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Ready to start planting? We'll have these seed packets available for delivery starting March 14th through mid-April.

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Planning Your Garden

When planning your garden, sunlight, space, and ease of harvesting determine where your crops grow. The varieties of vegetables, flowers, and herbs we have selected for these bundles will do best in full sun. However, most will tolerate some shade, and herbs generally can tolerate more shade than other plants. Make sure that taller plants are not blocking shorter plants; planting sunflowers further away from shorter plants or closer to a building can help prevent them from shading out other plants.

Spacing out plants properly will allow them to reach their full potential. Specific spacing recommendations are included in the growing information for each variety. Organizing your garden into “beds” can help ensure that all plants are accessible and easy to harvest from. Beds 3-4' wide or narrower with walking access on both sides are recommended. Narrower beds or incorporating walking paths into beds can accommodate spaces without access on both sides.

Materials:

• Potting soil
• Compost, composted manure, or other organic fertilizer
• Pots or trays – you can save milk cartons, sour cream containers, or berry containers to plant seeds into! Otherwise, many hardware stores will have pots or trays. Make sure your containers have holes in the bottom for drainage, and add some if they do not already have them.
• Tape or popsicle sticks to label your planting containers
• Sunny warm spot – a warm window sill or on top of a radiator near a light is a great location. If you want to supplement your natural light and heat, use a lamp that is at least 2000-3000 lumens or a heating pad, which are available at most hardware stores.
• Containers (if you plan to plant into containers) - select large pots, buckets with added drainage holes, or large raised bed containers. Make sure containers have drainage on the bottom to prevent root rot.

The last frost for the Twin Cities metro is predicted to be around April 30^th in 2023. We recommend planting out your seedlings or direct seeding your seeds in the first weeks of May. If you are starting your seeds indoors, this means you will need to start your seeds in March or April depending on the crop. If you live further north, please check your local almanac for more accurate dates.

How to Start your Seedlings:

1. Mix some water into your potting soil, either in the bag or in a bucket. You want your soil to be damp all the way through, but not soaking wet.
2. Fill your pots or trays with soil. You do not need to pack the soil into the cells too tightly, but make sure you are filling them firmly enough that there are no air pockets.
3. Poke a hole with your finger to the desired planting depth and drop your seeds in.
4. Add soil to the pot or tray to cover the holes.
5. Label your pots or trays so you know what you planted.
6. Water your seeds in gently – using a watering can or shower setting on a faucet is a great way to do this. Water your seeds slowly to ensure they do not get moved around by too much water.
7. Put your seeds in a sunny, warm location and check on them regularly! Seeds are especially sensitive in the early stages of germination (breaking through the soil). Until the seeds germinate, it’s important that the seeds are warm more than getting light. This could be in a location that gets lots of sun, on top of a refrigerator or even a radiator.
   Check on your seeds daily and water whenever the soil starts drying out. Germination can take a few days or weeks, and the soil must stay damp during this time. Usually, light daily watering is required in the first few weeks of growth.

Planting your Seedlings Outdoors:

1. Hardening off seedlings: An important step in preparing your seedlings for transplanting outdoors is hardening off. Hardening off is the process of allowing your seedlings to adapt to the harsher temperatures and weather conditions of the outdoors. Seedlings that are not hardened off may develop “transplant shock” and wilt when they are taken suddenly from a stable indoor climate to a variable outdoor one.
   1. 1-2 weeks before you plan to plant your seedlings outdoors, take your seedlings outside and leave them in a shady area. Leave them here for a few hours and then bring them back inside. Make sure temperatures are at least 50 F before hardening off seedlings.
   2. Every day for the next week or two, leave them outside for a longer period of time than the day before, slowly increasing the amount of sunlight they receive. Leave them outside overnight for the last few days before you transplant them. Make sure they are well-watered so they do not dry out in the sun.
2. Prepare your soil or containers: When it is warm enough to work the soil in your desired planting area, use a spade or tiller to turn up the top 6-8 inches of soil. Remove plant material from the top of the soil, break apart chunks of soil, and rake the surface of the soil level. You can add compost or an organic fertilizer to your soil. Many cities have free compost distribution days – check your municipal website to see if there are any near you this spring! If you are planting into containers, use a layer of some more sturdy organic material at the bottom of the container, like branches. Fill in the rest of the container with potting mix.
3. Water your seedlings well an hour or so before you plan to plant them out. Think about the recommended spacing between plants for each type of seedling and begin to plan where each plant will go.
4. After you have decided where your seedlings will go, create a small hole that will fit the “root ball” of the seedling. Place the seedling in the hole and firmly cover the entirely of the root ball – there should be no potting soil exposed. You do not need to tamp them too firmly, just make sure they will be securely covered.
5. Water your seedlings well after you have them all planted in your garden. Keep an eye on them as they grow. In drier parts of the summer, you may need to water them every few days.
6. Tomatoes need a trellis or cage to support them as they grow. You should place posts, stakes, or a cage near your plants right after you plant them. If you are using posts or stakes, tie or clip your tomatoes to the support as they grow. Tomato cages typically do not require clipping or tying.
7. Harvest your vegetables, flowers, and herbs as they mature. Enjoy your bounty!

