a mask, goggles, and gloves when handling DE so you don’t develop any irritation.

Sprinkle DE around the base of your tomato plants to prevent insects from crawling along the ground and up tomato stems. Nematodes and cutworms won’t stand a chance.

If you have aphids or flea beetles, use a puffer to delicately coat leaves that have an active infestation. Again, don’t use DE when your tomato plants are in bloom or you risk killing your pollinators. Reapply after rain.

Now, that you have your tomato pests under control, you can put the DE away until you need it again. It is a remarkably effective pest solution and easy on the wallet. Sit back and enjoy those wonderful tomatoes!

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