
The Season's First Peas-Germinated indoors in a moist paper towel
I’m the first to admit vegetable gardening in Maine was a bit of a disappointment last summer. The wet weather, lack of sunshine, and diseases that
flourished in those conditions cut into the season’s rewards. But Mother Nature is making up for it this year with an early spring, encouraging wary gardeners to try again.
If you are new to vegetable gardening, I encourage you to check out The Just Add Water layout and seed list on the New England Gardener homepage.
It’s a variation on the 10′ by 10′ plot I grew last year in my local community garden in Yarmouth, Maine. You can copy it seed by seed or improve on it with your own great ideas.
I’ll offer a few simple suggestions for those of you who are growing food for the first time. Start small. Draw a simple plan and stick to it. Leave space (at least 18″) for rows. Work some compost into the soil. Weed and water.
As for what to grow, it’s entirely up to you. I grow food my family will eat and emphasize produce that is expensive or bland at the grocery store. You’ll always find plenty of herbs and tomatoes in my garden.
Other “easy to grow” suggestions include lettuces, carrots, peas, bush beans, tomatoes (from purchased seedlings) and spinach.
The Just Add Water design is similar to last years with a few notable exceptions. I’m growing lettuce, spinach, chard, radishes, tomatoes, cukes and beans again, although in different spots for crop rotation.
For fun, I’m trying melons in the squash patch. I’ve never grown them successfully because of the short season in Maine, but spring is early and I plan to break out some black plastic to heat things up. I also waited much too long to start carrots last year, planting them as a replacement crop after the peas were finished. This year I’m planting carrots early and often.
My first planting of peas, both snap and shell, went in the ground last week. (April 18th) If you haven’t started yours yet, I highly recommend germinating them indoors first in a wet paper towel.
This will save you a few days and ensure better production. My carrots and spinach went in the ground before supper tonight. (April 25th.) I hope to get some lettuce, radishes and chard in, in between the raindrops later this week.
One quick word about the dreaded Late Blight that took out so many tomato and potato crops last year.
The disease does NOT winter over in New England EXCEPT on potato tubers. Check out this fact sheet for details.
Salad days are ahead.
Filed under: Just Add Water Project | Sustainable Gardening | Uncategorized