Vegetable Seed Details & Growing Instructions

• Cherry tomatoes - Sweetie cherry tomato
  Super sweet cherry tomato that produces early and prolifically throughout the season. Perfect for eating right off the vine or canning.
• Midsize tomatoes – Rose de Berne tomato
  A medium sized-tomato with great flavor that is an excellent slicer or sauce tomato. Fruits earlier into the year than other varieties and produces consistently throughout the growing season.
• Scallions – Parade bunching onion
  Dark green and sturdy bunching onions with a pleasant, mild flavor and vigorous growth. Great in salads, stir fry’s or savory baked goods!
• Cucumbers – Green Finger cucumber
  Cucumber variety known for exceptional quality and yield. Thin skin, crisp flesh, and a small seed cavity make this slicer a winner. Excellent on salads or on sandwiches!
• Summer squash – Benning’s Green Tint summer squash
  Round, patty-pan style squash that varies from the varieties our farmers grow. Prolific plants produce tasty fruits that mature from pale green to white. Taste great stuffed or sauteed!
• Kale – Lacinato kale
  Plants produce large, flat leaves of a dark green color that vary from what our farmers already grow. Very cold tolerant, keep harvesting into the fall!
• Peppers - King of the North pepper
  Pepper variety known for its ability produce many sturdy red peppers even in short, cool growing seasons. Perfect for Minnesota growing!

Vegetable Planting Instructions:

Tomatoes: The tomato varieties in this pack are both indeterminate, meaning that they will continue to produce fruit throughout the growing season, unlike determinate tomatoes that have a shorter window of production. These tomatoes will require staking or trellising; recommended ways of supporting these tomatoes are large stakes, a tomato cage, or making a triangle out of bamboo stakes, all of which can be found at a local hardware store. Plant the seeds into seed trays or pots at a depth of ¼-1/8”, 6-8 weeks before the last frost. Giving tomatoes a head start indoors will help maximize the relatively-short growing season we have here in Minnesota. When planting tomatoes in your garden, place your plants 24-36” apart. Place your stakes or tomato cages right after planting your plants and clip or tie them to stakes as they grow.

Scallions: Scallions can be planted directly onto tilled soil as soon as the soil can be worked. Plant them ¼-½” deep in thin rows that are 12-18" apart. Harvest them when they have reached a desirable size. If needed, you can thin rows to allow scallions to grow larger.

Cucumbers: Start your cucumber seeds indoors 3-4 weeks before the danger of frost has passed. You can plant your seeds ½" deep. When planting outdoors, plant plants 12-24" apart, and in rows 5-6' apart. Cucumbers can also be planted directly into the soil when the danger of frost has passed.

Summer Squash: Summer squash can be started indoors 3-4 weeks before the danger of frost has passed. Plant these seeds ½-1” deep. Place transplants 12-24" apart in rows 5-6' apart. Summer squash can also be direct seeded outdoors after the danger of frost has passed.

Kale: Start your kale seeds indoors 4 weeks before the danger of frost has passed. You can plant them ¼-½” deep. Space plants to 18-30" if you wish to harvest large leaves of kale. if you want to grow baby kale, seed them in 2-4" bands, around 60 seeds/2 ft. Kale sweetens after frost, so you can keep harvesting your kale into the fall! If you are harvesting large leaves of kale, take the older leaves from the bottom or middle of the stalk when you harvest, and allow the small leaves at the top of the plant to keep growing.

Herb Seed Details & Growing Instructions

• Cilantro – Caribe cilantro
  Dense, dark blooms that are very heat-resistant, offering great flavor and a long harvest window.
• Basil – Rutgers Obsession basil
  Fragrant plants that are vigorous and heat-resistant, with a longer harvest window than other varieties.
• Parsley – Grune Perle parsley
  Curled parsley that produces vigorously, a different variety than you will find in our produce shares this season.
• Dill – Bouquet dill
  Versatile dill that produces quickly and offers flavorful greens for eating as well as flowers for pickling.
• Thyme
  Low-growing thyme that makes an excellent border plant or cooking herb. Can be perennial if moved indoors over the winter.

Herb Planting Instructions:

Basil: Sow seeds directly in the soil once the danger of frost has passed. Plant seeds ¼” deep, 2-3 seeds per inch, in rows 18” apart. Basil can also be transplanted, plant indoors 6 weeks before the danger of frost has passed and then plant outdoors 4-8" apart in rows 18” apart.

