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.
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.
Zelda the cat loves to lounge amongst the plants in the sun, despite the attempted deterrence of forks, chopsticks, and watering bulbs. Photo by: Emily Clark Waterson
I imagine for many gardeners, life changes may also come with garden changes. For instance, maybe you relocate and the sunny plot you once had is now a tree-covered shady oasis. Maybe the time you were able to devote to your garden shifts with the expansion of your family. New babies are a welcome addition, but boy, do they take a lot of time! Believe me, I know! That first week the weeds took over. Your job may change and now you have a longer commute or different work hours. You may decide to introduce a new pet that loves to dig or doesn’t respect that new shrub you are trying to establish. I have experienced many of these changes, which have allowed for a variety of gardening scenarios. Each life change has brought a new gardening challenge to explore and I welcome them all!
How it started…
I started my mid-Atlantic gardening life in 2011 with about 1/3 of an acre in a typical suburban neighborhood. I grew up in Northern New York (mostly zone 3-4) and then spent a few post-college years in the Southwest, so I found it exciting to learn about the planting palette of the Piedmont Region. At the time, I was working at a local garden center. That employee discount was a big bonus! I transformed a lot of turf and compacted construction soil into vibrant garden spaces. They showcased native plants, various edibles, and some fun non-invasive ornamental species. I introduced multiple trees to the barren backyard. I built some raised-bed veggie gardens and I finally found a happy spot for rhubarb to grow, after relocating it about five times. (Rhubarb prefers cooler climates but there are some heat-tolerant varieties if you’re like me and can’t live without it!) I also added the all-important gardener’s gold: a compost pile.
Newly built raised bed vegetable gardens waiting to be planted. Photo: Emily Clark Waterson
My forever garden helpers in 2017 with our beet harvest. Photo Emily Clark Waterson
The full sun backyard garden bed was added to soften the corners of what was once a rectangular plot of grass. Photo: Emily Clark Waterson
How it changed…
A recent life change had me relocating to an apartment, resulting in a drastic reduction in my gardening space in 2023. But when life gives you a balcony, you start container gardening! I can’t live without dirt under my nails, or in this case, potting mix. Therefore, the balcony had no choice but to come alive with shades of green! It faced east and also received some shade from a large deciduous Magnolia. This was a change from the full sun, southern-facing backyard I was used to.
I scoured my local thrift stores for plant containers or something that could be repurposed as one. If I could drill a drainage hole, it would be fair game! Fun plates became container saucers to put underneath draining pots so they wouldn’t drip on my downstairs neighbor. Surprisingly, I found self-watering containers for a low cost at a dollar store. To further save money for plants and seeds, I used recycled food containers for seed starting. I optimized space by thinking vertically and splurged on a self-watering railing box. Adding hooks for some hanging plants was a must, too!
I’m a self-proclaimed native plant nerd, so there had to be some natives incorporated. I missed popping out my back door to my herb garden. Being able to clip whatever aromatic additive I wanted for an evening cocktail or our dinner was such a luxury. So, ignoring the eastern-facing orientation, I planted sun-loving Mediterranean herbs in various pots. I love fresh salad greens to harvest in the cut-and-come-again method. With the shadier location, this meant I was able to grow them all summer long in the railing box. Despite the lower light conditions, I tested a spicy pepper and a few cherry tomato plants as well. Guess what? They all grew!
A repurposed food container and lid growing arugula seedlings. Photo: Emily Clark Waterson
Having fresh green lettuce growing along the balcony railing was great to snip leaves off and have it grow back. Photo: Emily Clark Waterson
A midsummer view of all the plants in the balcony garden. Photo: Emily Clark Waterson
Due to the lower light conditions, the tomatoes grew a little spindly, but still produced. Photo: Emily Clark Waterson
Tomato harvest with more on the way! Photo: Emily Clark Waterson
Challenges
Every gardener knows there is always something to learn from. Here are some challenges I faced:
Every gardener knows there is always something to learn from. Here are a couple of challenges I faced:
Cats – We love our cute kitties, who we rescued from a sewer drain at 4 weeks old, but cats and potted plants are a tough combination. Living in 900 square feet, it was important stimulation for them to explore the balcony and get some outside time in a safe setting where they couldn’t hunt wildlife or get hurt. Link liked to eat radish tops, and Zelda nibbled all the Carex (sedge) in my native plant container. (Yes, Link and Zelda – named by my 2 pre-teen boys who like to play video games.) Any open soil became a convenient litter box, so I learned to keep it blocked or covered. Chopsticks from the occasional takeout became repurposed soil blocking stakes. Any container not large enough or heavy enough had the potential to get knocked over (and many did). We learned to live with the nibbling, and I grew lots of wheat grass for them to keep them from eating MY plants. It didn’t totally work, though.
Heat and watering: Containers dry out much quicker than soil in the ground. I used many watering bulbs or those terra cotta watering spikes with bottles to help keep plants watered on the hottest days of the summer. If you have access to a hose bib, you can invest in a small drip irrigation system set on a timer, which would be more regulated for water hogs like tomatoes.
