| Artichoke (Cynara Cardunculus) | A specimen for vegetable centerpieces or as a border plant in your vegetable garden. Artichokes grow very well in most areas of western WA and OR. These plants require a fertile well draining soil in full sun. You can expect a handful to a dozen blooms the first year and more each year. Roots must be protected from deep freezing in winter months. They are tasty and very attractive as a unique texture for your garden. | Broccoli (Brassica Oleracea) | Although related to cabbage many of us prefer the broccoli, with butter, with cheese, steamed or raw this tasty vegetable is a great choice. In planters use as a primary or secondary tier. Maximum height is roughly 2.5' and 2' wide. Sandy loam soil mixed with compost and/or composted cow manure is best. | Carrot (Daucus carota sativus) | Carrots are easy growers and in planters should be used as a outer secondary or 3rd tier planting. Although a root vegetable they have an attractive texture in the leaves. You can expect a bumper crop every time when growing these dirt dwellers in a vegetable display. Plant in full sun and well draining soil. We recommend a sandy loam soil mixed with compost and or composted cow manure. | Celery (Apium graveolens dulce) | We love to make peanut butter boats with raisin ants from this tasty but healthy snack. There's more to a celery then just a treat, its dried leaves are an important part of clam chowder and many other great dishes. You could say this plant is part vegetable and part herb. Although they are a biennial, we generally cut them to 3 in the fall and a new one usually re-emerges every year. We recommend celery as a centerpiece or second tier in planter displays. | Corn (zea mays) | You can't think of a garden without wondering about corn. We recommend only using corn as a centerpiece if you have a large planter, (greater than 3-1/2 feet across), otherwise corn is great as a background border planting in the vegetable display garden. Offering shade in summer and a delicious fall treat you can also use the cut stalks for your front porch fall festivities. When planting in a planter we plant a group of 3-5 and 6 inches - 8 inches apart. When planting as a background or bordering plant we like to plant 6 inches - 10 inches apart in a row. Corn planted at this spacing will require good watering and extra fertilizing to maintain growth. Fertilize with high nitrogen fertilizer. We try and stick with organic blends but use what you like. Plant in full sun with well draining soil mixed with compost or composted cow manure. | Cucumber (Cucumis Sativus) | Cucumbers are easy to grow, great to eat, and excellent producer. Cucumbers make great edge/overhanging plants because of their vine growing nature. Once the cucumber has grown down the planter or planting bed, you can control the growth by occasionally pinching the ends off. Pinching stunts sprawling growth and causes better production near the planter. Plant in full sun and well draining soil mixed with compost or composted cow manure. | Garlic (Allium) | Garlic is a great centerpiece to winter/spring vegetable displays. Garlic is planted October - November as a clove or bulb. Because Garlic is an Allium it will grow tall and produce a very tall center shoot with a large blossom head. We like to plant smaller types in the center of a planter in groups of 3-5 cloves about 6 inches apart, while elephant garlic is best with no more than 3 in the center. Plant in full sun and well draining soil mixed with compost or composted cow manure. Additional fertilizing is not generally necessary. | Kale or Collards (Brassica Oleracea) | Are great as winter/spring centerpieces or second tier pieces in planters. Some varieties can grow 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide with impressive leaves for any plate. Plant in full sun to partial shade and well draining soil mixed with compost or composted cow manure. | Lettuce (lactuca sativa) | There are many types of lettuce so rather than listing each one individually we're going to tell you the basics. Romaine, Iceberg, Butter crunch, and various leaf lettuce are some favorites. All can easily be started from seed every 3-6 weeks to keep the crop going. Some are better winter growers while others are better during the summer months. Usually during the winter it's best to stick with low-growing leaf lettuce rather than Romaine or a Head lettuce. The reason is leaf lettuce is harvested much more regularly with little chance to rot. That being said, lettuce is generally your year-round crop if kept up. Plant as a final tier unless using a tall variety. We recommend not planting less than 8 inches apart, as you'll need the space in between for new starts as time goes by. Plant in full sun to partial shade and well draining soil mixed with compost or composted