Tomatoes are one of the most rewarding crops to grow, but without proper support, they can quickly become a mess. A good tomato trellis not only keeps plants off the ground but also improves airflow, reduces disease risk, and makes harvesting easier. In this guide, we’ll cover 5 easy trellis ideas for tomatoes, so you can choose the one that fits your garden.

DIY Tomato Trellis Ideas for ANY Garden

There are so many ways to support and trellis tomato plants, and I have tried many of them. There are only a handful that I keep coming to because they’re so good.

And most of the tomato varieties that we grow in our gardens need to be supported.

That’s why we need a good strong trellis to increase our yields and give us more tomatoes.

That being said, let’s get right into the 5 easy tomato trellis ideas for any garden.

Products:

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Natural biodegradable jute twine

Tomato trellis clips

Benefits of Trellising Tomatoes

There are many benefits to trellising tomatoes:

• Prevents Diseases: When the leaves, stems, and fruit of tomato plants touch the ground, diseases can easily spread, like powdery mildew. If you keep the plants off the ground, it will greatly reduce the chances of diseases spreading.
• Increases Airflow: Again, if there is more airflow around your plants, there’ll be less chance for disease to spread. By keeping the plants upright and separated, air can easily flow through the leaves and stems.
• Encourages Growth: Instead of directing all the plant’s energy into sprawling, it will be put into vertical growth and fruit production. This gives you a larger harvest.
• Easy Harvesting: Trellised tomatoes are more accessible and easier to harvest. This means you won’t have to break your back or spend time digging around to find all the fruits.
• Maximizes Space: When you let the plants grow horizontally on the ground, they take up much more space. Growing tomatoes vertically allows you to fit more plants in the same space, giving you more fruit.

Understanding Determinate Tomato Varieties

Determinate tomato varieties are tomatoes that grow to a set height. They can’t grow any taller than about 3 or 4 feet, no matter how long your growing season is.

This also means that they only produce a certain amount of fruit.

Determinate tomatoes typically grow bushier that indeterminates, so their trellising requirements are different. They don’t need as much trellis space, because they don’t grow too much vertically.

Understanding Indeterminate Tomato Varieties

On the other hand, indeterminate tomatoes are tomatoes that will basically grow forever until your first frost in the fall.

Most indeterminate tomatoes will grow to over 7 feet tall. The tallest one I ever grew was over 20 feet, which is just crazy. But once the frost hits, all production will stop and the plants will die.

These varieties require an extensive trellis that can support the weight of the plants and fruits.

Learn more: How to Grow Tomatoes from Seed

Which Tomatoes Need to be Trellised?

Well the short answer is all tomato varieties.

Both determinate and indeterminate tomato varieties need to be trellised in some way to grow properly. However, it may look different and provide different support for each variety.

Because indeterminate tomatoes grow very tall, your trellis for these will have to be taller and vertical in nature.

Since determinates grow more like a bush, the trellis will be much shorter. But it will be aimed at providing support for all the lateral branches.

1. Florida Weave

The first trellis on our list is the Florida weave. I’m not sure if it has anything to do with Florida, but that’s what it’s called.

This method can be used for both indeterminate and determinate tomatoes. It’s also ideal if you have many tomato plants in one row and they all have to be trellised.

All the plants can be trellised using this method and it will basically turn into one big tomato fence.

Here’s how to set it up:

• Get a few sturdy stakes, either wood, metal, bamboo, or T-posts. I like using T-posts because they have those little nubs on them to let the string rest on.
• Drive the stakes into the ground every 4-5 plants. So if you’re growing 20 plants in a row, you’ll only need 5 stakes. One goes before the first plant, and then every 4-5 plants after that.
• Tie twine to the first stake and weave it in and out of every plant. By “in and out” I mean to put the string in front on the first plant, then behind the second plant, then in front of the third plant, and so on.
• Once you reach the next stake, turn it back around and do the opposite of the “in and out” that you just did.
• Make sure the twine is on either side of the tomato plant stem, which ensures that they won’t move.
• As the plants grow, keep adding the twine every 8-10 inches to support the weight.

Some of the pros of this method is that it’s ideal for large-scale plantings and really keeps the plants upright and contained.

On the other hand, one of the biggest cons is that it just uses so much string to tie the plants. You really can’t avoid this, but there is something you can do to improve it.

And that’s to use a natural twine, like this biodegradable jute twine. If you use this, then when you compost your plants at the end of the season, then you won’t have to take the string out. Basically, you can just compost everything, except for the stakes.

2. Tomato Cage

The tomato cage is the best method to use for individual determinate tomato plants. And it’s also good if you’re a beginner and just want something that works well.

I wouldn’t use a tomato cage for indeterminates because they’re usually not tall enough.

Tomato cages are one the most popular trellising methods because they provide support all around the plants.

It’s also better to use this if you only have a handful of tomato plants that you want to support. You probably wouldn’t buy 30 tomato cages for your whole garden, right?

Here’s how to get started:

• Use a high-quality, heavy-duty metal tomato cage. Make sure it’s at least 3-4 feet tall when it’s in the ground.
• Place the cage on top of each plant and secure it in the ground to prevent it from tipping.
• Then just guide the side branches inside the cage as they grow, and you’ll be good to go!

This method works well because it’s very easy to set up and it provides support from all sides.

The only bad things are that they’re usually not tall or strong enough to support indeterminate tomatoes, and it could get expensive if you have a lot of plants.

3. Trellis Netting

The trellis netting method is best for indeterminate tomato plants because it allows them to grow vertically very well.

Here’s how to use it:

• Create a sturdy frame around 4 or 5 plants. Put one wood stake in the ground on either side, and then connect them on the top with another wood stake. Make sure they are fully in the ground.
• Stretch the netting across the wooden frame and secure it with screws, nails, or staples.
• Make sure the net is very tight, or else the plants will slowly weigh it down and it’ll break.
• As the tomatoes grow, weave the stems in and out of the holes in the netting. If you have to, you can also tie them to the net to train them better.

I like this method because it allows for much more airflow and it supports huge tomato plants and fruits.

You might not want to use this one if you don’t like DIY, or if you don’t want to regularly have to train the plants on the trellis.

You can also make this tomato trellis with cattle panel instead of netting. Just make sure to properly secure the metal cattle panel into the wood stakes.

4. Bamboo A-Frame

This tomato trellis with bamboo is probably the simplest DIY method, and it is aesthetically pleasing in the garden. It gives a natural look with the bamboo and the plants growing on it.

It’s best for indeterminate tomatoes, especially if you live in a really cold climate. This is because they probably won’t grow too tall on this trellis, so it’s perfect for the northern gardeners.

Here’s how to set it up:

• Get some bamboo poles or wooden stakes and tie 2 together at the top. This should form an A-frame, or when it looks like the letter “A.”
• You can connect the 2 poles with another piece in the middle going horizontal.
• Make sure to put it at least 1 foot in the soil.
• One plant can grow on either side of the “A.”
• The plants will grow upward and you’ll have to tie them as they grow to keep them supported.

The only reason why I’d use this method is if I want to make my garden look good. Or else, other trellising methods are much better for vertical growth and airflow.

Be careful with the bamboo A-frame if it gets really windy. It’s not the strongest or sturdiest, so it could get blown over in the wind or a storm.

5. Single-Stem Staking

This method is best for indeterminate tomatoes, especially if you only have a few plants.

The only consideration is that you’ll have to prune the plants to one single growing stem; you can’t let any suckers grow because they can’t be supported.

Here’s how to get started:

• Use a stake that’s at least 7-8 feet tall. The plants grow tall, so you’ll need a tall stake.
• Hammer the stake right next to your tomato seedling, giving a few inches of space from the stem. Hammer the stake at least 1 foot into the ground.
• As the plant grows vertically, you’ll have to tie it to the stake with a clip or soft twine. Tie the knot right above a leaf, so the string can’t slide down.
• Make sure it’s not too tight because the stem will increase in diameter as the plant gets older.
• Continue tying the plant every 8-10 inches to support the weight.

The best things about this method is that it’s easy, cheap, and great for small gardens.

The only thing I have against it is that it can’t support bushy growth. I like leaving at least 2-3 suckers on each tomato plant, and I can’t do that with the single-stem staking method.

So I would only use this method if you have only a few plants, or if there’s a random tomato in your garden somewhere. Like if you’re using a container, or for tomatoes that you just had to plant to fill in the space.

Which Tomato Trellis is Right for You?

Choosing the best trellis for your garden depends on the size of your garden, the type of tomato you’re growing, and your garden preferences.

• For determinate tomatoes: Florida weave and tomato cages are the best options.
• For indeterminate tomatoes: Trellis netting and Florida weave work the best.
• For small gardens: Single-stem staking and tomato cages give the most support with the least space.
• For aesthetic gardens: Bamboo A-frame trellis is easily the best looking one.

But whichever trellis method you choose, providing support will result in healthier plants and bigger harvests.

How Tall Should a Tomato Trellis Be?

The height of your trellis depends on the variety of tomato you’re growing.

For determinate tomatoes, you only need about 3-4 feet of vertical trellis space. These plants don’t grow very tall, so a short trellis will support them.

For indeterminate tomatoes, your trellis should be at least 7-8 feet tall. Like I said, they can grow to over 20 feet, so 7-8 is a good starting point.

It’s better to make it too tall than too short, because at least you’ll have room for the entire plant. If the trellis is too short, then you’ll just waste a growing season on a short indeterminate tomato.

Frequently Asked Questions

Even More Gardening Ideas

Here are a few more posts to get the ball rolling in your garden!

• How to Grow Cucumbers from Seed to Harvest
• Planting Bare Root Raspberries in Spring
• Is Window Light Enough for Seedlings?

If you liked this article, make sure to share it with your friends and family members who are also looking to sharpen their gardening skills. Also, consider signing up for our email newsletter; don’t worry, we won’t send you spam, just fresh gardening ideas every week!

If you want to learn more about vegetable gardening, make sure to check out what I’m doing on Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest.

Pin this post for later:

5 Easy Tomato Trellis Ideas for ANY Garden

How to Grow Cucumbers from Seed to Harvest

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9 Warm-Season Vegetables to Grow in Containers

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How to Grow Tomatoes from Seed for Beginners

The Best Fertilizer for Tomatoes to Grow Juicy Fruits

The post 5 Easy Tomato Trellis Ideas for ANY Garden appeared first on The Real Gardener.

Starting seeds indoors is a great way to get a jump on the growing season, but many gardeners wonder: Is window light enough for seedlings? The short answer is probably not, but there are exceptions. In this guide, we’ll break down whether you can successfully grow seedlings using natural light from a window.

Is Window Light Enough for Seedlings?

I recently posted this question in the Northern Ontario Gardening Club Facebook group. And I got over 60 comments, each with their own insights.

I thought that nobody would be using a windowsill to start their seedlings, but I think they outnumbered those who use grow lights.

I got a lot of information from them, so I thank everyone for their responses.

So I’ll cover everything I learned, with my subjective experiences.

That being said, let’s get right into, “is window light enough for seedlings?”

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Adjustable LED grow light stand

How Much Sunlight do Seedlings Need?

To grow quickly and become healthy plants, seedlings need at least 12-14 hours of direct light every day. I normally give them about 14 hours, sometimes a little bit more if they’re lucky.

I turn them on at 6:30 when I wake up, and I turn them off around 8:00-9:00 when I go to sleep.

And make sure that it’s direct light; the light needs to be right on the leaves. It can’t be indirect light.

If you’re using a sunny window to grow seedlings, then the maximum amount of hours you can give them is very little.

Especially during winter and early spring here in Ontario, there isn’t much sunlight going around.

For example, the sun rises here at about 7:20 am, and it sets at about 7:30 pm. So yes, that is 12 hours. But the problem is that unless your house is in a completely open field without any houses or trees, then you’re not getting 12 hours of light.

At the very maximum, you might get 5-6 hours of direct sunlight through your window. Of course, this isn’t terrible, but it’s not ideal.

Why do I Get Leggy Seedlings?

A lot of gardeners who use window light to grow seedlings eventually get leggy seedlings. Leggy seedlings are seedlings that are stretched out way too much, causing the stem to be leggy.

This produces weak and scraggly seedlings that won’t be able to withstand harsh conditions.

The most common cause of leggy seedlings is too little light. So if the seedlings get less than 6-8 hours, then they’ll start to stretch out in search for more light.

Seriously, they try to reach the light by elongating their stems.

This will also happen if the light source is really weak. So if the bulk of your sunlight is in the morning or evening, then it probably isn’t strong enough to support your seedlings’ growth.

The really strong light comes in the afternoon, typically around 12-3 pm. So unless they’re getting this light, then your seedlings will probably stretch out and become leggy.

Why and How You Should Use Grow Lights

Grow lights are the best option when it comes to providing light for your seedlings. They’re much easier to use, you can keep them on for as long as you want, and you can put them as close to your seedlings as you want.

Here’s how to get the most out of your grow lights.

Choosing the Right Grow Light

A grow light is just a light. It’s not some special kind of light that’s only used for plants. So you have to choose between LED, fluorescent, and incandescent.

LED lights are by far the best option. They give the full spectrum of light, they last long, and they’re very intense. The only problem is that they tend to be more expensive.

Fluorescent lights are really popular as well, but they are not as reliable as LEDs. They tend to gradually dim out as they get older, which can become a problem.

A lot of people end up having to replace their fluorescent bulbs every year, just to prevent them from dimming out too much.

LEDs don’t have this problem; they stay fully bright until they burn out completely.

Then you have to decide if you want free-standing lights or a grow light stand.

Personally, I use this grow light stand from Lee Valley. I love the products at Lee Valley because they’re high-quality and long-lasting.

But the free-standing ones might be even better quality. Because you’re paying just for the lights, they’ll be the highest quality that you can get. But then you have to attach them somewhere.

Maybe you can make your own stand, or a lot of people attach them to their ceiling in the basement.

You can check out these free-standing LED grow lights from VIVOSUN.

Getting the Right Distance

To prevent a lot of the problems related to using window light, you need to properly space the grow lights from your seedlings.

If the light source is close enough, then the seedlings won’t have the chance to become leggy. A good distance is about 2-3 inches away from your seedlings.

Remember that grow lights are nothing in comparison to the intensity of the sun. But if you keep them close enough to your plants, then it will mimic sunlight.

Try not to go beyond about 3 inches, as your seedlings will start to stretch out to reach it. I’ve found that the sweet spot is 2 inches.

Keep the Lights on for Long Enough

Like I said before, seedlings need about 12-14 hours of direct light every day. So that’s more than half the day that the lights should be on.

Keeping them on for long enough will also help to prevent leggy seedlings.

If you turn them on after you wake up and turn them off a couple of hours before you go to bed, then you’ll get 12-14 hours (assuming you sleep for 8 hours).

But there are even outlet timers that you can plug your grow lights into. Set the time that you want it to turn on and off and it’ll do it for you.

Best Way to Start Seeds in a Window Sill

If you don’t want to pay the extra dollar and get some grow lights, then it is still possible to use window light. I said possible, not optimal.

