Edible Landscapes

A Place to Thrive

You can plant vegetables and fruiting plants in a variety of spaces.  Raised beds and planter boxes are a popular solution, giving a clean look to the space and helping maintain enough water and nutrients for the garden to thrive.  You can also plant straight into the ground if you have done work to amend the soil, or use pots to create a complete container garden in a small space.  Generally speaking, vegetables and fruit-bearing plants prefer full sun and regular water.  This makes most vegetables compatible for planting together, though some are better friends than others.  To ensure sunlight for all plants and prevent overcrowding, be sure to leave space for tall plants, such as tomatoes, to grow without shading out the small ones.  Plant in a rich soil mix high in compost.  This will get your plants off to a great start and maximize your harvest!

Planter boxes are generally most successful with soil at least 18” deep.  Wood and Corten steel are stylish materials with a variety of aesthetic possibilities.

Growing Leafy Greens

Nothing is more refreshing than fresh-picked garden lettuce or more robust than home-grown kale or collard greens.  These plants are easy to grow from seed, but this requires a little care.  The young plants can also fall prey to common garden pests, such as snails.  To protect against hungry critters, you can start some seeds indoors or in protected starter pots to transfer to the garden later, or visit your local nursery for tips to deter these pests.  Nurseries also sell ‘Starter Packs,’ or baby vegetables that are ready to plant.  Remember that some greens will eventually get big, so if you don’t want more kale than you ever knew what to do with, start only with a six-pack or two.

Here at our studio garden, John and Cynthia grow lettuces almost too pretty to eat!  A variety of colors and textures make for a beautiful, mouthwatering display.

Growing Summer Favorites

Not everyone loves tomatoes, but if you do, you know that once you’ve had a home-grown one, you can’t go back.  Tomatoes love heat, and if you live in a cooler area of the Bay you will have more success with a cherry-type with smaller fruits.  (That’s right, tomatoes are technically fruits!  But we won’t bore you with botany…)  If you live in an area blessed with real heat, you can grow beautiful giant heirlooms and slicing tomatoes.

If squash is more your style, or cucumbers, they are just as rewarding and easy to grow.  One thing to consider is space.  A single pumpkin plant can spread up to 8 feet around, so you may not want it next to your door.  Cucumbers can stay smaller, and can even be allowed to trail out of a large container.

Growing strawberries is a fun activity for both kids and adults, and the attractive flowers and fruits can add beauty to any garden or container.  You can even mix them in with flowering plants for a sweet effect!  Strawberries are as tasty to many insects and animals as they are to us, so be sure to protect yours from being eaten by someone else!

Growing Climbers

Peas, beans, and fruiting vines will need a structure to climb.  Given a pole and a little encouragement, beans and peas will quickly shoot skyward and begin producing prolifically!  As legumes, these plants also add nitrogen to your soil.  Grapes, passionfruit vines, and other fruiting vines will need a much larger structure- why not train them up an arbor or landscape structure for a beautiful effect?

Blue Lake Pole Beans climb and flower on a custom trellis in our studio garden. As each flower has the potential to become a bean, try to resist picking the cute little things.

Grapevines grace this arbor for a lush effect.  Grapes can even be trained to fill in a shade structure to provide a cool green ceiling in the warmer months.  John and Cynthia’s vegetable beds, behind, show an example of a well-thought-out edible garden.