We have a welcome break in the weather and early planting can begin.  Some ambitious gardeners already have put in peas, onion sets, greens, and carrots.  It’s time to go ahead with early herbs & vegetables but be careful not to get ahead of the season just yet and don’t work that soil if it’s still very wet.  Here is a list of what can be safely sown now, how to get the best germination of seeds in cool soil, and some suggestions for transplants.

First things first, what seeds can be sown now (late May)?  Here’s a list to help us get started:

A very helpful reference is the High Mowing Seeds Planting Chart available online that gives detailed information about how, how much, and when to plant a long list of herbs and vegetables.  The same table appears in their published seed catalog.

The soil is still cool and looses heat on clear nights, so we need to give our seeds a little help to grow.  Follow the directions on your seed packets regarding seed depth and spacing.  Many early seeds do best when surface planted with a very small amount of soil covering just to keep them moist until they grow some roots.  That’s how nature plants seeds.  Also, since seeds carry enough nutrients for the first days of life they do not need to be fertilized until after their true leaves appear.  The only nutrients I like to provide at planting are phosphate (rock phosphate or bone char) and micronutrients (azomite or green sand) that can be sprinkled on & mixed into the soil under the seeds.  These are slow release natural minerals that promote strong root development and healthy plants.  Of course, the best long-term source of phosphate and micronutrients in every home garden is compost, made on-site with your own ingredients.

Carrots are a special case since they are slow to germinate and must not be allowed to dry out until they have established roots.  Gardeners used to lay old boards on top of seeded rows for a couple weeks to prevent them from drying out.  Once the first sprouts appear underneath, the boards are removed.  Today we have “row cover” fabric (Agribon-19) that is easier to apply and the rows can be watered through the fabric with a sprinkling can if it doesn’t rain.  I’ve had excellent results using row cover on carrots to get high germination and vigorous early growth. 

A basic question we all face is whether to direct plant seeds or to transplant already started plants.  Plants that are really sub-tropical and need a longer growing season than we have in Vermont need a head start in order to yield the fruits we harvest.  These include tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, onions (from seed), and sweet potato.  There is a long list of vegetables that can be directly seeded but we also can use transplants to get an earlier harvest and these include broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, corn, cucumber, lettuce, basil, cilantro, kale, pumpkin, and all squashes.  Using transplants for these also give the plants extra protection from pests that can damage young seedlings but don’t bother larger plants so much. 

Finally, I must advise that although we all like to see nice big plants in a new garden, don’t buy plants that are bigger than the pot they’re in.  Those oversized plants are probably root bound, will suffer more severe transplant shock, and produce no more yield than smaller, more vigorous plants.

If you are new to gardening or interested in learning more, the Rodale Institute has an excellent resource available (Free) that has a wealth of good information in videos and text for gardeners.  Take a look at their Victory Garden Starter Kit.