Author:Erica

The Need to Weed

Erica2 Comments

I recently got back from a 10-day trip away from home, and had to brace myself before I approached my community garden plot. I hoped there wouldn’t be pests or diseases to deal with. I was pretty sure the tomatoes would have escaped the bounds of their cages. But the one thing I knew I’d encounter was WEEDS.

A close up of various weeds in a garden setting where you can see some leaves of corn poking through.
Weeds including wood sorrel and unwanted grasses in a bed growing corn and onions.
Large okra leaves in a raised bed with various weeds underneath them.
SO MANY WEEDS in the okra bed at the Derwood Demo Garden

It was not as bad as I’d feared, but I still had to deal with a lot of unwanted plants, which is basically what weeds are. All plants have their place, but that often isn’t in our vegetable gardens, flower beds, or landscapes. I often hear from people that we should let certain weeds grow, because they are part of the ecosystem, because they support pollinators, or because they have other uses, such as being edible. In some very specific cases, these are good arguments. If I have a native plant come up in the middle of a veggie bed, I might let it grow, or more likely I would transplant it to another location in my yard (or into the row of native flowering plants I’ve established in my community garden plot). If it’s a non-native invasive that is about to produce around a thousand seeds that will spread the plant all over my yard or the community garden, I’m going to yank it, even if it has pretty flowers that the bees like. I might also let an edible weed like purslane grow, if I’m in the mood to harvest it and use it, but I’d try to contain it before it spreads too far.

Here are the main reasons that you should remove weeds from your vegetable garden, even if it’s a lot of work and you don’t feel like it:

  • Competition. In some environments, growing lots of plants close together is beneficial. Even vegetable gardens can benefit from close planting in some circumstances, to shade the soil or to confuse herbaceous insects. But weeds are weeds because they are survivors, and they tend toward domination. They will swallow up your desirable plants in no time, suck up all the water and nutrients, and provide you with nothing.
  • Reproduction. Weeds spread like crazy either via seed or by suckering roots. If you have one weed this year, next year you will have hundreds. This is bad enough in your own backyard, but if you have close neighbors, or if you’re in a community garden, you are not going to be popular. (In a community garden, you may be ousted before next year, depending on the rules and how they’re enforced.)
  • Pests and diseases. Each weed is part of a particular plant family, often the same family as some vegetable you’re trying to grow. It may harbor some of the same pests and diseases as that vegetable. Guess which plant is going to shake off the problems faster, and which one will tenderly succumb?
  • Ticks. Love to hide in weed patches and hitch a ride as you pass through on your way to the squash. There might also be other critters lurking in out-of-control weed jungles, such as snakes (good to have around, but startling), or entire rabbit families in a nest. Just to name a few. Plant a native hedgerow and let them live there, not in your tomato bed.
  • Aesthetics. I put this last for a reason, but even if you personally don’t long for a tidy garden, keep in mind that vegetable gardening as a pursuit sometimes gets bad-mouthed for being “messy” and any actually messy gardens can contribute to a stereotype. HOAs that forbid front yard veggies, neighbors that complain about completely hypothetical rats, they all learned their prejudices somewhere. Don’t let it be your garden. We all want more homegrown produce in the world, not less.

So get out there and pull the weeds! And then, think about how to stop them from growing in the first place. Here are some things you can do this summer and beyond:

  • Mulch. Put something over your soil, preferably an organic mulch like shredded leaves, straw, or dried grass clippings. You can even use weeds as mulch if they don’t have seeds on them. Compost can be a mulch if you are sure it’s been heated enough to kill weed seeds. Synthetic mulches like black plastic or weed barrier fabric are also an alternative, though they won’t add organic matter to your soil. When you disturb the soil to put in plants or seeds, try to cover it again to prevent the germination of weed seeds that have been brought to the surface. (Obviously, don’t put a thick layer of mulch over the seeds you just planted.) Mulch is also great at keeping the soil from losing moisture in the heat, and maintaining it at an even temperature. And it may help prevent fungal spores from splashing up from the soil onto your plants.
  • Learn to ID weeds. Know your enemy! As you pull a weed, use a plant ID app or other source to identify it. After some time and work, you’ll know the common ones and you can learn about how and when they reproduce. Do I have to get the whole root out (yes, for perennials) or can I just remove the top of the plant before it goes to seed (usually, for annuals)? How early in the year do I have to get out there to start pulling weeds? (Earlier than you think, alas.) The other advantage to knowing weeds is that you’re less likely to mistake them for the plants you want to grow, and vice versa. Close observation works equally well for identifying veggie seedlings. Be an informed gardener!
  • Think about growing in containers. Refreshing the potting mix every year will definitely mean fewer weeds.
  • Speaking of which… think about containing or restricting plants that are desirable but act like weeds. Various mints and their relatives, shiso/perilla, leaf fennel, some amaranths… I have personal knowledge of how badly these spread, and I’m sure every gardener has a similar list. Whether you trap the roots in a pot (on a paved surface, in the case of mints) or make very sure to cut off the tops before the seeds go flying, it’s a responsible thing to do and will spare you a big surprise come the next growing season.

