Time to Plant Warm Season Vegetables... Almost.

Created on 5/11/2009

Here in central Ohio, Mother’s Day marks the traditional season for warm season plants. May 15, give or take a few days is the frost free date for my zone- which simply means there is a very slim chance we would have a killing frost. So it is safe to set out vegetables and plants that love it warm. Well, almost safe.

I am waiting a few more weeks to plant basil seeds. Trust me; those tender, fragrant leaves will catch up to the store bought plants in no time. Don’t spend money on basil plants from a nursery. It’s so easy to grow basil from seed- but not today, patience on the basil. I’m also waiting on the pepper, tomato and tomatillo plants.

It’s not just the weather that has me waiting on those heat lovers. I will be out of town for a week, basking in California zone… well, I know California growing conditions change with distance to the coast and elevation etc. Let’s just say I won’t be in Ohio. The warm sun and blue sky is apt to make me forget the cool and cloudy spring of home. The more heat finicky plants can wait.

I am setting out little parsley plants that I grew from seed under lights. This year I am trying two kinds of flat leaf Italian parsley- Giante d’Italia and Catalogno. There is a difference in flavor. One year I didn’t have time to grow my own parsley and picked up plants from the nursery. It just didn’t taste the same. This year I’m conducting a taste test experiment. The parsley plants could have been set out earlier because of what I observe in my garden, which is the best teacher. The few parsley seedlings that came up from last year have been thriving in the cool weather for many weeks.

I am also setting out nasturtiums and Red Bor kale. Nasturtiums like the cool weather. ‘Empress of India’ is one of my favorites. It’s an heirloom variety with dark blue green leaves and scarlet red flowers. The flowers and leaves are edible. Nasturtiums are lovely for salads and enchanting for children.

Red Bor kale is a large plant with dark purple black, curly, ruffled leaves. I saw it growing in the ornamental perennial border of a famous garden author in among her flowers. A few years ago I planted it in containers. That Red Bor kale lasted through cold and heat, drought and torrential rain- an entire year in the container. It’s not easy to find at the nursery so I grow my own.

I will be talking about kitchen gardens and signing copies of my book, Designing the New Kitchen Garden, at Copperfield's Books in Sebastopol, California on Tuesday, May 12 at 7 o’clock and at Chaucer’s Bookstore in Santa Barbara on May 14 at 7 o’clock. Come on by, I’d love to meet you and talk about growing beautiful things to eat.