Harlequin bugs have quickly become one of the most troublesome pests in the spring vegetable garden in St. Louis.  More specifically, those spring vegetables that grow into the later parts of spring.  Especially kale, collards, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and brussels sprouts.  They can also be a problem on the other brassicas mentioned above, but the pest populations really start increasing in late spring, so the other brassicas, which are faster growing and usually harvested a little earlier, generally have fewer problems with harlequin bugs.

Once harlequin bugs are on your plants, your options for dealing with them are pretty limited, especially if you want to stay organic. So our recommendation is to take a proactive approach. If you are planting any of those slower brassicas that will be in the garden for a while, or any brassicas if you want to be extra safe, consider covering them with insect netting when you plant them.

Insect netting is a fine mesh material that you can put over hoops that you put over your plants. You can use the same structure that you would use for a low tunnel for season extension and just put the insect netting on it instead of plastic or row cover. Insect netting doesn’t retain heat, so you don’t need to worry about overheating. It also lets rain and other water through easily, so you don’t need to remove it to water.

So if you’ve had issues with harlequin bugs in the past, give insect netting a try!

The post Solution for Harlequin Bugs appeared first on Seed St. Louis.

Potatoes are a unique crop in the vegetable garden because it is one of the few crops that can provide significant yields of high calorie foods that can truly be considered a staple food that can sustain you.  Other vegetables are of course vital and provide the essential minerals and nutrients your body needs, but aren’t the things truly filling bellies.  Unlike other staples like wheat, corn, rice, sorghum, and dried beans, potatoes can produce a good yield in a normal garden space and require no processing.  Potatoes are also incredibly adaptable and can be made into almost a limitless number of recipes.  Planted in mid-March and harvested in mid-July potatoes easily store until the end of year.

That is the one downside to potatoes compared to other staples like dried grains.  After their harvest in July they generally start going bad by the end of the year.  A very nice storage length, but what are you supposed to eat from January – July?  I’m glad you asked.  The last few years we are increasingly answering that question with one word; taro.  

Taro is a tropical crop from South and Southeast Asia and spread throughout the tropical areas of world.  Although its ornamental form, elephant ear, is very well known in St. Louis, the edible form, taro, is almost completely unknown.  This makes sense because for the most part tropical varieties of taro don’t do particularly well here or even if they do, are a bit tricky to store and propagate from year to year.  But we were able to get a hold of a variety of taro grown in Korea that loves it here and is easy to store over winter and grow more next year.   

The thing about taro that makes it such a great crop to grow if you also grow potatoes is that unlike potatoes, which are harvested in July, taro is a warm season crop harvested before the first frost in October.  It then stores until the following July, when your next harvest of potatoes is ready.  They are also a white starchy root similar in flavor, texture, and even nutrient profile to potatoes and works as a 1 to 1 replacement with potatoes in just about any recipe.

So if you plant potatoes this March and taro this May you will have potatoes from July – December and Taro from October – July and can enjoy your favorite potato recipes 365 days a year!

If you are interested in giving either or both of these a try, check out our planting instructions for potatoes and taro.  Also don’t miss our March sale where both will be available.

The post The Superstar Combo of Potato and Taro appeared first on Seed St. Louis.

It’s difficult to completely replace sunlight with grow lights, and most plants will not grow in the same way inside as they would outside during the summer. Fortunately, though, grow lights can help keep plants alive through the winter and, often, produce food at a slower rate.

Shelves vs. stands
If you’re growing more than a few plants, consider outfitting a grow light shelf. In my experience, the steel shelves in either 2-foot or 4-foot are the best – they fit standard bulb lengths, have plenty of spaces to use zip ties or s-hooks, and are a mix of functional and… not super ugly. They’re also great for seed starting!

For larger plants like trees, grow light stands or bulbs are ideal. They are often flexible and easily decorated if they don’t fit your aesthetic. Stands are typically only LEDs, while bulbs can be either LEDs or fluorescent. Trees/large plants can be placed directly on the floor or on a plant stand/table, and the stand adjusted.