And lastly, be patient. Weed seeds lurk in the soil for many years, so they probably will keep coming back. There will be setbacks. But eventually, things will get easier and more enjoyable, and (mostly) weed-free.

By Erica Smith, Montgomery County Master Gardener. Read more posts by Erica.

Check the Temperature Before You Plant!!

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Several trays of pepper seedlings in quart-size pots sit on a deck getting used to outdoor temperatures.
Pepper plants hardening off

A short post today, in which I make my annual plea to hold off on planting summer vegetables until it’s warm enough. Please – your garden will thank you later!

We have some guidelines on the HGIC website about when to plant vegetables and how to harden them off (get them used to outdoor conditions). Remember, though, that planting isn’t about dates; it’s about temperature. It is not a hard-and-fast rule that your tomatoes should be in the ground by Mother’s Day. What if it’s 40 degrees on Mother’s Day? Bad for outdoor brunch, but also bad for young tomato seedlings.

The round temperature dial of a compost thermometer registering about 55 degrees Fahrenheit.
A compost thermometer is useful for checking soil temps

In general, vegetables that prefer summer’s heat also don’t like spring’s cold. Tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, and all their friends want soil temperatures over 60F and air temperatures over 50F (including at night). Try to wait to put them in the ground until the forecast shows at least a week of these conditions, with no cold snaps or heat blasts. Of course, spring is full of crazy ups-and-downs (especially this spring) but if you can give the plants a good start, they will tolerate temperature swings better. If a frost is predicted, or really anything below about 45, throw some kind of covering over the plants: heavy-duty row cover if you have it, but a sheet or light blanket will do.

Get to know your garden’s microclimate – if it’s protected from strong winds, plants will tolerate cold better; if it gets a bit of afternoon shade, they will get through high heat with less damage.

You can purchase all kinds of devices to give your plants extra protection, but after trying them all I found I preferred just having some patience. If you do use them, make sure they’re easy to put up and take down – struggling with a complicated shelter in wind and rain is no fun, nor is removing the whole thing again when it’s 85 the day after dropping to 39.

I know, all my plants are huge too, and really want to go outside. But I’m going to wait until it’s time.

By Erica Smith, Montgomery County Master Gardener. Read more posts by Erica.

Spring Crops in Containers

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Lettuce and arugula seedlings growing in a terracotta-colored rectangular planter
Salad greens like lettuce and arugula are easy to grow in various sized containters Photo: Erica Smith

Maybe your first thought on starting a container vegetable garden was “I can grow tomatoes!” Which is great—but tomatoes are a summer crop and it’s not time to put them outside yet. You can start your garden even earlier, though, with spring plantings.

Here are a few of the spring crops you can grow in containers:

The only spring crops I would hesitate to grow in containers are large brassicas like cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower, and even those could be planted in containers—it’s just that you would only plant one per pot, which might not be worth the effort, unless you have space for a lot of pots, no in-ground garden, and a real love of fresh-grown cabbage.

I’m also not a huge fan of potatoes in containers, because they don’t usually produce very much and it doesn’t seem worth the space and expense when potatoes are so cheap to buy. Nevertheless, I’m going to give it another try this year, just so I can report back here!

Here are some tips on planting spring crops in containers:

  • In some cases it may be more practical to start with transplants rather than planting from seed. This allows you to get the spacing just right and eliminates tedious thinning of extra seedlings. It’s also much faster. But seeding also works fine.
  • Consider the shape of the container when choosing a crop (or vice versa). Crops you want to harvest a lot of, like lettuce or radishes, will work better in a wider container. They also have shallow root systems, so the container doesn’t have to be very deep. Whereas if you’re going to grow carrots, make sure you have a container several inches deeper than the expected carrot length.
  • The usual container growing guidelines apply: use lightweight potting mix rather than real soil from the ground; water frequently; apply fertilizer as needed.

