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Best New Herbs and Vegetables for 2022

Each year, I look forward to writing this article because it’s fun to research and write. Vegetable gardening is popular, and with popularity comes variety and loads of new enticing introductions each year. 2022 is no exception. New prettier, tastier, more disease-resistant vegetable pickings are many, and with inflation on the rise, I hope more people will give home growing a try. Inexpensive fresh food is a huge draw! Successful home growers quickly learn the value of less costly, better-tasting food harvested from their own gardens.

New 2022 Vegetable Introductions

Lots of the plants on this list, I plan to grow myself. Each new introduction was chosen for its advertised flavor, vigor, production, and appeal. Disease resistance is another plus.

Beans and Peas

‘Sweet Gem’ is an exceptional new snap pea from High Mowing Organic Seeds. (Image thanks to High Mowing Organic Seeds)

Starting with cool-season crops, there are a couple of select peas to try. High Mowing Organic Seeds is offering the crisp, new snow pea ‘Blizzard‘ (58 days to harvest). It performed very well in their trials, bearing lots of slender, crisp, sweet snow peas on 30-36 inch vines. Snap peas are my favorite, so I will be trying another new pea they are offering, ‘Sweet Gem’ (63 days) snap pea. Its copious, juicy, crisp, sweet peas are produced on strong 45-52 inch vines, which are disease resistant.

Warm-season bush beans can be grown in 4-week intervals throughout the summer, and I like the space-saving plants. Slender, crisp filet beans are so delicious when freshly harvested, and bright yellow ‘Bamako‘ filet bean (54 days) from Johnny’s Select Seeds is stringless, crisp, and plants become loaded with golden beans in the summer months. The upright bush bean is also very disease-resistant. Green bean lovers should consider the new Red Tail snap bush bean, which bears straight, crisp, glossy, 5-6 inch green beans with excellent flavor.  Add it to your list.

Sweet Corn

The new ‘Wild Violet’ sweet corn looks more like an ornamental. Wow! (Image thanks to Burpee)

Two new corn varieties stood out to me on the page. The early corn ‘Solstice’ (68 days), offer by Johnnys, is a tasty bicolor with yellow and gold kernels that mature in just a little over two months after sprouting. Blight resistance and reliable productivity are two more reasons to grow it. The unusually beautiful ‘Wild Violet‘ sweet corn is a Burpee offering with blue-grey and white kernels that darken after cooking. Even though it looks like decorative corn, it is sweet, juicy, and flavorful–a must-grow variety for adventurous gardeners.

Greens, Cabbages, and Roots

‘Expect’ cabbage is dense and perfectly formed. (Image thanks to High Mowing Organic Seeds)
The large, sweet Chinese cabbage ‘Miss Hong‘ (55 days) from Johnny’s Select Seeds has dark-red, crinkled leaves that are noted for their crunchy, yet tender, texture. Those who love traditional cabbage should grow the perfectly round and dense ‘Expect‘ (100 days). It is disease-resistant, heat-tolerant, and flavorful. Another cool new brassica is ‘Rainbow Candy Crush‘ kale from Jung Seed Company. It looks like the prettiest frilliest purple-pink ornamental kale but it is wonderfully flavorful. Plant it in the fall, and harvest it after frost to boost its sweetness.
Salad lovers have many new greens to grow. Butter lettuce is a personal favorite, and the disease-resistant ‘Milagro’ butterhead lettuce produces large, beautiful heads in just 54 days. Plant this with the two reliable, curly, cut-and-come-again lettuces purple EZFLOR and green EZPARK, and you will have fresh salad all spring. The EZ lettuces are long-bearing, bolt-resistant, and disease-resistant.

Unique carrots are always fun to grow, and ‘Yellow Moon‘ is an all-season Nantes x Imperator type carrot that’s crisp, long, and pale yellow. I am sold.

Squash, Melons, and Cucumbers

 

The sweet, red, seedless watermelon ‘Century Star’ has speckled fruits and leaves. It’s a 2022 regional AAS Winner (Michigan). (Image thanks to AAS Winners)

Parks Seed is selling, Butterbaby butternut squash (100-105 days), which has 4-6 inch, sweet squashes that are as cute as pie. The short-vined plants allow home gardeners with less space to grow them. Those with more space need to try Burpee’s ‘Butterkin’ squash (105 days), which is a pumpkin and butternut squash hybrid with a pumpkin-like look and butternut skin. Its bright orange flesh is noted as being delectably sweet and smooth.

Cucumber and pickle picklers must try ‘Mini-Me’ (45 days), a seedless snack cucumber that’s prolific, just 2-3 inches, and very crisp and sweet. Grow these little Beit-alpha-type seedless cucumbers through summer. The larger beit-alpha cucumber, Merlin (50-55 days), from Burpee Seeds, is equally seedless, sweet, and bears well.

‘Hara Madhu’ is a super sweet melon for hot, dry areas. (Image thanks to Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds)

Century Star (80 days) seedless watermelon is a 2022 AAS Regional Winner for a reason. It yielded lots of sweet, seedless, 10 lb melons in Michigan where summers are cool. The fruits and leaves are beautifully dotted with yellow spots as well. Another unique melon I could not resist is the Indian ‘Hara Madhu’ (90 days), which is noted for its exceptional tolerance to hot, dry conditions as well as its honeyed taste. It’s a great choice for those living where summers are hot.

One productive new zucchini from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds that stood out is ‘Long White of Palermo‘ (45-55 days). The heirloom Mediterranean variety bears buttery zucchinis with a pleasing nutty flavor on bushy plants just right for smaller gardens. The totally unique avocado squash ‘Zapallito Del Tronco‘ (50 days) from Baker Creek also piqued my interest. It is an Argentinian heirloom that looks like a winter squash but eats like summer squash and has buttery soft flesh.

Tomatoes and Peppers

For fantastic peppers try ‘Mocha Swirl’. (Image thanks to Burpee)

Burpee is selling the colorful ‘Mocha Swirl‘ (50-70 days) snacking pepper exclusively, and it is one of the prettiest peppers I’ve ever seen. Its tasty elongated fruits are swirled with shades of red, orange, purple, yellow, and green when mature. Plant it alongside the compact (18″) ‘Purple Beauty‘ bell pepper (75 days), from Baker Creek Heirloom Seed, which has sweet, thick-walled, blocky fruits that mature to almost black. Both will look beautiful on a crudité tray alongside Johnny’s reliable, bright orange ‘Flavorburst’ pepper (67-87 days), which is noted for its high sugar content.