LEDs vs fluorescents
In terms of plant growth, LEDs tend to have better light output. But they tend to be more expensive and often need to be ordered online. Fluorescents are much easier to find in any old hardware store. Fluorescent bulbs are more easily replaced if they burn out, as opposed to LEDs, where a typical non-electrician or engineer can’t easily repair it. Fluorescents do use more electricity than LEDs, but if you have a small setup, you likely won’t notice a difference between the two on your electricity bill.

Temperature
Most lights, for any purpose, will list a temperature. Typically a number in the thousands followed by K (like 6500K, or 2200K). This translates to visible color. Lower temperatures are warmer tones, and higher temperatures appear more blue. White is about 4000K.

These different colors can be used to trigger different plant growth: 3500K-4500K (red light) can trigger fruiting and flowering, while 5000K-7000K (blue light) helps with vegetative growth. For general use, aim for a white/blue light for your plants. This applies to both LEDs and fluorescents. 

Wattage
While the wattage doesn’t affect plant growth, it can affect your energy bill. Wattage is simply the amount of electricity the light is using. Check with your energy provider to calculate how much each kind of light would cost.

Daylength
Most plants need at least 8 hours of light per day. Grow lights tend to be less powerful than our sun, so I recommend leaving grow lights on for 12-14 hours per day. Plugging the lights into a timer will keep it consistent and make less work for you!

Height of lights
Growing plants too close to the lights can cause burns, but putting them too far below reduces the amount of light that reaches them. A good general rule is no closer than a 10-12”, but up to three feet, depending on the light and plant structure. Seedlings can be much closer: the top can rest about 8-12” away.

Experiment!
You might find something different that works for your setup and your plants. Keep notes on what your plants like/dislike!

The post Growing Food Inside With Grow Lights appeared first on Seed St. Louis.

When a tornado tore through North City, St. Louis, it destroyed more than a garden; it struck the heart of a community. Thanks to the resilience of neighbors and support from Seed St. Louis, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, and St. Louis Composting, Academy Sherman Park is growing again. Together, we are planting the seeds of food access, education, and healing across our region.

At the corner of Cates and Clarendon sits Academy Sherman Park, a beautiful community garden that has always been more than just a place to grow food. It is where neighbors, artists, students, and photographers come to find inspiration, reflect, and build connections.

What began as a small effort to reclaim access to healthy, homegrown food has blossomed into something extraordinary. Over the past 20 years, the garden has expanded from six beds to twenty-five. Each has its own story. Big Momma’s House overflows with collard and turnip greens. Chicks and Salsa bursts with beans, tomatoes, and peppers. The calming Tea Time Bed grows herbs for brewing tea for friends and neighbors alike.

Each January, seeds sprout on sunny window sills across the neighborhood. By May, the garden hums with life. Children chase each other between rows. Families fill baskets and wagons with produce. Neighbors swap stories and recipes. As the gardeners say, “Your health is your wealth.” Grandkids love picking fresh vegetables and waving to Sherri Bailey, the heart of the garden and lead gardener.

A Day That Changed Everything

The start of 2025 felt like any other year. On May 16, Sherri Bailey, Seed St. Louis, and CBC volunteers were busy clearing beds for spring planting. “It was like another day in Mayberry,” Sherri recalls, smiling at Ms. Tony and her 94-year-old mother waving from their balcony that overlooks the garden, excited to plant their seedlings at 4 p.m.

But by 4 p.m., everything had changed.

A tornado tore through the Academy Sherman Park neighborhood. In moments, the garden was unrecognizable. Roofs were scattered across beds, trees were uprooted, and the orchard was destroyed. The community stood in disbelief. What had once been a joyful, thriving space had become ground zero.

Even in the face of devastation, the garden became something new. It became a refuge.

Neighbors gathered to share food, distribute tarps, and stack plywood. The open space turned into a hub for care and connection. “The land was in shambles,” Sherri said. “But it was open, roomy enough for tables and tents. This was our safe space.”

