When to Plant Cucumber SeedsWondering when to plant cucumber seeds? Well, it's mid-June and it is the perfect time to plant cucumber seeds! You can plant cucumbers seeds after all chance of frost has past, for many areas in the United States that is from May to June, depending on your growing region. As they are fast growing, you could also plant cucumber seeds in June and early July and still have time for a harvest in late summer and fall. We find that they do best when planted directly in the ground. But, if you ...
How to store cucumbers until you have enough to pickle?Customer question: I finally have cucumbers coming in, with lots more to come this week. What is the best way to store them until Sunday (over 4 days away) when I can pickle them so they stay as crisp/fresh as possible? Thanks for any advice! Here's our advice for storing cucumbers for a few days so they are as fresh as possible when you pickle them: Wash and dry: After you harvest your cucumbers, rinse them gently under cold water and remove any dirt. Pat them dry with a clean towel. M...
What is eating my cucumber seedlings?If you've had the problem of direct seeding cucumber seeds in your garden, and they germinate and look great, but then before they even grow true leaves their heads get eaten, leaving just a stem behind? Well, you're not alone. There are a lot of insects and creatures that enjoy cucumber sprouts. They must be tasty! The culprit we think in this case was a cutworm, as we found one curled up nearby in the leaf mulch. To get around this issue, there are a few techniques: Sow seeds i...
Pepper Plant CompanionsWondering what to plant with your chile peppers to help them thrive? Flowers, chives, carrots, radishes, squash, basil, parsley, dill, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, cucumbers, eggplant, and onions all do well when grown in close proximity to peppers. But don't plant them too close that they will shade your pepper plants: Squash and cucumbers, for example, need ample space so we plant them at least 3-4' away from our pepper patch. You can also use trellises for your cucumbers to grow th...
Conserve Nutrients & Moisture in your Vegetable Pots with MulchConserve Nutrients & Moisture in your Vegetable Pots with Mulch Shown above, a new pepper plant has been transplanted into a large pot that has some lettuce growing in it currently. This pot was mulched with grass clippings to conserve moisture (which is important in our dry Western climate) and feed the soil life. Conserve Nutrients in your Veggie Pots:Adding mulch to your veggie pots can help them hold onto nutrients. Growing veggies in pots is a great way to expand your growing spac...
20% OFF ALL OF OUR FASTEST GROWING VEGETABLE SEEDS!SORRY, THIS SALE HAS ENDED! Signup for our newsletter to get our future deals!20% OFF ALL OF OUR FASTEST GROWING VEGETABLE SEEDS! Use discount code: FASTERHARVEST to save big on all of our Fastest Growing Vegetable Seeds Collection!Now through Sunday, May 24, 2026!This collection has all of our fastest growing peppers, tomatoes plus lots of companion vegetables that make great companions for your peppers.Lettuce, chives, carrots, radishes, beans, cilantro, squash, basil, parsley, dill, orega...
Why grow Cucurbits?The Cucurbitaceae also called cucurbits or the gourd family, includes cucumbers, melons, squash, pumpkins. Cucurbits are a great addition to any summer vegetable garden for their productivity. All the cucurbits need rich soil and enough water, it's good to create rich soil and compost based mounds and direct seed these plants. You can also start them indoors, but be sure to transplant them when they are very young outside before they start getting root bound, they don't like having th...
How to Identify Squash LeavesTrying to identify squash by their first leaves? Good luck! Squash seedlings emerge with two smooth, rounded, oval-shaped cotyledons (seed leaves) – and they all look identical across most varieties... so it's best to label them if you want to know what you're growing. Unless you have an exceptional memory, of course. The Cucurbitaceae also called cucurbits or the gourd family, includes cucumbers, melons, squash, pumpkins, and are hard to tell apart until the fruits come in!The true...
Good Crop Rotation is ImportantA good crop rotation plan is critical for a productive vegetable garden. One of the rules of organic gardening is to rotate plant families from one season to the next, so related crops are not planted in the same spot more often than every three years. The purpose of crop rotation is to help maintain the balance of nutrients, organic matter, and micro-organisms necessary for healthy soil. When the same vegetable, like hot peppers, are planted year after year in the same plot, they become dise...
Gardener Gifts - Top 5 Gift IdeasIf you have a gardener in your life, they will always appreciate new seeds to grow! Seeds make the best gardener gifts and they can be grown, shared, and saved for years to use in the garden. And there are so many different kinds of seeds you can give! Seeds offer a wide range of varieties including:Peppers from around the world- experience the huge range of flavor and heatClassic heirloom tomatoes - that have been grown by generationsHerbs - everyone loves having fresh herbs for the kitchen!...