The colorful slicing tomato ‘Alice’s Dream’ has tropical, sweet fruits. (Image thanks to Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds)

2022 has so many tomato introductions! My final picks were chosen for beauty, trial ratings, disease resistance, and taste (most of all). The bicolored green and red Captain Lucky (75 days, indeterminate) slicing tomato is a new one from Johnny’s with excellent flavor that challenges the best heirloom tomatoes. The yellow, green, pink, and red interior is described as psychedelic. Two more big on beauty and flavor from Baker Creek are ‘Alice’s Dream‘ (80 days, indeterminate) beefsteak and ‘Black Strawberry’ cherry tomato (60 days, indeterminate). ‘Alice’s Dream’ has an orange-yellow exterior striped with purple and a deep orange-yellow interior described as tasting sweet and tropical. The super sweet ‘Black Strawberry’ tomatoes are orange-red caste with a mottled overlay of purple-black and produced in easy-to-harvest trusses. Finally, Burpee’s Bodacious big slicing tomato (80-85 days, indeterminate) deserves attention. The large, red, tasty tomatoes are aromatic and produced on vines that really resist blight. Each can produce 40-50 fruits in a season.

Cool New Herbs

‘Purple Ball’ basil is delicious, beautiful, and compact. (Image thanks to Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds)

Baker Creek takes the cake when it comes to amazing new herbs for the garden. ‘Orangelo’ thyme (Thymus fragrantissimus ‘Orangelo’, Zones 5-8) looks extra inviting with its promise of true citrus flavor. I have to make space for a couple in my rock garden. There is no want for new and interesting basils. Small-space gardeners will love the deepest-purple, ball-shaped ‘Purple Ball‘, which reaches just under 12 inches. Its sweet, fragrant, darkest purple leaves will look great in salads and pasta. Baker Creek’s ‘Evivi Ntor’ African basil, originally grown and obtained from the Ewe tribe in Ghana, is described as having a sharp, peppery, citrusy flavor. It is also remarkably heat-tolerant. Another basil for flavor and summer heat is Everleaf Thai Towers. The upright plants are slow to bolt, reach 2-3 feet, and have true Thai basil flavor.

Now’s the time to purchase seeds for these vegetables, if you are inclined to grow your own from seed (click here to learn how). Vegetable gardening is hot, so hot that seeds are selling out at record speed, so now is the time to buy them. You may also want to pick up a bag of OMRI Listed Black Gold Seedling Mix while you are at it. (Click here for my top ten vegetable gardening tips.)

Holiday Cactus From Fall to Spring

Spring holiday cactus varieties come in many colorful shades including orange.

Every year, holiday-house-plant lovers enjoy the sensational fall and winter blooms of crab or Thanksgiving (Schlumbergera truncata) cactus and winter or holiday cactus (Schlumbergera x buckleyi), but it does not have to end there. There are other Schlumbergera that bloom at different times of the year, particularly in the mid to late spring, making them outstanding house plants to color homes through many months of the year.

A Short History of Common Holiday Cacti

Holiday cacti are Brazilian natives, and several common cultivated species and hybrid groups exist. The popular Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata) tends to bloom in November and early December. It has joined stem parts (technically called cladodes) that have pointed edges, and its brilliantly colored, long, multipetaled flowers have bilateral symmetry. When viewed head-on, the blooms look almost crab-like, which explains one of its common names, crab cactus. It is the most commonly sold species and new colors are always being bred in shades of pink, magenta, red, orange, salmon, apricot, and white. The true holiday or Christmas cactus is Schlumbergera × buckleyi, and it tends to bloom in December or early January. It has flowers in shades of red and pink that are more radial, and its cladodes have rounded edges. Oddly, it is harder to find, despite its wide appeal and beauty. Easter or spring holiday cacti are mostly comprised of two species with radial, multipetaled blooms in shades of orange, pink, red, and white, Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri (syn. Schumbergera gaertneri) and Rhipsalidopsis × graeseri (syn. Schlumbergera × graeseri). These plants have smooth cladodes, and their hybrids are less often sold but very beautiful with cheerful blooms that appear from March to June, depending on the variety.

Schlumbergera truncata was one of the first species brought into cultivation in the nineteenth century. (Botanical Image Plate by Hooker, William Jackson (1823–1827))

These cacti naturally grow in the mountainous rainforests of Brazil. Most are epiphytic, which means that they grow in the branches of trees. Their seasonal blooms are pollinated by hummingbirds, which explains why they are tubular and come in bright colors, particularly shades of red.

Schlumbergera truncata was the first species brought into cultivation in Europe and America in the early 1800s (~1817 to 1839). Their regularity of bloom, ease of growth, and great beauty made them popular house plants and conservatory specimens in no time. Schlumbergera x buckleyi started to appear around the 1850s in Victorian England and was popularized in the US and Europe a bit later. It fast became the official Christmas cactus due to its consistent December bloom time. The spring holiday or Easter cactus (Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri) was the last to hit the scene. It was brought into cultivation in the late 1800s, and is surprisingly less popular than its winter-blooming cousins.

One great trait of all Schlumbergera is that they are wonderfully long-lived. This explains why many are passed down from generation to generation. Lots of home gardeners proudly grow the same holiday cactus raised by their grandparents or even great grandparents. It’s a nice thing to consider when purchasing one for the first time. It’s a long-term investment. If you grow one for each season, you can then enjoy their showy blooms through much of the year.

Fall, Thanksgiving, or Crab Cactus

Schlumbergera truncata has bilateral, tubular flowers, pointed teeth along the stem, and blooms around November. (‘Dark Marie’ shown)

Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata and hybrids) is the number one selling holiday cactus, so most growers likely already have one. Some exceptional varieties are available.

One of the prettiest pinks is the profuse, reliable bloomer, ‘Cristen’. The large flowers of this truncata hybrid have pale-pink petals edged in darker pink. The effortless November bloomer ‘Dark Marie‘ is similar but its flowers are edged in scarlet. Some varieties have a more weeping habit and are better suited for pedestal planters or hanging baskets. The November-blooming, golden-apricot-flowered ‘Christmas Flame‘ has a beautiful weeping habit and reliably blooms annually. The unusual ‘Aspen‘ is another to seek out. Its extra-large, frilly, white flowers are spectacular.

Winter, Christmas, or Holiday Cactus

Schlumbergera in the buckleyi hybrid group have radial, tubular flowers, rounded stems (cladodes), and bloom around December.

True holiday or Christmas cactus bloom about a couple of weeks to a month later than the Thanksgiving type. The plants can become quite large with age and tend to weep, making them extra appealing when placed on a sturdy pedestal. There are few cultivars of this true December bloomer and even the standard form is a challenge to find. Look to Etsy and other specialty sellers to find the real deal.

Spring, Spring Holiday, or Easter Cactus

Easter cacti have totally smooth-edged stems and totally radial multipetaled blooms.

