Spring Planting

Now is the time for East Tennessee gardeners to plant cool season crops. It will soon be too late for transplanting cabbage and broccoli, so if you are growing those this year, you'd better get busy. These days, it gets hot enough in May to stop the growth of most brassicas. Your cabbage may not head up, and your broccoli may not bloom.

This is an ideal time to direct seed most leafy greens. Lettuces will take about 75 days, but many mustards, such as arugula and radishes, will be ready in about 6 weeks. Follow the instructions on the seed packages for proper sowing depth, water the seedbed every day if it doesn't rain, and expect most things to germinate within one week.

You can also direct seed beets and carrots, both of which take a little longer to germinate. Carrots can take up to three weeks. Either vegetable should be thinned to the correct spacing (see the back of the seed packet) as soon as most of the seedlings have emerged. Delay in thinning will slow growth and might even limit production. A pair of plastic tweezers is useful for thinning, if you have large hands like I do. Beets will benefit from the addition of wood ashes to their bed, which raises the pH. A cup of wood ashes is sufficient for a ten-foot row of beets. Don't put the ashes directly on the seeds. Instead, work ashes into the soil a few days before planting.

This season, I am growing some vegetables in containers as part of a photography project. If you plan on a container vegetable garden, I suggest using nothing smaller than a twelve-inch diameter pot. Five gallon buckets make good vegetable containers, too, but you will need to drill drainage holes in the bottom. Cover the holes with plastic window screen before filling the container. This keeps snails, slugs and insects from taking up residence in the pot. Remember that container vegetables need frequent watering and fertilizing in order to perform well. You can use soluble fertilizer, time-release fertilizer added to the potting mix, or a granular organic fertilizer.

If you are starting your own transplants, now is as good time to sow tomatoes indoors. Wait another couple of weeks before sowing eggplant or peppers, as these two need more heat. Most transplants will be ready about a month after germination, so plan accordingly.

Less Than Fifty Days Away

Spring arrives officially on March 20, so we are less than fifty days away! We have had some pleasant days during January, but hopefully it has not been warm enough long enough to bring plants out of dormancy. Snowdrops are blooming in some gardens by now, and the early Crocus chrysanthus blooms will be along shortly.

Now is the time to get your seed orders in, or to visit your favorite garden center's seed rack, in order to be assured of the best selection. All indications are that the hot items this year will be heirloom vegetables, especially tomatoes, and compact-growing varieties suitable for container or small space vegetable gardens. This is unsurprising given the trend toward home food gardening.

Time is running out if you are starting leeks or celery from seeds for spring transplant.

It is now time to start broccoli, cabbage and other brassicas for spring transplants. To spread out the harvest, start only one or two plants per week for the next several weeks. Wait a couple more weeks before starting lettuce, unless you are betting on an early spring, or can cover your transplants if frost arrives.

Hold off on starting any warm season plants, however. We are still roughly 80 days from the frost date. Despite the undeniable urge to get things growing, you will have more success if you wait until March 15 or after to start tomatoes. Bell and chili peppers should be started even later, around the first of April, and must be kept warm during their early development. Otherwise, they may not ever reach their full potential.

Now is a great time to start seeds indoors for cool season flowers. Calendula is an old favorite, and the petals are edible. Another edible flower, Dianthus or annual pinks, thrives in spring, but starts looking ratty after the weather really heats up.

For an early season pleasure that is definitely NOT edible, start seeds of sweet peas, Lathyrus, in small pots. They will need something to climb on if you cannot get them outside before they begin to climb. Start seeds around February 20 for transplant around March 20. This should give the sweet peas enough time to grow and bloom before the succumb to summer heat. The large, colorful, and exquisitely fragrant flowers are worth all the trouble, and they make good cut flowers, too.

Rain, Finally

Finally! Some serious rain. According to the National Weather Service, our area has had a deficit of about six inches for the year. It appears we may be on track to make up much of that deficit during the current rain event. This could not have come at a better time for many crops, such as cucumbers, melons, and squash. These vegetables are about 90 percent water, so having enough soil moisture as the fruits are maturing is important.