A lot of people in the Facebook group said that they use a sunny window for all of their seedlings, so here’s what they said:

• “I have a big sunroom with windows all around”: This is obviously much better. If there are windows all around your seedlings, then they’re naturally going to be exposed to more sunlight. But not everybody has the space or money for a sunroom.
• “I used windows for several years but was only doing 15-20 plants”: This is very common among indoor gardeners. Of course, if you’re only growing 15-20 plants inside, then you’ll have more space to give them more light. If you have a lot of plants, then it’s going to be hard to clear up enough window space.
• “I use a small greenhouse tent”: This is also a clever idea because it helps to concentrate the sunlight and heat in one area. Those small plastic tents are available everywhere and are pretty cheap. This 4 tier mini greenhouse is just under $40, so it’s definitely worth a try.
• “I use grow lights, especially for my peppers”: So this is hinting at the idea that seedlings need a lot of light, especially peppers in this case. Make sure to give them enough sunlight from a very sunny window.
• “I play merino 2x a day to keep them growing in the right direction”: This is a somewhat funny comment but it is true. You’re going to have to constantly turn the trays to keep the seedlings growing upright. And if one window doesn’t get enough light, then you’ll have to move them around your house to keep up with the sun.
• “I don’t have any south facing windows that aren’t blocked by trees”: This person obviously has a problem with trees blocking their south-facing windows. Make sure you choose a window that isn’t obstructed by trees or other buildings.
• “The warmth does a lot to help them”: This commenter is referring to the warmth provided by the sun. It helps certain vegetables, like peppers, eggplant, and cucumbers, to germinate. These crops need to be between 24 and 29 degrees celsius to germinate quickly.
• “I move them from south facing windows to west facing as the sun moves”: Another commenter who moves their seedlings to different windows throughout the day as the sun moves across the sky. This is by far the best way to do it when using a sunny window. She said, “I count this into my daily physical workout.” So I guess that’s another reason to do it.

Consider these comments and tips if you’re using window light to grow your seedlings.

My Tips for Growing Seedlings With Window Light

Here are a few tips if you still want to use window lighting to grow your seedlings:

• Rotate Your Seedlings: South-facing windows provide the most sunlight throughout the day, but it’s still not enough. To get them growing better, move your seedlings around your house every day as the sun moves across the sky. This gives them access to as much sunlight as possible.
• Use Reflectors: Things like white paper or tin foil can help reflect sunlight towards your seedlings. Prop up sheets of paper or tin foil around your seedlings to direct more light towards them.
• Grow Low-Light Plants: Fruiting plants, like tomatoes, squash, and peppers, need lots of light to grow strong and healthy. Plants like lettuce, arugula, other leafy greens, and some herbs can actually tolerate less light. So plant these if you know for sure that you won’t get enough sunlight through your windows.

Frequently Asked Questions

Even More Gardening Ideas

Here are a few more posts to get the ball rolling in your garden!

• How to Grow Cucumbers from Seed to Harvest
• Planting Bare Root Raspberries in Spring
• Don’t Restart Your Leggy Seedlings. Try THIS First!

If you liked this article, make sure to share it with your friends and family members who are also looking to sharpen their gardening skills. Also, consider signing up for our email newsletter; don’t worry, we won’t send you spam, just fresh gardening ideas every week!

If you want to learn more about vegetable gardening, make sure to check out what I’m doing on Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest.

Pin this post for later:

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Don’t Restart Your Leggy Seedlings. Try THIS First!

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The post Is Window Light Enough for Seedlings? The Truth appeared first on The Real Gardener.

Leggy seedlings are a common problem for gardeners, especially when starting seeds indoors. If your young plants are tall, thin, and weak, they may struggle to develop into strong, productive plants. Luckily, you can actually fix leggy seedlings and prevent the issue in the future. In this guide, we’ll cover why seedlings become leggy, how to correct the problem, and what to do to ensure sturdy plants.

How to Fix Leggy Seedlings

Lots of gardeners get leggy seedlings when they start their vegetables indoors. And they try to fix it by restarting their seedlings.

But the problem is that if you don’t know what’s causing it, then it will just happen again.

So instead of restarting all of your leggy seedlings, I’m going to show you exactly what you can do to fix them and prevent it from happening again.

So let’s get right into how to fix your leggy seedlings!

Products:

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Easy to Grow seed varieties from Burpee, for guaranteed success

Adjustable LED grow light stand

What are Leggy Seedlings?

“Leggy” is an extremely advanced gardening term for a seedling that looks overly stretched out and weak. When the stem is really long compared to the size of the leaves, then it looks like the seedling has long legs.

That’s why we call them leggy.

Leggy seedlings are usually really tall but only have a couple sets of leaves. For example, a 6 inch tall tomato seedling might normally have about 4-5 sets of leaves. If you have leggy tomato seedlings, then they’ll only have about 2 sets of leaves.

To learn more, check out my article on 11 common seedling problems and how to fix them.

Why are Leggy Seedlings Bad?

Leggy seedlings are bad because they’re really weak. When the stem gets so long but there’s only a few leaves, then you know that those plants are not strong.

This becomes a problem when transplanting and they’re exposed to the outdoor conditions. The wind and sunlight will kill your weak seedlings, leaving you with nothing to plant.

Understanding Phototropism

Now, I know, we’re getting a little bit technical, but it’s important!

Phototropism sounds like a complicated word, but it really just refers to the growth of a plant in response to light.

Plant cells are incredibly advanced in their functions and can respond to changes in lighting conditions. You’ll really notice this if you start your seedlings indoors without using grow lights.

Most people who do this usually place the seedlings by a sunny window. Over time, the seedlings will naturally turn towards the sunlight. This suggests that plants can, in some way, detect light.

That’s phototropism: the ability for plants to detect light. Keep that in mind.

What Makes Seedlings Leggy (And How to Fix it)

If you notice that your seedlings are leggy, then don’t worry, there might still be time to save them.

While you can just restart them, this might not be the best option. When you restart all your seedlings, you’re getting rid of at least a couple of weeks of the time you spent.

So don’t jump straight to restarting them, try these tricks instead.

Fix Your Lighting

This is by far the most common cause of leggy seedlings: improper lighting conditions.

For those of you who don’t use grow lights, firstly you should get some LED grow lights. But of course, you don’t have to.

If you’re using a sunny window, then the best thing to do is turn your seedlings every couple of days. Once you first start noticing them leaning towards the light, then you need to turn them 180°.

Don’t wait until the tops of the seedlings have fully bent over like their back is broken. Turn them right at the first sign of leaning.

If you wait too long, then they’ll lean and lean and lean, until they are fully stretched out.

Additionally, the seedlings should be getting 6-8 hours of direct light at the bare minimum. If they get considerably less than this, then they’ll start to get leggy in search of light.

You have more control over this if you’re using grow lights. And you can even leave the grow lights on for 12-14 hours every day (which is what I do), giving them more light to photosynthesize and grow quicker.

But even then, you might still be wondering, “why are my seedlings leggy with a grow light?”

In that case, it usually happens if your lights are too far from your seedlings.

If they’re too far, then the seedlings will stretch out to get closer to the light. Remember phototropism?

This can be fixed easily by moving the lights closer. They should be maximum 2 inches away from the tops of your seedlings. As they grow, you gradually move them higher.

You can also have problems if your lights are too dim. If your grow lights are really old, then you should buy some new bulbs and replace them. LED bulbs are the way to go with grow lights.

Thin Out Your Seedlings

When we sow our seeds, we often put multiple seeds in one seedling cell. I normally put 2 seeds for a fresh seed packet, and about 5-6 for old seeds.

Of course, this guarantees that at least one seed will germinate. But what happens if all of the seeds germinate? We can’t let them all grow in the same hole.

This is when they get overcrowded and start competing for resources, one of them being light. They will compete for light by stretching out in front of each other to try to reach the light source.

Seriously, it’s like people trying to get in front of you in a race. And they’ll even block out each other by growing on top of the others.

This causes the seedlings to become leggy. But we can prevent it.

Once the seedlings grow one set of true leaves, then you need to start thinning them. Thinning is basically just removing the weakest and smallest seedlings to allow only one to grow fully.

Firstly, identify which seedling is the strongest and largest; that’s the one you want to keep.

Then remove all of the other seedlings by cutting them at the base. Don’t pull them out unless you want to repot them into new seedling cells.

If you pull them out aggressively, you might disturb the roots of the seedling that you want to keep. So just cut them off at the base.

This will allow the strongest and healthiest seedling to continue growing, eventually producing some food for you.

Use Less Fertilizer

When plants get lots of nutrients, they have to use it somehow to grow. But if the plants are really small, then it’s hard for them to properly allocate all the nutrients.

This makes the plants grow very quickly and produce leggy stems because there’s nowhere else for the nutrients to go. It all goes into the plant’s stem and the few leaves that it has.

And the problem is that the seed contains all the nutrients the seedling needs until they develop their first set of true leaves.

So you need to wait to fertilize your seedlings until they develop their first set of true leaves. After the seed leaves and first true leaves grow, then you can start fertilizing.

But you should use a very weak fertilizer with a low NPK ratio. This organic fish emulsion fertilizer is perfect, as it has an NPK ratio of 2-3-1.

Young seedlings don’t need a lot of fertilizer, they’re really tiny. You can dilute the fertilizer to about half the recommended strength and it’ll still be fine.

Fertilize the seedlings every week with a liquid organic fertilizer, slowly increasing the amount of fertilizer as they get larger.

Maybe It’s Too Hot

If you’re using a heat mat to help your seedlings to germinate, then it might be causing some problems with your seedlings.

Yes, they do help some seeds to germinate, and I love using heat mats for my seedlings as well. But once they germinate, there’s no need to keep the heat mat there.

And it can become problematic if it gets really hot. Heat signals the plants to grow larger and faster, which leads to leggy stems.

To prevent this from happening, just remove the heat mat once the seeds germinate. Once you first see the seeds start to pop through the soil, take them off the heat mat and move them under some light.

Use a Fan

You see, inside your house is nothing compared to the conditions outside. There’s lots of wind outside, which helps to strengthen the stems.

We can stimulate this by placing an oscillating fan in front of your seedlings. I have one where I can adjust the speed and put a timer on. I usually do about 3-4 hours every day.

This helps to stimulate the outdoor conditions by creating wind, which strengthens the stems. They won’t even have a chance to be leggy because then they’ll just break. Instead, they’ll produce strong and stocky stems that are resistant to the wind.

Can Leggy Seedlings be Planted Deeper?

Some plants can actually develop roots along their stems, which are known as adventitious roots. So if you plant the stems deeper into the soil, roots will develop along the stem.

Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and cucumbers all have the ability to produce roots on their stems. This means that if you have leggy tomato, pepper, eggplant, or cucumber seedlings, then you can just plant the stems deeper and they won’t be leggy anymore.

They’ll develop more roots along their stems and get a stronger and stockier stem.

But don’t try this with every plant. Most vegetables can’t develop adventitious roots, meaning the stems will just rot if you bury them with more soil.

Can You Top Your Seedlings?

Topping is when you cut off the growing tip of your plant, allowing it to produce side branches and bush out.

This really only works with a few varieties, namely peppers and determinate tomatoes. But even then, young and small seedlings might die if they’re topped.

Most of the time, leggy seedlings are only a few inches tall, with only 1 or 2 sets of true leaves. If you top them when they’re this small, then they probably won’t survive much longer.

So it’s best to avoid topping leggy seedlings.

How to Fix Leggy Broccoli Seedlings

You might be wondering why I dedicated an entire section to fixing leggy broccoli seedlings.

For some reason, all of my brassica (broccoli, cauliflower, turnips) seedlings always become leggy. I have no idea why. Do you ever experience this? Maybe it’s just me, I don’t know.

I try putting the light so close to the soil, but it just doesn’t work.

The best thing that I found, even though it doesn’t work extremely well, is to bury the seeds deeper when you’re sowing your brassicas.

Maybe If the seeds are deeper, then the stems will have space to stretch out in the soil before sprouting. That’s how I think of it.

I’m still testing this method, but they seem to be a little bit less leggy when I do it.

You Might Have to Restart Them

I know, I said that you shouldn’t restart your seedlings because it takes off at least 2 weeks of your work.

But sometimes, leggy seedlings get so bad that your only option is to restart them. It’s better to plant out healthy transplants that are a little bit younger, than to plant leggy transplants that will probably die outside.

If you’re for sure that your seedlings are too leggy and you can’t save them, then don’t hesitate to restart them as soon as possible.

I know it takes off a few weeks of your precious time, but if it’s the last option, then you have to do it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Even More Gardening Ideas

Here are a few more posts to get the ball rolling in your garden!

• How to Grow Cucumbers from Seed to Harvest
• Planting Bare Root Raspberries in Spring
• 10 Climbing Cucumbers Varieties to Grow on a Trellis

If you liked this article, make sure to share it with your friends and family members who are also looking to sharpen their gardening skills. Also, consider signing up for our email newsletter; don’t worry, we won’t send you spam, just fresh gardening ideas every week!

If you want to learn more about vegetable gardening, make sure to check out what I’m doing on Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest.

Pin this post for later:

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Saving Seeds For Next Year’s Crop: A Complete Guide

The post Don’t Restart Your Leggy Seedlings. Try THIS First! appeared first on The Real Gardener.

Cucumbers are a very rewarding plant to grow and harvest right in your backyard garden. Whether you have a small backyard, balcony, or patio, you can grow a ton of cucumbers wherever you are. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know on how to grow cucumbers to get a huge harvest.

How to Grow Cucumbers For a Huge Harvest

You can definitely grow cucumbers in raised beds and in-ground, but I prefer growing them in containers. I always grow them in containers and grow bags and I get a great harvest.

It takes a little bit of skill and patience to master, but after that, you get amazing cucumbers without using so much space.

But raised beds and in-ground work very well also.

And once you’ve tasted an organic cucumber straight from your garden, you’ll never go back!

That being said, let’s get right into how to grow cucumbers for a huge harvest.

Products:

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Burpee cucumber seed varieties

Organic coconut coir

Organic perlite

Choosing the Right Cucumber Variety

It can be difficult to choose the right cucumber variety, especially with all the complicated words like “parthenocarpic.” Like what does that even mean?

So we’ll cover all the cucumber varieties so you know exactly which one to choose.

Most varieties are split into two categories:

1. Vining Cucumbers: Vining cucumbers are cucumber varieties that produce long vines, typically over 6-7 feet long. They require a trellis to support the weight of the plants. Usually these ones are harder to grow in containers, simply because the plants are so large, but I have done it before.
2. Bush Cucumbers: These varieties are unlike vining cucumbers in the sense that they only grow to a couple feet tall, or a bush. They don’t produce long vines and don’t need an extensive trellis to support the weight of the plant. These varieties are especially suited to container growing.

Within these 2 categories, there are varieties that have special features:

1. Parthenocarpic: These cucumber varieties are self-fertile, meaning they don’t need the pollen from the male flower to pollinate the female flower. They are also known as virgin cucumbers. These are especially good if you’re only growing a couple of cucumber plants, as there won’t be enough flowers to properly pollinate too many plants.
2. Gynoecious: These varieties are also known as “all female,” meaning they have all or mostly female flowers. Of course this also means that they are self-fertile, meaning they don’t need male flowers to set fruit. So you’ll get more cucumbers with less effort with gynoecious varieties.

