As Winter begins to close and Spring looms, many of us feel like we should have started seeds to be able to plant a decent garden this year. But the gardening season has not begun yet. In fact, for certain crops, waiting a bit longer and directly sowing seeds into the garden can be a more suitable approach, especially if you don’t have the supplies to start seeds sucessfully. Crops like squash, okra, corn, and beans thrive when planted directly into the soil, aligning with nature’s own timing.
If you waited this long, it’s no problem to wait until the last frost has passed. Frost can damage or kill young seedlings. Plants like squash and okra love the warmth and will only flourish once the soil has thoroughly warmed up. By sowing seeds directly into the garden after the frost, and according to the seed planting directions on your seed packet, you ensure that your plants start life in conditions conducive to growth.
Direct sowing these seeds isn’t just a matter of practicality; it’s also an immensely rewarding and fun aspect of gardening. There’s something deeply satisfying about planting a seed, nurturing it, and watching as it breaks through the soil and grows into a mature plant. It’s a process that connects us to the cycles of nature and offers a tangible reward for our efforts.
Plants like squash are robust plants that not only produce bountiful yields but also have large, easy-to-handle seeds that make them ideal for gardening with children or beginners. Watching a squash vine sprawl across your garden and produce an abundance of fruit is a joyous experience. And you can’t kill a zucchini plant unless you try to. Or you get squash borers. But there are even borer resistant varieties!
Okra, with its beautiful flowers and rapid growth, is another gratifying choice for direct sowing. It’s a heat-loving plant that can add a touch of the exotic to your garden, and its pods are delicious when harvested young. We had okra the size of young trees last year at the gathering garden and they didn’t stop producing until it got genuinely cold.
Corn, a staple of many gardens, is best planted in blocks rather than rows for better pollination. The process of watching corn stalks shoot up, tassels form, and ears develop is a marvel of the garden world. There’s nothing quite like the taste of fresh corn picked from your own backyard. They do like some spacing and need some good compost to really give a good yield, but they are so fun to grow.
Beans, too, are an excellent choice for direct sowing. They germinate quickly and often very reliably, offering a quick reward for the gardener. Whether you grow bush beans for a quick harvest or pole beans for a season-long bounty, they are a staple that’s easy to grow and rewarding to harvest. And kids love them! They can be so sweet off the vine.
Direct sowing these seeds after the last frost is a way to be in tune with the seasons and sync up with nature’s rhythms. As the days lengthen and the soil warms, take your seeds, plant them in the earth, and watch as they grow and flourish under your care. Gardening is not just about the harvest; it’s about the journey, the learning, and the simple joys found in watching life grow the work of your hands. I’d be happy to advise on direct sowing, feel free to swing by The Gathering Garden in Mount Gilead at the corner of W Allenton St and School St, if you want to discuss gardening with us, you can find out more about or workdays on our facebook page.
In these weekly columns, I will share the science of gardening and so many more interesting tidbits. Check back here every week for tailored Montgomery County garden advice, sharing our garden updates, and more.
Let’s grow together!
This article was originally published in the Montgomery Herald and is reused here with permission by Mary Poplin.