Do you know the best way to plant tomatoes?
Watch as Kaleb Wyse @WyseGuide takes you out to his garden and shows you the best way he knows how to plant and be successful in growing tomato plants.
Kaleb uses Espoma Organic Tomato-tone to grow healthy tomato plants in his garden.
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An edible garden can be a wonderful addition to any home. But with all of the information out there on vegetable gardening, it can feel overwhelming to start. This blog is here to help people who are in their first few years of vegetable gardening by covering the need-to-know basics.
This blog is inspired by Episode 89 of Bloom and Grow Radio Podcast, where host Maria Failla interviewed Toby Adams, the Director of the Edible Academy for the New York Botanical Garden.
What Vegetables Should I Grow as a Beginner?
You might be tempted to try growing lots of different vegetables, especially as a beginner. But it’s best to start with just a few varieties and get really good at growing them. From there, you can expand your vegetable garden in the following years, slowly building on your mastery.
So, where do you start? The simplest way is thinking about what you like to eat! Create a small list of vegetables you purchase regularly at the grocery store or farmer’s market. Then do a little research about the plants themselves and what they require to grow. You may find that some vegetables don’t grow well where you live, or you might be hindered by your growing set up in size, sun, and scale.
Next, think about your location. If you’re growing in a place like New York City or other Northeastern U.S. locations, you’re likely to have different seasons. Spring and fall are referred to as cool seasons. There are groups of plants that do well in cool weather with some warm days, but colder nights. There are also warm season crops that grow best in summer with no chance of frost.
If you go back to your wishlist, you can figure out which plants are cool season versus warm season crops, and plan from there. Here are some examples of cool and warm season vegetables:
Cool season vegetables: lettuce, radish, peas, spinach, carrots, kale, cabbage.
Warm season vegetables: squash, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, beans, corn, cucumbers.
What’s a Hardiness Zone?
If you’re in the U.S., you can find your USDA plant hardiness zone by entering your zip code. This helps you determine which plants are most likely to grow well in your area based on temperature.
Once you find your hardiness zone, you can also search for the last frost date in your zip code. Your first and last frost dates will show you how many frost-free growing days you have in a season. This can help you figure out which warm and cool season crops will grow best in your area.
From there, you can even find helpful planting calendars for your area through resources like your local extension office, local or online gardening groups, and the Farmer’s Almanac.
What Do Vegetables Need to Grow Successfully?
There are a handful of factors that go into a successful vegetable garden. Below we’ll cover space, sun, water, soil, and fertilizing.
How Much Space Do My Vegetables Need?
Once you’ve got your list of vegetables, think about other growing factors like space requirements. Some plants require more space, while smaller varieties can be planted in small containers.
A tomato plant, for example, needs about 18 – 24” to grow successfully. If you’re growing tomatoes in containers, make sure to only plant one tomato per container.
On the other hand, leafy greens like lettuce and spinach can be planted close together and harvested as baby greens.
How Much Sun Do I Need for My Vegetable Garden?
The next component of successfully growing vegetables is sun exposure. Most vegetables need a minimum of six hours of direct sunlight, but eight hours is ideal. Think about your garden placement based on how much sun each area receives.
An easy way to determine how much sun your garden gets is to do a sun analysis. If you have a full day at home, check the area every hour and make note of whether it gets direct sun or not. At the end of the day, add up how many hours of direct sun you get. This will help you determine which plants will thrive in your area.
Be aware though, if you’re doing your sun analysis in winter and you have trees nearby, those trees will actually have a full canopy of leaves in summer that will cast shade.
An easy way to start is keeping in mind the following: in the Northern hemisphere, gardens that face South will get the most sunlight. Eastern gardens will receive gentle morning sun and Western gardens will receive hotter afternoon sun. Northern gardens will receive the least amount of light and may cause issues for successful growing.
How Much to Water Vegetables
Water is another key aspect of vegetable gardening. The amount you water will depend on the time of year, the needs of each plant, and the other growing conditions in your garden. A general rule is that plants don’t like to sit in water, but they do need consistent water.
Deep watering your plants with longer, less frequent periods of watering will encourage robust root systems that grow deep into the soil. During Summer months, this can look like watering 3-4 times a week at 30 minute intervals, depending on your climate.
What’s the Best Soil for Edible Plants?
Last, you’ll need a soil medium based on where and how you’re growing. A well-draining soil that contains organic food for your plants, like compost and fertilizer, is a good option.
If you’re growing in containers, Espoma’s Organic Potting Mix works great for growing vegetables. If you have an outdoor growing space, the Raised Bed Mix or the Vegetable & Flower Garden Soil work well for edible plants.
