Mish-Mashing

What sounds like an old 1950's doo-wop song title is actually putting vegetables in flower beds. It's not an official garden title, but, I find it rather descriptive.

Most flower beds have room for annuals. Many modern yards do not have room for gardens. What's a gardener to do? Mish-Mash my friend!

Some givens for mish-mashing:

• Most vegetables need full sun.
• Plant sets will work easier than seeds.
• Short is best in front or for edging your beds.
• Vegetables planted towards the middle or back need access to pick.

Typically vegetables and herbs are all about eating, so these plants need to be things that will enhance your table this summer. Something so good fresh it's worth devoting a little space. Here are a few suggestions:

Borders or edges:

• Lettuce: Dwarf, Kale, Romaine, Loose Leaf, Batavia, Butterhead, Arugula. There are light, dark, cream, green, red, purple, blue and spotted. Flavors vary.
• Peppers: There are red, green, orange, purple, yellow, gold and variegated. All shapes and sizes - not to mention heat.
• Herbs: Chard, Sweet Marjoram, Oregano, Sage, Rosemary, Thyme. Most herbs have many varieties, smells, and uses.

Interspersed:

• Leafy: Mustard, Chard, Aucurbita
• Herb: Dill, Lemon Balm, Basil, Chives
• Tomatoes: Grape, Current, Cherry, Pear. Red, yellow, chocolate cherry, green, gold, peach colors. The flavors vary widely.

Climbers:

• Dwarf ornamental Gourds, Pumpkins "Baby Boo." I don't usually recommend planting peas or beans to climb on the fence or bushes in perennial beds because it's difficult to get back to pick every single day when they're producing.

It's difficult to plant seeds in most established beds because they have a layer of mulch and the emerging perennials will shade the seeds before they get big enough to hold their own. A couple of options:

Start your seeds indoors and move outside after the last frost OR:

After the last frost, plant your seeds in 2 inch peat or cow manure seedling pots. Oak the pot long enough to get it completely damp but not dissolved. Add potting soil and plant your seeds as directed on the packets. Push aside the mulch and dig a hole about twice the size of the pot. Loosen up the bottom soil, add a little potting soil on the bottom so the pot will sit about an inch above ground and an inch below ground. Fill in the sides with potting soil and a little up the sides of the pot. Spread the mulch back ONLY to the outside edge of the pot.

This should give seeds a chance to germinate and your beds mulched. Do not cover the potting soil inside the pots or the seeds will never sprout. Don't allow the little pots to get dry but don't water so much and so powerfully the little seeds wash away or sit in water. The plant roots will go through the little pots and no transplanting is necessary.

It may appear to be lots of work but if it's necessary to plant seeds in established beds, this may be your best bet. Otherwise, putting out established plants is the other option.

Either way, the reward for mish-mashing is tasty, fragrant, beautiful food all summer long.

NOTE:
Anyone interested in visiting with other daylily enthusiasts, let me know.

Nothing formal - just daylily madness at it's best.