The downside of the rain is the greater tendency for many of our warm weather crops to develop problems with fungal disease. Cloudy, wet weather favors mildew, blights, and other problems. If plants have been spaced properly to allow for good air circulation, you have the best defense against these problems. We can also hope that the rain will let up for a while and a period of sunshine will ensue. This is the ideal situation, allowing foliage to dry off and the pace of photosynthesis to increase.

From now until about the end of August, vegetable gardens around the region should be at their peak of variety, abundance and flavor. If you plan on doing some home canning with produce from the farmer's market, this is a great time to stock up. We have regional markets every day of the week, and the big market in Knoxville takes place on Wednesdays and Saturdays at Market Square.

Backyard gardeners will be harvesting everything from late beets to early corn. Just about the only crop that won't be ready yet is okra, which usually waits until August to make its debut. We have had great success with heat tolerant lettuce varieties this year, and as a result we still have a couple of heads in the refrigerator for dressing sandwiches. Having lettuce past the Fourth of July has been a real treat. In case you missed the earlier post, the variety we like best is 'Jericho.' It is sort of a cross between romaine and butterhead, and remains sweet and tender despite the punishing heat we had in early July. We will definitely plant more of this one next year.

As long as the rain hold up, about the only chore you have in the garden at this time of year is weeding, which the rain actually facilitates.

And don't forget, it's time to start thinking about fall planting. If you intend on growing cabbage, broccoli or another member of that group, July 20 is the date for starting seeds. This gives you plants ready for the garden by August 20, and allows 90 days of growth before the first freeze, expected around November 20. The average first frost date for this area is October 20, so frost-tender crops will need to mature in under 90 days if they are planted now. Cucumbers and summer squash are a possibility. Virtually all the cool season crops can be planted between now and August 20. Top choices are beets, carrots, leeks, peas, and turnips. Fast maturing leafy greens, such as spinach and mustards, should wait until mid-August or the seedlings may die from summer heat.

Get Your Garden Going!

If you are not planning on doing some gardening next week, you should be. The weather in the Valley is predicted to be gorgeous, birds are singing, bees are buzzing, and buds are bursting on fruit trees. The month between the equinox and the average frost date of April 20, is the prime time for planting cool season crops, either from seed or started plants. The weather (hopefully) will not heat up until June, so you have roughly 70 days for crops to mature. That is enough for peas, lettuce, spinach, carrots, beets, radishes and green onions to be direct seeded, and sufficient for broccoli and cabbage transplants from the garden center to go in the ground.

Now is also the time to plant cilantro and parsley seeds, or to transplant starts of these cool season herbs. Quick maturing greens, like arugula and various mustards, will also have time to crop before the weather gets too warm and they go to seed. Don't forget that spring-planted cilantro will bear an abundant crop of coriander seed in July if it is allowed to bolt. I always plant extra just for this purpose.

Most parts of East Tennessee are receiving rain this weekend. That, together with the warm spell coming next week, should bring earlier seeds out of the ground. Be sure to thin radishes almost as soon as they are up, for best root production. Keep them about 2 inches apart each way.

Thin green crops like spinach and lettuce to stand at least four inches apart each way. Improved air circulation around the plants helps prevent fungal attacks.

Vegetable gardeners who use raised beds should bear in mind that one DIS-advantage is their tendency to dry out rapidly. Check below the soil surface every day or so in dry weather, and irrigate before plants begin to show signs of stress.

Cool spring weather is ideal for flea beetles, which may attack newly-emerged potato foliage, filling the leaves with pinholes. A floating row cover over the bed helps prevent the beetles from gaining access to your plants. Because they are chewing insects, flea beetles are susceptible to ingestion poisons like nicotine, spinosad, pyrethrins, and neem oil. All these are suitable for organic vegetable production when used according to label directions.