Spring cacti (Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri and hybrids) have many colorful petals in shades of pink, magenta, red, orange, white, and other related color variants. There are several pretty varieties that are readily available including the pure-white ‘Sirius‘, which has golden centers and is a reliable bloomer from May to June. The brilliant-red-flowered ‘Scorpious‘ generally flowers a bit earlier in the spring, from March to April, and will bloom for weeks. If you like bright orange flowers, try ‘Colomba‘, which blooms along with ‘Scorpious’.

Growing Holiday Cactus

There are several general growing requirements for holiday cacti. Provide the following for good growth.

  1. Place them in bright, indirect light. Full sun stresses them out and turns their stems shades of purple and red.
  2. Plant them in well-drained soil and pots with good drainage. Black Gold All Purpose Potting Mix and Natural & Organic Potting Mix both work beautifully.
  3. Water regularly during the growing months. Apply less water before they start to set bud and average water while they are budded and flowering. Too little or too much watering can kill a holiday cactus.
  4. Provide light fertilization during the growing months, from spring to fall.
  5. Take them outdoors in the summer to soak up the heat and indirect light.

To learn more about winter-blooming holiday cacti, watch this useful video.

Forever Jolly Winter Hollies

Sparkleberry winterberry forms a cloud of tiny red berries in December, and birds love them. (Image by Jessie Keith)

Berried holly branches are a ubiquitous holiday symbol, but these festive trees and shrubs come in more colors than just red and green, and many offer landscape interest beyond the winter season.  My favorite winter hollies (Ilex spp.) are forever beautiful, whether berried at the end of the season or clothed in new spring foliage. Here are five that continuously shine in the garden, offering year-round splendor and high landscape utility.

There is only one essential bit of information to know when growing any holly. The shrubs are dioecious, meaning that each shrub is either male or female. Only the females produce colorful berries, while at least one male is needed to provide pollen to the females for a successful fruit set. So, plan to plant at least one complementary, pollenizing male for female berry producers, and make sure that the male is a compatible variety.

Beautiful Winter Hollies

Variegated English holly is one of the prettiest hollies for gardens.

Variegated English Holly – Ilex aquifolium ‘Argentea Marginata’

(USDA Hardiness Zone: 7-9; Height: 12-24 feet)

Crisp white edges keep the variegated foliage of this classic English holly tree looking lovely all season. In spring, the shrubs are beautifully complimented by landscape bulbs, such as bright tulips and alliums, and in summer colorful annuals provide an equally complementary color boost. In late summer and fall, green berries turn to red and remain beautiful well into winter. The tree to large shrub develops a conical habit over time. Plant in full sun and provide slightly acid, well-drained soil for best growth. The equally variegated ‘Gold Coast‘ is the perfect male pollenizer for this variety.

 

Ilex crenata 'Drops of Gold' PP14420 JaKMPMGolden Japanese Holly – Ilex crenata ‘Drops of Gold’

(USDA Hardiness Zone: 5-9; Height x Width: 5-7 feet x 10-12 feet)

Truly golden boxwood-like foliage is the hallmark of this favorite Japanese holly. The golden outer foliage looks great all season and is complemented by red-, orange- and purple-flowered ornamentals in spring, summer and fall. Black berries develop on the shrubs in fall, but these offer little visual interest. The more sun this holly is given, the more golden and full the foliage becomes. Don’t be deceived by its compact size at purchase; ‘Drops of Gold’ grows to be quite large and broad over time.

 

Sky PencilJapanese Holly – Ilex crenata ‘Sky Pencil’

(USDA Hardiness Zone: 6-9; Height x Width: 4-10 feet x 1-3 feet)

Few shrubs reach up to the sky as well as the uniformly upright ‘Sky Pencil’. The popular evergreen shrub is revered for its architecturally clean verticality, and it looks super all year long. The all-male variety bears no fruit, but its fine, glossy, rich green foliage never stops looking good as long as plants are provided full sun and slightly acid soil with average to good drainage. This is a shrub that does not appreciate high wind, so plant it in a somewhat protected location.

 

066Variegated Winterberry – Ilex verticillata ‘Sunsplash’

(USDA Hardiness Zone: 4-8; Height x Width: 4-7 feet x 3-5 feet)

The unique winterberry ‘Sunsplash’ bears lots of red berries on deciduous stems in fall and winter, but it also has the added bonus of gold and green variegated foliage that looks especially pretty in spring and early summer. The variegation is not uniform, but it has landscape appeal. This Broken Arrow Nursery introduction makes a unique addition to the landscape, and like all winterberries, it will grow well in the moister ground than most other hollies. Specimens planted in higher light will have the lightest variegation. If you are not keen on variegation, try the compact ‘Sparkleberry‘, which produces many small, bright red berries. Plant them with the male counterpart, ‘Apollo‘.

 

Dwarf Japanese HollyDwarf Yaupon Holly – Ilex vomitoria ‘Stokes Dwarf’

(USDA Hardiness Zone: 1-11; Height x Width: 2- 3 feet x 4 feet)

This little bitty evergreen holly looks so pretty in small garden spaces. The shearable, slow-growing shrub develops a low, mounding habit and boasts deep green foliage that never stops looking nice. Like all yaupon hollies, ‘Stokes Dwarf’ is fairly tender and best planted where winters are relatively mild. Plant this one as you would any dwarf boxwood. Sharply drained soil and full sun are necessary for good growth and appearance.

Caring for hollies is not rocket science. Full to partial sun keep their foliage full and growth uniform and attractive. Sufficiently drained soils that are slightly acid are best. Amendment and mulching with Black Gold Garden Compost Blend in mid- to late-fall is recommended as is light fertilization with an all-purpose fertilizer in spring. Please click here for planting details by plant expert, Russell Stafford.

Whether large, small, bushy, or tall, every one of these holly shrubs is glorious in the landscape and garden. So this year make all seasons holly seasons. Plan to plant one of these forever jolly hollies in your spring garden.

Cold Frame Salad Gardening

Cold frames are like outdoor mini glasshouses for winter vegetable and herb growing.

Garden-fresh eating does not have to end in the fall. The onset of chilly weather means it’s time to enjoy cold-frame salad gardens filled with easy, cool-season greens, root vegetables, and annual herbs. These crops are fast to germinate and grow, and they will tolerate serious cold weather if your frame garden is properly placed, prepared, and maintained.

What is a Cold Frame?

In 2012 I co-wrote an article with John Everard about how to build your own cold frame. This is the cold frame that he designed! (See building details in the linked article below.) (Image by Jessie Keith)

A cold frame is a cross between a raised bed and a small, sunken, covered greenhouse. It is lowered into the ground to reduce winter freezing of cold-tolerant greens, herbs, and root vegetables. Most cold frames are designed with sturdy sides of either wood, stone, or brick, and they are topped with framed glass or plexiglass lids that can be lifted on unseasonably warm fall and winter days.

