Plant Info and Tips
Where are the Tomatoes?
by Luanna Helfman
It's that time of year again, when all you eager vegetable gardeners come in with your down jackets on, wondering where the tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, etc. are? CVS and Home Depot have had them for a month!
And, just like every year, we advise you to wait. Here, at Sunnyside, we want you to have the most successful and gratifying experience possible.
Why not to plant tomatoes in March:
l. They won't thrive. They will just sit there with there little roots rotting away in the cold, soggy soil.
2. You are inviting the dreaded fungal diseases, like verticillium and fusarium WILT, into your garden. Once you are infected, it is extremely difficult to rid your soil of these plagues, and they can ruin the entire garden party.
3. You'll be missing one of the best vegetable gardening opportunities we have here in Marin--the early spring garden. Now is the time to plant a variety of green and root crops that are not dependent on warm soil and frost free nights... and mother Nature waters for you!
So, plant with abandon:
Leafy greens: kale, collards, swiss chard, arugula, orach, spinach, mustard, etc.
Brassicas: broccoli,broccoli raab,cauliflower, cabbages, bok choy, brussel sprouts.
Peas: sugar snap, shelling, chinese snow. And sweet peas for bouquets.
Fava beans.
Onion Family: leeks, scallions, bulbing onions, shallots.
Potatoes.
Lettuce and other salad greens: mache, endive, frissee, chicory.
Root crops: radishes, beets, carrots, turnips, parsnips.
Perennial vegetables: artichokes, asparagus, berries, rhubarb, sorrel.
Hardy herbs: parsley, chives, chervil, cilantro, dill, oregano, sage, rosemary, thyme, mint.
Edible flowers: violas, calendulas, dianthus, borage.
With the exception of the perennial vegetables, most of these can be planted, harvested, and eaten, before mid-May, which is the ideal time to put in your summer vegetable garden!