Whatever soil you choose, make sure that it has good drainage. Most of your plants’ root systems need oxygen to grow and don’t like to sit in water.
If you’re growing in an in-ground garden, a soil test is essential to know what nutrients and heavy metals are in your soil. Your local extension office may have soil testing or be able to direct you to companies that do. You can use Espoma Organic Land & Sea Compost to amend your soil.
Do I Need to Fertilize My Vegetable Garden?
Plant nutrients are broken up into macro and micronutrients. The main macronutrients you need to know about are the famous NPK: Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), and Potassium (K).
Starting with high quality soil and compost sets your edible garden up for success. Throughout the growing season, your vegetable garden will use up and absorb many of the macronutrients in your soil, and they will often need to be replaced by using fertilizers.
Use a general fertilizer like Garden-tone or use the plant-specific fertilizer line of “Tones” that Espoma has to offer like Tomato-tone, Berry-tone or Bulb-tone. For a list of Espoma’s wide varieties of “tones,” visit our website.
The Best Vegetable Gardening Advice
What’s the best advice you can get on starting your edible garden? Just start! Remember to try growing only a few different vegetables, making sure they have the right conditions, and expand from there. We hope this blog inspired you to try growing some of your own vegetables right in your own backyard!
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About Bloom & Grow Radio Podcast
Bloom & Grow Radio Podcast helps people care for plants successfully and cultivate more joy in their lives. Host Maria Failla, a former plant killer turned happy plant lady, interviews experts on various aspects of plant care, and encourages listeners to not only care for plants, but learn to care for themselves along the way.
About Our Interviewee
The NYBG Edible Academy is a state-of-the-art educational facility featuring hands-on activities and innovative programs that help children, families, teachers, and the general public learn about growing and preparing vegetables, fruit, and herbs while encouraging a lifelong interest in gardening, nutrition awareness, and environmental stewardship. Toby Adams has worked at the NYBG for almost 20 years, and has a passion for helping people understand how to grow food.
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Have you ever wanted to grow your own onions?
Watch Laura @GardenAnswer with help from Espoma, as she shows you how to start her favorite onion varieties from seed.
Learn more about Garden Answer here:
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Fall: it’s the season of transition. The weather is cooling down, the leaves are changing colors, and the air is getting crisp and breezy. While you might be thinking it’s time to pack up the gardening supplies until Spring, there’s no reason the growing has to stop yet! With this seasonal shift comes perfect weather for establishing new plants, great deals at garden stores, and a decrease in pests. In fact, this special season offers plenty of opportunities for preserving, planting, and preparing. Make the most of this time with these seven tips, and get back in the garden!
1. Don’t Forget Your Veggies
Don’t let the cooler weather fool you, there’s still time for growth. Broccoli, carrots, lettuce, and kale… fall is the season to plant these beloved vegetables. If your vegetable garden needs a boost, use our famous Organic Garden-tone or Grow!
2. Success with Succession
Maximize your harvest all throughout fall with succession planting. Harvest one crop, then replant one with a shorter maturity date, plant companion crops, stagger your seeding so harvest arrives in intervals, or plant a crop with varying maturity dates (broccoli, for example). Try out one of these methods and keep growing with our Garden-tone!
3. Bring in the Big Guys
Looking for a bigger way to upgrade your garden this fall? Plant trees and shrubs while the soil is still warm, use our Organic Tree-tone to nurture their development, and give them a chance to lay roots before winter settles in. Just be sure to keep them well-watered and protect those roots with mulch!
4. Free Fertilizer
Have you tried using those fall leaves to your advantage? Thick piles of leaves can be a lot for your lawn to tolerate, but mowing over what’s fallen creates smaller pieces that break down in the soil easier. Time to tackle that leaf pile and get your lawn some natural nutrients!
5. Allium On the Way
Patience is a virtue… and so is planting ahead! Give your garlic, onions, and shallots a jump-start by planting them after the fall equinox. With full sun, rich soil, and crisp fall weather, your allium vegetables have plenty of time to get rooted before weathering the frost. Check out this article here for more tips on allium planting!
6. Take Cover
Mustard, peas, and clover are great cover crops to plant in the fall. Not only do cover crops prevent erosion, they can create better, richer soil for gardening. Let them grow throughout the fall and winter, then turn into the soil in the spring to enjoy the nutritious benefits of your labor.
7. Winterize, Winterize, Winterize
Think of it as a gift to your future self. Keep up with weeding, winterize your watering system, and give your lawn a much-needed refresh with our Organic Fall Winterizer. These little chores make all the difference when getting your garden through upcoming winter frosts.