Cold frames were first popularized in Europe, where winter growing conditions are generally mild, but they are also useful for American gardeners. You can build your own cold frame or purchase a premade one. Building your own has its advantages because you can create something more for less, if you know what you are doing. For a great step-by-step building guide, please click here to read this article that I co-wrote with biologist and builder John Everard for Wilder Quarterly in 2012. John created a very useful design that can be sunk into the ground in our USDA Hardiness Zone 7 area.

Cold Frame Siting

Cold frames further south can be shallower because it’s warmer.

All cold frames should be placed in a somewhat elevated location with full sun and soil that drains well–standing water and vegetable cultivation do not go hand in hand. Some steps regarding cold-frame gardening depend on one’s location and climate. In the north, a cold frame should be placed in a sunny, south-facing spot close to the home. If you can, sink the frame a few inches below the soil level. The reflective heat from the home will provide a little extra winter protection, the south-facing sun will help heat the cold frame all winter long, and the added depth will reduce the chances of freezing on cold nights. Further south, you can choose a spot away from the home, and sinking the frame is not necessary. No matter where you live, be sure to be watchful of your cold frame on uncommonly warm winter days. Prop the tops open during the day to keep the internal temperature from getting too hot and stressing your greens.

Cold Frame Soil

Rich, dark soil is best for cold frame gardens.

Dark, lofty, highly amended soil that holds water well will yield the best vegetables. Start by amending the ground soil in the frame with good compost, like Black Gold Natural & Organic Garden Compost Blend. A 1:2 ratio of soil to compost is recommended, especially if the soil is high in clay or sand. Another option is to fill the bed with Black Gold Natural & Organic Raised Bed and Planting Mix. Adding a layer of compost as a protective mulch is also important and can serve as further insulation. (Click here to learn more about creating the best soil for raised beds.)

Cold Frame Salad Crops

Rather than harvesting whole lettuce heads, I recommend snipping away leaves for cut-and-come-again salads.

It is essential to grow cool-season, frost-resistant crops. These are largely cool-season greens, herbs, and root crops. There are lots of greens for the job such as mâche, kale, lettuce, mizuna, spinach, and Swiss chard. Any lettuce will do, but small, fast varieties are most favorable. Salanova baby lettuces (55 days from seed) produce sweet and crunchy heads of green and purple very quickly, and the looseleaf lettuce Baby Leaf Mix is a reliable cut-and-come-again mix. Spinach thrives in cool weather and may have smooth or savoyed (puckered) leaves. I recommend both the 1925 heirloom ‘Bloomsdale’, which has large, savoyed leaves and is slower to bolt than most, and the smooth-leaved ‘Corvair’, which is resistant to the fungal disease, downy mildew. Arugula cultivars vary in leaf shape, color and heat. The popular ‘Wasabi’ is an easy-to-grow selection with leaves that truly taste like hot wasabi, and the newer ‘Dragon’s Tongue’ is a visually pretty, finely cut variant with purple-red venation.

In the deep winter, cool-season root vegetables bulb up more slowly.

The best root crops include winter carrots and radishes. Radishes are by far the fastest, and my favorite variety for crisp, sweet flavor is the French breakfast radish D’Avignon. Click the following link to learn more about growing winter root crops and click this link to learn more about growing cool-season greens.

For delicate cool-season herbs, try cilantro, dill, and parsley. Cilantro likes it cool and may produce leaves throughout winter. When the weather heats up, it will produce starts stems of white flowers and bulbous seed heads that can be dried and crushed to make the spice coriander. Dill will bear ferny leaves that taste great in salads, spreads, and fish dishes. Lush clumps of curly or flatleaf parsley will also flourish in cold frames all winter long.

All of these plants can be directly sown into the frame from seed. They sprout fastest in the fall when germination temperatures are more moderate–between 70 and 40 degrees F. Some need to be sown on the soil surface, particularly the small seeds of lettuce, which need light to germinate. At sowing time, start by wetting the soil, and then gently sow and pat the seeds down. Follow up with a little more water to wet the seeds. Be sure to label all seed rows with labels showing the plant names and sowing dates.

Harvest salad leaves, herbs, and roots as needed through winter–I tend to use shears to trim off what I need on a given day. By early spring, the cold frame garden will begin to look tired. Feel free to clean it out and begin planting new vegetables for spring.

Growing and Harvesting Popcorn

Popcorn is one of those crops that can last all year long until your next crop if you dry and store it correctly. And, as with any vegetable, growing your own offers more opportunities to try different delicious and unique types. Kids love to grow popcorn as well. There is something satisfying about picking off the dried kernels, jarring them up, and popping your first batch of buttery homegrown popcorn.

Planning one’s popcorn crop starts in mid-spring, just before corn planting time. There are several seed vendors that sell favorite, reliable varieties for new-time growers–Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Harris Seeds, High Mowing, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Jung’s, and others. Many have something unique for popcorn connoisseurs as well. Most offer miniature varieties as well as large-kerneled types. I like big, fluffy popcorn, so these are the varieties I like to grow and promote.

Six Top Popcorn Varieties

‘Mini Blue’ is an unusual heirloom popping corn that yields earlier than most.

‘Dakota Black‘ (95 days) is a beautiful heirloom popcorn with lustrous black kernels that are medium-sized and extra delicious when popped. The attractive ears are 5-6 inches long when mature.

‘Early Pink‘ (85-95 days) has large, mauve-pink kernels that make truly lovely decorative corn until the wintertime when you can hull it for crunchy popped corn. The ears reach 5-7 inches.

‘Mini Blue’ (80 days) has large blue kernels on  4-inch ears that pop up into light, fluffy, flavorful popcorn. The plants are noted as being productive.

‘Mushroom’ (103 days) gourmet popping corn forms big, round, fluffy popped corn that is delicious. It has yellow kernels, long ears, and is recommended for kettle or caramel corn because it is easy to sugar coat.

‘Robust 997’ (112 days) is a reliable classic popcorn variety with yellow kernels that are large and tender when popped. The high-yielding plants bear lots of 7-8 inch ears.

‘Top Pop’ (100 days), the name says it all. It has large yellow kernels that pop up into light, tender popcorn. The plants are also productive and vigorous. It is my top pick for new popcorn growers.

Growing Popcorn

Productive popcorn stalks may produce up to five ears or more.

Plant corn in the ground in late spring, once the soil is warm and frost is through for the season. (Click here for your last frost date.) Popcorn needs full sun and weed-free vegetable garden soil that drains well and has average fertility and a neutral pH. Work Black Gold Natural & Organic Compost Blend into the soil before planting to increase fertility. Plant the seeds about 2 inches deep and 12 inches apart; keep them lightly moist for good germination. You will need at least three rows of six plants for reliable pollination and lots of ears of popcorn. Corn plants require heat, so once the temperatures rise, they will take off. Keep them regularly watered during times of high heat and little rain.

