In this episode of Down the Garden Path, Joanne Shaw discusses growing fresh staples like lettuce, spinach and potatoes with “The Gardening Girl” Julia Dimakos.

About Julia Dimakos

Julia Dimakos’ 7000 square foot kitchen garden is in Mono, Ontario, on 25 acres on the Niagara Escarpment. Julia has been growing vegetables and writing about gardening for over 14 years. She was twice published in Canadian Organic Grower magazine and became a published author in July 2022 with her first book, Tea Gardening for Beginners.

In this episode, Joanne asked Julia about a few things we can grow ourselves instead of buying from the grocery store. 

Lettuce 

• If we start now, lettuce is one of the fastest-growing options.
• Julia explains how easy it is to grow and which varieties to grow throughout the seasons.
• It is important to start with fresh seeds, so buy a new packet instead of using seeds from an old package.
  • Multi-sowing is an easy way to get started.
  • Fill a small, shallow container with soil, a moist seed starting mix.
  • Compact the soil. Sprinkle a generous amount of seed on top of the soil.
  • Julia explains how and why to sprinkle a layer of vermiculite on top of the seed, then water gently.
  • Label and date your tray, then add a dome or clear cover. Put them under a grow light 2 inches above the soil to prevent the seedlings from stretching toward the light.
  • Grow lights should be on a timer, 16 hours on and 8 hours off.
  • Get a multicell container ready for when true leaves start to grow on the seedlings.
  • Take the cover off when you see germination. Carefully lift out the seedlings by the leaf before their true leaves form to make it easier to separate and to successfully grow in the cell.  
• Lettuce produces more roots than you think, and they do not like competition.
• Julia explains the best way to succession plant a continuous crop. They go from seed to plant in the ground in 3 weeks.
• They can be planted successfully in an ornamental garden shaded by other plants.
• Julia also discusses how to save your own seeds, and recommends buttercrunch, iceberg, Lollo, oak leaf varieties are perfect growing in the cooler spring weather. 
• In the summer, try romaine varieties like little gem, shady spot or merlot.
• Grow in partial shade and or under other plants, e.g. tomato plants.
• Harvest right into a bowl of ice-cold water. Clean in a salad spinner.
• You can store freshly harvested lettuce in a Ziplock bag full of air for 1 week.
• In August, start growing the cooler varieties again, up until a hard frost.

Spinach 

• Julia explains how growing spinach is different from growing lettuce: it is not interested in any heat at all. 
• Spinach is good to start now in cold temperatures, 2 to 3 seedlings per cell.
• It can grow right now in the garden or inside in a dome and quickly move outside.
• It will stop growing in the summer heat.
• In August, you can start sowing it again; it will grow for the fall, and then it will grow again in the spring
• The same plant will return and be ready for you to harvest the leaves.
• Spinach plants are small, only about a foot high.
• Julia also explains why spinach could be the best plant for spots where you grow your annuals. 
• You’ll never have to worry about E. coli or salmonella when growing your own lettuce and spinach—no recalls!

Potatoes 

• Homegrown potatoes are successfully grown without the chemicals that commercial growers use. 
• Start with seed potatoes
  • Why it is best to purchase true seed potatoes and not use potatoes from the grocery store, even the organic ones.
  • Buying seed potatoes ensures that you are growing tested and healthy potatoes. 
  • Plant the seed potatoes whole for a stronger plant instead of cutting them.
• Julia recommends pre-sprouting the seed potatoes. Use an egg carton or shallow box, place the seed potatoes eye side up and tail down.
• Place them in the light with no soil to sprout. The goal is to grow short, stubby green stems.
• Julia prefers the no-dig method. Use a dibber or handle of a trowel to create a deep hole in the garden or raised bed and place a potato in the hole, cover lightly with soil and then a layer of straw. No need to hill or mound.
• Determinate varieties of potato make potatoes on one layer in the garden, so soil can be grown in a shallow container, and indeterminate varieties make many layers of potatoes, which will require deeper soil. 
• How to grow potatoes in a grow bag or container, even a recycling bin makes a great container. And you can line your driveway with them!
• The best way to harvest the potatoes and what to do for pest control. 

Find Julia Dimakos online:

Website: www.juliadimakos.com 

Instagram: @juliadimakos

YouTube: @gardeninggirl 

Check out past shows with Julia and hear more of her great tips for growing herbs and more:

All About Tomatoes

Microgreens & Sprouting

Tea Gardening for Beginners

Growing Under Lights

Growing Herbs

Digging Deep with Veggies

Growing Indoors

Autumn Edibles

Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss?

Email your questions and comments to [email protected], or connect via her website at down2earth.ca.

Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast.

Down the Garden Path Podcast

On Down The Garden Path, professional landscape designer Joanne Shaw discusses down-to-earth tips and advice for your plants, gardens and landscapes. As the owner of Down2Earth Landscape Design, Joanne Shaw has been designing beautiful gardens for homeowners east of Toronto for over a decade. She does her best to bring you interesting, relevant and useful topics to help you keep your garden as low-maintenance as possible. 

In Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden, Joanne and fellow landscape designer Matthew Dressing distill their horticultural and design expertise and their combined experiences in helping others create and maintain thriving gardens into one easy-to-read monthly reference guide. Get your copy today on Amazon.

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