If you’re just starting out with growing cucumbers and all of this seems very confusing, don’t worry, here are a few perfect varieties for beginners:

1. Merlin: This variety is gynoecious (all female flowers), meaning they are self-fertile and don’t require pollination. They are also a vining variety, growing to 5-6 feet tall.
2. Bush Champion: This bush cucumber variety is very resistant to cucumber mosaic virus and produces heavy yields of 8-12 inch fruits.
3. Picklebush: A new variety I’m growing this year, Picklebush is a bush cucumber producing small cukes for pickling. It is also resistant to powdery mildew and mosaic virus.

When to Grow Cucumbers

Cucumbers are a warm-season fruiting crop. This means they need to be grown when it is very warm outside.

They are very cold-sensitive and can’t tolerate it too well. Temperatures below 13°C (55°F) can cause damage to the plants and frost will kill them right away.

So make sure to plant your cucumbers well after your last frost date. In my garden, I usually plant them about 2 weeks after my last frost date, which ensures that it’s warm enough.

They will grow throughout the summer and die off by time fall comes.

Sunlight Conditions for Cucumbers

Any flowering and fruiting crop needs a lot of sunlight. Aim for at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day.

But just remember that the more light they get, the more cucumbers you’ll get.

If you’re growing cucumbers in containers, then you can move them around during the day to follow the sunlight.

Will Cucumbers Grow in Shade?

The only time you might have to give cucumber plants some shade is when it gets really really hot. If it gets really hot in the middle of the summer, then you’ll notice your plants will start to struggle.

The leaves are going to turn yellow and some will burn and become crispy.

So you can provide them with some shade at this point using a shade cloth. Cover them in the middle of the day, around 12pm-3pm. This is when it gets the hottest.

But at any other time during the growing season, they shouldn’t be covered with shade cloth at any time.

Preparing the Soil for Growing Cucumbers

If you’re growing in-ground, then there is not too much preparation needed. Just add a bunch of well-rotted compost or manure.

Cucumber plants need lots of organic matter, so using at least 40-50% compost is ideal for growing cucumbers.

If your soil is particularly clay-heavy, then you should amend it. One of my favourite amendments for clay soil other than compost is perlite.

Perlite helps to prevent compaction and aerates your soil. This helps cucumbers as they can be prone to water-related diseases.

If your soil is very loose or sandy, then you just need to add some compost. Compost fixes most soil-related problems in the vegetable garden.

For raised garden beds, just make sure you’re using a well-draining mix and add lots of compost again.

Starting Cucumber Seeds Indoors

I always prefer to start my cucumber seeds indoors. This gives them a head start and protects them from pests early in the season.

Typically, I start them about 3-4 weeks before I transplant them outside.

So my last frost date here is around May 15. So if I’m planting them outside 2 weeks after my last frost date, then I have to start them indoors around the beginning of May.

By the time the plants grow inside for 4 weeks, it will be 2 weeks past my last frost date, meaning I can safely transplant them outside.

Some gardeners like to soak their seeds in a cup of water overnight, but I’m not convinced this does anything.

The reasoning is that it allows enough water to penetrate the thick seed coating, leading to quicker germination. But if you just keep the soil moist, then you shouldn’t have a problem with this.

I also like to use a heat mat for cucumber seeds. This gives them the warm temperatures that they need to germinate.

Once the seedlings sprout, you can remove the heat mat and place them under grow lights. If you don’t have grow lights, then you can place them by a window that gets direct sunlight.

Keep the young seedlings well-watered and make sure to fertilize them every week with a liquid organic fertilizer, like this organic fish emulsion.

Transplanting Cucumber Seedlings

Once your seedlings are large enough, it’s been about 4 weeks, and it’s warm enough outside, then it’s time to transplant them.

A lot of gardeners say that you have to space cucumber plants 12 inches apart. But let’s be honest, nobody’s doing that.

We need to save space in our gardens, so space those plants about 8-10 inches apart. If you care for them correctly, then this shouldn’t be a problem.

Similar to tomatoes, cucumber plants can actually grow roots along their stem. So when you’re planting them, you can actually plant them deeper than the original soil level in their seedling cells.

Just make sure to remove the lower leaves if they’re touching the ground and plant them as deep as you can. This helps the plant create a stronger root system and anchor itself in the ground.

Can You Direct-Sow Cucumber Seeds?

You definitely can direct-sow cucumber seeds, but I don’t prefer it.

You’ll have to wait until the soil temperatures are warm enough or else the seeds won’t germinate. So planting after your last frost date is important.

That’s the problem though, instead of having perfect seedlings to transplant out after the frost date, you still have to sow your seeds.

The only benefits I see with direct-sowing cucumbers is that they won’t experience transplant shock and it’s a little bit easier.

But other than that, I would never direct-sow my cucumber seeds, just start them indoors.

Watering Cucumbers

Cucumber plants are very large, with large leaves, long stems, and juicy fruits. This means they need lots of water to stay happy.

Keep the soil consistently moist and don’t let it dry out for long periods of time. When it gets really hot, you might have to water your cucumbers once or twice a day in containers.

If you don’t give them enough water, then you’ll start to see dry leaves and the fruits will be bitter.

However, many times during the summer, cucumber plants will wilt. Of course, this happens when the plant is too hot.

But we shouldn’t water our cucumbers right when we see a little wilting.

Wait until the sun passes in the evening and look if the leaves on your cucumbers are still wilting. If they are still wilted, then you need to water them. If they’re propped back up again, then they don’t need any water.

Wilting in cucumber plants is a natural response that helps the plants conserve water during the hottest parts of the day. If they didn’t wilt, they would need even more water.

Fertilizing Cucumbers

I’ve noticed that the best fertilizer to use when transplanting cucumbers is a mixture of blood meal and bone meal. This provides enough nitrogen and phosphorus to produce lots of leaves and roots.

Once they grow at least a couple of feet, switch to a fertilizer lower in phosphorus and higher in potassium, but still with some nitrogen.

I also think it’s easier to apply liquid or water-soluble fertilizers during the growing season, but you can use granular fertilizers as well.

This organic water-soluble tomato + vegetable fertilizer has an NPK ratio of 6-2-3, which is perfect for cucumbers.

For cucumbers growing in-ground and in raised beds, you can use this fertilizer every 2 weeks. For container plants, fertilize them every time you water to give them the kick they need.

There’s not a lot of space in containers, so it’s important to fertilize them often.

How to Grow Cucumbers in Containers

Growing cucumbers in containers can be difficult at first, especially when considering their water and fertilizer needs.

Choosing the Right Container

That’s why it’s important to select the right container. Use a container that’s at least 7 gallons for vining cucumbers and 5 gallons for bush cucumbers.

But for the best results, a 10 gallon container would probably be the best.

This gives the plants enough room for the roots to get water and nutrients.

I like using grow bags, but any container will work.

Preparing Your Container Soil

For a 7 or 10 gallon grow bag, it might be expensive to fill the entire thing with high-quality soil. That’s why I like to do a little hugelkultur garden in all my containers.

Fill the bottom quarter or third of the container with organic matter, like grass clippings, leaves, food scraps, or anything else that will break down quickly.

Then fill the rest of it with your soil. Use at least 50% compost in the soil mix. Cucumbers need lots of organic matter, especially in containers.

And to accommodate their moisture requirements, I also like to add coco coir. Coco coir holds onto water, which means you won’t have to water your cucumbers as often.

Watering Container Cucumbers

Speaking about watering, even with all the soil amendments, you’ll still have to water your container cucumber plants a lot. Especially during the heat of the summer, you might have to water them twice a day.

So the best way to do it is to fill a shallow container with water and put all of your containers inside the container. They’ll soak up the water from the bottom and the soil will stay moist for longer.

Every time you have to water, just move all the containers back into the shallow container and fill it up with water.

Fertilizing Container Cucumbers

For fertilizing, make sure you fertilize your container cucumber plants every time you water. Just add some liquid fertilizer into the water before putting all your containers in.

Another good amendment for container plants is compost tea. Because containers are small and don’t have much life in them, compost tea can add lots of beneficial microbes to help break down organic matter.

Don’t use compost tea as a replacement for fertilizer, use it with fertilizer to add soil microorganisms.

Mulching Cucumber Plants

Because cucumbers need so much water, adding a nice thick layer of mulch can help to conserve water.

My favourite mulch is shredded leaves, mainly because they’re free here. But you can use straw, grass clippings, or anything else that’s available.

For containers, raised beds, and in-ground, mulching helps to retain moisture, reflect sunlight, and help the soil cool down.

When applying mulch, make sure to leave about an inch of space around the stems of the cucumber plants. If mulch gets too close and starts to touch the stem, it might start to rot and the plants will die.

Pruning Cucumbers

The way you prune cucumbers depends on which variety you’re growing. Bushing and vining cucumbers are pruned differently, so here’s how to do it.

The first thing to know is the cucumber growth habit. Cucumbers produce one main stem with leaf nodes interspaced across it.

At every leaf node, there are 4 things growing: a leaf, a flower, a tendril, and a sucker.

The leaf is for photosynthesis, the flower is for fruit production, the tendril is to grab onto the trellis, and the sucker produces a new growing stem. This is important to know first.

Pruning Vining Cucumbers

There are 3 different methods for pruning vining cucumbers:

1. Single-Stem Pruning: This method involves removing all of the suckers that grow at the leaf nodes. You leave just the main stem to grow and produce fruit. This makes it easier to train and grow on a trellis. I’m not convinced that this method is the best one, but many people use it for their cucumbers.
2. Leave Some Suckers: I use this pruning method, which involves leaving 3-4 suckers on the plant. Eventually, these suckers will grow large enough to be new growing stems and they will produce fruit. This basically triples or quadruples your harvest because there will be 3-4 new main growing stems.
3. Wild Pruning: This method is when you don’t prune at all. No pruning, no training, nothing. Just let them run wild. Some gardeners do this, but it probably won’t work for you. The plants will get overcrowded, there won’t be any airflow, and there will be so much pest and disease damage.

Whichever pruning method you’re using, make sure to remove the lower leaves of your cucumber plants. The leaves that touch the soil can increase the risk of pest and disease damage. So by removing these, you’ll have healthier plants.

If you want an easy pruning method, choose single-stem pruning. But my favourite is to leave 3-4 suckers on the plants.

Pruning Bush Cucumbers

Bush cucumbers are a little bit different in their growth pattern; they don’t grow nearly as tall as vining cucumbers. Typically, they’ll only be about 2-3 feet tall.

So if you go with single-stem pruning, you’ll only have 2-3 feet of fruit production, which is basically nothing.

Instead, you really don’t have to do any pruning, except to remove the lower leaves touching the ground.

Let your bush cucumbers grow without pruning, allowing all the suckers to grow into main stems.

How to Grow Cucumbers on a Trellis

You don’t have to grow cucumbers on a trellis. You can let them sprawl across the ground and they will produce fruit.

But the problem with that is that it increases the risk of pest and disease damage, and it can lead to small and misshapen fruit.

Trellises allow cucumbers to grow vertically, which keeps the leaves off the ground. Additionally, gravity will allow the fruits to hang, producing straighter cucumbers.

You can learn more about this in my guide on how to make a DIY cucumber trellis.

Basically, you want a trellis large enough to support the long vines and heavy fruits of your plants. You can use a tipi, A-frame, cattle panel, chicken wire, or whatever else you have.

Pollinating Cucumbers

Unless you’re growing a parthenocarpic or gynoecious variety, then the flowers need to be pollinated to actually produce fruit.

Male and Female Flowers

The first thing to know is the difference between male and female flowers. No, it’s not male and female in the human sense, it’s just a way to differentiate between the different flowers.

The female flowers have a small fruit behind them, while the male flowers don’t have a fruit behind it.

So the pollen from the male flower needs to touch the pollen in the female flower.

Using Pollinators

Normally, pollinators (like bees and butterflies) would do the pollen transfer for you. But we don’t always have a ton of bees flying around our gardens, especially if you’re only growing vegetables.

So the first thing to do is to plant lots of flowers in your garden. Interplant annual flowers with your cucumbers to increase the amount of pollinators around your cucumbers.

Some of my favourite flowers are poppies, alyssum, and calendula.

The more bees and stuff around your plants, the higher the likelihood that they’ll pollinate the cucumber flowers.

Hand-Pollinating Cucumber Flowers

But even if you have a lot of bees flying around, they still might not pollinate the flowers.

So the only way to ensure that fruits set on your plants is to pollinate the flowers yourself.

Once you find the male flowers, then you have to transfer the pollen to the female flower. Some people like to use a small paintbrush to collect the pollen, but that never really worked for me.

Instead, take one male flower off the plant and peel off all the outer petals, leaving the bundle of pollen in the middle. Then rub the male pollen into the female flower.

Check out my video on hand-pollinating cucumbers to see me actually doing it.

Harvesting Cucumbers

Cucumbers are ready to harvest when they reach their full size and colour. The cucumber should be dark green and should not have any light spots. It should also be about as long as the variety says. If it says 5-6 inches long for a ripe cucumber, then they should be 5-6 inches long.

Harvesting them early gives you perfectly ripe and sweet fruits. And make sure to pick the fruits often, as this encourages more fruits to grow and ripen.

If they start turning a lighter green, you can still harvest them, but they might be more bitter. At this point, you can peel them and remove the seeds and they’ll be less bitter.

If the fruits start to turn yellow, then you have waited way too long. They are inedible at this point and the seeds are fully mature, ready to be planted next year.

But the problem with letting the fruits ripen this long is that it signals to the plant that its life is over. If the fruit ripens, then it means that the seeds are ready, which tells the plant that it doesn’t need to produce any more fruit.

So make sure to harvest the fruits when they reach their ripe size and colour.

During the summer, you might have to check your cucumber plants every day for ripe fruits because they produce a lot.

Common Problems When Growing Cucumbers

For first-time cucumber growers, there are some problems that you might encounter that could reduce your harvest:

• Yellowing Leaves: Yellowing cucumber leaves is especially common in container-grown plants. It’s usually caused by overwatering or nutrient deficiency. So make sure that you’re watering just enough and fertilizing your container cucumbers every time you water with a liquid fertilizer.
• Bitter Fruits: Your cucumbers will be bitter if you let the soil dry out too much, or if you leave them on the plant for too long. Make sure to water them thoroughly, especially when it gets really hot. Also, don’t let them get over ripe on the plant. Pick cucumbers regularly when they are young and dark green.

Cucumber Pests and Diseases

Frequently Asked Questions

Even More Gardening Ideas

Here are a few more posts to get the ball rolling in your garden!

• 9 Warm-Season Vegetables to Grow in Containers
• Planting Bare Root Raspberries in Spring
• 10 Climbing Cucumbers Varieties to Grow on a Trellis

If you liked this article, make sure to share it with your friends and family members who are also looking to sharpen their gardening skills. Also, consider signing up for our email newsletter; don’t worry, we won’t send you spam, just fresh gardening ideas every week!

If you want to learn more about vegetable gardening, make sure to check out what I’m doing on Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest.

Pin this post for later:

How to Grow Cucumbers from Seed to Harvest

Planting Bare Root Raspberries in Spring

How to Grow Strawberries from Bare-Root Plants

How to Grow Lettuce From Seed in Every Season

How to Grow Carrots from Seed to Harvest

How to Grow Radishes from Seed to Harvest

How to Grow Onions Perfectly Every Time

How to Grow Tomatoes from Seed for Beginners

The post How to Grow Cucumbers from Seed to Harvest appeared first on The Real Gardener.

