Transplant Sale: From Our Home To Yours
Photo by Chelsea Dimyan, Chelsea Photography and Design
Have a porch? Got some extra buckets? Need to spruce up that front yard corner?
No better way to do it than with some Spade & Plow organic produce.
Come and grow along with us this year! We’ll start ‘em off and pass ‘em on to you.
First one to harvest a tomato wins (winner gets a tomato, of course)!
Transplant Order and Pick-up Information
Pre-order your transplants and soil from March 8th-April 21st
Pick up sites:
4/24 at the Cabrillo College Farmers Market
4/25 at the Mountain View Farmers Market
4/25 at Spade & Plow’s new home in Gilroy!
Last Year’s Transplant Bounty from happy, home gardens of Spade & Plow’s customers.
Why have my own garden?
1) Flavor Flavor Flavor. Once you try it home-grown, you’ll never want store-bought again.
2) Freshness. From garden to kitchen within minutes, your produce will never be fresher.
3) Exercise. Gardening can be a great exercise! Why not invite a friend over, knock out some weeding, and harvest some produce together? Then you’ll get your groceries, fun, and burn off some heat all within the same afternoon.
4) Waste less, save more. You’re less likely to waste when you pick just the amount you need. Anything that over ripens can be composted right back into your soil. Not to mention, one plant can product multiple commodities for the price of one!
Some suggestions on space and supplies
You don’t need anything fancy to grow plants. Truly any container that has at least 8-10 inches of depth, can get wet, and has holes to drain at the bottom will do. If you want to make your own containers, make sure you don’t use treated wood since some of the chemicals could affect your soil quality. Metal and plastic containers work too, though you should be mindful of how hot your soil gets inside metal. Most plants just need 6-12 inches between them, so in a 4x4 square box, you could fit 16-32 plants!
The other main ingredient you’ll need to grow quality veggies is good soil. If you want to go organic (which we’ll always recommend), consider pre-ordering your soil and compost from us at the transplant sale! Spade and Plow soil is certified organic and has a healthy amount of perlite to promote good drainage. One bag from us contains 2 cubic feet of soil (enough for 2 tomatoes or 4 peppers!)
Tips on growin’ what you’re gettin’
Along with organic soil, we’ll be selling a fun variety of plants for both new and experienced gardeners to try. This year’s choices include 4 heirloom tomato varieties, 6 hot and sweet pepper varieties, basil, chamomile, and a couple of our favorite cut flowers. We’ve put together some general dos and don’ts for you to grow happy and healthy plants:
CHAMOMILE
-Plant your chamomile in full sun, 6 inches apart.
-Harvest often to increase the number of blooms you get.
-Let soil dry out in between waterings. Over fertilizing or over watering can harm the plant.
-Harvest when petals are 75% open. To dry, hang upside
down for 5-7 days and store in a cool, dark place
-These are cool weather plants so will die out when it gets to the warmest summer days. Leave on the final blooms and they will naturally self seed for the fall.
BASIL
-Basil prefers moist soil and full sun so make sure it gets watered frequently and put outside (or in the sunniest corner of your home!)
-A great companion plant for tomatoes. If you plant these next to each other in the garden, they will provide good nutrients for the other.
-For a bushier plant, continually pinch your basil (after 6 leaves, prune above the second set)
-Plant 6 inches apart.
HEIRLOOM TOMATOES
-Prune heirlooms often. Snip off the flowers until the plant is big enough to support fruit.
-Give at least 1 foot of space between plants and wait to plant outside until nighttime temperatures remain above 50.
-Keep foliage dry when watering; best to water solely at the roots.
-Stake plants or put in cages to help support once big enough
-Transplant deep into the soil so that the soil line is about 2-3 inches below the first set of leaves.
MARIGOLDS
-These love the hot weather so make sure to plant once evening temperatures are consistently above 50 degrees.
-Space 12 inches apart because their roots grow very strong and wide.
-For longer stems, pinch plants when they are 8 inches tall (snip off back to the 2nd set of true leaves).
-Do not fertilize during growth or you’ll get lots of foliage and not many flower
-Great for drying or using in fresh tea!
PEPPERS
-Plant 6 inches apart and once soil temperatures are about 70 degrees.
-Transplant outside on a cloudy day or in the evening to reduce shock.
-To reduce disease, grow peppers in an area where peppers (or tomatoes/eggplants) have NOT been grown in the last 3 years.
-Remove the first 1-2 flowers to promote growth before growing fruit.
Yellow Zinnias
-Plant 12 inches apart, just like the tomatoes and marigolds
-Cut flowers once they are completely open for the longest vase life (and change vase water frequently!)
-Once plants reach 8-12 inches tall, pinch back to the first set of leaves to increase stem length
-Frost sensitive; keep out of the refrigerator and expect them to die once the first frost hits
-Regular deadheading and harvesting keeps the blooms coming for 2+ months