And finally, I know everyone is just dying to plant tomatoes, but wait at least another month. If the soil is too cold, they will just sit there, anyway, and you won't get tomatoes any earlier. Tomato geeks who want to employ extraordinary measures like the "Wall O Water" are welcome to have at it, but the rest of us should just wait until the soil warms up. There will be plenty of time for late tomatoes, peppers and beans to follow all the early crops that will finish up in June, also.

Spring Planting Tips

Tonight the Full Worm Moon will illuminate the landscape, provided the clouds clear out to enable us to see it. Spring arrives officially this Thursday, and, coincidentally, Thursday, March 20 is one month prior to the average frost date (for my location), April 20. Rain began overnight and continues to fall, irrigating our raised beds, now bursting with green onion, leek, shallot and garlic tops from last fall’s planting.

Lettuces that were started in cells trays last week are now up and will soon have true leaves. I am growing them under the LED light I have mentioned previously. I note that the red-leaved varieties color up soon after germination, an indication they are getting plenty of photo-energy.

St. Patrick’s Day, Monday, March 17, marks the traditional time to plant Irish potatoes in East Tennessee. I also find this memory aid helpful in reminding me when to place a sweet potato root into a jar with water, so that I will have slips ready to plant around Memorial Day. Sweet potatoes require heat, so sprout them in the warmest, sunniest spot you can manage indoors. Otherwise, you will be better off to purchase slips, which will appear at better garden centers at the appropriate planting time. Two good bets for the Knoxville area are Mayo Garden Centers (several locations) and Knoxville Seed and Greenhouse Supply (Rutledge Pike).

This week is a good time to plant root crops, according to the traditional practices based on the moon. When the moon is waning, plant vegetables that bear below the ground: beets, carrots, onions, potatoes, radishes, and turnips. Note that Asian radishes are likely to perform better here if fall-planted, but salad radishes seem to do best in spring.

You still have time to transplant cabbage and broccoli, but the window is pretty much closed by the equinox. Spinach, also, will soon not have time enough to mature before the weather gets hot.

If you have not planted asparagus, you should get roots in the ground by the equinox, also. Otherwise, you may find the stock at the garden center has already begun to sprout. Not a good thing, because if you break one of those tender shoots, you rob your plants of vitality needed to establish a healthy root system. Good roots are crucial to productivity during the second season of growth. If you already have an established asparagus bed, now is the time to apply a balanced organic fertilizer, topped with an inch or so of good compost or composted manure, such as Black Kow™. Top that with an inch of mulch, such as straw, pine needles, or shredded bark. Doing so now gives the nutrients time to be decomposed by soil bacteria, making them available to the asparagus plants when they begin sprouting a few weeks hence.

Don’t forget to tune in to 94.3, WNFZ, Knoxville, for “Garden Talk,” every Saturday morning at 8:00 AM. I’ll be there to talk about vegetable gardening and other topics with Dr. Sue and Andy the Garden Guy. Our sponsors are Stanley's Greenhouse and Ellenburg's Nursery. Visit your local, independent garden center for plants, supplies and good advice!

Spring Planting Time

Spring does not begin officially for another 20 days, but March 1 marks the beginning of spring vegetable gardening season in the Tennessee Valley. Although we are far from out of the woods as far as frost is concerned, the spring temperature oscillations are not likely to bother the most cold-tolerant crops.

Chief among these is spinach, which will germinate in cold soil. Plant in succession from now through the middle of April. Thin plants to stand at least six inches apart for the largest leaves. Thinned seedlings can be transplanted and will be ready to pick a week or ten days later than the ones left undisturbed.

Arugula and corn salad can also be planted now. Arugula only takes about 3 to 4 weeks to be ready to pick, and small succession sowings should be made every few days, as often as you think you'd like to eat arugula. Corn salad grows more slowly and tolerates less heat, so you can only get in a couple of sowings before the weather gets too warm.