Popcorn Pests

There are several pests to watch out for, including corn earworms, which eat the ears from within. Apply Bacillius thuringiensis (BT), which is approved for organic gardening, to the young tassels to keep these pests away. The common fungal disease, corn smut, will distort the ears, but it is edible (read about edible corn smut here!). Fungal northern corn leaf blight may develop under cool, wet weather conditions and cause leaf lesions and seedling death. The bacterial wilt called Stewart’s wilt is less common but deadly and will cause whole plants to unexpectedly wilt and die. Choose resistant varieties if wilt and blight are problems in your area. Corn-belt states (western Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, eastern Nebraska, and eastern Kansas) tend to have higher instances of disease.

Drying and Storing Popcorn

Mature ears can be hung to dry or left to dry on the stalk.

There are several ways to dry popcorn. If weather conditions are hot and dry, then allow the ears to dry on the plant as you would with field corn. If you are concerned about too much rain, then let the ears fully mature and begin to dry. Then, harvest them and finish drying them by hanging them in a cool, dry place. You will know they are ready when the leaves, top of the cob, and kernels feel dry.

You can leave them on the cob, or for easier popping, you can pick or hull the ears. It’s a fun job to do, so invite the kids to help. Simply pick off the dry kernels, and place them in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid for storage, and place it in a cabinet close by to pop whenever you want!

Perfect Stovetop Popped Corn

Fresh popcorn is the ultimate wintertime treat.

I prefer to pop popcorn the old-fashioned way, in a tall pan with a little oil and a tight-fitting lid. My greatest key to success is shaking the pan every minute or so to make sure that the popcorn does not become too brown or burn.

  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1/3 cup popcorn
  • 1 to 2 tablespoon/s butter
  • sea salt to taste

Heat the oil in the pan on medium to medium-high until sizzling. Add the popcorn kernels, put down the lid, and shake the pan intermittently to keep the popcorn moving. Listen carefully once it starts to pop. Most of the corn will pop up within a minute or two, but there are always a few that are late to pop. I usually wait until I hear 30 seconds of silence before taking off the lid to add the tablespoon of butter down the side of the pan to melt. Wait another 30 seconds for the butter to melt, and then toss the popcorn in the pan with the lid on to distribute the melted butter. Finally, shake it into a bowl and add salt to taste.

You can also add parmesan cheese, garlic salt, rosemary, cheddar cheese dust, ranch seasoning, or other flavors to make your popped corn extra tasty.

Can Watermelons Be Grown in Containers?

Here is a watermelon that I grew in a pot a couple of years ago.

“Can watermelon vines be grown in containers?” Question from George of Hagerstown, MD

Answer: Watermelons can be grown in large containers if you choose a compact variety. Here are my recommendations regarding potted watermelon culture.

Growing Potted Watermelons

First, choose a more compact, short-vine watermelon variety suited for container growing. ‘Cal Sweet Bush‘, a 2019 AAS award winner, has excellent melons and vines that do not take over, and ‘Bush Sugar Baby‘ is another small-vined type with tasty melons. Next, choose a large container that’s between 18 to 24 inches. There must be holes at the bottom for drainage. Plastic or glazed containers hold water better in the heat of summer. Fill the pot with quality, porous potting soil that holds water well. I would choose Black Gold Natural & Organic Raised Bed & Potting Mix. Place the pot in a spot where it gets full sun, and the vining stems can hang down and spread a little. Patios or open garden areas work well for large potted vegetables like this.

Plant one or two watermelons in the pot in spring after the threat of frost has passed. Keep the soil moist. When the vines have reached a good size in summer, water daily in the absence of rain. Fertilizer well from the beginning. A good slow-release fertilizer formulated for vegetables is ideal. Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s application instructions.

Melons should start to appear by late July or August.

Happy melon growing!

Jessie Keith

Black Gold Horticulturist

The Cult of Extreme Heat: Raising the Hottest Peppers

Hot peppers have a cult following. Those that eat, hybridize, and grow the hottest peppers in the world are all part of the wicked hot-pepper culture where Scoville Units below 1,000,000 are too cool to be cool. Breeders and growers choose only the most dangerously scorching Capsicum fruits on the planet. Each year, newer, hotter peppers appear in the pursuit of extreme heat.

Hot peppers comprise several important species that all originate from the tropical Americas. The hottest peppers in the world comprise habanero-types (Capsicum chinense) that include ghost or Bhut jolokia peppers and the dreaded ‘Carolina Reaper’, as well as Scotch bonnets. Small-fruited Tabasco peppers, piri piri African bird’s-eye peppers, and other mini hots are all members of Capsicum frutescens. Most cultivated peppers are Capsicum annuum species, which comprise everything from sweet bell peppers to poblanos, jalapenos, and many chili peppers like cayenne and serrano. Other peppers cultivated for their high heat include Capsicum baccatum, which has somewhat elongated chili peppers of yellow, orange, and red, and Capsicum pubescens, whose bulbous, rounded fruits are hot but not scorching.

Understanding the Scoville Scale

The hottest peppers are habanero-types (Capsicum chinense).

Pepper heat is measured on the Scoville Scale in Scoville Units (SHU). The units measure 22 pepper chemicals called capsaicinoids, which are generally referred to as capsaicins. Originally, Scoville Units were qualitatively measured by careful taste testing. The method of measurement was created in 1912 by Wilbur Scoville, a New England pharmacist interested in measuring chili pepper sensitivity in people. Scoville Units are now quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) where the capsaicin content in each pepper is fully measured in Pungency Units (one-part capsaicin per million parts dried pepper mass). Pungency Units are then mathematically converted to Scoville Units. For a more practical example, the hottest pepper in the world, the ‘Carolina Reaper‘, has up to 2,200,000 SHU while the average poblano pepper has only between 1,000 to 4,000 SHU.

Ten Notable Hot Peppers

Carolina Reaper still holds the title of the hottest pepper on Earth!

The challenge to breed hotter and hotter peppers is put to the test by several chili pepper breeders. Many of their peppers are on this list. Do not grow any of these if you have small children or pets that might be attracted to their pretty fruits and get into them.