Here are some photos of spring crops growing in containers:

Pea plants in a black fabric grow bag with sticks for them to grow up
Chive plants in a rectangular container
Lettuce, arugula and chard in a raised planter with legs
Seedlings of lettuce and brassicas in a square white raised planter

Photo collage from left (click image to enlarge): peas in a fabric grow bag (a great inexpensive option for lots of crops); chives in a rectangular planter (herbs are wonderful container crops); lettuce, arugula and chard in a raised trough planter on my deck; various spring greens in a keyhole garden, which has an area in the middle meant for creating compost to feed the plants. Except for the trough planter, all of these are from the Special Projects area at the Derwood Demo Garden.

This does bring up a question: what counts as a container? The raised keyhole garden and raised trough planter in the photos are much larger than the typical pot or planter, and may be closer to a raised bed. There’s certainly a fuzzy line between the two types of gardening.

To my mind, a container is an object that holds growing medium more likely to be potting soil than real mineral soil from the ground, and that could sit on a deck, patio, or driveway rather than being situated in a typical vegetable garden layout. I definitely consider my trough planter to be a container, if a very large one. The keyhole garden is an edge case, maybe more of a raised bed the way we use it at the Derwood Demo Garden in Montgomery County, Maryland. But it could be a patio planter, so I’m happy to regard it as a container as well.

In any case, it’s time to get those spring crops growing if you haven’t already! Happy spring!

By Erica Smith, Montgomery County Master Gardener. Read more posts by Erica.

Related information:

Growing Vegetables in Containers and Salad Tables

Welcome to the Year of Container Gardening!

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2026 is Grow It Eat It’s Year of Container Gardening! Growing in containers (pots, planters, boxes, bags, etc.) is one of the best approaches for vegetable gardening beginners. It’s also a terrific way to sneak in a few more plants even if you already have a garden. The key word in container gardening is flexibility. Nearly everyone can find a place where they live to grow something edible in a container.

Different sized containers grouped together on a deck growing a mixture of edibles and flowers like pansies and marigolds.
Container plants on my deck

Maybe you live in an apartment, but have a balcony or patio, or even just a sunny window. You might have a small backyard with no room for planting, but you’ve got a deck, or a spot on a driveway or other paved area. Some people even put containers on an accessible rooftop! (Make sure it can support the weight of multiple pots full of soil if you’re going this route.)

The other big advantage of growing in containers is that you control the soil mixture. Don’t use soil directly out of the ground for containers; it’s too dense and will be full of bugs and weed seeds. You can buy potting soil at any garden center or big box store, or if you’re ambitious you can buy the ingredients and mix your own to order. Different plants may prefer different combinations of peat or coir plus compost, perlite or vermiculite, or other materials. Commercial potting mixes are usually pretty good for all common garden plants, though.

Because you’re not adding weed seeds to your growing mix, you will barely need to weed your containers, which is a great advantage. Pest problems may be lessened as well.

There are some basic rules to follow when growing in containers:

  • Use the sun. Most edible garden plants require plenty of sunshine. Find the sunny spots in your growing area and place your pots there. If you don’t have a spot with more than six hours of sun available, you should still be able to grow some spring crops like peas or spinach (especially if the lack of summer sun is explained by trees that don’t leaf out until late spring), and lettuce grows well in only a few hours of direct sun or indirect light all day. But look around! Maybe you have a sunny location you hadn’t considered.
  • Fertilize. Container plants need nutrients, and they will only find them in potting soils for a short while. Establish a regular feeding schedule according to package directions, and stick to it.
  • Water. This is very important! Plant roots dry out much faster in containers than in in-ground or raised bed gardens. Rain doesn’t always reach the soil through the leaves of plants. Check the soil regularly to see if it’s moist, and if not, give your plants a drink. On hot summer days, you may need to water daily or even more than once a day. If you go away, arrange for someone else to keep your container garden watered.

The other important rule is to use appropriate containers. They should be food-safe (designed to hold edible crops), well-drained (make sure they have holes in the bottom and are not sitting in a saucer unless you’re prepared to empty it), and large enough for the crop.

2 large plastic garbage cans growing large tomato plants. There is a Grow It Eat it sign advertising UMD Extension resources.
These containers are definitely large enough for tomatoes!

Get bigger pots than you think you’ll need. Guidelines will tell you to use a pot of at least five gallons to grow tomatoes; unless you are growing dwarf tomatoes, your plants will be spindly and minimally productive in that size of container. For an indeterminate tomato plant, ten gallons would be better. Grow eggplants or peppers in those five-gallon pots.

Different style containers with various plants (vegetables, herbs, and flowers) arranged in a trial garden space.
A variety of container types in a trial garden

Where do you find these containers? You don’t necessarily have to spend tons of money. Check discount stores; join freecycle/buy-nothing groups; source five-gallon food-grade buckets from restaurants and grocery stores. If you’re handy, you can build your own salad table or planter out of wood. Fabric growing bags are another great low-cost option; many online gardening retailers and garden centers stock them.