What seeds can you plant in July?What seeds can you plant in July? In July, it's not too late to fill your garden with more vegetables!Fill the gaps and sow more seeds to grow more food this summer.Sometimes you have space that opened up from where you were growing spring lettuce or radishes, or perhaps you had a plant that fizzled out, or just haven't planted an area yet. Well, there is no better time than July to sow some more veggie seeds and increase your harvests this summer! Seeds to sow in July for a bou...
Winter SowingWinter Sowing: We just learned about Winter Sowing a few years ago, it's a wonderful way to start seeds using recycled containers outside! With winter sowing, you don't need room inside to start seeds, you can start them outdoors in the winter/spring months with recycled jugs and other containers. These containers serve as miniature greenhouses that do an incredible job of germinating all sorts of seeds including vegetables, herbs, and native plants. Winter Sowing Seeds in Milk...
What Seeds to Plant in June - Companion Plants!Wondering what seeds you should plant in June? It's not too late to start your garden! June is a great time to plant companion plants with your peppers, tomatoes and other veggies. There is a great range of seeds to choose from that you can plant in June including cilantro, squash, cucumbers, nasturtium, lettuce, basil, and many more. Read about them below... Cilantro - great for salsas, and the flowers attract lots of beneficial insects and produce more seeds (also known as Corian...
Seeds to Plant in May - Direct SowingA summer squash above was direct seeded in mounds in May at a community garden in Denver. Squash is best direct sown as it doesn't like to have it's roots disturbed, so we generally plant it directly in the garden in May and June. Is May too late to direct sow seeds? Answer: Nope! May is a great time to direct sow many seeds in most growing regions in most of the Northern Hemisphere! May marks the transition from spring to summer in many regions, and the days are super long in M...
What Veggies to Plant in MayWondering what seeds you can plant in May for your food garden? May is a great time to direct sow vegetable seeds for summer. While you may have already started seeds for tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants indoors 4-8 weeks ago, you likely still have them growing indoors until it has warmed up to 50-60˚F at night consistently. If you haven't started those seeds yet, you could try some of our short season pepper seeds or short season tomato seeds in May as they grow quickly. And of course...
Peppers for PicklingWhat are the best peppers for pickling? What kind of peppers are used in pickling? Most peppers work great for pickling, but some of our favorites for pickling include:Banana PeppersHot Hungarian Wax PeppersSweet Hungarian Wax PeppersCascabellasSweet Cherry peppersHot Cherry PeppersFresno peppersAll Jalapeno Peppers All Wax PeppersPickling peppers is a great way to use up a lot of peppers and preserve the harvest! You can even mix and match different peppers like jalapenos and make eye-catc...
What to plant in JanuaryAhhh, the middle of winter! It's just about now that we're excited to start planting seeds for spring. January is a good time to start planning what to plant in your garden if you haven't done it already. Deciding what vegetables to grow each year is part of the fun, though sometimes difficult to narrow down which varieties to grow! With over 100 peppers from around the world plus lots of veggies and tomato seeds, too, our Seed Catalog makes it hard to narrow down the choices! But...
Jalapeño Pickles RecipeThese simple pickles are spicy and delicious! We always love adding lots of fresh sliced Jalapeños from the garden to transform cucumbers into spicy pickles! Jalapeño Pickles Recipe 10-20 Cucumbers (about 6 pounds) 6+ Jalapenos, sliced (or any hot peppers!) 6 cups (500 mL) white vinegar 6 cups (500 mL) water 5 tablespoons (25 mL) pickling salt 6 heads fresh dill or 8 teaspoons dill seeds (20 mL) 6+ small cloves garlic Several fresh leaves from Grape, Raspberry, Blackberry or Horseradish lea...
Gazpacho Recipe with PeppersThis is a great Gazpacho recipe for using up some of your fresh peppers and tomatoes! Gazpacho Recipe 2 cucumbers, halved & seeded, unpeeled4-8 peppers, cored and seeded (mix sweet pepper varieties such as Purple Bell Peppers, Giant Marconis, or even some roasted green chiles are delicious!)1 Jalapeño, seeded, finely diced (if spice is desired)8 tomatoes (plum, or any tomatoes you have)1 red or white onion4+ garlic cloves, minced23 ounces tomato juice (3 cups)Fresh Juice of 1 Lemon + ...
What Seeds to Plant in AugustWondering what to plant in August? In the West, we start seeds for the following vegetables in August:Lettuces, spinach, beets, carrots, green onions, cilantro, basil, bok choy, mizuna, kale, peas, green beans, broccoli, sugar snap peas, radishes and cabbage. Now is a great time to fill in bare spots in your garden or to start seeds to plant into places where cucumbers, basil or other summer veggies are at the end of their production. Vegetables to Plant in August-SeptemberSome of the cool w...
