Edible Encores

If you want fresh herbs, vegetables or flowers for your table, you could make a run to the store. But it would be a lot faster and much more satisfying if you could simply step outside to pick what you need. And, if you sow seeds rather than buy plants, you can save some big bucks this summer.

”People often think that sowing seeds is more complicated than it is,” says Renee Shepherd of Renee’s Garden (www.reneesgarden.com), a specialty seed company in Felton, CA. “It’s really not that hard and it’s fun.”

It’s all in the timing. Although many Chicago-area gardeners wait until Memorial Day to plant their vegetable gardens, there are many cold-weather crops that can be grown from seed just as soon as the soil can be cultivated.

Jeanne Pinsof Nolan of The Organic Gardener (www.theorganicgardener.net) in Glencoe started sowing vegetable seeds in midsummer and will continue into September. “My heavy hitters in spring are peas, spinach, radish, arugula, kale, collards, lettuce and turnips,” says Nolan, who sows these cold-hardy specimens in early April. Cold-hardy crops can withstand some freezing temperatures and hard frosts without injury. They prefer cool growing temperatures—once the soil reaches 45 degrees, lettuce seeds will sprout. Early spring planting and harvest is a must because these robust plants tend to lose their flavor and quality once warm weather arrives.

Late April through mid-May is the time to plant frost-tolerant vegetables, such as beets, carrots, cabbage and chard, which are not as cold-hardy as the others but can withstand light frost. Their seeds sprout in soil that’s 50 degrees or warmer, so they can be planted 2 to 3 weeks before the average last spring freeze, which usually occurs about May 15 in the Chicago area, give or take a week.

Some Like it Hot

Tender vegetables, such as snap beans, corn and summer squash are injured or killed by frost and should be sown after May 15. Last are the real heat lovers, such as lima beans, cucumbers, herbs, winter squash and pumpkins, which need very warm soil--70 degrees or more--and warm air to sprout and thrive and do best when planted after June 1. (Tomatoes, peppers and eggplant fall into the heat-lovers category, but because they take a long time from germination to harvest, the seeds are best started indoors about mid-April.)

Sowing lettuce and radish seeds every 10 days during spring offers a nonstop harvest. “If you buy a six-pack of arugula or cilantro plants, you’re going to be disappointed because they bolt [flower] quickly,” Shepherd says. And once arugula flowers, the leaves become bitter. It’s less costly to pull the spent plants and sow more seeds. ”And, there’s nothing worse than having a million beans for three weeks and then none,” she says. “There’s a good reason to plant them again and again.”

Landscape designer Vicki Nowicki of Liberty Gardens (www.libertygardens.com) in Downers Grove sows bush beans, beets and chard once a week through June and July. As she harvests a row of beets, for example, she sows more seeds. “I also plant more summer squash throughout the growing season because after a certain point, squash vines start to peter out and I like to have new, fresh plants coming along.” Peas are planted again in late July and she sows spinach through August for fall harvests.

Petal Power

Veggies aren’t the only thing you can pick at the end of summer. Sunflowers, cosmos, zinnias, marigolds, celosia, strawflowers and asters are some of the annual s that can be sown from seed weekly from May 15 through September for an ongoing supply of cut flowers. Dill and fennel flowers also add fragrance to an arrangement.

”The health of your garden is improved by introducing flowers,” Nolan says. Blossoms bring in beneficial insects that prey on the destructive ones. Some, such as nasturtiums, borage and chive blossoms, are edible, Nolan says, and can be used to garnish a salad. Before you dine on any blooms, make sure the seed packet notes that they are edible.

Gear up

Choose a spot that gets at least six hours of direct sunlight. Vegetables, herbs and most flowers do best in soil that’s easy to cultivate, fertile with organic matter such as compost, and drains well after watering. For sowing in pots, choose containers that are at least 14” wide and deep and fill them with good quality potting mix. And study the seed packet. The “days to harvest” generally refers to how long it will take from the time the plant sprouts leaves to when the fruit is ready for picking. As much as 7 to 14 days may be added from the time you sow the seeds until germination. The average autumn freeze date occurs about October 15, so if a vegetable needs 40 days from sowing to harvest, you can count backwards to determine when to plant for autumn harvests.

“Seeds need moisture from below so start out with a planting bed that’s been very well hydrated,” Nowicki says. ”You don’t even need to make a row. Use your thumb and make an indentation according to spacing on the seed packet.” She places 4 to 5 seeds in each thumbprint and, when they have a few leaves, she cuts down all but the largest, healthiest one. That may seem like a waste of seeds, but if you don’t thin the plants to the recommended spacing on the packet, you’ll have a tangle of stems and leaves and little to harvest.
And make it a family affair. ”Direct seeding is a great thing to do with kids,” says Nolan. “It’s an absolute miracle for them to see a carrot seed and then see the carrot. Don’t get too discouraged if seeds don’t sprout--try again. Seed isn’t that expensive.”

Seed Sources

Stock up on seeds at your local garden center or check out these seed catalogs:

Baker Creek Heirloom Seed, 866-OLD-SEED, www.rareseeds.com
John Scheepers Kitchen Garden Seeds, 860-567-6086, www.kitchengardenseeds.com Renee’s Garden, 888-880-7228, www.reneesgarden.com
Territorial Seed Co., 800-626-0866, www.territorialseed.com
The Cook’s Garden, 800-457-9703, www.cooksgarden.com
Thompson & Morgan, 800-274-7333, http://www.tmseeds.com/

Keep it Growing

The following planting dates can help you develop a succession plan for your harvest:

April 15: Kale, Kohlrabi, Leaf Lettuce, Onion, Pea, Spinach, Turnip
April 23 to May 15: Beets, Carrots, Chard, Mustard, Parsnip, Radish
May 15: Snap Beans, Sweet Corn, Summer Squash, New Zealand Spinach, Annual Herbs
June 1: Lima Beans, Cucumbers, Okra, Pumpkin, Winter Squash, Annual Herbs
June 1 – July 30: Keep sowing Snap Beans, Beets, Carrots, Endive, Annual Herbs
August: Sow Lettuce, Radish, Chinese Cabbage, Turnips, Peas
September: Sow Lettuce, Chard, Mustard Greens, Radish, Spinach

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