Seed Growing Tips

Asparagus: Asparagus beds will be productive for 20 years or more. They cannot be harvested until the second year. The male plants produce asparagus spears, but both male and female plants are needed to produce seed. Plant 18” apart, in rows 4-5’ apart.
Beans: Plant in the spring after frosts are over and the soil is warm. Plant 1” deep and a few inch apart, in rows 2-3’ apart. Pole beans require poles or something to climb on. Rhizobia bacteria on the bean roots put nitrogen back into the soil. When harvesting for seed, let the pods dry on the plant, and leave the pods until they are dry and leathery unless there is a long web spell at harvest time when the pods should be picked and laid out to dry. Shell the pods when they are brittle dry. Put in airtight containers and freeze overnight to kill bugs, then store in a cool dry location.
Beets: Beets like alkaline soil, not acid. Each seed is really a seed pod containing several, so 3-5 plants emerge and should be thinned to the single strongest plant. Two crops per year can be planted, early spring and mid-summer. Plant 1/2” deep, 3” apart, rows 2’ apart.
Broccoli: Two crops per year can be planted, early spring and mid-summer. Plant 1/4” deep, 18” apart, in rows 2 1/2’ apart. Harvesting for food, pick the heads before the tiny buds open into yellow flowers. Cabbage worms and root maggots can be a problem.
Cabbage: Cabbage can take cold weather, and two crops can be harvested per year. The later crop can be stored in a cool cellar and will last through the winter. Plant 1/2” deep, rows 2 1/2’ apart, and depending upon type, place plants in rows 12” to 2 1/2’ apart. Seedlings can be started early and then transplanted. Do not over water when heads are firm or they may split open.
Carrots: The deeper and lighter the soil, the larger and better shaped the roots. Plant 1/2” deep 2” apart in rows 1-2’ apart. Cover soil with grass clippings to keep a dry crust from forming and preventing seedlings from breaking through. Two crops a year can be planted. Roots can be stored in a cool cellar to last through the winter.
Corn: Plant in clumps for effective pollination. Corn is wind pollinated, and a single or double row will not pollinate properly, resulting is ears with missing rows or kernels. Corn that is ripe will ooze or squirt white juice that looks like milk when pinched. Corn is a heavy feeder and can deplete soil of nutrients, so alternating with beans or peas will rebuild the nitrogen. Plant 1/2” deep, a foot apart, in rows 2 1/2’ apart. Dry corn for meal can be dried in the field in the husks unless it gets damp.
Cucumbers: Cucumbers like lots of water. Planting in hills with a depression in the center makes it easier to water them effectively. Plant 1/2” deep, 2 or 3 plants per hill, 5 feet apart. For seed production, allow the cucumber to go yellow and orange. Cucumbers are not highly nutritious, but provide Vitamin A. Cucumbers are very cold sensitive, and need warm weather and soil.
Eggplant: Eggsplants love heat, the hotter the better. The seeds need soil at 85 degrees in order to germinate. Eggplants not harvested when fully grown will go to seed, the tiny brown seeds inside ripening and the surrounding fruit bitter. Plant 3/8” deep, 18” apart in rows 3’ wide.
Lettuce: Lettuce prefers cool temperatures, so plan to have little lettuce during the heat of summer. Plant 1/4” deep, spacing according to variety, in rows about 2’ apart. Slugs can be controlled by luring them to drown in a plate of beer set at ground level. Water lettuce at ground level to avoid fungus in the leaves, and water thoroughly and frequently. Lettuce likes Nitrogen. Lettuce bolts to seed in hot weather.
Melons: Melons are ready to harvest when the stem slips from the end of the melon with little pressure. Plant 1/2” deep at a distance of 2’ from each other in rows 6 feet apart. Plant transplants when weather and soil are warm and frosts are over.
Onions and Scallions: Prepare the bulbs for harvest when 50% of the onion tops have fallen over. Knock the rest of the tops over too, and the bulbs will form protective skins while the tops dry up. Do not water at this point. Bulbs can be pulled then and dried on the ground unless it is wet. Store in a hanging net is a cool cellar. Plant 1/4-1/2” deep, 2-3” apart, in rows 18” apart.
Peas: Plant early and mulch pea roots to keep them cool during hot weather. Short growing season of about 2 months. Plant 1/2 to 1”” deep, a double row 3” apart with the planets 1 1/2” apart in each row, with a walking lane 18” between each set of double planting rows. Climbing peas need a trellis or fence. Hold back enough seed to replant is extended wet cold weather results in damping off. However, early planting is fine, as peas love cool soil. Rhizobium bacteria on roots put Nitrogen back to the soil. Shelling peas are high in protein, and should be picked for food when the pods are rounded and filled with swollen peas. Snow peas are harvested for food when the pods are thin, flat, and the peas barely visible. When collecting seed, leave on the vine until the pods are dry.
Peppers: Peppers like warm weather and will not germinate until it arrives. They also have a slow germination period of 3-4 weeks, and can be started indoors. Plant 1/4” deep, 18” apart, in rows 2-3’ apart. Peppers can be harvested any time but are thicker, sweeter, and jucier when mature. Can be dried for storage.
Radishes: Mature quickly and can be planted between rows of carrots or parsley to keep the soil moist. Not high in nutrients. Plant seeds 1” apart in rows 18” apart, in soil that is cool and moist rather than hot and dry.
Spinach: Matures quickly and best planted for food in the early spring, as will go to seed when the weather turns warm. Planet seeds 1/2” deep and thin the plants to 2-3” apart in rows 18” apart. High in nutrients - vitamins and minerals.
Squash: Summer squash matures quickly and is prolific. Picking summer squash regularly will encourage more production of squash. Leave any squash grown for seed to become large and fully mature. Winter squash matures later and should be left on the wine to mature and harden. Winter squash is a heavy feeder, and does well when planted in the compost pile. Pick winter squash before the first frosts and store in a cool cellar. Plant 1/2” deep, 1’ or more apart in rows 4-5’ apart. Plant when the soil is 75 degrees or warmer.
Tomatoes: Long growing season so often are started indoors and transplanted when the soil is warm. Place 18” or more between plants in rows 3’ apart or more if no trellis is provided. Crop can be wiped out by blight, so some seed should always be retained to plant in another year.
Wheat: Can be stores long-term if very dry. Placing into air-tight containers and freezing for a week or so to kill any insects will help avoid infestations. Broadcast seed on soil at a rate of 4 lb./1,000 square feet. Mulch with straw to retain moisture and discourage weeds. Plant winter wheat in the fall, so grass-like clumps of wheat are killed back by the first frosts but re-emerge in the spring. Harvest mid-summer for winter wheat, late for spring wheat. Wheat is ready to harvest when stems yellow and kernels can be dented with a fingernail. Cut and bundle the wheat into shocks left standing in the field to dry. Threshing is beating the wheat tops on a flat floor with a stick or flail as the wheat pops out of the heads. During this process, the wheat kernels fall to the floor, the straw removed from the top.