Plant waste: Where does it go to decompose? I didn’t want to add more waste to the garbage bags we had to haul out to the dumpster, and for environmental purposes, composting is preferred. I ended up using a 5-gallon bucket to collect spent potting mix, leaf clippings, and deadheaded flowers. On occasion, I added old potatoes, moldy fruit, or veggie scraps to balance the greens and browns. They slowly broke down, and if it didn’t get reused, at least it was easier to carry down 3 flights of stairs. My city had a compost collection service that you can sign up for, but unfortunately, they didn’t pick up from the apartment complex.
How it’s going…
Another life change has now brought me back to a yard. Since we are renting for now, I will continue container gardening, but with much more space! [Insert grow bags!] And just in time for our Grow it Eat it Year of Container Gardening! I’m excited about what this growing season will bring!
Thus far, I have overwintered spinach from the balcony garden; how it survived multiple freezes and probably fully frozen potting media, I have no idea, but that’s why plants are so cool! We’ve planted arugula and some mixed salad green seeds that are starting to show signs of life, peas that can climb our porch railing, and plenty of culinary herb transplants from the local garden center. I needed something instant to harvest!
Thai basil transplant and basil seedlings are popping up. April 18, 2026 Photo: Emily Clark Waterson
The sage overwintered but we just added thyme and oregano. Chive seeds were planted in the empty space. April 18, 2026 Photo: Emily Clark Waterson
Overwintered spinach made the move with us and is reviving its growth in the railing box. Arugula seedlings are just starting to come up as well. Date: April 18, 2026 Photo: Emily Clark Waterson
We have a bit more sun now, and the kitties are confined to their screened-in “catio”, so some challenges have been addressed. My native plant container that Zelda liked to lounge in succumbed to heat and lack of watering while on vacation and then the freezing temperatures over the first winter, so I replanted with more drought-tolerant native shade perennials late last fall. Happy to report that they all survived and are returning vigorously! I’ve added a container variety of thornless raspberry, Bushel and Berry® Raspberry Shortcake®, to experiment with and excite our kids. Tomatoes, carrots, Thai peppers, and container-sized cucumber varieties are to come! We’ll see what our yields will bring and what interesting native plants I can add to aid in pollination and beneficial insect populations. Now, to just keep the cats from eating the house plants….
The re-planted native plant container features: Zigzag Goldenrod, Appalachian Sedge, Woodland Stonecrop, Christmas Fern, Alumroot, and a hidden Common Blue Violet.Photo: Emily Clark Waterson
The Appalachian Sedge in bloom! You can see the violet blooming in the background. Photo: Emily Clark Waterson
The new Raspberry Shortcake in the white container (right) and young native woody plants: Red chokeberry(center), and saplings of Spicebush and Redbud(left). Photo: Emily Clark Waterson
Takeaways:
Just because you don’t have a plot of land doesn’t mean you can’t grow something!
Lack of full sun does not equal zero veggies – I had that cherry tomato producing well into late October!
Challenges provide good, thought-provoking scenarios that keep you interested in growing! Don’t give up if a few plants die.
Cost doesn’t have to be a deterrent either – a gallon milk jug with drainage holes and the top cut off worked great for leafy greens.
The last harvest from the balcony on November 10, 2025! Photo: Emily Clark Waterson
Our balcony was on the 3rd floor. The vine is a stowaway Creeping Cucumber that must have traveled with another potted plant and ended up growing down to the 2nd-story balcony! Photo Emily Clark Waterson
Wherever life takes me next, I know my garden will follow. We’ll continue to grow and adapt to our new environment, and no matter what, harvest something we can eat!
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.
Here are some photos of spring crops growing in containers:
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.
Baby, it’s cold outside. Console your green thumb by tackling some February garden projects.
Veggie Planning
Grab a sketch pad or some graph paper and plan your vegetable and flower beds. You can work out crop rotation, placement and successive crops without getting your hands dirty.
Beginning gardeners – and those that want a refresher – might appreciate this reference from our Seed to Supper webpages that take you from seed to harvest (hence the name!) Guides are also available in Spanish! ¡Las guías también están disponibles en español!
Weeding
Okay, if you want to get your hands a little dirty, pull a few weeds. Winter weeds pop up here and there and many can be vanquished with a quick dig or tug in our soggy soil.
Here’s a nice reference for weed ID and management:
Common groundsel is a winter annual weed you can manage now by pulling or digging. Photo credit: Betty Marose
Garden Bones
While you’re scouting for weeds, look at your garden’s basic structure – its bones. Without the distraction of leaves, it’s easier to identify areas that could use an arbor, trellis or hardscaping.
You’ll probably spy opportunities to liven up your winter landscape, too. How about a sweep of native grasses, a winterberry pop of red, or bright yellow and oh-so-fragrant wintersweet?
Carry a notepad to capture all your ideas. Wouldn’t a big container make a marvelous focal point there? And that downspout is crying out for a rain barrel, isn’t it?