cow manure. | Onion (Allium Cepa) | Onions - the word makes my mouth water and smell makes my eyes water. Love them or hate them, onions are in so many things that it's hard to imagine a world without them. Onions are very easy growers and we like to start from seed unless planting Walla Walla's. Onions are in the allium family and if let go to seed will produce a beautiful flower head atop a long stem. Plant onion greens as a secondary or even final tier while large varieties may need to be second tier or even a centerpiece. Plant in full sun and well draining soil mixed with compost or composted cow manure. Plant early in the spring and greens throughout the year. | Peas (Pisum Sativum) | One of the first to plant in the spring, peas can bring much pleasure. We don't recommend bush peas for garden displays however pole peas do very well as a centerpiece in a planter. To make this happen start with at least three equal 1 inch by 1 inch wooden stakes aligned like a teepee or erect a decorative wood-steel structure for these pearl sized guests. Plant 2-3 peas in a group every 6" around the structure, this leaves space for consecutive plantings every 2-3 weeks. Peas like full sun and a very rich well draining soil. | Peppers | Bell, jalapeno, sweet, hot, whatever your liking, peppers make a great addition to many planters. Peppers bring a variety of colors and textures that make your planter display pop! Plant your pepper in late spring in full sun. Plant in well draining soil mixed with compost or composted cow manure. | Pumpkin (Cucurbita) | Fun to watch grow all summer and then to carve or eat in the fall. Pumpkin - even the name can bring back fond memories of old. Pumpkins make excellent edge/hangover plantings. They do need a lot of fertilizing as they steel a lot from the soil, however the take little room in a good planter. We recommend letting the vines grow down the pot and 2'-3' away before pinching off the ends. You can control the growth by occasionally pinching the ends off, Pinching stunts sprawling growth and causes better production near the planter. Plant in full sun and well draining soil mixed with compost or composted cow manure. | Radish (Raphanus Sativus) | Sometimes called firecrackers because they grow so fast and sometimes split before you can catch them. Most are ready for eating in 3-5 weeks and can be planted almost year round unless a deep freeze is upon us. Plant radishes as a final tier as they're short and take little space. Re-plant new radishes where you remove those to eat or every few weeks. Plant in full sun to partial shade and well draining soil mixed with compost or composted cow manure. | Squash (Curcubita) | Includes Zucchini, Hubbard, Summer, and butternut squash's. Think back to Mom's Zucchini bread, fried zucchini, or halved hubbard(acorn) stuffed with brown sugar and sausage time to grow your dinner. Whether you make bread, stir fry, or bake it you can make a treat with a squash. Squash make excellent edge/hangover plantings. They do need a lot of fertilizing as they steal a lot from the soil, however they take little room in a good planter. We recommend letting the vines grow down the pot and 2-3 feet away before pinching off the ends. You can control the growth by occasionally pinching the ends off, Pinching stunts sprawling growth and causes better production near the planter. Plant in full sun and well draining soil mixed with compost or composted cow manure. | Swiss Chard (Beta Vulgaris Cicla) | With bright red or white stalks and lush green leaves chard make a brilliant centerpiece or second tier. Chard is great in salad-stir fry and steamed. Plant in full sun and well draining soil mixed with compost or composted cow manure. | Tomato (Solanum Lycopersicum) | The Tomato, however you pronounce it, has a firm place in our diet. Whether you eat spaghetti, lasagna, pizza, BLT, cherry tomato atop your salad, in your soup or in your drink tomato is here for keeps. There are so many varieties of tomatoes that we'll visit the basics and you can experiment on your own. Tomatoes are really considered a fruit not a vegetable and cherry, beefsteak, Roma, and earlygirl are some of the most grown varieties. Tomatoes are always best as the centerpiece as they require a lot of space and tend to grow very tall. Because you're planting a vegetable display and will be maintaining it you could easily grow a bumper crop. Tomato basics are lots of sun, water, and pruning with light fertilizing every few weeks. When I say pruning its ok to cut some off the top to keep it from falling over or growing ten feet tall. You won't kill your tomato by pruning and if done regularly you will produce much more fruit as the nutrients used for growth are diverted to production. Plant in full sun and well draining soil mixed with compost or composted cow manure. |