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Sunset test garden
Our vegetable garden in March.
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Video: How to make a tomato cage
See how to make your own sturdy wire supports for your growing vines
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Seventeen kinds of herbs and veggies cover the fence and fill two half-moon-shaped beds, each about 3 feet across and 11 feet long.
Our circular kitchen plot, small enough to fit into a 16- by 16-foot corner of the garden, is packed with our favorite vegetables, herbs, and pollinator-attracting flowers.
The varieties listed below (and numbered on the photo above) were planted mostly as nursery seedlings; buy one plant of each variety except where noted. Beans and sunflowers were started from seed, following package instructions.
VEGETABLES AND HERBS
Tomatoes
1. ‘Paul Robeson’: Deep maroon fruits have a sweet, earthy flavor.
2. ‘Early Girl’: red fruits.
3. ‘Yellow Pear’: golden, pear-shaped fruits.
Squash
4. 'Sunburst': yellow pattypan with a delicate flavor. 3 plants.
5. 'Cocozelle': Italian zucchini with dark and light green stripes.
Eggplant
6. 'Rosa Bianca': teardrop-shaped fruits with pinkish lavender and ivory skin (pictured at left). 2 plants.
7. Japanese long: tender, blackish purple eggplant. 2 plants.
Peppers
8. 'Tequila': amethyst bells that mature to bright red. 2 plants.
9. 'Carmen': horn-shaped sweet red peppers. 2 plants.
Oregano
10. O. vulgare 'Compactum': Small leaves can be used fresh or dried. 4 plants.
Chives11. Grasslike leaves can be clipped to add oniony flavor to salads and sandwiches. 3 plants.
Thyme
12. Common thyme: Leaves can be used fresh or dried as a seasoning.
Cilantro
13. 'Slow Bolt': Fernlike foliage is a must-have for flavoring guacamole. 3 plants.
Basil
14. 'Mrs. Burns Lemon': Adds a distinctly lemony taste to casseroles and salads. 3 plants.
15. 'Genovese': strong-flavored leaves. 3 plants.
Beans
16. 'Blue Lake': firm, crunchy, and mild-flavored. From seed.
17. 'Romano': stringless, richly flavored pods. From seed.
FLOWERS
Sunflowers
18. 'Jerusalem Sunrise Lemon': light yellow blooms on 5-foot plants. From seed.
Coreopsis or cosmos
19. 'Moonbeam' coreopsis: delicate, pale yellow flowers on airy stems. Or try 'Sonata White' cosmos. 2 plants.
Sweet alyssum
20. White sweet alyssum: Fluffy, honey-scented blooms attract bees and butterflies. 8 plants.
Next: 6 steps to a successful garden
