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As May arrives,
so does the time to plant your summer vegetable garden. Rich soil and
a sunny site are all that’s needed for summer and winter squash,
cucumbers, melons, corn, and pumpkins. Gardeners with limited space can
plant compact bush varieties with shorter vines. Trellising cucumbers,
small melons, and small pumpkins, will help protect them from snails and
slugs. Fashion slings from old nylons or bird netting to support the ripening
melons. Cucumbers grown this way will also be nice and straight! Just
a few of the Certified Organic summer starts that are lining our vegetable
shelves are:
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Suyo
Long – Sweet flavored and resistant to powdery mildew. A
variety from China just right for our climate. Burpless and not bitter.
Grows to 15" long. Good trellis candidate. |
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Tasty
Green – English type. Thin-skinned, mild, and burpless. A
dark green cucumber which produces well. Another trellis possibility. |
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Boothby’s Blonde – A mild, juicy, and sweet flavor
are traits of this heirloom cucumber from Maine. Oval, plump fruits
are a striking yellow with dark spines. Also possible to trellis.
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SQUASH |
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Costata Romanesco – Italian variety with a nutty, sweet
flavor. Not as productive as hybrids, although does supply abundant
male blossoms for stuffing. |
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Yellow
Crookneck – A sweet, buttery flavor and high yields make
this a favorite. Harvest fruit at less than 6 inches long for best
flavor. |
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Ronde
de Nice – This round, early-maturing squash (45 days) is
quite popular in Italy and France. A good home-garden variety because
the fruits bruise easily, making it hard to find in the market. A
space-saver variety. |
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MELONS |
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Jenny Lind – Sweet and juicy, these heirloom one to two
pound melons take only 70 days to mature. Diameter is 5-6" at
maturity. Good candidate for a trellis. |
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Sugar Baby Watermelon – Firm and sweet with few seeds,
this 8 to 10 pound watermelon grows on short vines, a good candidate
for small spaces. |
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PUMPKINS |
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Rocket – Dark orange pumpkin weighing 12-20 pounds. Best
large-sized pumpkin for Berkeley/Oakland climate. Just right for carving.
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Jack-Be-Little
– A great little bright orange pumpkin. Perfect size for crafts
and fall table arrangements. Kids love them too! Deeply ribbed, two
to three inches long and two inches tall, these fit in the palm of
your hand. Each plant can produce an average of 8 to 10 pumpkins.
Can also be grown in a large container. |
–Barbara
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