You’ve planted your Garden, now what?

It’s the first week of June, and I hope your raised beds in Boise, Idaho are full to the brim with summer plants. Mine is, and now I’m spending more time checking on my plants and watching for seeds to sprout than I do scrolling Instagram (woohoo for me!) But I’m also doing a whole host of other things, so I wanted to share those with you. Think of this as a mini dose of garden coaching to get you going.

We’re thinking of hosting another Boise Kitchen Garden bike tour this September!

Plant some more

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of speaking to someone who reads this newsletter (Hi Holly!) I asked her what success would look like in her garden, and she answered with a desire for an abundant yield. She said her plants didn’t produce very much, so I asked her how many of each plant she had growing. When it came to peppers, she had just three, one of each type. I told her the first thing we could do was plant more plants. She has large raised beds that can accommodate a lot more plants.

So here’s my tip for you this week: go to the nursery (or the Boise Farmers Market*) and buy some more of your favorite plants and pop them into the vacant areas of your raised beds. Anywhere I have gaps, I fill with plants. It’s call intensive planting. It does mean you have to prune your garden, feed your plants and tend to it a bit more often in the summer, but the reward is a higher yield.

Hand Water

I know. I know. I am team automated drip irrigation. But, this year in my garden, I have been planting a lot more from seed than usual, so I have to hand water. Did you know that the seeds you plant have to be wet and stay wet to germinate? So many gardeners don’t know that. The top inch of the soil, wherever seeds are planted in your raised beds, should stay moist until the seeds germinate. This can take about 7-10 days depending on the seeds.

What seeds should you plant right now? I like to grow bush beans, cucumbers, pumpkins, melons, cilantro, parsley, slow-to-bolt lettuces and lots of flowers from seed. Carrots and beets can also grow now from seed.

Pinch those flowers/Fruit

Raise your hand if the tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos, etc. you planted already have tiny tomatoes or flowers on them? Now take that hand outside to your garden and pinch them off. I know (again) that you all hate doing this, but removing prematurely blooming flowers and fruit from your plants for the first few weeks after planting will make them stronger. I don’t allow my tomatoes, peppers or tomatillos to flower until they are about 12-18 inches tall depending on the variety. I want them to have strong roots and stalks before they bear the weight of any fruit.

A strong, mature tomato being trained to a trellis after pruning.

Okay gardeners, you have your marching orders now. Grab some plants and seeds at the nurseries or market* this weekend. Invest in a good watering wand to hand water your seeds and pinch those flowers.

Remember, if you want more regular updates for your garden this summer, consider signing up for the Boise Kitchen Garden Club, where we email you what to plant, how to tend and recipes for your garden produce. You can sign up here.

*Boise Farmers Market friends, we have a booth this weekend near Next Generation Organics, so bring your garden questions to market and we can help you in person! Plus, if you mention that you subscribe to the newsletter and sign up for coaching, we’ll give you $15 off.