Easton Garden Works’ Seed Library

Parsley

Variety: Italian Plain Leaf (good for cooking, flavoring fresh or dried, etc.).

When to plant: plant outside as early in spring as the ground can be worked (late March/early April for Easton area). Parsley is slow to sprout, be patient!

How to grow: Soak seeds in warm water for at least 1 hour, and then plant seeds in rows 1 foot apart directly in the ground. Cover with 1/8 inch of fine grain soil and pat down firmly. Parsley likes full sun to partial shade.

Basil

Variety: Sweet Dani (good cooking, fresh or dried, for soups, sauces, and more).

When to plant: start seeds indoors from late February to mid-March for Easton area. Plant outside after any chance of frost is over (Mother’s Day is usually a safe bet). 

How to grow: Start seeds indoors by planting them 1/8 inch deep in a well drained seed starting medium. Tend to seedlings and plant outdoors in May. 

Dill

Variety: Greensleeves (good for flavoring fresh or dried for pickles, vinegar, sauces, etc.).

When to plant: start outdoors in late March or early April for Easton area. 

How to grow: Plant seeds 1/4 inch deep, 1 inch apart in rows outdoors. As they grow, thin plants so each remaining has around 8 inches between the next (you can start thinning them when they’re around 4 inches tall). Dill seeds will be ready to harvest 68 days from seeding, but leaves can be harvested anytime. 

Sunflower

Variety: Sonja (nice for gardens or cut flowers, will grow 3 and a half feet tall).

When to plant: Plant outdoors directly in the ground in early May for Easton area.

How to grow: Plant 1/2 inch deep into well-drained soil in a sunny area, in groups of 2 or 3 seeds, 1 foot apart. Harvest when blooms are “tight” and color first shows, or when flowers are almost completely open. 

Milkweed

Variety:  Common Milkweed (pink and purple flower clusters grows 3 feet tall – one of Monarch Butterflies’ favorite plants). 

When and how to grow: Milkweed seeds must go through a cold period before they can sprout. Place your seeds in a damp paper towel and put into a plastic bag, then place in the fridge for 1 month. Then, plant your seeds into 2 to 4″ peat pots indoors, planting about 1/4 inch deep. Keep soil moist and plant milkweed (in its peat pot) outdoors in early May for Easton area. If planting in the fall, see instructions in “Fall Selection” at the bottom of this page. 

Zinnia

Variety: Oklahoma Formula Mix Improved (nice cut flowers, or for borders and beds). 

When to plant: Start indoors at the end of March for Easton area (4 weeks before last frost), or direct seed in the ground at the beginning of May for Easton area.

How to grow: If starting indoors, cover seeds in seed trays 1/4 inch deep and keep soil surface moist until zinnias sprout, then transplant into bigger containers once seedlings have first true leaves. Plant outside in early May in a sunny area. If starting outside, sow 2 seeds per foot a 1/4 inch deep, then cover lightly but firmly. To harvest cut flowers, snip stems before blooms are fully open. Keep new blooms coming by “deadheading” (pruning dying flowers). 

Beets

Variety: Red Ace (dark red beets with tender greens, good for canning/freezing too).

When to plant: Direct seed as soon as soil can be worked (in Easton area around early to mid-April is advised). Starting indoors and transplanting outside is also possible. 

How to grow:  Plant outdoors 1 inch deep in rows 18 inches apart. Keep soil evenly moist and thin plants as they grow so they are about 6 inches apart. Harvest beet and greens in 54 days.

Radish

Variety: Rover F1 (dark red radishes great for salads). 

When to plant: Early March for Easton area, or as soon as soil can be worked. Radishes prefer colder weather, but can be planted anytime through the season. 

How to grow: Plant seeds in 2 to 3 inch wide rows about 1 inch apart, and 1/2 inch deep. Water and weed radishes and harvest in about 4 weeks. 

Kale

Variety: Blue Scotch (blue-green curly kale). 

When to plant: Start indoors in late February or early March for Easton area to transplant outside in early April, or plant seeds directly in the ground from spring through late summer. 

How to grow: Plant seeds 1/4 inch deep when starting indoors. Transplant outdoors in late March through mid-April, plants should be at least 1 foot from each other. Harvest by breaking off or cutting off leaves throughout the season; ready to harvest in around 60 days. 

Collards

Variety: Georgia Collards (juicy blue-green leaves with cabbage-y flavor). 

When to plant: Start indoors in late February or early March for Easton area to transplant outside in early April, or plant seeds directly in the ground from spring through late summer. 

How to grow: Plant seed 1/4 inch deep, starting indoors for transplanting or outdoors directly in the ground. Plants will need a good amount of space: about 1 – 3 feet from one another and other plants. Greens will be ready to harvest in around 80 days.

Carrots

Variety: Scarlet Nantes (sweet crisp orange carrot). 

When to plant: Late March or early April for Easton area (after danger of hard frost). 

How to grow: Plant seeds in well tilled soil free of rocks. Sprinkle seeds in a row (about 1/2 inch deep) and cover lightly with fine soil, pat down lightly and keep soil evenly moist. Thin carrots as they grow larger so they do not crowd each other out (pick out the smallest carrots that are crowding the others). Carrots will be ready to harvest in around 65 to 70 days. 

Cucumbers

Variety: Marketmore 76 (slicing cucumber great for salads, 8 – 10 inch cucumbers). 