There’s so much in store this season, and with these tips, you can fall in love with fall gardening. Have your own must-do or want to share a photo of autumn in action?
*****
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Seeds not only provide us with food to eat, but they represent the future and allow us to reflect on our history. They are heirlooms, a connection to our ancestors and their stories. In this blog, we celebrate stories of Asian culture and connection to nature and food through seeds, with YC Miller from Kitazawa Seed Company.
YC walks us through the importance of preserving our heritage through seeds with heartwarming stories from Kitazawa customers on how a simple vegetable can carry so much family history and pride.
This blog is inspired by Episode 152 of Bloom and Grow Radio Podcast, where host Maria Failla interviewed YC Miller from Kitazawa Seed Company. 
How Growing Food Can Reconnect Us with Our Heritage
YC didn’t grow up growing any Korean vegetables. Coming to them as an adult has played a huge part in how she has reconnected with their heritage.
Fifteen years ago, YC went on a heritage trip to Korea. For a portion of the trip, she worked on a farm. She recalls that experience as one of the first times she understood what roots really meant. It really spoke to YC’s soul about who she was as a person and created a deep sense of belonging.
That moment served as an awakening of their heritage, but also a reconnection with food and the plants, vegetables, and agricultural practices that went along with that. Ever since then, it’s been a constant learning process through their work at Kitazawa Seed Company.
Many Americans, descendants of immigrants, share a similar experience in reconnecting with their culturally significant vegetables and stories of families bringing seeds over from their home countries. With their work at Kitazawa Seed Company, YC says it’s been a pleasure to be able to celebrate and honor that connection, and to be a source of seeds and food that help foster that connection.
How Two Brothers Built Kitazawa Seed Company
Kitazawa Seed Company was started by two brothers in 1917. It is the oldest Asian seed company in the United States, specializing in Asian varieties. The brothers were selling seeds to Japanese farmers in California, and also providing traditional Japanese vegetable seeds to home gardeners who were growing them for their families and communities.
From 1942 to 1945 Kitazawa Seed Company was forced to abandon the business due to WWII. The Kitazawa family, along with all other Japanese-Americans, were moved and put into Relocation Camps during that time. The brothers restarted the business after the war. Many of their customers had relocated due to land ownership changes. This is when Kitazawa began selling and shipping seeds across the United States and really flourishing. It has continued the tradition of selling both to commercial farmers and to the home gardener.
A major goal of Kitazawa has been to bring in seeds that are otherwise inaccessible. It started as a company that focused mostly on Japanese vegetables, because that was primarily the customer base. With waves of immigration from Asia to the United States, there’s been a changing demand for different kinds of Asian vegetables. Now Kitazawa has expanded its offerings to be able to provide vegetables for lots of different communities.
Preserving Seed Diversity and the Immigrant Experience
Kitazawa strives to provide lots of hybrid seed varieties that are reliable, but they also value open pollinated varieties. If you were to grow an open pollinated squash variety in California and grow that same variety in New York, saving seeds year after year, those seeds would adapt to the different microclimates they were grown in. While they’re still the same variety of squash, certain traits would emerge, making them better suited for each region.
An interesting parallel to note is the similarity in the seed and the home grower who originally brought it to the United States. Seeds come from a different homeland and take on the soil, the air, and the sunshine from their new home. As seeds thrive, they continue to change and evolve. Similar to the immigrant experience in adapting to your new environment.
As home gardeners, we may not think much about saving seeds. But it’s something YC highly encourages us to do to create more locally adapted, resilient seed varieties.
Where and How Does Kitazawa Source Their Seed Varieties?
A lot of Kitazawa’s seeds are imported from Asia, where they have been working with many of the same reliable growers for decades. There are plans in place to consider more domestic production, especially considering supply chain issues and shipping. There are amazing people doing small batch seed production in the United States that are doing incredible work, specifically with landrace varieties. Landrace seeds have evolved traits naturally over time in response to growing conditions like pests, climate, and diseases in a specific location.
Kitazawa not only considers a particular variety, but also a high standard of quality when bringing in seeds. They grow out new varieties first so they can ensure the health and vigor of the seeds they offer to customers. The process can take several years to not only source the seed, but to also ensure the integrity of the seed packet they sell.
What Are the Differences Between Japanese, Chinese, and Filipino Eggplants?
One of Kitazawa’s new varieties is a Filipino eggplant. They have had customer requests for years to carry a Filipino eggplant in their seed options. While they have lots of Japanese and Chinese eggplant varieties, none of them were quite right for their Filipino clientele.
Traditionally, people think of a Japanese eggplant as being long, narrow, and purple. Generally the Japanese eggplants also have a purple calyx, which is the part of the eggplant that attaches to the stem. They are also quite firm with low moisture content, and often used for pickles.