What plants can you grow in containers? Just about anything, if the container is big enough. You may want to seek out vegetable varieties that are bred specifically for growing in small spaces.

Start a new adventure this year! We’ll post more about specific container plants, techniques and methods, and solving problems as the year goes on.

Year of Cantanier Gardening graphic featuring the UMD Extension Grow it Eat it program logo, and some drawings vegetables growing in raised beds and pots with a background of a suburban yard with a fence.

By Erica Smith, Montgomery County Master Gardener. Read more posts by Erica.

Okra is Summer

Maryland Grows4 Comments

As I write this, it’s a cold rainy day in early December, and I’m thinking about okra.

Close up of okra pods on an okra plant.

This sounds bonkers. You can’t even buy okra in grocery stores right now, and the only crop I’m harvesting from my garden is turnips. But I firmly believe that we should think about summer vegetables in the winter, at least for purposes of garden planning. The time to consider your okra seed purchase is not August, or July, or even June, when you might want to be planting it. If you’re ordering from a seed catalog (and you will get a far better choice of varieties that way, since stores usually offer one or possibly two kinds of okra seed), you need to plan ahead. Okay, maybe not as early as December. I’ve been thinking about okra because I plan to feature it in my own community garden plot next year, and I’ll also be in charge of a bed at the Derwood Demo Garden.

Frankly, we’ve underserved okra at Derwood in the past. We tend to think of it late in the planning process, or maybe not at all, and stick in about three plants in some less-than-ideal location. Okra will not be productive if it doesn’t get enough space to grow, or enough sun, and even under better conditions three plants are not sufficient for a decent harvest. Give it what it needs, however, and it will thrive. Okra is one of those rare crops that truly loves our hot, humid summers.

The other thing okra needs, that we’ve found hard to provide at the demo garden, is frequent harvesting. The pods grow fast and turn hard and inedible, and picking once a week is definitely not enough; we end up composting half our crop. We’ll need to get to the garden more often, but I doubt it’ll be more than twice a week, so as I’m looking at varieties to order seed, I’m concentrating on those that claim pods are tender even at larger sizes.

Not everyone loves okra (more on that below) but if you do, it is worth growing your own. Here are some things to think about as you peruse the seed catalogs and plan your garden:

  • Some catalogs also only have two sorts of okra available. That’s okay, they are probably well-tested ones (Clemson Spineless and Red Burgundy, I’m looking at you). But if you want to have a broader choice, check out catalogs that feature heirloom varieties, or that originate in the south, where okra is a beloved crop.
  • Read the descriptions carefully. Some varieties are meant for small gardens or container growing, and max out at two or three feet; some will be eight feet tall and three feet wide. Most are in the middle. The pods also vary considerably in length and thickness. Colors vary as well (green, red (anywhere from burgundy to orange), or green with red highlights).
  • You can start seeds either in pots or directly in the garden, but read up on seed scarification. Okra seeds are tough and will need to be soaked and/or nicked or roughened up before they will germinate.
  • Okra likes it hot, so wait until late May or early June to put it in the garden. Or later, if you’re pulling out a spring crop and have bed space available. Check days to maturity to figure out how late you can start a variety; you’ll want to start harvesting at least by mid-August, so for a 60 day crop, plant by mid-June.
  • Give the plants full sun and plenty of space (about 18 inches apart for larger varieties). They are fairly drought-resistant when full-grown, but of course they need watering well as seedlings.
  • Okra flowers are gorgeous, by the way, so make sure you enjoy them!
  • Harvest frequently. Every other day is ideal. You can save up the pods for a few days in the fridge and cook them all at once. If I’m not certain whether a pod is too tough to eat, I give it a squeeze; if it makes a cracking sound, it goes in the compost.
Okra flower on an okra plant.

All right, but isn’t okra slimy? Or, to use a perhaps even less attractive word, mucilaginous? It certainly can be, if it’s not treated right. Maybe in soups and stews that’s okay, especially in whatever favorite okra dish you may have grown up with, but if the sliminess turns you off, here are some ways to mitigate the mucus.