  1. 7 Pot Lava Pepper (Capsicum chinense ‘7 Pot Lava’,  800,000 to 1,000, 000 SHU): The wrinkled, bright orange-red peppers are very hot with a fruity flavor from the start.
  2. Apocalypse Scorpion‘ (Capsicum chinense Apocalypse Scorpion, 1,200,000 SHU): Bred and introduced by the Italian Pepper Lovers’ Association, these ugly red peppers are blazing. It was the 2006 World record-holder.
  3. ‘Bhut Jolokia’ (Capsicum chinense ‘Bhut Jolokia’, 855,000 – 1,041,427 SHU): The classic ghost pepper was the World record-holder for four years! It was bred in northern India and is noted for its terrible heat.
  4. Carolina Reaper (Capsicum chinense Carolina Reaper®, 1,641,300- 2,200,000 SHU): According to the 2020 Guinness Book of World Records, this is the hottest pepper in the world. It was bred by Ed (‘Smokin’ Ed) Currie, the founder, and president of the Puckerbutt Pepper Company. The bumpy red peppers are of nightmares. Beware!
  5. Death Spiral (Capsicum chinense Death Spiral, 1,300,000+ SHU): Bred in the UK, this flavorful hot pepper has superheat.
  6. ‘Bhut Jolokia Chocolate’ (Capsicum chinense ‘Bhut Jolokia Chocolate’, 855,000 – 1,041,427 SHU): This red-brown ghost pepper is sweeter than the standard.
  7. ‘Hot Paper Lantern’ (Capsicum chinense ‘Hot Paper Lantern’, 150,000 – 400,000 SHU): The elongated, red habanero is really hot, but not quite as scorching as the others on the list, but I like it. Plants are prolific!
  8. Jay’s Peach (Capsicum chinense Jay’s Peach, 1,000,000 SHU): The classic ghost pepper was crossed with Trinidad Scorpion to yield this pretty pink, screaming hot pepper.
  9. Naga Viper (Capsicum chinense Naga Viper, 1,349,000 SHU): This UK introduction, is purported to be the fourth hottest pepper in the world.
  10. Trinidad Scorpion Butch T (Capsicum chinense Trinidad Scorpion Butch T, 1,463,700 SHU): Described as unrelentingly hot, this pepper was selected by Butch Taylor. In 2011 it was the hottest pepper in the world.

Home Pepper Growing

Staking or caging pepper plants helps them grow and produce better.

Peppers are so easy to start from seed that home growers should always grow their own. Pepper Joes is one great seed source specializing in the hottest varieties. You can also find a few select seeds at Puckerbutt Pepper Company, home of the Carolina Reaper. The Chili Pepper Institute, Trade Winds Fruit, Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company, High Mowing Organic Seeds, and Totally Tomatoes (Peppers, too) are just a few more great hot pepper seed sources. It takes around eight to ten weeks to grow peppers from seed to garden-ready seedlings, and then they take 60 to 90 days to harvest after planting.

Start the seeds in flats filled with OMRI Listed Black Gold Seedling Mix ten weeks before the last frost date (click here to find your last frost date). Cover seeds with 1/8 inch of soil and keep them lightly moist, never wet. Place them under the warmth of grow lights. Bottom heat mats and warm temperatures (68°-75° F (20-24° C)) encourage faster germination and growth. The seeds should sprout in 7 to 14 days.  (Click here for more detailed seed-starting instructions.)

Plant pepper plants in spring when the soil has warmed and there is no chance of frost.

Peppers are warm-season vegetables, so plant sturdy, hardened-off seedlings outdoors when late-spring weather has heated up. Environmental factors truly impact the heat of hot peppers. Full, bright sun and hot weather will result in spicer peppers and happier, more productive plants. Slightly dry soil will also reduce pepper water content and increase the heat.

Give pepper plants loose, friable, soil with average fertility and a slightly acid pH. Amend with fertile Black Gold Garden Soil or Black Gold Natural & Organic Garden Compost Blend at planting time. Raised bed gardeners should try Black Gold® Natural & Organic Raised Bed & Potting Mix. In the absence of rain, make sure that they do not get too dry. Average water is recommended once plants are well-established and growing. Fertilize, using an OMRI Listed tomato and pepper fertilizer, as directed. Also consider applying a little garden-grade Epsom salt to protect against magnesium deficiency, a common pepper problem. Stake or cage taller plants to keep them from toppling. Don’t fear hot weather or even drought.  Peppers are well-adapted to it, and hot weather increases pepper heat. (As I wrote in a previous article for Fafard about hot peppers: “Hot, dry weather tends to generate more intense fruits with more intense spice and “bite”, while cooler, moister weather yields milder peppers.”)

Harvesting and Processing Hot Peppers

Bees pollinate the blooms for fruit-set. Green fruits have a sharp taste that becomes sweeter as they mature and change color. The color change occurs faster in hotter weather. Wear gloves when harvesting or chopping and processing hot peppers. You will thank yourself. They can burn the skin and fingers for days, otherwise. Peppers can be frozen whole, canned whole, or processed into pepper jam or hot sauce. Always cook the hot sauce, jelly, or any hot pepper product with lots of peppers OUTSIDE or in a location with lots of ventilation. The steam and fumes from the sauce or jelly can be dangerous to breathe in or get into your eyes. (Click here for a hot-sauce-making tutorial and recipes, click here for a hot pepper jelly recipe, and click here for freezing guidelines.

Hot Pepper Cautions

Stay out of pain’s way! Wear oil-impermeable gloves while handling hot peppers.

I may sound uncool, but approach faddish hot pepper challenges, eating contests, and high-voltage foodstuffs with caution and knowledge before diving in. Get an idea of how you react to them first. Sensitivity and allergic reactions have put many unfortunate persons in the hospital. After reading about various gastrointestinal blowouts and even esophageal ruptures, I felt that a word of warning was warranted. Handle and consume hot peppers with care. Always harvest and chop them while wearing oil-impermeable gloves. And, if you do eat them, taste a tiny bit first, and have a glass of milk and chunk of plain bread on hand to take the intense heat away, if needed. These are not dive-in fruits. Be wary.

Peppers do have some disease problems, so choose disease-resistant varieties when possible. Various vascular wilts, tobacco mosaic virus, and fungal problems can befall plants and fruits, but more often than not they are not needy. Good spacing (between 18″-28″, depending on plant size) will help with airflow and discourage most diseases. (Click here for a chili pepper disease guide.)

Can I Grow Peonies Down South?

‘Coral Charm’ is a peony that grows better down South, and it is one of my favorites!

“I live in south Georgia and I would love to plant peonies, but I was told by a local nursery that they can’t survive here because we don’t have cold enough winters for them to reset, is this true?” Question from Ladonna of Naylor, Georgia

Answer: It is partially true. The most popular peonies in the US are common garden peonies (Paeonia lactiflora). The large, bushy plants produce loads of big, late-spring flowers and are hardy to USDA Hardiness Zones 3-7 (sometimes 3-8b), so you are on the edge of their hardiness. They do need winter cold for several months to produce blooms and survive in the long term, but Naylor, Georgia (USDA Hardiness Zones 8b) is cold enough to sustain some peonies. If you want to be on the safe side, there are other peonies that can survive with even less winter cold. This includes some tree peonies (Paeonia species and hybrids, varying zones, sometimes down to zone 9), and Intersectional (ITOH Hybrids (Zones 4-9), which are hybrids between common and tree peonies.