Growing cucumbers vertically is a game-changer for gardeners who want to maximize space, improve yields, and make harvesting easier. Climbing cucumbers, also known as vining cucumbers, naturally grow upward when given proper support. This guide will walk you through the best varieties of cucumbers that climb and essential care tips to ensure a bountiful harvest.

Types of Cucumbers that Climb on a Trellis

Most cucumbers are vining cucumbers, meaning they produce long vines that extend for many feet.

Of course you don’t have to trellis them, but you definitely should. It’s much better for the plants, and we’ll talk about why.

And there are also cucumber varieties that don’t need a trellis, but come on, those are no fun! I love to see the vines sprawling everywhere across my garden.

That being said, let’s get right into the 10 best types of cucumbers that climb on a trellis.

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For a wide selection of perennial garden plants, check out Nature Hills Nursery.

For gardening equipment, check out Bootstrap Farmer.

Why Should Cucumbers that Climb be Trellised?

There are at least 4 main reasons why it’s better to grow these vining cucumber varieties vertically:

1. Space-Saving: Instead of letting your cucumbers grow horizontally across your whole garden, you can save so much space by taking advantage of your vertical area. This allows you to grow more plants in your actual soil.
2. Better Air Circulation: When on the ground, humidity is very high for cucumbers, so it can cause diseases like powdery mildew. Growing cucumbers vertically increases airflow around the leaves, reducing the risk of these diseases.
3. Easier Harvesting: Instead of wandering around your garden looking for every last cucumber, vertically-grown cucumbers have all of their fruit in the air. This makes them easier to see and more accessible to harvest, reducing the chances that they’ll become overripe.
4. Healthier and Straighter Fruits: Since the cucumbers are not touching the ground, they won’t become curved or misshapen. When grown vertically, gravity will help the cucumbers to grow perfectly straight, giving you a better harvest.

How to Grow Climbing Cucumbers

I won’t go too in depth with growing cucumbers, as I already covered it in my article about How to Grow Cucumbers.

So make sure to check it out for all the details!

Basically, cucumbers need a lot of water, fertilizer, and sunlight. If you can give them those 3 things, then they should be happy for the most part.

Make sure you’re planting them in an area that gets at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight every day. This gives them enough light to produce lots of fruit.

Additionally, cucumbers have lots of really big leaves, which need lots of water to thrive. If you don’t give them enough water, then they will start to wilt. So make sure to stay on top of that.

For fertilization, I like to give a dilute solution of liquid organic fertilizer every time I water my cucumbers. You can use granular fertilizers as well, but I prefer liquid for cucumbers.

Creating a Trellis for Cucumbers that Climb

This is the most important part with vining cucumbers: the trellis! If you want all of the benefits that I mentioned earlier, then you have to trellis your vining cucumbers.

Again, I already covered this topic in depth on my article on How to Make a DIY Cucumber Trellis, so check it out for all the details.

But in short, you want a strong, tall, and sturdy trellis that will support the weight of your plants and fruits.

A good height for the trellis is about 6 feet, so use 7 foot wood or metal stakes. You should hammer the stakes about 1 foot into the ground, so the trellis will be 6 feet tall.

Create a row of these stakes as long as your cucumber row. You want to place each stake about 4 feet apart, with a mesh netting connecting them all.

You can even use this trellis for containers or 5 gallon buckets, just make sure they’re all lined up.

This is the trellis that I like using in my garden, but anything works really. You can use a tipi, A-frame, or any other DIY trellis that you like.

Now you can plant your cucumber seedlings at the base of the trellis.

I know, the guidelines say to space them about 12 inches apart, but who does that anyways? I like to put them closer, about 8-10 inches apart is good.

How to Prune Climbing Cucumbers

There are a few different ways to prune cucumbers and nobody really agrees on which one is better.

But what we do agree on is that we should prune off all the lower leaves that are touching the ground. These leaves get moist and dirty quickly, making the plant more susceptible to disease.

Once the plants get larger, I like to prune off at least the bottom 1-2 feet of leaves. This reduces the chances that the plants will get diseases.

Before we talk about the pruning methods, let’s talk about the cucumber growth habit.

Cucumbers will produce one main growing stem that has leaf nodes interspaced across it. These leaf nodes have 4 different things on them: a leaf, a flower, a tendril, and a sucker. This is important to know.

One pruning method that a lot of gardeners like is the single-stem pruning. This is when you prune off all the suckers at every leaf node, leaving just the main stem to grow and produce fruit.

I’m not convinced that this method is better or produces more fruit, but you can try it if you want.

Another method of pruning, and the one that I use, is to leave the main growing stem but allow at least 3-4 suckers to grow as well. The suckers will produce lateral branches and eventually will grow cucumbers as well.

Basically, this will triple or quadruple your harvest because now there are 4 main growing stems.

The last pruning method is another one that many gardeners use, which is to just leave everything to grow the way it is. No pruning, no training, no removing lower leaves.

There are a few of problems with this method. Firstly, the plants are extremely overcrowded and will not get enough airflow, leading to pest and disease issues.

Secondly, leaving the lower leaves touching the ground increase the chance of disease spreading to the plants, which will reduce your harvest.

And lastly, to have every single branch on the plant produce fruit is kind of too much. The fruits will be smaller, more bitter, and misshapen simply because there are too many for the plant.

So an easy pruning method would be the single-stem pruning. But my favourite for maximum fruit production is to leave 3-4 suckers with the main stem.

10 Best Types of Cucumbers That Climb on a Trellis

Now we’ve reached my list of the 10 best types of climbing cucumbers that you should grow in your garden.

All of these varieties are suited for vertical growing and can be grown on any kind of trellis.

1. Straight Eight

The straight eight cucumber is a popular heirloom variety known for its straight, smooth fruits.

I have grown this variety in my garden before. Let me say, they produce like crazy! I was picking so many cucumbers from my plants every day.

Of course, this variety grows best on a trellis because they can grow up to 6 feet tall. If that was grown horizontally, it would literally take up 6 feet of your garden. What a waste!

It produces 8 inch long fruits (as the name suggests) with a crisp texture and mild flavour.

Keep the soil consistently moist and harvest often to signal to the plants to keep producing.

Days to maturity: 58

2. Merlin Hybrid

As the name suggests, this variety is a hybrid, meaning it’s a cross between two other cucumbers. It has been bred specifically for 3 reasons.

Firstly, it produces heavy early yields of uniform dark green cucumbers that are ideal for both slicing and pickling. Cucumbers are about 5-7 inches long.

Secondly, it is extremely resistant to cucumber mosaic virus, one of the worst cucumber diseases. So if you know you have a problem with this disease, then this variety is right for you.

Thirdly, the plants have all female flowers. What?! Basically, all of the flowers on the plant are female; there are no male flowers.

This means you don’t have to mix the male and female pollen to get fruit; they are self-fertile.

Make sure to give the plants enough water and start trellising them early for support.

Days to maturity: 50-55

3. Burpless Beauty

A smooth-skinned burpless variety with a sweet and crisp texture. In fact, it actually stays crisp longer than any other variety they have tested.

Because they grow to 6 or 7 feet, these cucumbers thrive on trellises. The fruits are about 8 inches long and are quite heavy, so the trellis is important.

For the best flavour, ensure consistent watering and well-draining soil.

Days to maturity: 60

4. Sweet Success Hybrid

This sweet tasting variety is the sweetest one yet out of all burpless cucumber varieties. It’s perfect for slicing and fresh eating because of its natural sweetness.

It’s also highly resistant to most cucumber and watermelon diseases, and scab and leaf spot.

Additionally, it’s also self-pollinating, meaning you don’t have to cross the male and female flowers to produce fruit.

To keep the fruits straight and clean, make sure the plants are trellised early in their lives.

Days to maturity: 58

5. Summer Dance Hybrid

A Japanese hybrid variety bred for better fruit production and disease resistance.

Although the plant only grows to a couple feet tall, it sends out many side branches that produce tons of fruit. The 9 inch long fruit is known for its thin skin and crisp texture.

This variety is also extremely resistant to downy mildew and powdery mildew, meaning you get more fruit longer into the growing season.

Additionally, the plants are very tolerant of heat and water stress, meaning they’ll survive hot summers.

Make sure to prune the vines regularly to increase airflow and prevent overcrowding.

Days to maturity: 55

6. Lunchbox Hybrid

This hybrid variety produces an “avalanche” of cucumbers that can be harvested at the mini stage or regular-sized stage.

Every time you harvest, you’re going to be pulling out about 30 cucumbers! This totals to over 130 by the end of the season! That might be too many!

Additionally, this variety is fairly disease tolerant and easy to grow for beginners.

Make sure to train the vines on the trellis early in the season to maximize fruit production

Days to maturity: 50-53

7. Garden Sweet Burpless Hybrid

Another very sweet burpless hybrid variety growing to about 6-8 feet tall.

This variety produces green, sweet, cylindrical, smooth, 10-12 inch long fruits. Plants are very vigorous and put out many side shoots that produce more fruit.

It’s also fairly disease-resistant and easy to grow for beginners.

Keep the soil evenly moist and fertilize often to keep the cucumber production going all season.

Days to maturity: 55

8. Dragon Suhyo Hybrid

Although you may not be able to pronounce the name of this hybrid variety, it’s definitely worth growing.

It produces so many 14 inch long fruits that are narrow and thin-skinned. You don’t need to peel or deseed for them to taste great.

The 4-5 foot long vines are easy to grow and train up a trellis, making it easy to produce at least 25 cucumbers in a growing season.

This variety also has excellent resistance to many diseases and mildews.

To prevent the long cucumbers from curling, make sure you have a sturdy trellis.

Days to maturity: 50-60

9. Burpee Pickler

This classic pickling cucumber is short and crisp, perfect for making pickles.

The full-sized vines (about 5-6 feet) are easy to grow and train up a trellis. This helps them produce more small fruits.

Fruits are about 3-5 inches, which is perfect for stuffing in a pickle jar.

This variety also produces well into the summer months, as it can tolerate heat stress and various cucumber diseases.

Harvest the fruits frequently and your plants will keep producing.

Days to maturity: 53

10. Lemon Cucumber

Another heirloom cucumber variety, lemon has a weird shape and colour. They call it lemon because it actually does kind of look like a lemon, as it’s a round yellow ball.

The vines grow a little bit taller than other varieties, usually around 8 feet tall.

The fruits are clean, crisp, and basically never bitter. Harvest them often, right when they’re about the size of a lemon.

And the fruits will keep coming and coming, so stay on top of harvesting!

Make sure to use a strong and large trellis to allow all the vines to climb.

Days to maturity: 65

Harvesting Climbing Cucumbers

Check your cucumber plants every day during the summer to see if you have any ripe fruits. You don’t want to leave them on the plant too long, or else the plant will stop producing.

So pick them before they get too ripe. They should still be their green colour, not yellow. If they’re kind of yellow, then you left them on too long (unless it’s a yellow variety).

The skin of the fruit should still be thin and the seeds should be small.

A lot of people say that you need to use pruning shears to take the fruits off the vine, but let’s be honest, nobody’s doing that. Just pull the fruit off, the plant will be fine.

Common Cucumber Growing Problems

There are 2 main issues when growing cucumbers:

1. Powdery Mildew: You’ll know when your plants have powdery mildew because of the white powdery-looking stuff on the leaves. It’s a fungal disease that loves the humidity and darkness. So make sure your plants are pruned and spaced correctly, and they’re getting lots of light.
2. Cucumber Beetles: I’m not aware of a fool-proof way to get rid of cucumber beetles, but you can mostly prevent them. Cucumber beetles like to attack the plants when they are young, so by using a floating row cover to protect your young seedlings, they won’t be able to get in. I’ve noticed that once the plants get large enough, the cucumber beetles can’t even cause enough damage to be noticeable, so you should be fine.

Common Cucumber Trellising Mistakes

One of the biggest problems with trellising cucumbers, especially the single-stem pruning method, is that the plants get so tall that it becomes harder for pollinators to pollinate the fruits.

This leads to less fruits overall during the growing season.

But there is a way to go around this: just hand-pollinate all of your cucumbers.

To do this, first identify the male and female flowers. No, they’re not actually male and female in the human sense, that’s just to differentiate between them.

The female flowers have a tiny fruit behind them, while the male flowers have no fruit. That being said, the fruits only develop from the female flowers, not the male flowers.

However, the pollen from the male flowers needs to touch the pollen on the female flowers for it to produce fruit. Or else, the fruits will shrivel up and never size up.

Some people like to use a tiny paintbrush to gather some male pollen and put it in the female flower, but that never worked for me.

Instead, pluck off the male flower and remove the yellow petals to expose the centre part with all the pollen. Rub that centre into the centre of the female flower. Make sure to get all that pollen in there; if there isn’t enough, then the fruits won’t set.

This should pollinate the female flowers and they will produce tons of fruit for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Even More Gardening Ideas

Here are a few more posts to get the ball rolling in your garden!

• 9 Warm-Season Vegetables to Grow in Containers
• Planting Bare Root Raspberries in Spring
• Easily Start a 5 Gallon Bucket Garden

If you liked this article, make sure to share it with your friends and family members who are also looking to sharpen their gardening skills. Also, consider signing up for our email newsletter; don’t worry, we won’t send you spam, just fresh gardening ideas every week!

If you want to learn more about vegetable gardening, check out The Real Gardener on Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest.

Pin this post for later:

5 Easy Tomato Trellis Ideas for ANY Garden

How to Grow Cucumbers from Seed to Harvest

10 Best Types of Cucumbers that Climb on a Trellis

9 Warm-Season Vegetables to Grow in Containers

How to Start a 5 Gallon Bucket Garden for Beginners

How to Grow Onions Perfectly Every Time

How to Grow Tomatoes from Seed for Beginners

The Best Fertilizer for Tomatoes to Grow Juicy Fruits

The post 10 Best Types of Cucumbers that Climb on a Trellis appeared first on The Real Gardener.

Growing vegetables in containers is a great way to produce fresh food, even in small spaces. Whether you have a balcony, patio, or limited garden space, container gardening allows you to grow a wide variety of vegetables successfully. The key is choosing the right vegetables, containers, and care methods. Here’s everything you need to know about the best vegetables to grow in containers.

Best Vegetables to Grow in Containers

Even though I have many raised beds and in-ground beds, I still use containers to grow vegetables in my backyard.

You don’t have to be a patio or balcony gardener to grow vegetables in containers.

And we all know the basic plants that everybody tells you to grow in containers. Lettuce, carrots, radishes, whatever other boring crops they say.

While those can and should be grown in containers, that’s not what you came for. I will cover the real crops that you thought you couldn’t grow in containers.

That being said, let’s get into the 9 best long-season vegetables to grow in containers for a huge harvest.

Products:

To buy high-quality garden seeds, check out Burpee.

For a wide selection of perennial garden plants, check out Nature Hills Nursery.

For gardening equipment, check out Bootstrap Farmer.

Why Grow Vegetables in Containers

Like I said, even I use containers to grow vegetables in my backyard, so there are many reasons why I would do it.