  • Young okra is great eaten raw in a salad, with dips, or as a snack while standing in the garden, and it’s fresh and crunchy and not slimy at all.
  • Traditional breaded and fried okra is terrific and if there is slime, you don’t notice it. Probably you don’t want to eat it this way every day, but it’s a fantastic treat. You can also use an air fryer to avoid all that oil.
  • If you’re frying okra without a crisp coating to distract you, here’s a secret: keep it dry. Wash it and then rub it thoroughly in a dish towel to get rid of any moisture. Make sure the cutting board and the knife are dry before cutting into the okra. You can either toss it in oil and seasonings before putting it in the pan, or place it in an oiled pan and season there, but make sure no water-based liquid touches it. The slime doesn’t develop in its absence. Air fryers work here too.

I hope you’ll join me in thinking about okra for next summer!

By Erica Smith, Montgomery County Master Gardener. Read more posts by Erica.

Root Crops in the Fall

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Radish, golden beets, and white turnip

If you’re seeing all kinds of lovely root vegetables at farmer’s markets this time of year, start planning now so you can grow them yourself next fall! I am so glad I decided to put in seeds for beets, turnips, and radishes back in August. These are all super-easy crops to grow, if you follow a few simple guidelines.

Here are the steps from thought to harvest:

  • Plan ahead! Buy your seeds for fall planting when you get the ones for spring and summer, because they may be hard to find later on. (Autumn root crops are usually grown from seed; buying plants is a waste of money since you only get one root per plant.) Radishes, beets, turnips, and carrots are all good choices.
  • Make space. Allowing room for fall crops can be difficult in a small garden. If some of your summer crops are not looking too great, take them out and prepare the bed for fall seeding. Or plant a bed with a summer cover crop or a quick-growing crop you know you’ll be removing soon, such as bush beans.
  • Prepare your soil. Root crops like a loose soil – try inserting a trowel into the soil, and if you have to force it in, you will not get a great root harvest. Add some compost! Raised beds provide the ideal environment, since the soil seldom gets compacted. Make sure your planting area gets plenty of sun.
  • Know how long your root crops will take to mature. It’s disappointing to not get edible roots because you didn’t allow enough time. Check HGIC’s planting guides for general information on timing, and also check the seed packet which will give you specifics for the variety you’re growing. Root crops are hardy and will tolerate frosts, so you can plan harvest for anytime from early October to late November, but the later you start the seeds, the slower the plants will grow. (This has more to do with the amount of sun than the temperature.) For a crop that lists 60 days to maturity from seeding, plant in mid-August (you’re allowing an extra week or two for the fall slowdown). Quicker crops like radishes can be planted in succession from late August to late September. Most root crops will sit in the ground just fine in cool weather, so you can harvest them as you need them.
  • Plant as directed. Don’t worry too much about spacing since you will be thinning later on.
  • Keep paying attention as the plants grow. Water regularly if it doesn’t rain, and take out weeds as soon as you can recognize which are the desirable plants. If your soil is low in phosphorus or potassium (which is unlikely), you may need to fertilize, but regular additions of compost through the year usually do the trick with these quick-growing crops. Thin the seedlings when they are several inches high – this means pulling out the plants in between a final set that are several inches apart. Think about what the roots will look like in maturity (what they look like when you buy them), and allow that much room plus a bit extra between plants. I find it easier to thin in two stages, taking out bunches when the plants are small and then a few more as they mature. You can eat the thinnings in salads, if you wish; they’re all edible and delicious.
  • Harvest when ready! All of these root crops will show some of the root portion above the soil, so you can check on size without pulling them out.

In practice, I’m often not on top of thinning, and it was hard to water enough this year with our persistent drought. So some of my root crops, especially the beets, are smaller than they should be. (On the other hand, some of the radishes are enormous.) But even with mistakes I manage to get good results! Try root crops next year and harvest some treasure from underground.

By Erica Smith, Montgomery County Master Gardener. Read more posts by Erica.

Burpee’s Garden Sown™ Direct-Sow Crops: First Impressions

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Six years ago, I visited Burpee’s Fordhook Farm in Pennsylvania as part of the International Master Gardener Conference. We toured their trial garden, and one of the crops I noted was a direct-sow tomato plant. This is an exciting innovation to vegetable gardeners, because it means not having to start seeds indoors and raise your tomato plants under lights until it’s time to transplant them outdoors. You could just plant the seeds directly in the ground and still harvest your tomatoes at the same time as conventionally grown ones. I decided I had to try this when the seeds were available.

Well, it’s 2025, and the seeds have appeared in Burpee’s catalog, so I bought some. Here’s the lineup: two tomatoes and three peppers. I got seed for the Rain Drops tomato, a cherry (claims 70 days to maturity from sowing), and the Sow Sweet snacking pepper (60 days). Here’s how growing them went for me and what I thought of the results. (Note: this is nothing like a real field trial, but rather one small-scale gardener’s experience in one year.)

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