Tips You’ll Want and Need To Grow a Great Garden This Year:
Hey there, budding backyard gardener. Whether you’ve got a few containers on the patio, a sprawling garden bed, or you’re still deciding where to dig that first hole, we’re here to help you grow with confidence. And we’re inviting you to level up your skills (and snag the best seedlings) at our Oak Spring Farm Tour and Plant Sale on Friday, May 2. Join us for a guided tour at 4pm (buy a ticket here), then shop our plant sale from 4–7pm—we’ll have everything you need to turn your garden into a food-growing wonderland.
Until then, here’s your easy-to-digest, slightly cheeky, totally helpful guide to growing your favorite vegetables and herbs this season:
🍅 Tomatoes: Your Garden’s Drama Queen
Tomatoes like it hot, high, and with plenty of attention.
Planting Time: After Mother’s Day is safe. No earlier unless you’re ready to swaddle them like a newborn during cold snaps.
Sun: 6+ hours. Tomatoes are solar-powered.
Water: Deeply and less often—about 2 inches per week. Containers dry out faster, so check them daily.
Spacing: Give them 2 feet to stretch out. No tomato wants to be the middle seat on a plane.
Transplanting Tip: Bury them deeper than you think—strip off the lower leaves and sink that stem for strong roots.
Trellising: Yes, please. Cages or stakes. Tie gently—these aren’t zip ties; they’re plant hugs.
Pruning: Remove suckers (the little shoots between the stem and branches). Think of it as helping the plant focus its energy.
Containers: 5 gallons or bigger. One plant per pot. We have a Tasmanian Chocolate variety for sale that is perfect for pots.
Fertilizing: Start strong with compost or organic fertilizer. Feed every 2 weeks once they’ve beefed up a bit.
Companion Plants: Basil, chives, calendula—aka the tomato squad.
🌶️ Peppers & Eggplants: The Cool Customers
They like it warm and will survive if you forget to stake them.
Planting Time: After Mother’s Day. They hate cold feet.
Sun: Full sun—they want a golden tan.
Water: Like tomatoes. Moist soil, not soggy.
Spacing: 18 inches apart.
Trellising: Optional, but a short stake helps when they start showing off their fruit.
Containers: 5-gallon or bigger. These plants do not like roommates.
Fertilizing: Compost before planting. A side-dress once they start bulking up.
Tips: Let sweet peppers ripen on the plant for more flavor. Hot peppers get spicier with age (kind of like some of us HA!).
🌿 Perennial Herbs: The Chill Roommates
Low-maintenance, useful, perhaps medicinal and they smell amazing.
Planting Time: After the last frost—early May is perfect.
Sun: Most like it sunny, some tolerate a little shade.
Water: Keep them watered while young. Once mature, they’ll fend for themselves a bit more.
Spacing: 18–24 inches apart. Don’t crowd the zen masters.
Mint Warning: Keep mint in a pot unless you want it to take over like a well-meaning but overenthusiastic neighbor.
Pruning: Light harvest first year, then go wild in spring. Leave some stems when cutting.
Containers: Excellent candidates. Bonus: you can move them in during winter (but only if you like them that much).
Fertilizing: Once a year is enough. Overfeeding herbs makes them less flavorful—nobody wants bland basil.
Tips: Herbs are great garden buddies—helping deter pests and boost flavor.
🌿 Basil: The Tomato’s Best Friend
The garden’s diva, but totally worth the fuss.
Planting Time: After Mother’s Day.
Sun: Full sun = happy basil.
Water: Moist soil, not wet leaves (they’ll throw a mildew tantrum).
Spacing: 10–12 inches apart.
Pruning: Start young. Cut above leaf pairs often for bushy growth. Pinch flowers pronto.
Containers: Totally doable. Combine with parsley and cilantro in a big pot. Check soil daily.
Fertilizing: Compost is enough for rich soil. Otherwise, feed once or twice through the season.
Tips: Plant next to tomatoes and enjoy that homegrown caprese lifestyle.
🥬 Lettuce, Kale & Peas: The Cool Kids
They like it chilly and get cranky when it’s hot.
Planting Time: As soon as you can work the soil. Cover if a cold snap sneaks in.
Sun: Full to part sun. Later in spring, shade helps them stick around longer.
Water: Keep moist but don’t drown them.
Spacing: Peas: 4 in. Lettuce & kale: 4–12 in. More space = more leaf!
Trellising: Peas climb—just give them something to cling to, like the social butterflies they are.
Containers: Totally doable. Use “cut-and-come-again” varieties for non-stop salad.
Fertilizing: Easy does it. Compost is plenty. Peas are overachievers and don’t even need fertilizer.
Tips: Tuck lettuce near taller crops like tomatoes to keep them cooler longer.
🥒 Cucumbers & Summer Squash: The Overachievers
They grow fast, produce lots, and might try to take over your garden if you’re not careful.
Planting Time: After Mother’s Day. You can even plant a second round in July!
Sun: Full sun or bust.
Water: Deep weekly watering. Double down once fruit sets.
Spacing: 18–24 inches (or 12 if you’re trellising cucumbers).
Transplanting: Be gentle—those roots are sensitive.
Trellising: Optional for squash, helpful for cukes. Easier harvest and fewer slugs.
Containers: Use big pots. At least 5 gallons.
Fertilizing: Feed when planting, again at bloom, and once harvesting starts. Hungry hippos!
🌼 Want Hands-On Help? Come See Us.
Join us this Friday, May 2 at 4PM for a  guided farm tour at Oak Spring Farm! Walk the rows with Farmer Lisa, ask your burning questions (yes, even the “what’s compost again?” kind), and get inspired.
Stick around for our Plant Sale from 4–7PM, and leave with strong, healthy seedlings ready to rock your garden. Tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and more—we’ve done the hard part so you can enjoy the growing (and the harvesting… and the eating).
We can’t wait to see you out at the farm. Bring a friend, bring your questions, and bring a box for your plants. Oh and BYOB if you’re into that. CSA members have a drink on us!