Planting Seeds for the Future

Now, hope is taking root once again. With the continued support of Seed St. Louis, a longtime partner of the garden, and an emergency relief investment from Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Academy Sherman Park is being restored and revitalized. Prior to November 6th, with a grant from Tito’s, multiple downed trees were removed. Soil, provided by St. Louis Composting, was also brought in to even out the land in low areas.

On November 6th, community members came together with Seed St. Louis and Tito’s to:

• Plant new trees to regrow the orchard
• Rebuild raised garden beds and fill them with fresh soil
• Add picnic tables and benches to welcome neighbors back
• Install a compost bin system and educational sign to promote sustainability and learning

Today, Sherri is all smiles. There is movement, laughter, and a renewed sense of purpose. The neighborhood is coming alive again. Everyone is asking about the garden and is eager to help it flourish once more.

Academy Sherman Park stands as a powerful reminder of what can happen when a community comes together, supported by partners who believe in growth, healing, and connection. 

Help More Gardens Grow

Every day, Seed St. Louis is planting the seeds of our region’s future. Teachers are transforming lessons into hands-on science through garden-based learning. Children are discovering the magic of planting a seed and watching it grow into food. Neighbors are turning vacant lots into vibrant gardens that feed families and strengthen entire blocks. Gardeners are accessing free educational classes that expand their knowledge and help gardens thrive year after year.

The challenges facing our region are real. But so is our collective power to transform them.

Your support makes this work possible.

• $50 supplies a budding classroom garden with seeds and soil to thrive.
  
• $100 equips a new gardener with the tools to get started.
  
• $250 provides free, hands-on learning for students at a school garden.
  

Together, we can ensure every community has the resources and opportunity to grow a more resilient, healthy, and connected future. Even the smallest gift has a big impact.

🌱 Gifts made before December 31 will be doubled, thanks to a generous matching donation of up to $25,000 from the Berges Family Foundation.

Your gift today will go twice as far to help more gardens grow and help every community in St. Louis flourish.

Give today to help more gardens grow.

The post From the Ground Up: Rebuilding Academy Sherman Park appeared first on Seed St. Louis.

Warm Season Vegetables

As we approach the first frost, remember that all warm-season crops will be destroyed by freezing temperatures. So make sure to harvest all of your warm-season crops before that first freeze. Don’t forget the warm-season crops that can be stored and ripened inside for a longer taste of summer as we head into winter. Sweet potatoes that get harvested this fall should be cured. If you haven’t done this before, check out our instructions here.

Your overwintering crops like garlic, shallots, and elephant garlic should be weeded and then covered in a thick layer of straw or leaves.

Fall Tasks for Native Perennials

Any native perennials you have should be cut back, but not removed since many native insects need these stems to complete their lifecycle. The shorter stature of the stems also means that next spring, the new growth will cover up the stems, making it look nice while also allowing insects to complete their lifecycle, as some insects stay in the stem until June. The Xerces Society has a great handout on this.

This is also a good time to rake up your leaves and use them as mulch around any perennials or annuals you have. This, once again, allows native insects to use the leaves as overwintering shelter without killing your grass, making your space look tidier, and getting the benefits of free mulch.

If you have orchard trees, don’t forget to get them ready for winter. You can check out our orchard winter prep instructions here.

Last but not least is how to prep your soil for next year.

Pull out, or cut off at ground level, all plants left in the veggie garden that you don’t intend to harvest. If the plants are left standing dead, any pathogens that might be on the plant can survive the winter and reinfect the garden next year. However, cutting the plants down and giving time over winter for them to compost can help break the disease cycle.

If the plant you are removing had a disease, the best idea would be to either put it in yard waste or allow it to fully compost before using it anywhere in the garden. If the plant didn’t have a noticeable disease you can compost it or you can also leave it on the soil surface and then cover it with mulch so that it can break down over winter.

