Let the Fun Begin!

The garden is prepared, the seedlings have sprouted and the weather is warm enough to start planting some veggies.  Potatoes can be planted as soon as you can work the soil.  You want to buy disease free “seed potatoes” (the ones at the grocery store are usually chemically treated to prevent the eyes from sprouting). You will only need a couple of pounds of potatoes for a 20 ft. row.  Check the growing instruction.

Around May 8^th, you can plant the beets, carrots, Swiss chard and snap peas.  Each person should be responsible for one crop.  The person responsible for snap peas will need to build a trellis for the snap peas to grow. This is extra labour up front, but snap peas do not require as much weeding as the others.  Check the seed package to get the proper planting instructions.

Some of the seeds are really tiny so you may want to create a seed tape using paper towels. Cut two inch strips of paper towels.  Wet the paper towel with a spray bottle. Space the seeds (according to the package) on the paper towel.  Fold one long end a third of the way over (crease the fold) and do the same with the other long end. Plant the seed tape at the required depth and cover with soil. Water seeds carefully as you do not want to disturb the seeds you just planted.  The seed tape is beneficial because you will not have to thin (which always make me sad) the plants when they start to grow and compete for space.  You can also purchase ready-made seed tapes but they cost much more than doing it yourself.

Around May 15^th, the beets, carrots, onion and Swiss chard can be planted.  On warm days, take your seedlings outdoor for some fresh air.  This will slowly acclimate them to the outdoors and it will not be so traumatic when they are transplanted.

After June 4^th, all the seedling plants can be transplanted into the garden.  When you transplant, handle each plant delicately so the root system is not damaged.  During this slow time the garden should be checked at least once a week for moisture, signs of insects and disease problems.  Set up a schedule so that each person has one day during the week to tend the garden.