Cilantro: Cilantro seeds can be planted directly into the soil in the early spring through late summer. Sow ¼-½” deep, ¼-½” apart, in rows at least 3” apart. Harvest leaves as they grow. Cilantro often does best if it is planted in successions; plant every few weeks for a season-long supply of cilantro.

Dill: Sow seeds directly into the soil as soon as it can be worked. Sow seeds 1/8-¼" deep, ¼-½" away from each other, and in rows at least 3” apart. You can plant dill every 3 weeks for continuous successions. This variety produces flowers for pickling as well as foliage for eating.

Parsley: Parsley can be planted directly into the soil, but it planting seeds indoors and then transplanting them outside is recommended, as seeds can take up to 3 weeks to germinate. Seeds or transplants can be planted outdoors after the danger of frost has passed. Plant transplants 8-12" apart. Seeds can be direct sown ¼-½" deep in rows 3 seeds per inch. Plants can be thinned to 8-12" apart.

Thyme: Plant seeds indoors 8-10 weeks before the last frost. Place seeds on the top of potting soil or soil medium and cover in a very thin layer of vermiculite or growing medium. Make sure that growing medium stays moist while germinating. Transplant outdoors 6-8" apart in rows 8-12" apart. You can pinch off the growing ends of plants to encourage bushier growth.

Flower Seed Details & Growing Instructions

• Large sunflowers
  Evening Colors blend sunflower. Warm, dusty flowers provide a long season of color and ample cut flowers.
• Zinnias – Red Scarlet zinnia
  Bold, high quality red blooms that make excellent cut flowers.
• Cosmos – Sensation blend
  An easy to grow blend of brilliant white, pink, magenta, and lavender blooms.
• Nasturtiums – nasturtium blend
  Edible orange, red, and yellow blooms are low-growing with round, green leaves.
• Calendula – Pacific Beauty calendula
  Edible blooms of orange, yellow, and cream also make excellent cut flowers. Can be harvested continuously throughout the season.
• Bachelor Buttons – Polka Dot bachelor button
  Edible blooms in shades of blue, pink, white, and lavender that also make great cut flowers. These will reseed and grow back in following seasons.

Flower Planting Instructions:

Sunflowers: After last frost, plant seeds directly into the soil ½" deep. Plants should be 18-24" apart. Sunflowers can be planted every 2-3 weeks for continuous harvest. For cut flowers, harvest when the petals are just beginning to unfurl.

Zinnias: Transplanting is recommended, but zinnias can be direct seeded as well. Plant into pots or trays 4 weeks before the last frost. Sow seeds ¼" deep and plant 9-12" apart in your garden. Make sure germinating seeds are in a warm area, as temperatures of 70-75 F will allow for best results. Also make sure to not disturb or break apart the root ball of seedlings when planting into your garden, as zinnias are sensitive to root disturbances. You can plant zinnias every two weeks for continuous blooms if you plan on using them for cut flowers.

Cosmos: Plant seeds indoors 5-7 weeks before the last frost. Seeds can also be planted outdoors after the danger of frost has passed. Cover seeds lightly in soil. Plants should be spaced 9-12" apart. Cosmos are sensitive to daylength, so if seeds are planted directly into the soil they may not truly take off until there is less than 14 hours of sunlight. For cut flowers, harvest cosmos when the petals on the first flower are just beginning to open. The plant will branch below the cut and produce many more blooms.

Nasturtiums: Nasturtiums are slow to germinate, and we recommend that you start them 4-5 weeks before the last frost. Seeds should be planted ½-1” deep. Plant two seeds into each cell or pot and cover with a paper bag or fabric as nasturtiums require darkness to germinate. Once the seedlings have emerged from the soil, you can thin each cell or pot to 1 plant. The dwarf jewel blend is a low-growing, trailing plant great for borders and containers. The flowers and foliage of this plant are edible, and lend a delightful peppery taste to dishes.

Calendula: Direct seeding is recommended. Plant calendula seeds ¼" deep outside two weeks the last frost, or start them indoors 4-5 weeks before the last frost and plant outside when all danger of frost is passed. You can plant them 2-3 times in a season 2-3 weeks apart for a longer harvesting window. Calendula petals are edible, though they have a bitter flavor. They make a lovely decoration for cakes and can liven up a salad or provide a bright garnish. Flowers can be harvested when they are fully open.

Bachelors Buttons: Plant seeds indoors 4-6 weeks before the last frost or direct sow once the danger of frost is passed. Seeds should be planted ¼" deep and covered very lightly in soil, with special attention paid to keeping the soil moist during germination. Space plants 2-9" apart. These can be harvested as a cut flower when the blooms are half to a quarter open. The flowers are also edible and make a delightful garnish or decoration in dishes.