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It's just about to be June, which means it's high time you got those tomatoes in the ground! (if you haven't already). Tomatoes are among the MOST beloved vegetables (and, yes, fruits) for many gardeners. Everyone seems to have their dearly held opinions, secrets, methods, and madnesses about these mysterious and wonderful treasures.

Well the weeks have been slipping by without a peep from the Portland Edible Gardens Blog! And as you can imagine, we have been busy busy bees!! It has been a mild and dreamy Spring with many opportunities to embark on new garden builds and to get a lot of early spring plantings in the ground. Since so much has happened in the last six weeks, I thought I would do an unconventional blog post and just share some photos and anecdotes from our Spring activities!‍

The weather of late has had me very much out in the gardens! We have been tilling up our Spring beds, adding loads of compost, turning it in, and preparing the soil for seeds and starts and all that soon will follow. With all the soil warming and sunshine recently, in many of our clients gardens we have already done our first seedings of Arugula, Carrots, Spinach, Snap Peas, Fava Beans, and Lettuces!

A couple weeks ago I taught a class at the Portland Nursery on Growing Vegetables From Seeds. I am always inspired when I get to teach a class and Saturday was no exception! We wrapped up the class with a big seed giveaway from my own collection and people got to head home with seeds in hand! Picking varieties for sowing in your home garden is a highly personal process. Anyone who has grown a garden for more than a couple of years has their personal favorites. I love hearing from other gardeners about what they are growing, what works well, and what they love. In the spirit of exchange, I wanted to share a few of my own favorite varieties for direct sowing at home!

Direct sowing is one of my absolute favorite garden activities. Not only do we get to participate in a totally miraculous and unbelievable process, growing vegetables from seeds also has many benefits that can lead to healthier, happier, and more productive plants.

The search for and acquisition of seeds is my very first act of gardening each year. For me, this process begins months before I amend my soil in the spring or plant the first pea seeds. It is a process that I take deep pleasure in for several reasons.