When to Plant Cucumber Seeds
Wondering when to plant cucumber seeds? Well, it's mid-June and it is the perfect time to plant cucumber seeds! You can plant cucumbers seeds after all chance of frost has past, for many areas in the United States that is from May to June, depending on your growing region. As they are fast growing, you could also plant cucumber seeds in June and early July and still have time for a harvest in late summer and fall. We find that they do best when planted directly in the ground. But, if you ...
How to store cucumbers until you have enough to pickle?
Customer question: I finally have cucumbers coming in, with lots more to come this week. What is the best way to store them until Sunday (over 4 days away) when I can pickle them so they stay as crisp/fresh as possible? Thanks for any advice! Here's our advice for storing cucumbers for a few days so they are as fresh as possible when you pickle them: Wash and dry: After you harvest your cucumbers, rinse them gently under cold water and remove any dirt. Pat them dry with a clean towel. M...
What is eating my cucumber seedlings?
If you've had the problem of direct seeding cucumber seeds in your garden, and they germinate and look great, but then before they even grow true leaves their heads get eaten, leaving just a stem behind? Well, you're not alone. There are a lot of insects and creatures that enjoy cucumber sprouts. They must be tasty! The culprit we think in this case was a cutworm, as we found one curled up nearby in the leaf mulch. To get around this issue, there are a few techniques: Sow seeds i...
Pepper Plant Companions
Wondering what to plant with your chile peppers to help them thrive? Flowers, chives, carrots, radishes, squash, basil, parsley, dill, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, cucumbers, eggplant, and onions all do well when grown in close proximity to peppers. But don't plant them too close that they will shade your pepper plants: Squash and cucumbers, for example, need ample space so we plant them at least 3-4' away from our pepper patch. You can also use trellises for your cucumbers to grow th...
Conserve Nutrients & Moisture in your Vegetable Pots with Mulch
Conserve Nutrients & Moisture in your Vegetable Pots with Mulch Shown above, a new pepper plant has been transplanted into a large pot that has some lettuce growing in it currently. This pot was mulched with grass clippings to conserve moisture (which is important in our dry Western climate) and feed the soil life. Conserve Nutrients in your Veggie Pots:Adding mulch to your veggie pots can help them hold onto nutrients. Growing veggies in pots is a great way to expand your growing spac...
20% OFF ALL OF OUR FASTEST GROWING VEGETABLE SEEDS!
SORRY, THIS SALE HAS ENDED! Signup for our newsletter to get our future deals!20% OFF ALL OF OUR FASTEST GROWING VEGETABLE SEEDS! Use discount code: FASTERHARVEST to save big on all of our Fastest Growing Vegetable Seeds Collection!Now through Sunday, May 24, 2026!This collection has all of our fastest growing peppers, tomatoes plus lots of companion vegetables that make great companions for your peppers.Lettuce, chives, carrots, radishes, beans, cilantro, squash, basil, parsley, dill, orega...
Why grow Cucurbits?
The Cucurbitaceae also called cucurbits or the gourd family, includes cucumbers, melons, squash, pumpkins. Cucurbits are a great addition to any summer vegetable garden for their productivity. All the cucurbits need rich soil and enough water, it's good to create rich soil and compost based mounds and direct seed these plants. You can also start them indoors, but be sure to transplant them when they are very young outside before they start getting root bound, they don't like having th...
How to Identify Squash Leaves
Trying to identify squash by their first leaves? Good luck! Squash seedlings emerge with two smooth, rounded, oval-shaped cotyledons (seed leaves) – and they all look identical across most varieties... so it's best to label them if you want to know what you're growing. Unless you have an exceptional memory, of course. The Cucurbitaceae also called cucurbits or the gourd family, includes cucumbers, melons, squash, pumpkins, and are hard to tell apart until the fruits come in!The true...
Gardener Gifts - Top 5 Gift Ideas
If you have a gardener in your life, they will always appreciate new seeds to grow! Seeds make the best gardener gifts and they can be grown, shared, and saved for years to use in the garden. And there are so many different kinds of seeds you can give! Seeds offer a wide range of varieties including:Peppers from around the world- experience the huge range of flavor and heatClassic heirloom tomatoes - that have been grown by generationsHerbs - everyone loves having fresh herbs for the kitchen!...
What seeds can you plant in July?