1. Saves Space: Containers come in many different sizes, which means they can fit anywhere. If you have a balcony, patio, or some small gaps that you want to fill in your backyard (like me).
2. Better Soil Control: Unlike in-ground gardens, you can control what soil goes into your containers. This means you can tailor it to each vegetable that you are growing. But it also means that there is less chance for soil-borne diseases to spread to your plants, simply because the soil is being replaced every year.
3. Pest and Disease Reduction: Containers keep plants off of the ground, meaning it will be harder for pests and diseases to get to them. Slugs, snails, powdery mildew, and more need to come into contact with your plants to infect them.
4. Easy Maintenance: Generally speaking, with container gardening, the maintenance tasks are easier. There are less weeds, less pests, and the placement of the containers is flexible.

These are the reasons why I absolutely love container gardening, even though I have raised beds and in-ground beds.

Essential Tips for Container Gardening

Growing vegetables in containers is a little bit different than other methods, so here are some tips.

Choose the Right Soil

One of the biggest mistakes beginner gardeners make with container gardening is choosing the wrong soil. Some people try using their regular garden soil in containers.

The problem with this is that regular garden soil is typically very clay-heavy. This means that when you put it in your containers, it will become mud when you water, and concrete when it dries out.

Obviously this is a problem for your container vegetables because they won’t get any oxygen to their roots.

To avoid this, we need to create a specific potting mix for containers. This involves reducing the amount of clay, adding water-retaining ingredients, and allowing for good drainage.

I don’t like to start completely from scratch, so you can use some of your original garden soil. Add about 30-40% compost by volume to your soil. Then add some perlite; perlite is one of my favourite container amendments.

Perlite helps with drainage and to break up clay. Another thing that you should add is coco coir, which helps to hold onto moisture.

Using the Right Container

Firstly, size matters with containers. I will get more into it with the list of vegetables, but every variety needs a different amount of root space.

Some do well in 5 gallons, some in 7, and some in 10.

The depth of the container matters as well. Some vegetables have very long taproots, so they need a deep container, like 5 gallon buckets.

But some vegetables have very shallow roots, like lettuce, so they can grow in shallow containers.

Additionally, the type of container is important. Plastic containers are cheap and available, but they can overheat in the sun.

Clay or terracotta pots provide great drainage, but they may dry out too quickly because of that.

Grow bags are great in my opinion, even though they dry out quickly. Because they are so breathable, they allow the roots to air prune, meaning it’s harder for them to rot.

Watering and Drainage

Again, containers hold onto less water than raised beds and in-ground beds. This is because there’s less soil and more drainage out of the bottom.

This is why we need to add the water-retaining ingredients in the soil. Compost and coco coir both hold onto moisture.

However, even with these things, water will still drain out of the bottom like crazy. So we just need to water out container vegetables more often. Sometimes multiple times a day in the summer.

9 Best Vegetables to Grow in Containers

Now we’re getting into the list of the 9 best long-season vegetables to grow in containers!

1. Tomatoes

Tomatoes are a great plant to grow in containers. I grow them mostly in 5 gallon buckets, but grow bags are great as well!

They have very long roots, so a deeper container is better for these plants. They also need a lot of water so make sure to keep the soil consistently moist.

I like growing both determinate and indeterminate tomatoes in containers; yes even indeterminates are possible. But my favourite varieties are San Marzano and Sweetheart of the Patio.

The key is to give them lots of soil, lots of water, lots of fertilizer, lots of mulch, and you guessed it, a trellis.

If you have many tomato containers in a row, you can set up a simple Florida weave. But for me, I just put a strong stick in the pot before they get too large.

For tomato fertilizer, I like to use bone meal in the containers at the beginning of the season. After that, I like to use a liquid organic fertilizer like fish emulsion. You can apply it every time you water.

Check out my full article on how to grow tomatoes for more info.

2. Cucumbers

Cucumbers are very demanding with their care requirements, but they are still a great crop to grow in containers.

They need lots of water, organic matter, and fertilizer to produce well, so make sure you give it to them. Add plenty of compost and organic fertilizer to the soil.

In my experience, vining cucumber varieties don’t do too well in containers. Instead, grow bush varieties like Spacemaster and Bush Champion. These grow lower and more like a bush, making them better suited for containers.

You’ll still have to give them some support, like a stake or trellis. This will support the weight of the fruits and help them to produce larger yields.

When it gets hot, the cucumber leaves will wilt. Many people make the mistake of watering right when they see the leaves wilting. But we shouldn’t do this.

Instead, wait until the sun passes and see if the leaves prop back up. If they do, then great! If they don’t then you need to water the plants.

Wilting is a natural response when the plants overheat, so don’t freak out when they wilt.

I tend to grow my cucumber plants in 7 gallon containers. This seems to be a good size for them.

Check out my article on how to grow cucumbers to learn more.

3. Peppers

Some gardeners are put off at the idea of growing peppers in containers. But I’m here to tell you that they are perfect to grow in containers.

Yes, of course they need lots of organic matter, fertility, and sunlight. Like they really need sunlight. That’s why it’s perfect to grow peppers in pots; you can move them around with the sun.

If your garden doesn’t have one spot that gets full sun (6-8 hours) every day, then you can plant your peppers in containers and just pick them up and move them around your garden with the sun.

Additionally, make sure to fertilize your container-grown peppers often. I like to fertilize with fish emulsion every time I water. Learn more about pepper fertilizer here.

Some of my favourite pepper varieties are Tangerine Dream and Big Daddy. These varieties grow to about 18-24 inches, making them perfect for container gardening.

You may have to support the plants with a stake in each container to hold up the heavy fruits.

A 5 gallon container is good to grow regular-sized peppers. But try 10-15 gallons for growing huge pepper plants.

Check out my article on how to grow peppers to learn more.

4. Eggplant

More than any plant on this list, eggplant loves the sun and heat. This makes them perfect for growing in containers.

Like I said, containers can overheat in the sun. But for eggplants, it’s not overheating, it’s the perfect weather for them to grow. They can handle extreme heat and will produce a ton because of it.

Give them all the sun and heat possible!

Eggplants are also heavy feeders, meaning they need a lot of organic matter and fertility to give you a good harvest. Make sure to add plenty of compost and organic fertilizer to the soil.

You can also fertilize your plants with a high phosphorus and potassium liquid fertilizer every time you water.

Generally, a 5 gallon container is good for eggplants, but anything larger will produce healthy plants. I like to use 7 gallons.

Some of my favourite eggplant varieties are Rosa Bianca and Patio Baby, which is a perfect variety for containers because it doesn’t grow as large as other varieties.

5. Zucchini

Zucchini is another water-demanding crop that can’t tolerate too much stress. But it’s still a great container vegetable option.

They don’t grow too tall, so a 5 gallon container is good for growing zucchini.

Add lots of organic matter and organic granular fertilizer to the soil before planting. Once the plants start flowering, fertilize again with a liquid fertilizer.

Zucchini is pretty prone to pests and diseases, especially powder mildew, but growing them in containers pretty much avoids these issues because they are not touching the ground.

They are not naturally vining plants, but a strong stake in the container can help to keep your zucchini plants upright while they are growing.

Check out this video from Epic Gardening about growing zucchini vertically.

Because they need so much water and can’t get a lot in containers, the easiest way to water them is from the bottom. Just fill up a large shallow container with water and put all of your container zucchini in there.

They’ll absorb the water from the bottom and the roots will be happy.

The same rule with wilting also applies. Wait until the sun passes; if they’re still wilting, then water them, if the leaves are back up, then they don’t need water.

6. Watermelon

That’s right, I said it: watermelon can be grown in containers. And they don’t even need a big one, just a 5 gallon bucket is perfect.

A lot of the same care requirements of cucumbers and zucchini apply to watermelons as well. The only thing that I would change is the trellis.

There is only one widely available bush watermelon variety called Bush Sugar Baby. This variety doesn’t grow as tall as others and produces more of a bush watermelon.

But because there aren’t too many of these varieties you’ll probably be growing a vining variety, which means that they need an extensive trellis.

Using cattle panel or chicken wire to create a large trellis is a good idea.

James Prigioni talks about this in his video about growing watermelon in containers, so make sure to check it out.

He also says that we should try to grow varieties that produce smaller fruits, such as Mini Me and Gold in Gold. The fruits of these fruits are smaller, meaning they use less nutrients, space, and time to mature.

Fertilize and water often, using the same watering trick as zucchini. Place them in a large shallow container and fill up the container with water. They will absorb the water from the bottom.

But do be sure to check out the bush watermelon variety Bush Sugar Baby.

7. Beans

Beans are great vegetables to grow in containers; they don’t need a lot of space or nutrients.

They just need soil with some organic matter and it needs to be kept moist. A five gallon grow bag can grow 3-4 bush beans or 2-3 pole beans.

That being said, pole beans require some sort of trellis to support them. If you’re just growing one pot, then a stick per plant should be ok. For many pots in a row, a Florida weave-style trellis is much better.

Some of my favourite varieties are Porch Pick and Kentucky Blue. Porch Pick is especially bred for container growing, but most beans will tolerate it.

Kentucky Blue is another reliable variety that I grow all the time in my garden; you can’t go wrong with it.

Luckily for beans, they actually fix nitrogen, meaning they take nitrogen from the air and convert it into a usable form in the soil with the help of rhizobia bacteria.

But the problem with this is that this bacteria is usually not present in containers because you’re using a fresh mix every year.

So to fix this, use a nitrogen-fixing bacterial inoculant before planting your beans. This introduces the rhizobia bacteria to your containers, helping your beans to fix nitrogen for their growth.

Check out my article about growing beans from seed to learn more.

8. Potatoes

It is so easy to grow potatoes in containers, especially grow bags.

As you may know, indeterminate potatoes need to be hilled up as they grow, which means you pile soil around the stems throughout the growing season.

This can be challenging to do in raised beds and in-ground beds because the hilled soil will just wash away.

Instead, plant them about halfway up your grow bags and fold over the sides of the bags until the surface of the soil can see the sun.

This ensures that when the potatoes sprout, the sides won’t block them from getting sunlight.

Hill the potatoes once they grow about 6 inches tall and unfold some of the sides of the grow bags to allow the soil to fit in.

This is the easiest way that I have done it.

A couple of my favourite potato varieties are Yukon Gold and Carla Rosa.

Growing these varieties in containers makes them much easier to harvest. Instead of bending over and digging out every individual potato, just dump the entire container out and pick out the potatoes.

9. Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are a little bit different because they need a lot of space to grow properly. A 5 gallon container won’t be enough for the large plants.

For one sweet potato plant, use a 10 gallon container. This gives the plants enough space to grow huge tubers.

Mark from Self Sufficient Me talks about growing sweet potatoes in containers in this video.

His main points were to have a large pot like I said, to keep up with watering, and to fertilize with bone meal every 3-4 weeks.

He noted in the video that one of the main reasons why he didn’t get a good harvest was because he didn’t give the plants enough water.

I definitely agree with this because sweet potatoes are large plants and need a lot of water. But I also think he planted too many plants in that container.

He said it was about 1 cubic foot, which is around 7.5 gallons. There should have only been 1 plant in that container, but it looks like he had at least 3 or 4. This means that each plant was crowded out, causing them to produce smaller tubers.

So make sure to give them enough space to grow.

Another thing with sweet potatoes is that they love to sprawl. It’s difficult to try to contain all of that leaf mass on one trellis, so I would say just let them sprawl across the ground.

This won’t give them more diseases, it’s how they grow naturally.

Some of my favourite sweet potato varieties are Georgia Jet and Beauregard.

Frequently Asked Questions

Even More Gardening Ideas

Here are a few more posts to get the ball rolling in your garden!

• Best Fertilizer for Pepper Plants
• Planting Bare Root Raspberries in Spring
• Easily Start a 5 Gallon Bucket Garden

If you liked this article, make sure to share it with your friends and family members who are also looking to sharpen their gardening skills. Also, consider signing up for our email newsletter; don’t worry, we won’t send you spam, just fresh gardening ideas every week!

If you want to learn more about vegetable gardening, check out The Real Gardener on Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest.

Pin this post for later:

5 Easy Tomato Trellis Ideas for ANY Garden

How to Grow Cucumbers from Seed to Harvest

10 Best Types of Cucumbers that Climb on a Trellis

9 Warm-Season Vegetables to Grow in Containers

How to Start a 5 Gallon Bucket Garden for Beginners

How to Grow Onions Perfectly Every Time

How to Grow Tomatoes from Seed for Beginners

The Best Fertilizer for Tomatoes to Grow Juicy Fruits

The post 9 Warm-Season Vegetables to Grow in Containers appeared first on The Real Gardener.

Bare root raspberries are an excellent choice for home gardeners who want to establish a productive berry patch. They are easy to plant, cost-effective, and quickly adapt to their new environment. In this guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know about planting bare root raspberries, from selecting the best varieties to long-term care.

Planting Bare Root Raspberries

I love growing raspberries, and other fruit trees, from bare root plants. In my opinion, they are so much better than potted plants and perform much better.

In my garden, I have planted bare root apples, raspberries, blackberries, and kiwis. They grow so well here and give me lots of fruit every year.

And they survive the winters of course, which I think is a common misconception. Yes, the roots are exposed. No, they won’t freeze and die!

So let’s get right into planting bare root raspberries in spring.

Products:

To buy high-quality garden seeds, check out Burpee.

For a wide selection of perennial garden plants, check out Nature Hills Nursery.

For gardening equipment, check out Bootstrap Farmer.

What are Bare Root Raspberries? (Bare Root vs Potted Raspberries)

Bare root raspberries are raspberry plants that are sold without soil. So the roots are bare, there are no leaves, and the plants are dormant.

They are typically sold in winter and planted early in the spring.

In contrast, potted plants are sold in pots with soil while they are actively growing. They are sold at any time in the spring or summer and can be planted anytime before fall.

Why are Bare Root Raspberries Better?

Here are a few reasons why I think bare root raspberries are better than potted plants:

1. Cost-Effective: Because bare root plants are sold when they are dormant, they are cheaper than potted plants. So if you’re planting an entire orchard, then it will cost far less to buy bare root plants.
2. They Establish Quicker: Bare root raspberries are not limited to grow in a pot. This means that the roots can spread out more effectively in your garden. This will lead to a healthy and more established plant quicker into its life.
3. Greater Variety: At nurseries, they typically only have a few raspberry varieties, and they’re all potted plants. But you can get bare root plants online, which means there are way more raspberry varieties for you to choose from. For example, Burpee has 19 raspberry varieties available online.
4. Easier Storage: If you’re not planting your raspberries right away, or you don’t know where you want to put them, then you have to store them somewhere. It’ll be hard to store 10 potted raspberries, but it’s really easy to store 10 bare root raspberries.

This is why I like to plant bare root raspberries in my garden, as opposed to potted raspberry plants.

Choosing the Right Raspberry Variety

There are 2 main categories of raspberry varieties:

1. Primocanes: These are varieties that produce fruit on 1 year old branches. This means that the branches that grow this year will produce fruit. They generally also produce fruit from late summer until the first frost in the fall, which is a longer harvesting period. Additionally, they are much easier to prune because you can just cut all the canes down in the fall and the new ones in the spring will produce fruit again.
2. Floricanes: These varieties produce fruit on 2 year old branches. So this means that they will grow for one year without fruit, then produce fruit the next year on that same branch. The fruit generally ripens over the period of a month in the summer. Here in Ontario, it’s usually around July. Floricanes are a little bit more difficult to prune, as you have to recognize the 1 year and 2 year canes and prune selectively.

If you’re deciding on which raspberry variety to choose, then it should reflect how you want to use the fruit.

