The weather in Washington is always an adventure but this spring has been extra cold. April 2022 has been recording on average 7 to 10 degrees colder. So like many I am substantially behind in my gardening. However much I love to garden I don’t love to be soaking wet and playing in mud unlike many of those with young kiddos. The Food Rescue has been blessed this year with many seed’s allowing me to try some new things.
This is a great time of year to plant things like beans, squash, melons, gourds and cucumbers. My daughter’s favorite veggie is cucumbers, so no matter how many I grow it isn’t ever enough. Sadly last year I had very little success. We had a very mild summer with more rain than usual, which led to many slugs, which didn’t help me out either. This year I am focusing on organic fertilizer and plant food. Adequately fed cucumber plants have far fewer problems with disease, which in turn helps them produce beautiful fruits for a longer time – hopefully more than a dozen.
Beans grow best when directly sowed outdoors after the last spring frost. They only need to be 1 to 2 inches apart in rows, which makes for abundant growth. This will be my first year growing any beans other than snap peas, so leave me a comment if you have any tips. So many people in our organization garden and I am always impressed by the knowledge that can be shared. Fun fact – they don’t typically need supplemental fertilizer because they fix their own nitrogen in the soil!
Now squash, while fairly easy to grow, requires some serious space. Consider planting 4 to 5 feet apart. I find planting them in hills mounded with good quality soil is key. I actually like to plant mine in pots along our back deck, where they grow up trellises. I seem to have better success with this because of the amount of watering required.