January to mid-March is prime time for pruning most trees and shrubs. Make sharp cuts at an angle. Remove no more than a third of the plant. And step back often to avoid overdoing it. Here’s a good pruning guide.
February also marks the season for grapevine pruning. My collection of grapevine wreaths from trimmings ranges from petite 3-inch rings to 2-foot whoppers.
Starting Seeds
Get a jump on spring by starting some plants from seed under grow lights. Now is a good time to start peppers, onions, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts.
Growing plants from seeds gives you more choices for plant varieties, organic growing options, and the satisfaction of growing your own food from start to finish. Plus, you can save money. Learn how on our Staring Seeds Indoors page.
I enjoy the glow of a friend’s grow lights as I drive by her home each winter. I can see the tidy rows of sprouts in my mind regardless of the amount of ice and snow piled around me.
Starting seeds indoors jump-starts your growing season. Photo credit: Home & Garden Information Center
Ice and Snow Damage
Deal with that ice and snow gently. To remove snow from tree branches without damage, brush up, not down. If ice coats the branches, let it melt naturally.
Should winter’s worst snap off a branch of a tree, make a clean cut now or in early spring. Clean cuts heal faster. Call on an arborist for jobs too big to tackle on your own.
Make a clean cut on winter-damaged branches to minimize health impacts. Photo credit: Home & Garden Information Center
Feeding Birds
Wintertime can be a tough time for birds, too. To ensure their springtime birdsong and bug-eating services, keep their feeders clean and well-stocked.
Tool Maintenance
Are you looking sharp? How about your tools? If you didn’t sharpen your garden tools in the fall, do it now to have them ready for spring. Here’s a reference that includes tool care tips.
See? I told you there were a dozen different ways to keep your green thumb happy this winter. Grab some graph paper, seed catalogs, notepad and pruners and get going!
By Annette Cormany, Principal Agent Associate and Master Gardener Coordinator, Washington County, University of Maryland Extension. Read more by Annette.
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.
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.
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.
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.
By Erica Smith, Montgomery County Master Gardener. Read more posts by Erica.
Food gardeners are an important part of any local food system. In Achieving Sustainability through Local Food Systems in the United States (PDF) (2013), agricultural economists Dale Johnson and James Hanson, Ph.D. state: “By far the greatest, but often overlooked, local food source in the United States is gardening.”
About 35% of Maryland households are doing some type of food gardening and have lots of important questions: What’s this worm eating my kale? How do I improve my soil and test it for lead? How do I start a school garden? Where can I take a vegetable gardening class?
Since 2009 many residents and communities have received science-based food gardening answers and help from Grow It Eat It (GIEI)– one of the six major sub-programs of the University of Maryland Extension (UME) Master Gardener Program that teaches and promotes home, school, and community food gardening. This article serves to introduce this amazing program and some of its successes. I plan to write a second article later this year on some of the exciting 2023 GIEI projects from around the state.
What is GIEI?
Grow It Eat It was developed late in 2008 by UME staff, faculty, and volunteers in response to the Great Recession. Many people were already interested in trying their hand at food gardening as a way to eat more fresh produce and connect with nature. The economic collapse forced folks to find ways to reduce household expenses.
The main GIEI objective has been to increase local food production by combining the power of grassroots education and technical assistance delivered by field faculty and Master Gardeners, with UME’s digital gardening resources. Master Gardeners (MGs) have taught hundreds of classes, developed demonstration gardens, and helped thousands of individuals and groups start food gardens and learn and use best practices. Residents can learn about GIEI classes and events by visiting their local Extension web pages and connecting on social media. MGs also help residents solve food gardening problems at Ask a MG Plant Clinics around the state. The Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC) supports GIEI by training MGs, creating and maintaining digital resources, and answering food gardening questions through the Ask Extension service.
GIEI intersects and collaborates with other MG sub-programs– Bay-Wise Landscaping, Ask a MG Plant Clinic, Composting, and Pollinators– and with UME’s nutrition, natural resources, youth development, and urban ag programs. This helps the program address four of the five Strategic Initiatives guiding the College of Ag & Natural Resources.
As the faculty lead, I have loved every minute spent working with UME faculty, staff, and volunteers to shape, improve and expand the program. Master Gardener Coordinators and Volunteers decide how to best shape GIEI to meet local needs. The State MG Office organizes regular GIEI statewide planning/sharing meetings and continuing education classes, and provides seeds, teaching, and marketing materials. MGs responded to the pandemic by moving GIEI classes online. GIEI projects and activities steadily increased in 2021 and 2022 and should surpass pre-COVID levels in 2023.
75K seed packets have been distributed to residents to promote food gardening and the UME MG Program. Sunflower and bean seeds in 2023!
In this edition of Beyond Broccoli (see parts one, two and three for background) we’re going to start exploring some specific species and subspecies (varieties, groups, etc.) within the genus Brassica. Rather than address each species systematically, I’ve decided on an approach based on the plant parts we usually consume. Never fear, I will inform you when introducing each plant how they fit into the genus.
So let’s start at the bottom, with root vegetables.
