2022 Spring Transplant Sale Is Here!
It’s that time of year again, friends. We’re thrilled to be offering tomato, herb, flower, and pepper varieties for your home garden this year. Before you pre-order your plants and soil >> here, take a look below. We’ve offered a few tips and tricks for growin’ what you’re gettin’:
Tea Pack
CHAMOMILE: Plant in full sun, 6 inches apart. Let soil dry out in between waterings. Over fertilizing or over watering can harm the plant since its particularly drought tolerant. Harvest when petals are 75% open. To dry, hang upside down for 5-7 days and store in a cool, dark place. Allow the plants to die when the weather warms up, leaving the final blooms on the plant, so they will naturally self seed for the fall.
CALENDULA: Plant 6-12’’ apart in sun or partial shade. Harvest once blooms are completely open to use as edibles. Petals have subtle nutty flavor, not just great in tea but also sprinkled on salads and rice dishes!
CHOCOLATE MINT: These perennials will come back year after year, and you won’t be upset about it! Plant 2 feet apart so you can ensure it has room to keep growing. This mint is easy to propagate, a fast grower, and need a lot of water. No need to fertilizer, though it will do well with a yearly addition of compost.
Herb Pack
SAGE: Space 12-18’’ apart in full sun so these perennials have space to expand each year. You may only get to harvest a few individual leaves after the first year. After that, each year prune plant to 6’’ above the ground so it comes back bigger and stronger and you can harvest full branches. Sage can be dried easily if hung upside down away from direct sunlight.
SPEARMINT: This easily invasive mint does best in partial shade and can easily be grown in pots or hanging baskets so it doesn’t take over your garden. Divide plan every two years to keep healthy and water often as it likes moist soil.
LEMON THYME: Place 12’’ apart and don’t overwater. This herb likes full sunlight and is prone to root rot so keep it in generally dry soil. Each year, cut back woody stems so that the plant continues to grow bushier. Along with other herbs, lemon thyme’s flavor is best to capture when harvested in the morning when it’s natural oils are fullest. This is a great pollinator so try to plant by your flowering fruits!
ROSEMARY: Plant in full direct sunlight with well-drained, sandy soil. This is a great herb to pot or plant 24-48’’ from other plants. To keep from flowering, harvest often once plant is established and prune back at the end of each growing season. Rosemary does well with a healthy dose of compost and can store well dried, frozen or fresh (with stems in water)!
Flower Pack
RUDBECKIA: An autumn variety of Brown Eyed Susans, these flowers are late bloomers and will carry you from August through first frost. In California, you can leave them in the ground and expect them to come back even earlier next year. Plant 12’’ apart and harvest often to encourage new growth. Expect a long 2 weeks vase life from these beauties!
CALENDULA: Edible. See description under ‘Tea pack’ above.
CORNFLOWER: Also known as bachelor buttons, these edible flowers have a wild and airy look that is a fun summer addition to any room. Plant 12 inches apart and expect them to grow tall and fast in full sunlight (up to 3 or 4 feet). Harvest when flowers are halfway open to maximize vase life or, just leave on the plant to enjoy.
NIGELLA: Plant 6’’ apart in full sunlight or partial shade. These are beautiful fresh or dried and will turn into a unique eye-catching seed pod after flowering. They do well with organic fertilizer and grow on a similar early-spring bloom schedule as calendula and cornflower.
Basil
-Basil prefers moist soil and full sun so make sure it gets watered frequently and put outside (or in the sunniest corner of your home!)
-A great companion plant for tomatoes. If you plant these next to each other in the garden, they will provide good nutrients for the other.
-For a bushier plant, continually pinch your basil (after 6 leaves, prune above the second set)
-Plant 6 inches apart.
HEIRLOOM TOMATOES
-Prune heirlooms often. Snip off the flowers until the plant is big enough to support fruit.
-Give at least 1 foot of space between plants and wait to plant outside until nighttime temperatures remain above 50.
-Keep foliage dry when watering; best to water solely at the roots.
-Stake plants or put in cages to help support once big enough
-Transplant deep into the soil so that the soil line is about 2-3 inches below the first set of leaves.
PEPPERS
-Plant 6 inches apart and once soil temperatures are about 70 degrees.
-Transplant outside on a cloudy day or in the evening to reduce shock.
-To reduce disease, grow peppers in an area where peppers (or tomatoes/eggplants) have NOT been grown in the last 3 years.
-Remove the first 1-2 flowers to promote growth before growing fruit.