Chinese eggplants often have a green calyx and are lighter in color than the Japanese eggplants. Their texture is a bit creamier too.
The Filipino eggplant Kitazawa is sourcing is a greenish purple with a green and purple calyx. Generally, Filipino eggplants are more tender and a bit sweet.
YC’s Recommended Kitazawa Varieties for Beginners
One of the great things about Asian vegetables is there’s such a huge diversity. There is something for everyone from the beginning gardener to the more experienced gardener and everyone in between.
For people who are just starting out, some of the easiest plants to get started are Asian herbs. There is a huge variety of Asian herbs from bunching onions that you can use in pretty much everything to Thai basil and all of the different kinds of perilla.
And then there are types that YC would consider big payoff varieties. With a crop like peas, you can eat the shoots and the peas once they form. They’re easy to grow and you get a lot of vegetables for your effort. Japanese cucumbers are another wonderful option and fairly easy to grow with a trellis.
Kitazawa has a huge number of pak choi (or bok choy) available that can be easily grown in a container. They have a bunch of smaller varieties for small space growers. It’s a cold hardy vegetable you can grow in Spring and Fall.
If that all sounds overwhelming, Kitazawa is always happy to give seed recommendations. You can give them a call and they’d be happy to help assist you.
YC’s Favorite Recipe to Cook
Korean perilla is a Korean herb, and a very meaningful plant to YC personally, so it’s their go-to plant. She uses it in two ways: one, as a kind of lettuce wrap and two, she pickles it!
It’s really wonderful as a pickle or as a kimchi. Kitazawa carries many of the perilla varieties, including Japanese shiso, a Vietnamese variety, and a Korean variety. They’re also very easy to grow in containers!
To learn more about different Asian recipes, check out the Kitazawa Recipe Blog.
Visit Kitazawa Seed Company
*****
About Bloom & Grow Radio Podcast
Bloom & Grow Radio Podcast helps people care for plants successfully and cultivate more joy in their lives. Host Maria Failla, a former plant killer turned happy plant lady, interviews experts on various aspects of plant care, and encourages listeners to not only care for plants, but learn to care for themselves along the way.
About Our Interviewee
YC Miller works for Kitazawa Seed Company, which specializes in offering the highest quality Asian seeds to delight the diverse palates of their customers. They offer over 500 seed varieties that produce dento yasai or traditional heirloom vegetables of Japan, to the Asian vegetables popularly found in farmers’ markets, specialty grocery stores, and restaurants. Now you can grow them in your kitchen garden, sell them at your garden center and grow them commercially.
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Spring is here, and there’s no better way to celebrate the new season than by getting outside and gardening. Even better, why not garden with your friends, families, and community members? It’s the perfect way to help our planet while also connecting with the people closest in your life. Don’t believe it? Here’s why gardening with other people should be at the top of your to-do list this spring.
Verywell Family says that gardening is a moderately intense form of exercise. It’s a great way to burn some calories without feeling like you’ve just run a marathon. This also means it’s a fun way to get your family physically active as well. The website states that, “Kids ages three to five need to get three hours of physical activity each day, and older kids need a minimum of an hour daily.” You and your family can bond over planting onions, corn, potatoes, you name it! As a bonus, Espoma’s Garden-tone Natural & Organic Fertilizer will have your family fawning over your healthy crops all season long.
It goes without saying that when you plant a garden, you’re significantly doing good for the environment. Greenmatters claims that gardening improves air quality, protects soil, lessens global warming, minimizes landfills, and saves different kinds of wildlife. These might seem like daunting tasks, but it’s really easier than you think. Verywell Family suggests that when gardening with your family, “You might invest in a rain barrel and start a compost pile to make your garden more Earth-friendly, too.”
Gardens for kids are an easy, engaging way to learn more about sustainability and its importance for our planet. And even for those who aren’t children, you’re never too late to learn something new. Gardening can teach your friends, family, and fellow neighbors about all the green benefits of growing plants and crops.
Whoever you plant your garden with, you go on a journey together to grow something entirely new.
Harddy explains that “Watching the plants start to grow is an incredible achievement. When the planting is done together as a family, it makes the entire process even more meaningful from start to finish.”
This rewarding process is a bonding experience that can strengthen your relationship with your family and local community. There’s also tons of ways to spice up your garden to make it a fun time for everyone involved.
Playful Acre thinks that adding themes to your garden can make your children more engaged and interested in helping out. The blog tells us that having garden bed ideas spanning from “fairy tales to stories to favorite vacations abroad” can make your time outside all the more fulfilling.