What seeds can you plant in July? In July, it's not too late to fill your garden with more vegetables!Fill the gaps and sow more seeds to grow more food this summer.Sometimes you have space that opened up from where you were growing spring lettuce or radishes, or perhaps you had a plant that fizzled out, or just haven't planted an area yet. Well, there is no better time than July to sow some more veggie seeds and increase your harvests this summer! Seeds to sow in July for a bou...
Winter Sowing
Winter Sowing: We just learned about Winter Sowing a few years ago, it's a wonderful way to start seeds using recycled containers outside! With winter sowing, you don't need room inside to start seeds, you can start them outdoors in the winter/spring months with recycled jugs and other containers. These containers serve as miniature greenhouses that do an incredible job of germinating all sorts of seeds including vegetables, herbs, and native plants. Winter Sowing Seeds in Milk...
What Seeds to Plant in June - Companion Plants!
Wondering what seeds you should plant in June? It's not too late to start your garden! June is a great time to plant companion plants with your peppers, tomatoes and other veggies. There is a great range of seeds to choose from that you can plant in June including cilantro, squash, cucumbers, nasturtium, lettuce, basil, and many more. Read about them below... Cilantro - great for salsas, and the flowers attract lots of beneficial insects and produce more seeds (also known as Corian...
Seeds to Plant in May - Direct Sowing
A summer squash above was direct seeded in mounds in May at a community garden in Denver. Squash is best direct sown as it doesn't like to have it's roots disturbed, so we generally plant it directly in the garden in May and June. Is May too late to direct sow seeds? Answer: Nope! May is a great time to direct sow many seeds in most growing regions in most of the Northern Hemisphere! May marks the transition from spring to summer in many regions, and the days are super long in M...
What Veggies to Plant in May
Wondering what seeds you can plant in May for your food garden? May is a great time to direct sow vegetable seeds for summer. While you may have already started seeds for tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants indoors 4-8 weeks ago, you likely still have them growing indoors until it has warmed up to 50-60˚F at night consistently. If you haven't started those seeds yet, you could try some of our short season pepper seeds or short season tomato seeds in May as they grow quickly. And of course...
Peppers for Pickling
What are the best peppers for pickling? What kind of peppers are used in pickling? Most peppers work great for pickling, but some of our favorites for pickling include:Banana PeppersHot Hungarian Wax PeppersSweet Hungarian Wax PeppersCascabellasSweet Cherry peppersHot Cherry PeppersFresno peppersAll Jalapeno Peppers All Wax PeppersPickling peppers is a great way to use up a lot of peppers and preserve the harvest! You can even mix and match different peppers like jalapenos and make eye-catc...
What to plant in January
Ahhh, the middle of winter! It's just about now that we're excited to start planting seeds for spring. January is a good time to start planning what to plant in your garden if you haven't done it already. Deciding what vegetables to grow each year is part of the fun, though sometimes difficult to narrow down which varieties to grow! With over 100 peppers from around the world plus lots of veggies and tomato seeds, too, our Seed Catalog makes it hard to narrow down the choices! But...
Jalapeño Pickles Recipe
These simple pickles are spicy and delicious! We always love adding lots of fresh sliced Jalapeños from the garden to transform cucumbers into spicy pickles! Jalapeño Pickles Recipe 10-20 Cucumbers (about 6 pounds) 6+ Jalapenos, sliced (or any hot peppers!) 6 cups (500 mL) white vinegar 6 cups (500 mL) water 5 tablespoons (25 mL) pickling salt 6 heads fresh dill or 8 teaspoons dill seeds (20 mL) 6+ small cloves garlic Several fresh leaves from Grape, Raspberry, Blackberry or Horseradish lea...
Gazpacho Recipe with Peppers
This is a great Gazpacho recipe for using up some of your fresh peppers and tomatoes! Gazpacho Recipe 2 cucumbers, halved & seeded, unpeeled4-8 peppers, cored and seeded (mix sweet pepper varieties such as Purple Bell Peppers, Giant Marconis, or even some roasted green chiles are delicious!)1 Jalapeño, seeded, finely diced (if spice is desired)8 tomatoes (plum, or any tomatoes you have)1 red or white onion4+ garlic cloves, minced23 ounces tomato juice (3 cups)Fresh Juice of 1 Lemon + ...
What Seeds to Plant in August
Wondering what to plant in August? In the West, we start seeds for the following vegetables in August:Lettuces, spinach, beets, carrots, green onions, cilantro, basil, bok choy, mizuna, kale, peas, green beans, broccoli, sugar snap peas, radishes and cabbage. Now is a great time to fill in bare spots in your garden or to start seeds to plant into places where cucumbers, basil or other summer veggies are at the end of their production. Vegetables to Plant in August-SeptemberSome of the cool w...