When to plant: Start indoors in late March to early April and transplant outside in mid-May. Or plant seeds directly in the ground in mid-May. 

How to grow: Sow seeds 1/2 inch deep indoors or outside. Cucumber plants should be about 1 foot from each other with a lot of room to grow in width (or plant near a trellis or fence to have the vines grow vertically). Water regularly and consistently for best cucumbers. Harvest by snipping the cucumbers off the vine when about 8 – 10 inches in length, about 50 – 70 days from planting seeds.

Melon

Variety: Honey Rock Cantaloupe (sweet heirloom cantaloupe melon with 3 to 4 pound fruits). 

When to plant: Start indoors in late March to early April to transplant outside in mid-May. Or plant seeds directly in the ground in mid-May.

How to grow: Start indoors in peat pots in late March for Easton area by planting 1/2 inch to 1 inch deep. Transplant outdoors in mid-May, with plants placed 3 feet apart from one another in a row. Cantaloupes will need a lot of space (around 4 to 5 feet per hill), or will need a trellis to grow vertically. Harvest fruit in around 85 days. 

Pepper

Variety: King of the North Sweet Pepper (Sweet bell peppers from bushy high-yield plants). 

When to plant: Start indoors from mid-February to early March for Easton area. 

How to grow: Start indoors by planting seeds 1/4 inch deep and keeping seed tray on heat mat with a cover. Pepper seeds will germinate (sprout) when soil temperature is around 75 to 85 degrees. Continue growing indoors, harden off, and transplant outdoors in mid-May once all chance of frost is gone. Plants should be about 3 feet from one another. Harvest when peppers are still green, or wait for them to turn bright red (around 60 to 75 days from planting seeds). 

Tomato

Variety: Wisconsin 55 (juicy scarlet/red slicing tomato great for sandwiches and salads). 

When to plant: Start indoors from late February to mid-March for Easton area. 

How to grow: Sow seeds 1/4 inch deep in seed trays, and keep seed tray on heat mat with a cover. Tomato seeds will germinate (sprout) when soil temperature is around 75 – 90 degrees. Once sprouted, water only enough to keep mix from drying (they do not like excess water). When transplanting, fertilize the soil. Continue growing indoors, harden off, and transplant outdoors in mid-May once all chance of frost is gone. Plant outdoors 2 feet apart in rows with tomato stakes or cages. Harvest tomatoes when red and ripe in about 80 days.

Zucchini

Variety: Spineless Beauty (easy-to-harvest hybrid green summer squash). 

When to plant: Start indoors in late March to mid-April to transplant outside in mid-May for Easton area. Or plant seed directly in ground in mid-May. 

How to grow: Start seeds indoors in seed trays by planting 1 inch deep. Continue growing indoors, harden off, and transplant ouside in mid-May. Plants should be placed 2 feet apart in rows that are 3 to 4 feet apart. Harvest zucchinis in 50 days. If planting seeds directly in soil outdoors, sow 4 to 6 seeds 1 inch deep in a hill (hills should be 2 feet apart from one another), and thin to only the strongest plant per hill when squash plants are 3 inches tall. *Tip: adding a handful of compost or plant food when planting your zucchini plants will increase yield. 

Broccoli

Variety: Gypsy F1 (well-rounded broccoli crowns, good disease resistance).

When to plant: Start seeds indoors in early July, plant seedlings outside at the beginning of August. If planted later, broccoli plants can be covered with row cover to keep warm.

How to grow: Broccoli does best when transplanted (planted in smaller containers and later planted into the soil) instead of being direct seeded (planting the seed directly into the ground). Sow in a seed tray a little less than a month before you plan to plant seedlings outdoors. Transplant seedlings about 2 feed apart. Ready to harvest in around 60 days.

Beets

Variety: Red Ace (Dark red beet great for canning).

When to plant: Start seeds outside by early September.

How to grow: In well-tilled soil, sow seeds directly into the ground 1 inch dep and in rows around 18 inches apart. Seeds will germinate in 2+ weeks. When seedlings are around 1 inch tall, begin ‘thinning’ the rows by plucking some out. Over the course of the season, beets should be thinned so each eventually has about 6 inches of space. Ready to harvest in 50+ days.

Carrots

Variety: Nantes Long (6 inch crunchy carrots).

When to plant: Start seeds outdoors at the end of August.

How to grow: Sow seed directly into deeply-tilled or loose soil at 1/4 inch deep, in rows around 2 feet apart. Seeds will germinate in around 2 weeks. When seedlings are around 2 inches tall, begin “thinning” the rows by plucking some out. Thin so carrots have around 2 inches of space each. Ready to harvest in 70 days.

Milkweed

Variety: Common Milkweed (native pollinator plant, stands 3 – 5 ft tall. Pink/purple blooms in June, seed pods harvested in the fall. Great for monarch butterflies!).

When to plant: Late fall.

How to grow: Scatter seeds on soil surface and cover with about 1/4 inch of loose soil. Water well. Allow seeds to sit over the winter, and germination will occur in the springtime.

Radishes

Variety: Early Scarlet Globe (Bright red, white-fleshed crunchy radishes).

When to plant: Plant outdoors by mid-September.

How to grow: Sow seeds 1/2 inch deep in rows, about 1 – 2 inches apart. Around 20 days until harvest.