From now through the end of June it’s time to plant the most straightforward and gardener-friendly crops of all--summer annuals. Beans, corn, squash, zinnias, and sunflowers have been grown in North America for thousands of years. You can plant their big, easy-to-handle seeds straight into the ground once frost is over and the soil is warm. Many summer flowers like cosmos, coreopsis, and marigolds thrive in the same conditions.
These crops were perfected by Native farmers who used a digging stick and a hoe--no tractor, no plow, no greenhouse, not even a spade. They don't need a perfect seedbed. What they do need is organic matter. They were originally grown in forest clearings, in soil created by centuries of fallen leaves. You can give them a great start by working compost into the top 2’” of soil. Each of the summer annuals likes warmth and organic matter, but each has its own niche. Rather than get into endless detail, I've highlighted three important points for each vegetable
Beans are renowned for their ability to enrich the soil. Colonies of special bacteria in their roots are able to use nitrogen from the air as a food for the plant. But roots can't climb out of the soil to access that air--it has to be in the soil. Compacted, hard, mineral soil doesn't have spaces for air. Organic matter provides the meeting place of soil, air, and water where roots can make optimum growth and nitrogen-fixing bacteria can thrive. Give beans the best start by working in compost, or even old potting soil, crumbled leaves, or rice hulls to make air spaces. And you can break up deep compaction by using a broadfork or garden fork to loosen soil slightly. Just walk down the bed sticking in the fork every 8-12" and rocking it to let in air. If you've already planted, you can stick in the fork without rocking it, to make air holes about 6"-8" away from your planted row. Pitfalls to watch for are weeds and overheating. Use mulch or shallow hoeing to prevent weeds from competing with your beans. Weed competition will greatly reduce your harvest. When the temperatures rise above 85, consider using shade cloth over your bean plants. Most beans prefer the same temperature range that humans do, and stop producing in very hot weather. It’s also worth seeking out heat-resistant varieties like Rattlesnake and Dragon Tongue. Corn uses sunlight in a way that's unusual in our gardens but common in tropical plants. It's called C-4 photosynthesis and it makes corn (and its cousin sorghum) extremely fast-growing in summer, right through the hottest weather. Your job is to provide enough water and fertility to sustain that fast growth. It’s traditional to give corn a source of nitrogen in the furrow when planting. Manure, compost, alfalfa meal, fish hydrolysate, blood meal etc can be buried under the seeds. Make a deeper-than-normal furrow, put in the manure or whatever, then a layer of soil (easy to do by running a hoe along the edge). Then you can sprinkle your seeds into the furrow and cover. They should be 1" deep. Water well if needed, and be sure that your corn gets water as it grows. If the leaf tips turn brown or yellow, or the leaves get yellow streaks, or growth is slow, you probably need to water more. If water isn't available, thin the plants to avoid competition, and mulch well. Corn's pitfall can be poor pollination, resulting in missing kernels. To prevent it, plant in blocks at least 5 feet square rather than in a single row. Corn pollen is spread by wind rather than insects. Planting in a cluster helps the pollen from the top tassels to fall onto the ears and pollinate them. It’s important to keep cucumber beetles from eating the silks for the same reason. (the silks are pollen tubes for the kernels. When a kernel is pollinated, the silk starts to shrivel.) You can get sticky traps that attract the beetles with natural pheromones and capture them on the sticky surface without using pesticides. Squashes superpower is their vigor in rough ground. They shade the ground with big leaves that float over the competition and out-compete most weeds. All types of squash, both zucchini and winter squash, love growing in a compost pile. This tells you three things: They like a lot of nutrients. They sprout best in warm, moist places. And they aren't picky about how "finished" the compost is. They will grow in stuff that's downright chunky and stinky, turn it into food, and grow like crazy. When you're planting squash is the time to bury your kitchen waste, half-finished compost, rotten fruit, moldy dog food, or even dead gophers a foot (or 2 if it's dead or fishy) below the seeds or transplants. (More prosaically, use some feathermeal, alfalfa meal, or compost.) They are great pioneer plants in new gardens--just cut down the weeds, put down cardboard or black plastic, and plant your squash in openings 4' apart. Mulching with pulled weeds or grass clippings will also give them a boost. Their weak points are pests and diseases. Inspect the underside of leaves for rows of oval brown eggs laid by the dreaded squash bug. Squish the eggs and coat the crown of the plant and the stalks with diatom dust. In the south, borers are a big problem. One of the three squash species, C. moschata, is much more resistant to borers than the other species. Try Butternut and Tromboncino which are both C. moschata. As fall approaches, spray with compost tea (Or other probiotic brews) to prevent mildew. In fact, take measures against mildew whenever the humidity is high and temperatures are in the 70-85 range. Cucumbers, melons, and watermelons are members of the squash family from India, Persia, and Africa. Their vines are on a smaller scale than squash, with less rampant habit. They prefer a lighter, more cultivated soil, finished compost, and mulch. They work well in large containers or raised beds. Their sparser vines don't shade out weeds like the larger squashes do. They're still vines, though, and need water and fertility early in the season to fuel their growth. They too are prone to mildew and should get probiotics. Summer flowers like zinnias, coreopsis, sunflowers, and marigolds are not just the icing on the cake. They are a vital link between the garden and the rest of the world. Pollinators, pest-eating predators, birds, butterflies, and humans are all drawn into the garden when you add some flowers to each garden row. I like small marigolds at the feet of tomatoes, and zinnias at the ends of each vegetable row, along with borage. Morning Glories are the loveliest way to hide an ugly view, dead stump, wall, or bare bank--the long vines cover themselves with magical blue trumpet flowers. Coreopsis and cosmos have such feathery leaves that you can put them just about anywhere; they don't block much light so I put them wherever there are no other flowers. Dill gets the same treatment. Just sprinkle a few seeds in regular garden soil, and water when needed. When they are an inch or two high, thin to the recommended spacing. Picking flowers will stimulate the plant to make more, so enjoy!
6 Comments
jill tramontano
5/19/2024 12:29:27 pm
Thanks Jamie, Your advice is always spot on and so very welcome.! Jill
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Jamie Chevalier
7/19/2024 06:31:37 pm
Thanks Jill! Your support and encouragement means a lot to us.
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Lucinda Luttgen
5/19/2024 01:13:54 pm
I would like to add something that worked for me in squash pest control. I was plagued for years by squash bugs. When I had five different squash bug species living it up on my curcurbits, I thought squash in my life was over. Before the next summer season, I had read something about nasturtiums being a squash bug deterrent. Around every hill I put in nasturtium seeds which grew and really worked. I haven’t seen hardly any of those pests. The flowers are nice too.
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7/19/2024 06:36:43 pm
I love this tip, and am trying it myself this year. Thanks so much for sharing it Lucinda!
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Aaren B
7/17/2024 09:01:49 pm
Always outstanding information. I believe I've found and followed you since Bountiful Gardens seeds went out from business, related to Ecology Actions' How to Grow More Vegetables book. Your writing is such a valuable resource with secret information ☺️
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7/19/2024 06:41:19 pm
Thank you Aaren! In those early days you were one of about two dozen people who even knew Quail Seeds.existed. We are so grateful for your loyalty and support as we have found our feet.
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AuthorJamie Chevalier lives and gardens on a river in the Coast Range of Northern California. She has gardened professionally in Alaska and California, as well as living in a remote cabin, commercial fishing, and working with seeds. She is the proprietor of Quail Seeds. Archives
July 2024
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