This is also a good time to aerate, amend, and mulch your garden soil. Doing these actions in the fall gives the microorganisms in the soil time to improve your soil so that it’s rich and ready to go in the spring. The first step is aeration. We don’t recommend tilling, as it causes enormous damage to the beneficial organisms in the soil. Instead, we recommend using a digging fork, or ideally a broadfork, to aerate the soil without pulverizing and turning it. What you do is simply push the tines of the tool into the soil and then pull the handle back towards you to about a 45-degree angle. This will lift and crack the soil, allowing oxygen to get deep into the soil and breaking up compaction much deeper than a tiller ever could. Then move the tool back 6-12″ and repeat the process all the way down the bed.

After you aerate your soil it is the perfect time to add any amendments. If you need to add something like sulfur or lime to change the soil pH, manure, or compost, this is a great time to add it to the soil surface. Worms and other soil organisms will integrate it into the soil and pull it down deep into the soil profile over the long months of winter.

We then recommend topping the soil with a nice layer of mulch. Any plant material can be used as mulch but our favorites are straw and tree leaves. Mulched tree leaves stay in place more easily, whereas full leaves are more prone to blowing away. You can apply 3-6″ of mulch to the soil surface. Mulch helps insulate the soil surface, which protects the soil from the temperature swings of winter. These moderated temperatures help to keep worms and microorganisms active in the soil surface. This means that all winter long the worms and microorganisms can work on breaking down the mulch, adding its nutrients to the soil, mixing in the applied compost, and building soil structure. If the soil is not insulated when the temperatures get very cold or overly warm, worms will dive down deep into the soil to find more moderate temperatures and microorganisms will go dormant, meaning they can’t work to improve your soil.

The post The Great Fall Wrap Up appeared first on Seed St. Louis.

When you are ripping our spring crops like spinach, arugula, or radishes that come out early, it makes sense to then plant your summer vegetables in those spots. When it comes to later maturing spring crops like peas, cabbage, cauliflower, potatoes, onions, or others, it makes more sense to not fill that space with summer stuff. For one thing, it’s pretty late to be planting most summer crops. More importantly, though, if you want to have fall crops, you will need somewhere to plant them starting in August. If you fill all of your space with tomatoes and green beans, where will they go? Will you rip tomatoes out just as they start producing to make way for carrots? I definitely wouldn’t want to do that.  

What we recommend is to harvest those later ripening spring crops and then thoroughly weed those areas. Then you can cover that space with mulch, like straw, leaves, weeds, grass clippings, or whatever organic matter you have available to suppress weeds. You could also plant a fast-maturing cover crop like buckwheat to fill the space, suppress weeds, and provide some flowers for beneficial insects in your garden.  (We have packets of buckwheat available in our online store.)

When August comes around and you want to plant your next round of all those delicious cool-season crops like cabbage, carrots, beets, broccoli, lettuce, and radishes, you will have some areas ready and waiting to be planted. All you will need to do if you mulched the area is move the mulch aside and plant. If you grew buckwheat, all you need to do is cut the buckwheat at ground level and plant. Then you can lay the cut tops of buckwheat on the soil as mulch or add it to your compost.

So this summer, as you remove your spring crops, don’t forget about fall!

The post Leave Space for Fall Crops appeared first on Seed St. Louis.

Although these are common issues, the first thing to consider is growing a squash that resistant to the issues you are having. This is by far the simplest way to deal with these issues as well as the way with the least amount of issues. Cucurbita moschata varieties are resistant to these issues, and tromboncino squash and Seminole pumpkin are highly resistant to all of these issues. There are also many other varieties that you can search for that have been selected for resistance to downy and powdery mildew. (Both tromboncino squash and Seminole pumpkin seed packets can be found in our online store.)

If, however, you can’t or don’t want to grow resistant varieties, or if you still have issues with them, then there are things you can do to reduce problems with vine borers, squash bugs, and mildew.

Squash Vine Borers

These are arguably the most destructive issues for squash because if you miss the signs, the plant can go from looking fine to being dead overnight. If your squash has gone from looking fine to the whole plant being wilted in a short period of time, then squash vine borers are what your problem is. We have a whole blog post that goes into detail about the best ways to deal with vine borers that you can check out here.