To give an example, do you want to eat the berries fresh, or do you want to make preserves?

For fresh berries, primocane varieties are better because they produce fruit over a longer period. For jams and other preserves, floricanes give you one huge flush of berries, which is perfect to can them all.

Personally, I grow primocane varieties. I like them better for fresh eating and they’re easier to prune. The variety I grow here is called pathfinder.

Here are some of my other favourite raspberry varieties:

• Fall Gold: This beautiful golden primocane raspberry variety produces fruit in the fall months.
• Royalty: A purple-red floricane variety that is ideal for fresh eating and making jams.
• Crimson Giant: These very large primocane berries ripen from September to October.

When Should You Plant Bare Root Raspberries?

Bare root raspberries need time to establish in your soil before they can grow well. This means that spring is the ideal time to plant them in most climates.

When ordering online, bare root plants usually ship out by March or April. You should plant them as soon as the soil defrosts in early spring, which is usually right when the plants arrive.

Planting them at this time allows them to establish in your garden before the real heat comes through.

In warmer climates, you can also get away with planting bare root raspberries in fall. This gives them time to establish over the winter before spring comes.

Preparing the Soil for Growing Raspberries

A lot of raspberry growing guides will say that raspberries can only grow in sandy loam soil, but I’m not convinced that that’s true.

My raspberries are planted in a spot with pretty heavy clay soil, and it even gets waterlogged when it rains. And they don’t have any problems growing here.

That being said, raspberries are a pioneer plant, meaning they will grow in basically any soil type. And because raspberries do need lots of water and nutrients, it actually makes sense to grow them in clay soil.

Clay soil tends to hold onto water and nutrients better than sandy soil, so take that!

But we still need to amend the soil.

Like I said, raspberries appreciate lots of nutrition, so add a lot of compost or manure to the soil. I usually do about 50% compost to native soil.

This helps with the soil structure, but it also helps with fertility and moisture retention, and it adds beneficial microorganisms.

Additionally, you need to add a lot of organic fertilizer to the soil. I like to use a mix of blood meal and bone meal, but you can also use a raspberry-specific fertilizer.

Add some to the planting hole, but you don’t have to go too crazy in the first year. We’ll also cover fertilizing raspberries later in the article.

Can Raspberries Grow in Pots?

Raspberries are a great plant to grow in pots.

Because raspberries like to spread, the only way to contain them is to put them in a pot. So if you don’t want them to take over your entire garden, then you have to grow them in containers.

But you also have to water and fertilizer more often.

When the plants get really big, daily watering might be necessary in the summer when it’s really hot. And because there’s not as much space, fertilizing more often might also be necessary.

Sunlight Requirements

Raspberries are large fruiting crops, meaning they need lots of sunlight to give you a good harvest.

They need at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight, but you should give them as much as you can. Make sure the spot you are planting them in gets enough light before actually planting them.

It’ll be pretty much impossible to move them once they are established.

Some wild and heritage raspberry varieties can tolerate some shade, but most of us are not growing those ones anyways.

How to Plant Bare Root Raspberries

Before planting your bare root raspberries, you need to soak them in water for about 2 hours. This allows them to rehydrate before they go into your soil.

After the roots are moist, dig a hole big enough for the roots to fit in. Generally, it should be about 8 inches deep and about 12 inches wide, but nobody’s measuring anyways.

Space each bare root plant about 2-4 feet apart, depending on the variety. This gives them enough space to spread and take over the soil in between.

If for some reason you want a thicket of raspberries in less time, then you can plant them as close as you want. But, of course, you’ll need to buy more plants.

When planting, make sure the roots are fully buried but the crowns are not buried. The crown is right where the roots meet the stem. If you bury this part, the plants will rot and die.

Spread the roots out evenly in the hole to help encourage strong growth.

Backfill the hole with soil, water the plants in, and lightly press down on the soil to eliminate air pockets. You can step on the soil a little bit to help with settling it, so don’t be afraid.

Once they’re done, apply a thick layer of mulch. I like using shredded leaves or wood chips, but any organic mulch works well for raspberries.

Watering Bare Root Raspberries

When the plants are not yet established, you need to keep the soil moist. If you let it dry out, then the roots will dry out as well and the plants will die.

As the plants continue to grow over the years, they will get very large, with lots of leaves and roots. So it’s important to keep giving them lots of water, especially when it gets really hot. I recommend setting up a drip irrigation system around your raspberries to help with watering.

They need lots of water, so don’t be cheap!

Fertilizing Raspberries

Raspberries are heavy feeders, which means they need lots of nutrients to grow well.

I like to use a mix of blood meal and bone meal when fertilizing.

Avoid using liquid fertilizers, as these typically don’t have enough nutrition to feed your berries. Additionally, they have to be continually applied throughout the growing season.

Granular fertilizers feed for longer and don’t have to be applied as often.

You don’t have to fertilize too much in the first year, but they need A LOT in the next years. As the plants get larger and produce more, they will run through fertilizer like it’s nothing.

So don’t be afraid to fertilize your raspberries heavily.

Really, don’t be afraid. If you think you put a lot, then you probably didn’t. A little dusting is not going to do anything. Pour a bunch on those plants.

I fertilize only once in spring. I sprinkle a bunch of organic fertilizer on the surface of the soil before there’s too many leaves growing.

Some gardeners also like to fertilize again as they flower and produce fruits, but I don’t think this is necessary if you give them enough in the spring.

Pruning Raspberry Plants

There is a difference for pruning primocane and floricane varieties. But generally, don’t do any pruning in the first year of growth.

But if you see any dead or damaged branches, then they should be pruned off.

Pruning Primocane Raspberries

Primocane raspberries produce fruit on 1 year old growth. This means that the new growth of this year will produce fruit this year.

So this means we can prune back everything to the ground in the fall because they will produce new canes next year.

Don’t be afraid to do it; prune back every cane for primocane varieties right down to the ground. They can handle it and they prefer it.

Next spring, the plants will put out new fresh growth from the ground, which will produce fruit that year.

Pruning Floricane Raspberries

Floricane raspberries produce fruit on 2 year old growth. This means that the canes will grow for 1 year without fruit, and then produce fruit on those same canes next year.

So we have to be more selective when pruning floricanes, or else you won’t get a good harvest.

Pay attention to which canes produced fruit and which ones didn’t.

The ones that did produce fruit this year can be pruned off all the way to the ground. They won’t produce any more so you don’t need those.

The ones that didn’t produce fruit this year should not be pruned. Leave these canes to overwinter and they will produce fruit on those same canes next year.

Once those canes flower and produce fruit, then you can cut them back in the fall, and the cycle repeats.

So just pay attention to which canes produced fruit and which ones didn’t and you’ll be good.

Trellising Raspberries

Raspberries don’t really need a specific trellis, but the heavy canes need to be supported as they grow.

I like to put some stakes down in the ground and tightly tie a string between them. The canes will naturally grow vertically and they will rest on the string.

Some people like using A-frames or tying each individual cane, but this really becomes a hassle as they grow over the years and produce more canes.

Harvesting Raspberries

You won’t get any fruit until the second year of growth, but they really start producing after 3-5 years.

But even in the second year, I would prune off all flowers and fruit that start to form. This will redirect the energy into producing more roots and leaves.

Primocane varieties will generally produce fruit all the way from late summer until the first frost date in the fall.

Floricane varieties produce fruit for only one month in the summer, typically around early or mid summer. Here in Southern Ontario, floricane raspberries fruit around July.

You’ll know when the fruits are ripe because they’ve reached their full colour. They should be fully red; don’t harvest them if they are still white.

Gently grab the berries and just give them a little tug. Be careful not to damage the berries.

But also be careful not to let the fruits get too ripe. So go outside every day to check for ripe berries and pick them as soon as possible.

Dealing With Raspberry Pests

As your raspberries continue growing, you may start to notice some signs of pest damage. There are at least 4 that are common in raspberries.

Aphids

I don’t really see too many aphids on my raspberry plants, but they are fairly common, especially in early spring.

They like to attack the fresh growth right when they come out of dormancy. They also like the growing tips where new leaves and flowers emerge.

You might also see them on the undersides of the leaves.

They can become a problem when they start eating the flower buds, because then you won’t get any fruit.

So the easiest way to get rid of aphids on raspberry plants is to use a castile soap spray. This soap is completely natural and won’t harm your plants, but it will dissolve the outer coating on the aphid’s body.

This causes the aphids to dry out and die.

Because the soap is natural, you can spray it all over your plants. Don’t be afraid; keep spraying until all the aphids are gone.

Japanese Beetles

Japanese beetles love chewing on my raspberry leaves. They’re active between July and August, which is the worst time because that’s when the plants are flowering and fruiting.

And trust me, they aren’t picky. They’ll eat the leaves, stems, flower buds, flowers, under ripe fruits, and ripe fruits.

But honestly, there isn’t a perfect way to prevent them from showing up. And because I have so many Japanese beetle host plants in my garden (grapes, roses, beans, raspberries), they will probably never go away.

So the only way to get rid of them is to manually remove them. I know, it’s pretty gross to touch them, but you have to.

When you pick them off, put them in a bucket of soapy water to let them drown. Discard them after they die.

A fun activity that I like to do is cut individual Japanese beetles with my pruning shears. While they’re sitting on the leaves destroying my plants, I go in to see if I can slice them perfectly in half.

Raspberry Cane Borers

Again, I haven’t noticed too many raspberry cane borers on my plants, but they are fairly common among home gardeners.

You’ll know when they’re around because you’ll see the shoots of your raspberries wilting. Additionally, there are usually 2 cut marks right below the wilted area.

If you see this, just prune off the wilted area a couple of inches below the cut marks. You can also take out the whole cane if you’re scared that they’ll spread.

But if you leave it, then the larvae will bore down the cane through the summer and fall and emerge as an adult next spring, repeating the cycle.

Fruit Flies

This might sound weird at first, but when you realize how soft and juicy raspberries are, then it makes sense.

Fruit flies, specifically the spotted wing drosophila (SWD), love to lay their eggs in ripe raspberries. The larvae hatch and start to eat the fruit from within.

There isn’t a good organic way to get rid of them, simply because there are so many of them and they reproduce so quickly.

But to prevent them from eating your raspberries, don’t let the fruit get overripe on the plant. Harvest them when they are ripe and keep harvesting every 1-2 days.

And don’t worry, if you accidentally eat a raspberry with fruit fly larvae, it won’t do any harm to you. But it’s still nasty to think about.

Anyways, it’s probably better if you didn’t know about this one… but now you do. So… enjoy!

Frequently Asked Questions

Even More Gardening Ideas

Here are a few more posts to get the ball rolling in your garden!

• Best Fertilizer for Pepper Plants
• How to Get Rid of Aphids Naturally
• Easily Start a 5 Gallon Bucket Garden

If you liked this article, make sure to share it with your friends and family members who are also looking to sharpen their gardening skills. Also, consider signing up for our email newsletter; don’t worry, we won’t send you spam, just fresh gardening ideas every week!

If you want to learn more about vegetable gardening, check out The Real Gardener on Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest.

Pin this post for later:

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The post Planting Bare Root Raspberries in Spring appeared first on The Real Gardener.

If you’re looking to grow healthy, thriving pepper plants, understanding the role of fertilizer is crucial. The right fertilizer not only boosts the growth of your peppers but also helps in achieving a bountiful harvest. In this post, we’ll dive into everything you need to know about fertilizer for pepper plants — from choosing the right type to proper application and timing.

Best Fertilizer for Pepper Plants

If you have a short growing season like me, then it can be difficult to get a good pepper harvest. They grow for a long time and need a lot of nutrients to support it.

This is where fertilizer comes in.

Peppers can theoretically get all of the nutrients they need from the soil, but why not increase their growth rates by fertilizing them?

This will give you larger plants, more peppers, and a longer harvest window.

That being said, let’s get right into the best fertilizer for pepper plants

Products:

To buy high-quality garden seeds, check out Burpee.

For a wide selection of perennial garden plants, check out Nature Hills Nursery.

For gardening equipment, check out Bootstrap Farmer.

Why Fertilize Pepper Plants?

Pepper plants are heavy feeders, meaning they use up a lot of nutrients to grow properly.

The leaves, roots, flowers, and fruits require lots of macro and micronutrients to grow the way they grow.

This is unlike something like radishes, which are considered light feeders. This means they don’t need a lot of nutrients to grow properly.

So make sure to provide your pepper plants with a lot of nutrients to fuel their growth.

Which Nutrients do Peppers Need?

Peppers need a variety of nutrients, which each fall into one of two categories. They are either macronutrients or micronutrients (or primary and secondary).

Macronutrients are needed in the largest quantity by pepper plants and they are used up in large amounts. Here are the 3 pepper macronutrients:

1. Nitrogen (N): Nitrogen is the most plentiful nutrient in the soil, and the one used most by pepper plants. It is used to make proteins, which helps with leafy growth.
2. Phosphorus (P): Phosphorus is essential for root and flower development. If you don’t have enough, then roots won’t grow to support your plants as well.
3. Potassium (K): Potassium helps with general plant health, but more specifically for flower and flavourful fruit development.

These nutrients are the most important for growing peppers.

For micronutrients, they are not needed in as large quantities as macros, but they are still necessary for pepper health.

A few common micronutrients are sulfur, magnesium, and calcium. These are typically present in most commercial fertilizers. You don’t need to use a separate fertilizer for these nutrients.

A few other ones are boron, copper, and iron. You probably don’t need to add these to your soil because they are almost always already present. Adding too much can harm your pepper plants.

Ideal NPK Ratio for Pepper Plants

NPK is an acronym for nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. N stands for nitrogen, P for phosphorus, and K is the symbol for potassium on the periodic table. There’s one on every fertilizer package.

It just represents the percent of each macronutrient by weight in a fertilizer. For example, if a fertilizer has an NPK ratio of 4-5-6, that means it’s 4% nitrogen, 5% phosphorus, and 6% potassium by weight.

It’s hard to give an exact NPK ratio for growing peppers. Some people say 3-1-2, some people say other things, so it’s hard to tell.

But I can say that it usually is not one exact formula. Pepper plants have different growth stages, each requiring different amounts of nutrients for the plants to thrive.

So I can’t give you one exact ratio perfect for growing peppers, but we will cover different growth stages and fertilizing requirements further down.

Are Organic or Synthetic Fertilizers Better for Peppers?

As an organic gardener with absolutely no bias, organic fertilizers are always better than synthetic.

But seriously, synthetic fertilizers are not the way to go for your vegetable garden. Sure they have their pros, but they are far outweighed by their cons.

Synthetic fertilizers do work quicker than organic and they are cheaper, but they also contaminate water, acidify the soil, burn your plants, and decrease soil biodiversity.

In contrast, organic fertilizers do the exact opposite and have none of these problems.

So always choose organic fertilizers for your pepper plants so you can have big and flavourful peppers.

Importance of Soil Microorganisms

Soil microorganisms are the backbone of a healthy vegetable garden. They are the ones breaking down organic matter into bioavailable nutrients for your plants.

If you didn’t have any microorganisms in your soil, it would be extremely difficult to grow vegetables.

They are so important that some organic fertilizers actually include beneficial microbes in them to help break it down.

When you fertilize your peppers with an organic fertilizer, the nutrients are not immediately available to the plants. They need to be broken down further to get into a usable form.

