Growing, Planting Veg: A Veteran View

Sunny days and warm breezes are making the garden soil pliable and ready for planting, but despite the calendar, an unexpected cold snap has brought more than one basil, tomato or cucumber plant to an early demise.

Planting time is something I struggle with annually, despite the advice received years ago from an Old Order Mennonite friend.

Lydia Zimmerman, who more than five decades ago started what is now Spring Farm Greenhouse just outside Curryville, said to follow the moon for spring planting.

A full moon brings with it clear skies and often a swift moving cold front, my late friend said. If there is one full moon in May coming around the beginning, mid-May should be a good time to plant.

If the full moon is late in the month, always delay planting tender veg and annual flower plants until the very end of the month or perhaps delay into the first week of June, was her advice.

In those unusual instances when there are two full moons in May, well it might be a crap shoot. But despite it being a double month, play it safe and plant late.

After spending much of early May traveling around Morrisons Cove and beyond visiting growers large and small, I've decided to forgo the urge to try some of the new and more exotic varieties of veg plants.

With full moon on Monday, all my veg and herbs are now in the large raised bed at the top of my property.

Built with extensive labor, top notch locust wood and the best top soil, all at the insistence and expense of a dear sister living with us at the time, the raised bed runs about five feet wide and 30 feet long in full.

The wide locust sides make a wonderful bench when planting, weeding and harvesting are overtiring.

What I'm planting this year

Three clumps of chives, which grow under the mistaken pretense that they are the king of the veg garden, had to be removed to put them in their proper place and allow space for the annual basil, flat leaf and curly parsley.

My tomato choices are basic: Burpee Big Girl and Better Boy. I no longer have the intestinal fortitude to plant the sweet little cherry tomatoes or the even smaller grape variety. While excellent in salads, the time needed to pick and process these little beauties can be better spend working with flowers.

My cukes are Straight Eight and a small picking one whose tag did not bear a proper title. The zucchini is Spineless Beauty.

I'm still debating over an eggplant or two and a couple bell pepper plants, which earn their keep with the promise of delicious stuffed pepper soup.

Pepper varieties always avoided were the hot spicy ones, that is, until this year.

I've planted eight Hungarian Hot Wax peppers. My plan is, when harvested, to dice these devils up, dry them over a couple days in a low temp oven and ship them off to my grandson who loves all things hot, hot, hot.

NBC class of 2009 and Shippensburg class of 2013, Toby Mellott teaches middle school math in Los Angeles. The pandemic and spiraling inflation have prompted him to work on his culinary skills and he likely will appreciate this small effort.

Tomato plants

The king of the veg garden continues to be tomatoes.

Whether it be for this year's planting or the future, keep in mind growing strong sturdy tomato plants can be achieved by deep planting.

Dig the hole several inches deep, maybe eight or so, remove all of the lower leaves and pop them in the ground.

Tomato plants have micro hair roots growing along the stem and with a little fertilized water, followed by enriched soil and lots of sun, the tomatoes wo;; produce nicely.

Whatever your planting preference, keep the tomato leaves off the ground, especially when first planted. The end result should be fewer destructive bugs and, more importantly, less fungus and disease.

An old Reader's Digest I ran upon goes so far as to urge planting leggy tomato plants in trenches. Lay the root ball on its side and hold the stem in the air while filling the trench with soil. Again, don't let the leaves on the ground.

Tomatoes grow from during sections of stems.

Fertilizer tips

As with most vegetable plants, fruit is the goal so use a low nitrogen fertilizer.

Banana peels are often placed at the bottom of the planting trench and provide a slow release of potassium, as one would expect from bananas, and some trace minerals.

Many successful veg gardeners, including Altoona sister Ginny Williams, bet their money on Epsom salts.

A little Epson salts cocktail, mixed with water at a ratio of one table spoon dissolved in a gallon of water once a week delivers a strong magnesium boost.

The gardeners at Reader's Digest urge plant nutrition to be on the minds of those who eat lots of morning eggs.

Once a week, crush egg shells in the kitchen blender and add them to water at a rate of about six eggs per quart of water.

The calcium the shells provide helps reduce blossom end rot while improving the health of leaf tips and blossom ends.

Just a reminder, now is the time to get out the old pantyhose, thin rubber tubing or butcher cord and get those clematis vines locked into place.

The June blooming Jackmanii, this old fashioned, robust, deep purple beauty, has never failed to please for more than 40 years. But it does best when its thousands of tendrils are secure to a sturdy arbor.

Its in a warm, west-facing location, but thrives mostly because I plant annuals around its toes every year.