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Starting seeds indoors is one of the most satisfying parts of gardening. It gives you a head start on the season, lets you grow varieties you can’t find in nurseries, and ensures stronger, earlier harvests. After more than 30 years of year-round gardening in Sonoma Valley—and starting thousands of seedlings—I’ve honed a simple, reliable method…
Sow spinach seeds in the garden as soon as the ground is workable in spring. If you wait, warm weather and long days will trigger seed stalk formation and the leaves will become bitter tasting. Spinach seeds will germinate in cool soil. Days at 60°F (16°C) and nights as low as 40°F (4°C) are warm…
Arugula is a cool-season crop. It can be grown in early spring and in fall. Sow arugula seeds directly in the garden 2 to 4 weeks before the last frost in spring or as soon as the soil is workable. To set out transplants start seeds indoors 4 to 5 weeks before transplanting. Set transplants…
Leeks are a cool- and cold-season crop. There are two types of leeks: short-season leeks and long-season leeks. Long-season leeks have thick, cylindrical stems–and keep long, and short-season leeks that have a thinner stem and don’t keep as well as long-season leeks. Short-season leeks mature in as few as 70 days. Long-season leeks mature in…
Kale is a hardy cool-weather crop. It can be grown in early spring and in mid to late autumn. Kale tastes especially good after it has been touched by frost. Sow kale seeds in the garden 4 to 6 weeks before the last frost. Start transplants 6 to 8 weeks before setting out in the…
Chard—Swiss chard—is a cool and warm-season crop. It will tolerate frost and keep growing in summer. The optimum soil temperature for germination is 50° to 8°5F (10°-29°C). Direct—seeding is the most common way to start chard. Sow seed in the garden 2 to 4 weeks before the last average frost date in spring. To get…
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