Generally, if you keep an organic garden, you will have large populations of soil microorganisms working to break down organic matter for your peppers to use.

You can also try using compost tea to increase the diversity of these microbes in your soil.

Should You Still Use Compost

Even though we are using these fertilizers for most of the peppers’ nutrition, you should still add compost to the soil.

Regardless of nutrient requirements, compost is still a good soil amendment for improving general soil health. Like I said, soil microorganisms feed on organic matter.

That means they will be more active in your soil if there is plenty of organic matter, like compost, manure, and mulch.

So you should still add compost to your soil at the beginning of the growing season.

Types of Fertilizers for Pepper Plants

There are 2 main types of fertilizers for pepper plants, each with their own benefits for peppers. I tend to use both types during the growing season, but you can pick based on your needs.

Granular Fertilizers:

These fertilizers are easier to apply than others because you can just sprinkle it on your soil and water it in. There are usually instructions on the packet, but who follows that stuff anyway?

Granular fertilizers release their nutrients over a longer period of time because they actually still need to be broken down. They aren’t fully in their bioavailable form, meaning peppers can’t absorb the nutrients right away.

This is why you need living soil, so that the microorganisms can break down the fertilizer into a usable form for your pepper plants.

These fertilizers are best for gardeners who want a set-it-and-forget-it solution to fertilization. Just throw in some good fertilizer and your plants will be good for a few weeks.

That being said, apply granular fertilizers about every 2-3 weeks during the growing season.

Liquid Fertilizers:

As the name implies, these fertilizers are liquid and need to be diluted with water to apply to your peppers. I’ll also include water-soluble fertilizers in this group.

Although they still need to be broken down, liquid fertilizers generally provide nutrients much quicker than granular. And they can be used as a foliar feed, which means spraying the leaves with the diluted fertilizer.

I like to use liquid fertilizers every time I water my pepper plants. They can handle it and they will actually thank you later for it when they give tons of peppers.

When to Fertilize Pepper Plants

There are at least 3 main times that you should fertilize your pepper plants.

1. Seedling Stage

Your peppers should be started indoors before your frost date, which means they need to be fertilized as well.

Don’t fertilize them as soon as they sprout; wait until a couple of true leaves grow first.

Fertilize them at this time with a higher nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer. Since nitrogen and phosphorus promote leaf and root growth, it’s perfect for young seedlings.

Neptune’s Harvest crab and lobster shell is perfect for this. This fertilizer has an NPK ratio of 5-3-0, which is the ideal ratio for young seedlings.

It’s also high in calcium, magnesium, and other micronutrients, which will help your pepper seedlings thrive.

2. Transplanting Time

If you have kept up with the higher nitrogen fertilizer, then your plants should be nice and bushy with perfect green leaves.

But if we keep using nitrogen-rich fertilizer, then we will only have leaves and not too many peppers. So this is when we need to switch the fertilizer.

I like to use this Rose + Bloom fertilizer. It has an NPK ratio of 4-6-4, which is perfect for promoting more flower development, and eventually more peppers.

Use this granular fertilizer in the planting hole when you are transplanting your seedlings. Apply it every 3-4 weeks as the plants continue to grow.

3. During Flowering and Fruiting

Once the plants start flowering, I like to switch to a liquid fertilizer that is higher in phosphorus and potassium.

This helps your pepper plants produce more flowers and better fruits.

Because less nitrogen is required, a fertilizer with an NPK ratio of 2-5-5, or something related, is perfect for this time. This will reduce the amount of leaf growth and shift it towards the flowers and fruit.

Liquid fertilizers can be applied every time you water your peppers. Simply dilute it in a water can and drench your peppers with that fertility.

Best Fertilizer for Peppers in Pots

When growing peppers in pots, you’re basically creating a new growing environment every season. You have to put new soil in every time, so it doesn’t really create a good microbiome to help your peppers.

While I do still recommend adding compost to your soil, you will probably have to fertilize a little bit more than usual.

And for that, I recommend using a liquid organic fertilizer. These are more readily available to your plants and require less decomposition from microorganisms.

And because a lot of the fertilizer will drain out of the pots, you may also have to fertilizer more often.

Frequently Asked Questions

Even More Gardening Ideas

Here are a few more posts to get the ball rolling in your garden!

• How to Grow Lettuce from Seed in Every Season
• How to Grow Strawberries from Bare-Root Plants
• Easily Start a 5 Gallon Bucket Garden

If you liked this article, make sure to share it with your friends and family members who are also looking to sharpen their gardening skills. Also, consider signing up for our email newsletter; don’t worry, we won’t send you spam, just fresh gardening ideas every week!

If you want to learn more about vegetable gardening, check out The Real Gardener on Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest.

Pin this post for later:

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The post The Best Fertilizer for Pepper Plants to Grow Delicious Fruits appeared first on The Real Gardener.

Strawberries are one of the most rewarding fruits to grow at home. They are packed with flavour, full of nutrients, and taste far better than anything store-bought. But growing strawberries successfully requires proper care, the right variety, and a bit of patience. This guide covers everything you need to know on how to grow strawberries from bare-root plants.

How to Grow Strawberries

Try to find a better tasting strawberry than the one you grow in your garden. Let me tell you, it will never happen.

Strawberries at the store are harvested at half ripeness, when they are still white! Who wants to eat a white strawberry that has no flavour?

Additionally, who wants to wait 5-10 years for a fruit tree to produce fruit? Strawberries will bear fruit in their first year, so you don’t have to wait nearly as long.

That being said, let’s get right into how to grow strawberries from bare-root plants.

Products:

To buy high-quality garden seeds, check out Burpee.

For a wide selection of perennial garden plants, check out Nature Hills Nursery.

For gardening equipment, check out Bootstrap Farmer.

Understanding Strawberry Varieties

It can get a little bit confusing when learning about strawberry varieties, but here’s everything you need to know:

• Summer Fruiting / June Bearing: These varieties produce all of their fruit within about 2-3 weeks in the summer. They generally produce larger berries and will not produce after this period. They’re great if you want lots of strawberries to make jams, jellies, and other preserves.
  • Early Season: These are June bearing varieties that produce fruit in early summer (or spring in warmer climates).
  • Mid Season: These June bearing varieties produce berries in mid summer.
  • Late Season: Late season varieties produce fruit in late summer and early fall.
• Everbearing / Perpetual: As the name suggests, these varieties produce fruit throughout the summer in small batches. The fruits are generally medium-sized and they are used more for fresh eating because they produce in a steady supply. They produce all the way until early fall.
• Day Neutral: These varieties are similar to everbearing in the sense that they produce fruit all season long. The only difference is that these ones are bred more for warmer climates, as they will produce fruit from spring all the way until late fall, the entire growing season.
• Alpine / Wild: As the name suggests, these varieties are wild and are often found in the wilderness. They produce smaller fruits throughout the summer and fall. The flavour is much more intense. They can even be found growing wild right here in North America.

The variety that you grow depends on what you want to get out of your strawberry harvest.

If you want to make lots of jam and other preserves, then June bearing varieties are right for you. If you want to eat most of the berries fresh over the summer, the everbearing varieties are better.

Here are some of my favourite strawberry varieties:

1. Eversweet: Bright red, cone-shaped berries appear throughout the spring, summer, and fall, and can tolerate extremely hot temperatures.
2. Mara Des Bois: This French variety is perfect for growing in containers, grow bags, or raised beds.
3. Flavorfest: This June bearing is very large, juicy, and flavourful, and it can tolerate colder temperatures (hardy to zone 4).

Generally, I recommend growing a few different varieties. For example, with June bearing varieties, choose at least one early season, one mid season, and one late season.

This gives you a constant supply of strawberries throughout the growing season.

Why Choose Bare-Root Strawberry Plants?

Bare-root strawberries are strawberries that are sold without soil, meaning the roots are bare. They typically only have a few small leaves and are dormant when sold.

I like using bare-root plants over container plants because they are much more cost effective and they establish quicker.

Think about it, the Eversweet variety gives you 25 bare-root plants for only $23; that’s less than a dollar each! There’s no way you would get that price with potted plants.

Additionally, because the roots are exposed to the elements, they will establish in your garden much easier. Potted plants take longer because they’re already used to growing in their pot.

Can You Grow Strawberries from Seed?

Yes, of course you can grow strawberries from seed. However, I wouldn’t do it if you want a good harvest.

Many strawberry seeds need to undergo a process known as cold stratification. This is when you expose the seeds to a period of cold and wet conditions to simulate the winter.

After the period is over (roughly 2-4 weeks), they will germinate.

But even after germination, they are particularly slow to mature and they can take a while before you get fruit.

So growing strawberries from seed can be a fun experiment; even I think it’s cool. But I wouldn’t do it if you want the best fruit you can grow.

Sunlight Conditions

Strawberries are fruiting crops, so to get those juicy berries, they need lots of sunlight.

Aim for at least 6 hours of direct sunlight every day, but just know that the more they get, the better. If you can give them 8-10 hours, then it will be great for fruit production.

Strawberries can’t grow in shade. Fruit production will drop and you won’t get a good harvest.

Preparing the Soil

Strawberries are heavy feeders, meaning they use up a lot of nutrients from the soil to grow properly.

Make sure to amend your soil with lots of well-rotted compost or manure. This will give structure to the soil but will also give nutrients to the plants once broken down.

I also like to add a blood and bone meal fertilizer to the soil. This gives lots of nitrogen and phosphorus for early root and leaf growth.

If you have soil that is particularly clay-heavy, you should amend it first. Strawberries don’t do well in heavy clay soil. Organic matter and perlite should do the trick.

However, they also don’t grow well in sandy soil. Sandy soil drains water too quickly, meaning the plants can’t absorb any of it. Weirdly, organic matter also fixes this problem. Don’t use perlite for sandy soil, as it may increase the drainage.

Planting Bare-Root Strawberry Plants

Before planting your bare-root strawberries, make sure to soak them in a bucket of water for a couple of hours. This wakes up the plants and gets the roots ready for planting.

In colder climates, bare-root strawberries should be planted in early spring. This gives them enough time to establish before the heat sets in.

As soon as you can get them in the ground, start planting!

Space the plants about 12-18 inches (30-45 cm) apart, depending on what the variety says. This gives them enough space to develop roots and runners to fill in the space.

You can plant them closer together if you want to grow more, without waiting for runners to fill in the extra space. But of course, this will cost you more upfront.

It’s also important to get the depth correct; the crown must be slightly above the soil level. The crown is the part of the plant where the roots meet the leaves.

If the crown is below the soil, it will rot and the plant will die. If it’s far above the soil, then the roots will dry out very quickly and, you guessed it, the plant will die.

After planting, make sure to thoroughly water all the plants; this is what will help them to break dormancy.

You also need to mulch the plants to protect from late-season frosts in spring and to retain moisture.

But mulch also helps to keep the strawberries off the ground, where they could rot. The mulch creates a dry environment for the berries to rest on.

Watering Strawberries

Strawberries have shallow roots, with most growing in the top 6 inches of the soil. This means that the soil needs to be kept consistently moist to prevent the plants from drying out.

When the fruits start to develop, the plants will also start to take up more water to produce juicy fruits. This is also when we need to increase the watering.

Fertilizing Strawberries

To produce flavourful fruit, strawberries need a fertilizer higher in phosphorus and potassium. Nitrogen is important as well, but strawberries are very sensitive to over-fertilization, especially with nitrogen.

I tend to use a balanced fertilizer at the time of planting, and then taper it out to a high phosphorus and potassium fertilizer when flowers and fruit appear.

I like using bone meal, but you can also use a specific berry fertilizer. These work well for me and I continue to apply them about once every 3-4 weeks throughout the flowering and fruiting season.

Once it starts to get colder in late summer and fall, dial down the fertilizer to allow the strawberries to naturally go dormant. Too much fertilizer can prevent the strawberries from going dormant.

Growing Strawberries in Containers / Hanging Baskets

Because strawberries don’t grow very tall (only about 1 foot), growing them in containers and hanging baskets makes the fruits easy to harvest.

It also keeps the fruit off the ground, so pests will have a hard time getting to them.

I like using grow bags, 5 gallon buckets, and hanging baskets.

However, these containers tend to dry out much faster than in-ground or raised beds. So we need to prepare the soil accordingly to hold onto moisture.

Make sure to add lots of organic matter, like compost and coco coir. These are great for holding onto moisture.

Another benefit with containers is that you can move them around your garden to follow the sun. If you know that they won’t get 8-10 hours of direct sunlight in one spot, then you can pick them up and move them to another spot once the sun has passed.

You can keep doing this every day throughout the day to ensure they get enough sunlight.

Be aware, however, that you may need to water container-grown strawberries more. Because water is lost so easily in containers, you probably have to water every day during the summer.

Can You Grow Strawberries Vertically?

Vertical towers are also a great way to grow strawberries. They take up way less space and can grow so many plants.

The Garden Tower 2 can hold 50 plants and it allows them to grow vertically off the ground.

But because the plants are planted around the tower, one side will get more sun than the other side. So to avoid this, just rotate the tower every day to ensure both sides get enough sun.

Will Strawberries Grow on a Trellis?

Unless you make a specific planting wall for growing strawberries, they won’t climb an actual trellis.

Strawberries only grow to a maximum of about 1 foot, so there is no need for a trellis.

Should You Prune Off Runners?

Runners are small offshoots that grow from the main plant and produce new, genetically identical daughter plants.

These plants will start to touch the soil and produce roots. Eventually, the daughters will grow larger and grow into full-sized plants.

The reason why we plant strawberries so far apart is because they produce runners that fill in the space.

So there is some debate about whether or not runners should be left on the plant. Personally, I think it’s beneficial to prune off all runners in the first year of growth.

This allows the original mother plants to establish in the soil before putting energy into producing new daughter plants.

After the first year, allow only 3-4 runners per strawberry plant to grow into full-sized plants. This will help to fill in the gaps of the garden bed to give you more delicious berries.

Once the bed fills in, then you shouldn’t let any more runners propagate in there. Instead, allow the runners to root on a small pot of soil. This will give you small plants that you can plant in other parts of your garden.

Since strawberry plants only have good production for about 3-5 years, they need to be replaced to keep production going in your garden. We can do this with all of the runners.

Once the original strawberries get too old to produce large amounts of fruit, you can replace them with the daughter plants.

This means that you won’t have to buy new plants to replace the old ones.

Harvesting Strawberries

Generally, strawberries are ready to harvest about 4-6 weeks after the flowers have developed. And you’ll know when they’re ready because of their bright red colour.

Don’t harvest them when they are still white, only harvest fully red berries. This ensures that the full flavour of the fruit is there.

Additionally, to preserve fruit freshness, pick them every 3 days. This reduces the chances that pests will start to eat the fruits because you’re not leaving them on the plant for as long.

Harvest them very gently, preferably by cutting it off at the stem. But obviously nobody is pulling out their pruning shears for a strawberry.

Just try not to pull the fruit hard; this can damage both the fruit and the plant.

Strawberry Pests and Diseases

There are a few pests and diseases that can reduce your strawberry crop, so let’s go over them.

1. Slugs and Snails

Slugs and snails are probably the most common strawberry pests for home gardeners.

To learn all about them, check out my article on how to deter slugs naturally.

But for strawberries, slugs eat both the leaves and the ripe fruits. And you’ll notice them because there’ll be round holes taken out of the fruit.