Once your luscious garden is complete, the fun does not end there. There’s lots of ways afterwards to enhance the beauty of all your hard work.
Harddy recommends to “Use this time to come up with some beautiful decor you and your children can make together. Buy some terra cotta pots and have everyone paint one in their own unique designs. You can also clip the flowers you’ve grown to make gorgeous decorative arrangements for the dinner table.”
No matter who you garden with, whether your family, friends, or other local green thumbs, social gardening is your answer to springtime fun. Just as importantly, there are health benefits to gardening that keeps you and your close circle physically active on a daily basis. And of course, we need to upkeep our planet to make it a safe, beautiful place for everyone, and gardening helps us accomplish exactly that.
We can’t wait to see you and your squad planting seeds and growing meaningful relationships. Check out all our products ranging from fertilizers, to soils, and everything in between to make your next planting party a success. Happy gardening!
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Kaleb Wyse is a fourth-generation to live on his family farm in Iowa. Leaving business and accounting, Kaleb started Wyse Guide as an outlet for his passions in the garden and indoors in the kitchen. His goal is to show viewers how they can start a garden no matter the size, preserve food, and create the home they love to live in.
Some things about Kaleb? You won’t find spirea or daylily in his garden. When Kaleb isn’t gardening, he’s busy crafting new recipes of his favorite foods, like ice cream and gourmet popcorn. While you’d think his favorite season is summer because he loves to garden, he adores the winter; he likes to slow down and curate his plans for springtime gardening season while he looks out at the Iowa snow.
His 3 year-old Frenchie, Kip, helps him out in the garden when he needs an extra hand, or paw in this case. Though he doesn’t like to do any garden work, he’s a good supervisor.
Vegetable gardening is incredibly important to Kaleb — “We have the ability to grow actual food, think about how amazing that is! We can enrich our soil to be healthy and full of nutrients that will transfer to the vegetable garden plants we grow, making them more nutritious that what we buy that is mass grown.” He never grows tired of the excitement about how he can take a seed into something he can eat. Kaleb’s passions have sprouted instructional videos, recipes, and home gardening tips for everyone to use.
Be sure to check out Kaleb’s amazing gardening tips and recipes on Wyse Guide. When you have your list of garden vegetables you’re ready to plant, we’ve got you covered with fertilizers and soils sure to start the season off the right way.
Did you finish harvesting your summer crops and find yourself wondering what to do next? There’s still plenty of time to get a fall and winter garden going before the first frost! Try planting one vegetable right as another one finishes. This is a process many gardeners use called succession planting and will maximize your harvest all season long. Here are four different ways to do it!
Harvest and replant
Go ahead and harvest your veggies that are ready to go. When you’re done, plant another set of vegetables with a shorter maturity date in that same plot in your garden. Replacing leafy greens with potatoes is a great example of this method.
Be sure to plan accordingly here! Growing based on maturity can be a little tricky if you aren’t planning for your region. Make sure to check the seed packet or plant tag to find out how long the plant will take to mature and what temperature in which it will grow best. Also be sure you have enough seeds to keep you going through the season.
Companion crops
This method involved planting two or more crops with varying maturity dates around each other. This way, even after you harvest the first crop, your garden will continue to flourish! Radishes next to cucumbers are a perfect example of this since radishes will be harvested before the cucumbers start to produce too much shade.
Remember to feed all your crops at their varying stages of growth to keep them moving along. Espoma’s Garden Tone will keep the soil rich in order for your crops to continue thriving as the weather gets colder. And don’t hesitate to pull plants that are reducing or ceasing harvest in order to make room for new crops!
Staggered crops
Try planting the same crop every few weeks in order not to be bombarded by the entire crop at once. For example, tomatoes and peas would work well in small batches throughout the entire season.
Just one crop
Lastly, you can always keep things simple by planting the same crop with different maturity dates. Seed packets will often display the days to maturity for you. Broccoli, for example, is a crop with various maturity dates.
Don’t forget that you can always start your seeds indoors in order to speed up the growing process outdoors! This allows you to harvest and quickly plant to keep your garden at an optimum level throughout the fall and winter season.
Ready to get out there and start succession planting? We can’t wait to see your endless harvests all season long! Get started by making a list of veggies it’s not too late to plant.
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Follow along as Laura from @Garden Answer cuts some especially beautiful flowers for some friends! Stick around as she provides some helpful tips for cutting flowers and to see which Espoma products she uses while planting fall crops!
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It’s time to plant some corn, beans, and tomatoes at the @Garden Answer household! Tag along to see how Laura gets her vegetable gardening done with some Espoma products.
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