One June 18, Marianne Binetti will be at the Thurston County Master Gardeners “June Bloom Festival” at Walrath’s Nursery Olympia from 1:30 to 3 p.m. This is an event that includes a chance to win planted containers from a demo from Marianne Binetti and herb expert Sue Goetz, plus other garden gifts and plants from Walrath’s Nursery raffled off by Master Gardeners. Register and pay for this fund-raising event at www.mgftc.org
The second week of June is not too late to start an edible garden.
The nights are finally warm so tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers and other heat-loving crops can be planted now into the ground. By the month of June, you should be buying most vegetable starts from a garden center rather than trying to grow these heat loving crops from seeds. Fast growing foliage crops such as lettuce, cabbage, kale and Swiss Chard can be planted for a second sowing from seeds as well as seeds for beans and zucchini that can go directly into the ground.
Q. I planted lettuce in March. We harvested enough for some salads but instead of tearing off just the outer leaves we cut the plants off at ground level. Now I see new growth. Can we leave these old lettuce plants in the ground for another crop or replant? T.Y., Olympia
A. Both. Leave the old lettuce plants on site and keep harvesting any new growth. June is also your last chance to reseed new lettuce and other leafy crops before the weather gets too hot. Remember that lettuce is considered a cool season crop so new seeds should go into the coolest or most shaded part of a vegetable garden.
Q. I bought an ‘Early Girl’ tomato plant as it was recommended by a worker at the nursery as the best for Western Washington. This person at the nursery also told me to remove the bottom half of the leaves on the tomato plant and plant it deep so that the bare stem would be covered with soil. I always was taught to put potted plants from a nursery into the ground at the same level they were growing before. What do you recommend? R., email
A. I recommend you listen to the nursery employee. In this case I agree that “Early Girl” is one of the best tomatoes for our climate in Western Washington and tomatoes are one of the few plants that do best when planted deeper than the depth in a container. Every spot of “node” where you remove a leaf is a growth point where roots will form. Choose the hottest spot on your property, add a stake or cage to support the stem and you’ll enjoy ripe tomatoes by the month of August.
Q. My husband planted a row of bush beans in our raised bed garden. All the seeds he planted sprouted. The problem is they are so close together that the new seedlings seem to be choking each other out! When I tried to transplant some of the seedlings I ruined the roots of the nearby plants. How close should bush bean seedlings be spaced? B.H., Orting
A. Get a small pair of pointed scissors and get snippy with those beans. Snip the stems of the extra seedlings right off at ground level so that the plants are at least 3 inches apart but preferably six inches apart. Bush beans will suffer from foliage diseases if planted to close together and uprooting close together seedlings will indeed upset neighboring plants. Harden your heart and off with their heads.
Tip: The best advice for growing plants from seed is to read and follow the instructions on the seed package. The seed package will include instructions for proper spacing and when to put the seed into the ground.
Marianne Binetti has a degree in horticulture from Washington State University and is the author of “Easy Answers for Great Gardens” and several other books. For answers to gardening questions, visit plantersplace.com and click “As The Expert”. Copyright for this column owned by Marianne Binetti. For more gardening information, she can be reached at her website, www.binettigarden.com.