If you look into these holes, you might even see the slug feasting. You might also see potato bugs (known as pill bugs in other countries) or millipedes inside the hole.

But don’t worry, the potato bugs and millipedes didn’t cause the hole, they just took their chance at the hole that was already made by the slugs.

So to get rid of the slugs, firstly keep the strawberries off the ground. Add a thick layer of mulch so the fruits are not sitting directly on the soil. This reduces the chance of slugs because mulch is generally drier than soil.

You can also use a simple beer trap. Fill a small container with beer and put it at the soil level so slugs can easily slide into it.

They are naturally attracted to the fermented yeasty smell that comes from beer.

2. Aphids

Another common strawberry pest is the not-so-humble aphid. To get a full overview, check out my article on how to get rid of aphids naturally.

You’ll see aphids around the growing tips of your strawberry plants, wherever the new leaves emerge. They can also be around the leaf stems and the undersides of the leaves.

They suck out sap from the plant, causing it to wither and die.

The simplest way to get rid of aphids naturally on strawberry plants is to use an insecticidal soap spray.

Espoma’s Insecticidal Soap works by dissolving the outer coating of the aphids exoskeleton, causing it to dry out and die shortly after.

This works extremely well with aphids, spider mites, and other soft-bodied pests.

Spray the infected areas everyday until ZERO aphids are visible.

3. Birds

A lot of these urban birds have evolved to notice colourful fruits on plants. This is how they distinguish between the leaves and fruit, just like humans.

So they can easily spot the bright red fruits on the plants from far away. So they’ll swoop in and poke at the berries.

Really the only way to prevent birds from eating your strawberries is to put a floating row cover over them from the beginning of their growth.

By doing this, birds won’t be able to get to the fruits.

There’s also another cool trick to get rid of birds, but I’m not too convinced about it.

It involves painting a rock a bright red colour to simulate a strawberry. You then place this rock next to your strawberry plants to attract birds to it.

The birds will soon realize that they can’t eat the rock and they won’t come back for more.

4. Powdery Mildew

Powdery mildew is especially common among younger plants. Because the leaves are still so close to the ground, moisture can easily build on them and powdery mildew will grow.

It’s hard to get rid of powdery mildew once the plants have it, but we can prevent the spread of it by pruning off all the leaves that have powdery mildew on them.

Throw these leaves out or burn them. Don’t compost or mulch them, or they’ll spread to the rest of your garden.

And just stop allowing water to go on the leaves, plain and simple.

5. Root Rot

Strawberries can be very prone to root rot, especially if you bury the crowns too deep.

So first, make sure you have high-quality, well-draining soil. This allows all the excess water to drain through your garden beds or out of your containers.

Secondly, you need to plant the crowns at the right depth. Make sure they are not too deep or the plants will definitely rot.

Preparing Strawberries for Winter

Strawberries are perennial crops, meaning they will come back in the spring after winter. They even survive winters in my zone as well (5b)

Make sure to apply a thick layer of mulch in the fall. For me, leaves are readily available at this time of year, so that’s not a problem. You can also use straw, grass clippings, or wood chips.

Make sure the entire plant is buried in mulch. As long as the roots and crowns are covered, the frost won’t kill the plants.

At this time, you should also be reducing your watering and fertilization. This helps to prepare the plants for dormancy.

Once they go dormant, you kind of just have to wait it out until spring.

When spring arrives, remove the mulch to uncover the leaves. But there’s still a danger of frost at this time, especially in colder climates.

So to prevent the frost from harming your plants, cover them with a floating row cover. This will allow sunlight to get through, but it will also help to warm up the soil.

Frequently Asked Questions

Even More Gardening Ideas

Here are a few more posts to get the ball rolling in your garden!

• How to Grow Lettuce from Seed in Every Season
• How to Get Rid of Aphids Naturally
• Easily Start a 5 Gallon Bucket Garden

If you liked this article, make sure to share it with your friends and family members who are also looking to sharpen their gardening skills. Also, consider signing up for our email newsletter; don’t worry, we won’t send you spam, just fresh gardening ideas every week!

If you want to learn more about vegetable gardening, check out The Real Gardener on Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest.

Pin this post for later:

How to Grow Cucumbers from Seed to Harvest

Planting Bare Root Raspberries in Spring

How to Grow Strawberries from Bare-Root Plants

How to Grow Lettuce From Seed in Every Season

How to Grow Carrots from Seed to Harvest

How to Grow Radishes from Seed to Harvest

How to Grow Onions Perfectly Every Time

How to Grow Tomatoes from Seed for Beginners

The post How to Grow Strawberries from Bare-Root Plants appeared first on The Real Gardener.

Lettuce is one of the easiest and fastest-growing vegetables you can grow at home. Whether you have a raised bed or a few containers on your balcony, lettuce thrives in small spaces and produces multiple harvests throughout the season. This guide covers everything you need to know on how to grow lettuce from seed successfully.

How to Grow Lettuce

Despite what some gardeners might tell you, lettuce can be grown in all seasons, even in the summer.

While it do prefer cooler temperatures, there are ways to grow lettuce all year.

Lettuce doesn’t take up too much space in the garden, which is why it’s perfect for everyone. It’s also a fairly easy plant to grow, so you probably won’t mess this one up.

That being said, let’s get right into how to grow lettuce from seed all year long.

Products:

To buy high-quality garden seeds, check out Burpee.

For a wide selection of perennial garden plants, check out Nature Hills Nursery.

For gardening equipment, check out Bootstrap Farmer.

Choosing the Right Lettuce Variety

There are literally thousands of lettuce varieties, each with their own flavour, texture, and colour. But we can group all of them into 4 main groups:

1. Leaf Lettuce: These are varieties that are grown for their individual leaves, rather than a full head. One plant will provide multiple harvests, as long as you are harvesting correctly. My favourite leaf lettuce variety is Green Ice.
2. Romaine Lettuce: Everybody knows romaine lettuce, with its upright heads and crunchy leaves. These varieties are more heat-tolerant than other varieties. They can only be harvested once through the growing season. One of my favourites is Little Gem, which produces a small, personal-sized romaine lettuce head.
3. Butterhead Lettuce: These produce loose heads with leaves that are very soft, tender, and buttery. Butterhead varieties prefer cooler temperatures, as the leaves are too soft for the heat. My favourite butterhead lettuce variety is Yugoslavian Red, which is a very beautiful variety.
4. Crisphead Lettuce: Crisphead varieties produce dense heads with crunchy leaves, kind of like cabbage. They require more time to mature to form the perfectly tight heads. One of my favourite crispheads is called Igloo, which grows well in the cool and warm season, making it the perfect variety.

I typically choose one of each variety to grow every year in my garden.

If you’re just starting out with gardening, leaf lettuce is definitely the easiest to grow; it doesn’t need as much sun or nutrients, and it grows quickly.

Romaine is probably the next easiest, and then butterhead and crisphead are a little bit harder. But don’t think that they are actually hard to grow, just out of these four.

Will Lettuce Grow in Summer?

Lettuce can be grown at any time of the year. Just think about our grocery stores; how do they have fresh lettuce in the summer? Because we still grow it during this time.

But yes, lettuce does prefer cooler weather, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t simulate these conditions in the summer.

I grow lettuce in the summer all the time, you just need to keep it well-watered and it should be fine.

What to Grow Lettuce in

Lettuce grows well in containers, raised beds, grow bags, and in-ground.

I prefer to grow them in shallow containers and grow bags. This keeps the plants off of the ground, meaning they will be cleaner and easier to harvest.

The only problem with containers is that they dry out very quickly, which is not good for the summer. So when summer comes, I start growing lettuce in my raised beds, which hold onto more water.

But you can also move containers around in the summer. So you can move them to a place with more shade so that they don’t bolt.

The only problem I have with growing lettuce in-ground is that you have to bend down all the way to the floor to harvest. That’s not a problem for a young stud like me, but it might be a challenge for older gardeners or those with injuries.

Another thing with growing in-ground is that the lettuce gets so dirty. Because it’s basically touching the ground, people are walking by, and animals are crawling around, the leaves are full of dirt and it takes so long to wash them.

Preparing the Soil to Grow Lettuce

Lettuce plants generally have very shallow roots compared to other vegetables, so it’s important to give them the right soil to accommodate their roots.

Because of this, lettuce doesn’t like to grow in heavy clay soil or loose sandy soil.

Clay soil doesn’t allow the roots to penetrate, while sandy soil won’t hold onto enough water to support the plants.

The best fix for both conditions is to add organic matter, like compost or manure.

Specifically for sandy soil, you can also add coco coir because it helps to hold onto water.

And for clay soil, adding perlite can help to break up the clumps.

But generally speaking, adding about 30% organic matter by volume to the soil will be beneficial for drainage issues.

Sunlight Conditions

Lettuce thrives in full sun during most of the year. But it can tolerate partial shade if that’s what you have.

When it starts to get really hot in the summer, many gardeners wonder, “will lettuce grow in shade?”

In this case, it can be beneficial to provide your lettuce plants with shade. Use a shade cloth or plant them in an area with natural shade.

If your plants get too much sun, they may start to bolt. Bolting is when the lettuce flowers prematurely because it thinks that it won’t live much longer.

Again, we can prevent this by giving the plants some shade during the hottest parts of the year.

Watering Lettuce

The leaves of lettuce plants are mostly water, which means that the soil needs to be consistently moist to keep them happy.

If you don’t give lettuce enough water, it’ll start to wilt in the sun.

But don’t give them water as soon as they wilt! Wait until the sun passes, and then see if they are still wilting. If they are, then you should water. If the leaves jumped back up, then they don’t need any water.

Starting Lettuce Seeds Indoors

When starting seeds indoors, lettuce plants should be kept inside for about 3-4 weeks before transplanting outside. This gives them enough time to grow before they go out.

Use a light seed-starting mix to grow lettuce seedlings. You can also add extra perlite for more drainage. This will prevent overwatering, leading to healthier lettuce plants.

Make sure it’s somewhat cool in your home when growing lettuce, as they prefer cooler weather to germinate. Plant the seeds about 1/4 inch deep.

Keep the seedling mix moist and they should germinate in about 7-14 days.

Succession-Sowing Lettuce

Many gardeners sow all of their lettuce seeds at once, which means that they harvest everything at once as well.

The problem with this is that firstly, you won’t have any lettuce after you harvest, and secondly, what on God’s green Earth are you going to do with 25 heads of lettuce?

That’s why it’s important to succession sow your lettuce heads, which basically means to sow a little bit at a time.

So if your family normally eats 2 heads of lettuce per week, then you should sow 2 heads of lettuce per week. So if you do this every week throughout the growing season, then you will be harvesting 2 heads of lettuce every week.

Succession sowing also works with other crops like radishes, turnips, spinach, and carrots.

Thinning Lettuce Seedlings

If you sowed many seeds into one seedling cell, then you will have to thin them out. Wait until they develop their true leaves before thinning.

For leaf lettuce, I’ve found that they don’t mind growing close together, so I usually leave 2 plants per cell.

For heading lettuce, leaving 1 plant per cell allows them to produce a full-sized head.

Transplanting Lettuce Seedlings

You don’t have to worry about frost dates with lettuce, because they can actually tolerate cold weather. You can plant them outside before your last frost date very early in the spring.

However, you still have to harden off your lettuce seedlings.

Hardening off is a simple process where you gradually expose your seedlings to the outdoor conditions. If you don’t do this, your lettuce plants will wilt and dry out from the intense heat.

Or if it’s really cold, they may freeze if they’re not used to it.

You can harden off your lettuce seedlings by gradually exposing them over a period of about 7-10 days. Each day, you increase the amount of time they are outside, and the amount of sunlight they receive.

It’s important to keep the seedlings well-watered during this time, as the intense sun and wind will dry out the soil very quickly.

After the seedlings are hardened off, you can transplant them into your garden.

For leaf lettuces, space them about 4-6 inches apart. For heading lettuce, space them about 8-10 inches apart depending on the variety.

Direct-Sowing Lettuce in the Garden

Lettuce can also be direct-sown into the garden, especially when the soil is still cool.

Lettuce seeds won’t reliably germinate if the soil temperature is above 25°C (77°F), so reserve direct-sowing lettuce for the spring and fall. For the summer, just start the seeds indoors.

You can plant them outside as soon as the ground is thawed out. Again, frost dates don’t really matter as lettuce can tolerate cold weather.

If you’re using a cold frame or greenhouse, then you can basically sow lettuce at any time during the winter.

Sow seeds about 1/4 inch deep. Lettuce seeds are small and flat, so make sure not to cover them too much. Keep the soil moist when they are germinating.

Once they sprout and grow larger, thin them out to 4-6 inches apart for leaf lettuce and 8-10 inches apart for heading lettuce.

Fertilizing Lettuce

Generally, lettuce doesn’t need too much fertilizer, as long as there is plenty of organic matter in the soil. Well-rotted compost or manure provides most of the nutrients.

If you notice that your plants need fertilizer, use an organic fertilizer that is higher in nitrogen. Nitrogen supports leaf growth, so it will be the best fertilizer for lettuce.

You can also use compost tea for lettuce plants every few weeks in the summer. Although it doesn’t contain too many nutrients, it has lots of beneficial microorganisms that help break down organic matter.

Harvesting Lettuce

There are 2 different ways to harvest lettuce, depending on the variety that you grow.

1. Cut-and-Come-Again: The cut-and-come-again method is when you harvest the individual outer leaves of the lettuce plant while leaving the middle leaves to continue growing. When you do this, the plant will produce more leaves, meaning you can come again and harvest. This method is used mostly for leaf lettuces, as they don’t produce a full head. You can get at least 3-4 harvests from one plant.
2. Full Head Harvest: As the name implies, this is when you harvest the entire head of lettuce, cutting it at the base. This is mainly used for heading lettuce of course, but you can do it with leaf lettuce as well. Once you harvest the head, it won’t keep growing. This means that you will only get one harvest from each plant. But the harvest is typically larger than when you harvest individual leaves.

Personally, I like to use the cut-and-come-again harvesting method for most of my plants. If I do this, then I don’t have to constantly plant more lettuce all the time.

Each harvest will allow the plant to keep growing, giving me a continual harvest throughout the season.

Eventually, however, you will have to replace the plants. As they grow larger in the summer, the leaves will start to get bitter. While you can still eat it, you should probably just plant new lettuce.

Frequently Asked Questions

Even More Gardening Ideas

Here are a few more posts to get the ball rolling in your garden!

• How to Grow Carrots from Seed to Harvest
• How to Get Rid of Aphids Naturally
• Fix These 11 Common Seedling Problems

If you liked this article, make sure to share it with your friends and family members who are also looking to sharpen their gardening skills. Also, consider signing up for our email newsletter; don’t worry, we won’t send you spam, just fresh gardening ideas every week!

If you want to learn more about vegetable gardening, check out The Real Gardener on Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest.

Pin this post for later:

How to Grow Cucumbers from Seed to Harvest

Planting Bare Root Raspberries in Spring

How to Grow Strawberries from Bare-Root Plants

How to Grow Lettuce From Seed in Every Season

How to Grow Carrots from Seed to Harvest

How to Grow Radishes from Seed to Harvest

How to Grow Onions Perfectly Every Time

How to Grow Tomatoes from Seed for Beginners

The post How to Grow Lettuce From Seed in Every Season appeared first on The Real Gardener.