Peonies for Southern Gardeners

Here are seven good herbaceous peony varieties for southern gardens.

  1. ‘America’ (Zones 4-8b)- a single, red herbaceous peony that is award-winning and has HUGE blooms
  2. ‘Coral Charm‘ (Zones 3-8b) – a semi-double coral-pink award-winner (one of my favorites!)
  3. ‘Felix Crousse‘ (Zones 3-8b) – an herbaceous heirloom (1881) with fragrant double-red blooms
  4. ‘Festiva Maxima’ – an herbaceous heirloom (1881) with fragrant double-red blooms
  5. ‘Red Charm’ – an herbaceous peony with fragrant, deepest red, double blooms
  6. ‘Scarlet O’Hara’ (Zones 4-9) – Another exceptional single-red peony
  7. ‘Shirley Temple’ (Zones 3-8b) – a beautiful double peony of palest cream-pink

Click here to read more about caring for peonies, and click here for a full list of peony nurseries approved by The American Peony Society! 

Happy gardening,

Jessie Keith

Black Gold Horticulturist

What Small Trees Can I Plant Close to My Home?

“Is there a type of ornamental tree that I can plant within 6 feet of my house (in zone 5)?” Amy of Grand Rapids, Michigan

Answer: Aside from being attractive and suited to your garden and area, any tree that you choose must be compact and have a root system that is somewhat shallow. Here are five selections that are both beautiful, compact, and native.

  1. Lavender Twist® Weeping Redbud (Cercis canadensis ‘Covey’): This small tree reaches between 8-12 feet when fully mature, but its weeping crown maintains a tidy, compact appearance. Redbuds are native to eastern North America and have beautiful spring flowers of purplish-red. Grow this one in full sun and well-drained fertile soil.
  2. Spring Glory® Serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis ‘Sprizam’): White spring blooms, edible summer fruits that attract birds, and orange-red fall leaves make this an outstanding 12-foot small tree for home gardens. Grow this one in full to partial sun. 
  3. Golden Shadows® Pagoda Dogwood (Cornus alternifolia ‘Wstackman’): The gold and green foliage of this 10- to 12-foot variegated dogwood will light up any partially shaded location around the home. 
  4. Fringe Tree (Chionanthus virginicus): Loads of delicate, fringed, fragrant ivory flowers in spring make this small tree an excellent specimen to plant near a home. Mature specimens may reach 12 to 20 feet, so this is on the larger end of what you can plant close to the home. Full to partial sun is preferred.
  5. Blue Arrow Juniper (Juniperus scopulorum ‘Blue Arrow’): Here’s an evergreen option that hails from Colorado. It has tidy blue-green foliage and a narrow, upright habit. Trees reach just 12 feet at maturity. Full sun is required.

[Click here for an excellent guide on how to plant and site trees and shrubs.]

I hope that this helps!

Happy gardening,

Jessie Keith

Black Gold Horticulturist

How to Weed Gardens: Tips, Tools, and Timing

Weed competition drags gardens down in every way. Ignore your garden for just a couple of weeks, and weeds can take over in a flash–turning once tidy, pretty beds into a tangled mess of green interlopers with no room to spare. If you use the right tools, techniques, and timing necessary to stop a weed takeover, it will save you trouble and reward you with bountiful flowers, vegetables, and fruits.

Common, aggressive garden weeds spread by many means. If allowed to set seed, they will pepper the garden ground with loads of obnoxious seedlings crying to be hoed away. Some have the deepest, most far-spreading root systems that will get away from a gardener in no time if allowed to take hold. Different weeds appear at different times of the season. The most unexpected are prolific winter weeds that will happily fill your beds in late winter and set seed by late spring. Summer weeds require heat to germinate, so you can expect them to start popping up as soon as the weather becomes truly beautiful.

Knowledge is power when it comes to weeds. Here are the essentials necessary to keep your beds happy and weed-free throughout the year.

Know Your Weeds and Their Spreading Power

Don’t pull a perennial weed unless you know that you can get the whole root. Leave one little piece, and it will return!

Your worst weed enemies are perennial weeds that are deep-rooted, fast-spreading, and produce generous amounts of seeds that spread and sprout quickly. Annual weeds are also pesky, but they are generally more shallow-rooted and easier to kill by quick digging and hoeing before they set seed. Here are five of the worst perennial weeds that you may face. From there, I recommend relying on the helpful, Farmer’s Almanac Common Weed List, as well as the excellent UC Davis IPM Guide for common weeds.

Worst Perennial Weeds

Field Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis): Here is a real monster of a spreader that’s hard to remove. The hardy perennial sets fleshy rhizomatous roots that can extend deep into the ground and many feet from the parent plant. The vine twines and strangles garden plants and then becomes covered with little, white, morning-glory-like flowers that set hundreds if not thousands of seeds. Scrape and dig the seedlings on-site and try to dig the root systems as soon as possible. Smothering and covering infested areas is also a good method, but it takes time. (Click here to learn more about bindweed removal.)

Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense): Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense) is notoriously difficult to remove and is also a notorious spreader. Its leaves and stems are painfully prickly, and pollinated summer flowers produce loads of puffy seeds that get caught in the wind and spread everywhere. (Don’t let this go to seed anywhere near your yard or garden!) When they sprout, a single plant can become a dense colony connected by deep, rooting rhizomes that are impossible to dig out. Leave just one piece, and it will return. It is also resistant to all but the strongest herbicides.

Aside from using commercial-grade herbicides, the second-best method is to smother plants with weed cloth and mulch until they are gone. Watch out for plants that creep into the grass, once they do, a good broadleaf herbicide is your only option, unless you want to kill everything and start over.

Dandelion (Taraxicum tomentosum): Dandelions spread by seed but can be tamed, so I don’t mind them growing in the lawn. Bees and other early pollinators rely on their golden flowers for pollen and nectar, so they do some good, but they have no place in my garden where they compete with other garden flowers. The deep-rooted perennials are easy to grub out with a garden knife, as long as you remove the whole root and leave no pieces behind. The key is keeping them from setting seed. This is the source of dandelions in the garden. In the spring months, I try to mow low and often to chop off the seed heads before they release their seeds.

Ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea): The aggressive member of the mint family is a ground-covering weed with creeping stems that root and spread fast. Its spring flowers set lots of seeds, which sprout quickly. It also thrives in lawns, so you will need to rely on a broadleaf herbicide for the lawn if you want to truly get rid of it.

Thankfully, this weed is relatively easy to pull, but if you leave even the tiniest piece in the ground it will root and regrow. T manage it well, remove it from garden beds first thing every spring, and then apply a 3-inch layer of mulch, being sure to leave the crowns of garden perennials uncovered. If stray pieces emerge from the mulch, pull them on site.

Nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus): Unless you live in the desert, your garden has likely experienced nutsedge. The aggressive, moisture-loving sedge produces copious seeds in summer that sprout everywhere. Even worst, the plants have fine, spreading roots that develop small, brown nutlet tubers. Leave one tuber in the ground, and it will sprout into a whole new plant. (Quirky fact: The tasty nutlets can be harvested and eaten.)

Nutsedge is not herbicide-resistant, but its tubers are resistant. For this reason, dig out the plants rather than just pulling or spraying them and get all of the tubers. Finally, cover with a 3-inch layer of mulch, and diligently pull any small sedge sprouts as you see them. (Click here to learn everything that you need to know about removing nutsedge.)

Annual weeds, like this summer purslane and pigweed, are easy to pull but prolific self-sowers that sprout in the open soil each year. A good, stout hoe will make quick work of weeds like this.

All of these weeds require good tools for thorough removal, followed up by mulch, and often herbicides or other harsher measures. Once again, annual weeds, like winter chickweed, summer purslane, pigweed, or spotted sandmat euphorbia, are very easy to dig and pull. The key is removing them before they can set seed and germinate or add to your garden’s soil weed seed bank.

Know Your Weeding Tools

Over the years I have used a number of different weeding tools. A few have stood out and become fast favorites. The three key characteristics I look for in a good gardening hand tool are 1. ease of use, 2. working power, and 3. durability. These criteria are met by the following tools:

Long-Handled Tools

Prohoe Rogue Do It All Tool and 7-inch Hoe: The hoes made by this company are wonderfully sturdy and well-made, razor-sharp, and long-handled for those of us that do not like to bend. The Do It All Tool is triangular on one side and has a raking tool on the other. It is perfect for rogueing our deep-rooted weeds. The thin, 7-inch Pro Hoe is ideal for scratching up mats of shallow weed seedlings. These hoes are so strong and sharp, the job will get done in an instant.

Pullerbear Uprooter: For big “weeds” choose a Pullerbear uprooter. In a matter of minutes, an area riddled with small weed trees can be cleaned beautifully roots and all. It works like no other tool I’ve tried. Just clench the base of the sapling or small tree and pull. Ignore the fact that it’s a bit pricey. It will pay for itself quickly in time and effort saved wrangling with hard-to-pull woody weeds.

Short-Handled Tools

Sharp cutting and sawing edges make gardening knives one of the best all-around gardening tools. (image care of the Gardeners Supply Company)
Sharp cutting and sawing edges make gardening knives one of the best all-around gardening tools. (image care of the Gardeners Supply Company)

My trust garden knife (also called a soil knife or Japanese hori-hori) goes with me everywhere. It can cut into the soil to deep roots below and saw through the roots or bases of tough plants. I even use it for harvesting greens and cole crops. One side of the knife is sharp for slicing, and the other is serrated for sawing. They can easily break through the skin, so I use mine while wearing garden gloves and I store it in a leather belt sheath.

Fine-bladed hand trowels are excellent all-purpose tools for weeding and planting. They quickly cut at deep or shallow roots in no time and withstand lots of wear and tear if made well. The “rockery hand trowel” at Clarington Forge is just such a fine-bladed tool, and it’s beautifully crafted for the long haul. Its fine blade makes for easy weeding and planting–especially in heavier or pebbly soils. The narrow rockery hand trowel from Clarington Forge easily expels weeds and gets into small spaces. (image care of Clarington Forge)

The sharp ho-mi will chop deeply into the soil quickly. (image care of Lee Valley)
Sharp ho-mi tools will chop deeply into the soil quickly. (Image care of Lee Valley)

For super fast hand weeding nothing beats the classic ho-mi (hoe-mee), also called the Korean hand plow or cultivator. This sharp, downward-facing tool can get to the base of a dandelion root in seconds with a quick chop, chop, chop. Nothing is more effective. For smaller weeds, I use the side of the ho-mi to scratch and smooth the soil. It’s an excellent tool for lightly aerating the base of a plant or getting to the root of a tough herbaceous weed as well as planting new plugs. If well cared for, a ho-mi will last forever (if cleaned after use and oiled to prevent rust). It’s relatively cheap, too. Long-handled versions are also very useful. Just be careful when chopping away with this sharp tool. Its tip can be nasty.

Practice Timely Weeding

I weed two ways be either casually weeding as I water, harvest, and enjoy my garden, or intensively bed by bed. I do casual weeding almost daily. More intensive weeding is something I do three times a month in summer. I also try to catch weeds at various times in their life cycles.

  1. Catching weeds before they flower and set seed is timely weeding. I write this article as the winter weeds in my vegetable garden have begun to set seed. A busy spring pushed back my weeding schedule, and I am paying for it. Had I removed these weeds just two weeks earlier, before they had begun to release seeds,
  2. Catching weed seedlings before they become large is timely weeding. Digging or hoeing up weed seedlings before they become large and take hold will make your garden life so much easier.
  3. Smothering beds before seeds sprout is timely weeding. Adding mulch in late winter or spring, before weed seeds really sprout is very important to keeping weeds down. Miss just one year, and you will pay for it.

Mulch Properly

 

Natural mulches of all types, like these hemlock needles, make weed covers.

A 2-3-inch layer of mulch, straw, leaf-mulch or compost keeps seedlings from germinating and stops weeds from taking over. It is best to apply mulch in spring after properly weeding your beds and again in fall to ward off winter weeds. (Click here to learn more about the many wonderful mulch options.)

Edge Your Beds

Lots of lawn grasses and weeds like to creep into garden beds. Once in your garden, they become weeds. To stop this, it helps to edge your gardens, especially at the start of the gardening season. Edged beds also look tidier and nicer. Mowing your lawn regularly to stop weeds from flowering and setting seeds is also advisable. (Click here for a tutorial about how to edge beds.)

Consider Solarization

Soil polarization is a method of weed removal that relies on the heat of the sun to kill weeds en masse. Methods vary, but in general, it involves covering a bed area with tacked-down sheets of clear or black plastic for several weeks during the summer. When it works, the heat generated heat cooks everything below–plants, seeds, and all. Keep in mind, the method is used to revive whole beds and remove all weeds, so no desirable plants can be present. It is also less effective further north where summer temperatures rarely exceed 90 degrees F.

Use Herbicides as a Last Resort

Herbicides that really work are generally toxic and best applied by garden professionals. If you have a severe problem with one of the worst perennial weeds mentioned, like Canada thistle or field bindweed, then you may consider resorting to a professional-grade herbicide very selectively applied by a trained horticulturist. Otherwise, they are not needed. More natural means of weed removal are safer and better.

Stay on top of your weeds, and your gardens will prosper. Put aside just a little time each week and it will be a small burden to bear.