Stir Fry Garden 2' x 8'
Enjoy a feast of fresh bok choy, broccoli, scallions, carrots, beans, peppers, zucchini and eggplant for healthy stir-fries, soups and spring rolls all summer long.
Planting Guide:
Asian eggplant
- Start seeds 1/4" deep indoors eight weeks before last frost. Seeds germinate faster in 80 degrees soil.
- Transplant seedlings when soil reaches 70 degrees F. or three weeks after last frost.
- Spacing: one per sq. ft.
- Days to harvest: 55 to 70 days from transplant. Harvest frequently to encourage more fruits. Not frost-hardy.
- Hints: Bugs love eggplants. Protect with garden fabric (row cover) even after flowering. Avoid high-nitrogen fertilizers.
Learn more about Asian eggplant in our Vegetable Encyclopedia
Peppers
- Start seeds indoors 1/4″ deep 10 to 12 weeks before last frost.
- Transplant into garden three weeks after last frost or when soil reaches 70 degrees F.
- Fruits are edible from early green to full-color maturity.
- Spacing: one plant per sq. ft.
- Days to harvest: 50 to 65 days green, 80 to 85 days to full color. Not frost-hardy.
Broccoli
- Sow seeds 1/4″ deep indoors, six weeks before last spring frost.
- Transplant into garden when seedlings have two sets of leaves.
- Spacing: one plant per sq. ft.
- Days to harvest: 50 to 70 days from transplant. Frost-hardy.
- Plant a second broccoli crop eight weeks before first fall frost.
- Hint: Row covers are an effective control for cabbage worms.
Kale
- Sow seeds 1/2″ deep indoors eight weeks before last frost or in garden six weeks before last frost.
- Transplant seedlings into garden up to six weeks before last frost. Very frost-hardy.
- Spacing: two plants per sq. ft. Can be planted midsummer wherever early crops are removed.
- Kale continues to grow and produce leaves until late fall.
- Days to harvest: 60 days. Very frost-hardy.
- Hint: Kale can be grown in part shade. It needs plenty of moisture, so mulch well.
Patio zucchini
- Plant seeds 3/4" deep indoors or outdoors two to three weeks after last frost, or when soil is 70 degrees F.
- Transplant two to three weeks after last frost, or when soil is 70 degrees F.
- When picked frequently, plants will produce continuously until frost.
- Spacing: one plant per two sq. ft. for patio-type varieties.
- Days to harvest: 30 to 40 days from transplant; 40 to 50 from seed, depending on variety. Not frost-hardy.
- Hint: Start under garden fabric (row covers) to protect from insects.
Learn more about Patio zucchini in our Vegetable Encyclopedia
Beans
- Sow seeds 1″ deep directly in garden after all danger of frost.
- Spacing: four plants per sq. ft. for bush beans, six to eight plants per sq. ft. for pole beans
- Plant second crop of bush beans (if needed) two weeks after first planting
- Days to harvest: 50-80 days from seed, depending on variety. Not frost-hardy.
- Hint: Add a legume inoculant when planting to increase vigor and yield.
- Buy organic bean seeds
Carrot
- Sow seeds in garden 1/4″ deep three weeks before last spring frost.
- Spacing: Plant 30 seeds per sq. ft.; thin to 16 plants per sq. ft.
- Replant six to eight weeks before fall frost for late crop.
- Days to harvest: 55 to 70 days from seed. Frost-hardy.
- Hint: Before planting, loosen soil to 12″; remove stones and add compost.
Bok choi
- Plant seeds 1/4" deep indoors or outdoors four weeks before last frost.
- Transplant a week or two after last frost, or when soil is 50 degrees F.
- Harvest outer leaves or cut down whole plant an inch above the roots when plants are 12" to 18" tall.
- Spacing: 2 to 4 plants per sq. ft., depending on desired harvest size.
- Days to harvest: 45 to 50 days from transplant; start a fall crop in late summer. Frost tolerant.
- Hint: Grow under garden fabric (row covers) to protect from flea beetles. Fertilize every 2 to 4 weeks.
Scallions
- Start seeds 1/4" deep indoors 6 weeks before last frost; plant 5-10 seeds per cell
- Transplant plants into garden a 2 to 3 weeks before last frost. If planting sets, plant them 1" deep.
- Spacing: 16 plants per sq. ft.
- Days to harvest: 60 days, pencil-sized or larger. Frost-hardy.
- Hint: Flavor gets hotter as scallions mature. Plants require consistent moisture.