They’re here! Tomato, pepper and eggplant seedlings are now for sale in the Plant Shop. It has been a very cool spring, so we have waited until now to protect the tender fruiting plants. It is still too early to plant them into the ground, but now is a good time to take home your favorites and harden them off and get to know them a bit. The soil needs to be 50 F which takes about a week of night time temperatures being in the 50’s. Test your soil temperature at about 4” deep (a digital meat thermometer works). Maybe the end of next week will be a good time to plant. In the meantime, prep your beds by adding compost, and making sure the soil is loose and weed-free.
Please note: We don’t have every single variety available at the same time, but we will rotate through all of them as the different generations mature. If there’s a plant that is dear to your heart and you don’t see it on your first visit, we are happy to take your name and number and give you a call when it’s ready.
Just getting started, or want to try something new?
Tomatoes, fragrant and fresh-off-the-vine, are one of the best parts of summer. Don’t be afraid to baby these heat-loving crops - they will pay you back with greater growth and yields in later on.
We suggest trying out a few varieties of different kinds (determinate, indeterminate and cherry) in order to have a harvest that spans the season. Plant your tomatoes at least 3 feet apart to allow for adequate air flow. Here is a post on our blog where you can learn about different categories of tomatoes, and see our recommended tomato planting strategy. When they do grow (often taller than expected!), here are our favorite methods of tomato pruning and trellising that could do wonders for the health and productivity of your plants.
Peppers and eggplant also enjoy being transplanted once the soil warms up. One planting is usually plenty, but again, an assortment of varieties will keep the harvest varied, staggered and interesting. We carry many different sweet and hot peppers, and Asian, Italian, heirloom, full-sized and mini eggplants. This could be the year you discover a new favorite. For newer gardeners, we recommend Lunchbox pepper and Hansel eggplant. They both produce small fruit and are easy to grow and very abundant.