Now is also a great time to start lettuce seedlings in cell trays for transplanting in 2 to 4 weeks. Sow three seeds on the suface of the growing medium, water thoroughly and place under artificial light or in a south-facing window. When the seedlings have true leaves, thin to one per cell. Transplant to the garden when they 2 inches tall or larger. The secret to growing lettuce is to start a few plants every week or so, for a continuous crop. As with arugula, the amount to sow each week depends upon how much salad you plan to eat. Mature butterhead and loosehead lettuce typess will make two salads per plant, as a rule.

Broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower plants can also be transplanted during March. Be sure to keep them dusted with Bt powder to prevent damage by cabbage worms. Bt is a bacterial insecticide approved for organic gardening.

Anyone who has lived in the Tennessee Valley for very long knows we have unpredictable weather in early spring. It is wise to have some means available to protect your plants from frost, because our spring warm spells encourage buds to swell and flowers to bloom. When one night of frost returns, the show can be ruined for good. You can purchase frost blanket, which is about the same as floating row cover material. You can also use old bed sheets. One of my favorite ways to protect emerging plants is to cover them with three or four inches of loose pine needles. The fluffy needles provide frost protection and can be left in place as mulch. They are also easy to remove with a leaf rake, and they look much better than cloth covers. Pine needles work well for perennial flowers and small shrubs. Larger shrubs and flowering trees with require the artificial covers.

Happy Birthday, George!

Today is George Washington’s 282^nd birthday, and my thoughts turn to cherry trees. Growing cherries for fruit is not an easy task in the Tennessee Valley region, as hot summer weather stresses the trees and leaves them susceptible to disease. Nevertheless, for the gardener willing to expend some extra effort, cherry trees will produce a delicious crop for a decade or more.

The most popular cherry variety in North America is ‘Montmorency,’ named for the region of France where this cultivar originated. Trees are available on dwarf rootstock, an important consideration for the home gardener because you will need to cover them with bird netting when the fruit begins to ripen. Otherwise, your feathered friends will get the lion’s share of the crop. Although Montmorency is self-fertile, plant two if you have the room, as cross-pollination will increase fruit set.

Sweet cherries are even less accommodating than sour varieties, but can be grown here with diligence. Care is the same as for sour cherries. Many varieties of sweet cherries exist.

Cherries need full sun and organically rich, well-drained soil. Waterlogged soil will kill them quickly. A layer of mulch around the base of the tree, extending to the drip line, is beneficial. Make sure you do not pile mulch at the crown of the tree, which encourages bark damage. Mulching the base helps to prevent bark damage from lawn mowers and string trimmers. Keeping the tree’s bark intact prevents infections.

Plant cherry trees anytime after fall dormancy and prior to spring bud swell. February is your last chance, in most years. After your cherry trees have been in the ground one full year, you should begin an annual pruning program. Prune during winter, and before the buds have broken dormancy. Aim for horizontally spreading branches with space between them. This promotes good air circulation and allows sun to penetrate into the canopy. Each year, prune out any drooping or weak branches. These won’t produce good fruit, anyway.

Brown rot is a fungus disease that is a problem for all types of cherries. Control is possible using sulfur sprays, which must be applied multiple times during the spring season. Brown rot is an important pathogen of all types of stone fruits, and numerous chemical controls are also available. Managing brown rot also means removing all unusable fruit from the trees at harvest time, rather than leaving it to drop, and scrupulously cleaning up plant debris and fallen leaves in the winter. Cherry debris should be burned, not composted, to help control the brown rot fungus.

Onion sets and cool season transplants are appearing in garden centers now. Broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower, along with onion sets, scallions, and leeks can go into the ground any time over the next month. The earliest plantings may be threatened by late cold snaps, so it is good idea to have a row cover available to toss over them, in case of severe cold. A light frost does no harm to established plants.

Sow pea seeds now for the earliest crop. Snow peas, snap peas and shelling peas all produce excellent crops in the Tennessee Valley, when planted early. Make sure to provide a sturdy trellis. Some varieties can grow over six feet tall.