Squash Bugs

Squash bugs are the most talked about squash pest, and are by far the most visible pest, that can reach insanely large populations if left unchecked.

The first thing you can do to reduce squash bug issues is to trellis your squash. Squash bugs like the dark, sheltered, humid conditions that squash growing on the ground create under the leaves. This will not eliminate squash bugs by any stretch, but it does make their life harder. It also makes it easier to see the eggs, which is critical to reducing squash bug pressure. Once your squash gets going, you will want to regularly scout your plants for squash bug eggs. They are pretty easy to identify as they are small oval eggs that are brown/bronze in color. They are laid in clusters, usually on the underside of the leaves where two veins meet, although they can be laid anywhere on the leaf. When you see these eggs, you want to smash them. This can be a little harder than it sounds, so when you do this, make sure the eggs are actually smashed and not just rubbed off the leaf. (If you are unable to smash them, just remove them from the garden space.) If you keep up with smashing the eggs, especially if it’s a variety of squash that is very vigorous or otherwise less susceptible to squash bugs, this could be enough to keep the number of squash bugs low enough that they won’t be a significant problem.

If, however, this isn’t enough, then there are other things that can be done. One is diatomaceous earth. Diatomaceous earth (DE) will kill the young squash bugs and irritate adult squash bugs, but it will not eliminate adult squash bugs. Diatomaceous earth washes off so it will need to be regularly applied. (Diatomaceous earth and diatomaceous earth sprayers can be found in our online store.) To get rid of adult squash bugs, you can either hand-smash them or use pyrethrin-based sprays. There are no other organic sprays that will kill adult squash bugs. Due to this, the best approach is to use preventative techniques to keep the adult population low and only use the pyrethrin’s if all else fails and the population gets destructively large.

Mildew

One of the best ways to avoid mildew and increase yield in small spaces is to trellis the plants. Trellising the squash vines allows the plants to get much more air around them which keeps them drier, reducing the incidence of mildew. Similarly, avoiding watering the leaves can reduce mildew issues by reducing the amount of time the leaves are wet. So, if you trellis your squash make sure to water at the base of the plant.

There are a few other things you can do to avoid mildew. Neem, milk, and whey can all act as preventative fungicides to help prevent infection with mildew. Milk and whey can be used similarly to neem. The easiest way to do this is to use powdered milk or whey and just keep it on hand. You will mix a minimum of 2 tablespoons of powdered milk or whey powder into 1 gallon of water and then spray all surfaces of the plants on a sunny day. (Whey powder can be found in our online store.) Reapply neem or the dairy mixture every 10 days to prevent infection. If you have leaves that show signs of infection, cut those leaves off and remove them from the garden.

The post Squash Pests & Diseases appeared first on Seed St. Louis.

There are a lot of ways to have water in your garden but our favorite is to have a relatively shallow but wide container.  Something like a kiddie pool is great, because you can also grow water chestnuts in them.  See our blog post if you want to know how to grow water chestnuts in St. Louis.  

Water is essential for not just plant life but also animal life.  If you have accessible water then all the pollinators you want to pollinate your vegetable and fruit crops have water.  All the predatory insects that eat the pests in your garden and orchard have water.  All of the birds eating pests have water.  If these organisms have water then they will hang around your garden or orchard more, meaning they will be there when you need them and can respond to the needs of the fruit and vegetable crops more quickly.

Having a large container, like a kiddie pool with water chestnuts, is also a great way to have dragonflies in your area, which are voracious predators of mosquitoes and other pest insects.  We have also regularly gotten tadpoles in the kiddie pools showing that frogs enjoy the ponds, another animal that can eat pest insects in the garden.  

It is also known that birds will peck at fruit and squirrels sometimes bite into tomatoes in the summer because they need water.  So if there is water available they are less likely to damage your fruits and vegetables to get water. 

Every time I propose this to someone one of the first questions is what about mosquitos.  We have all been taught that any standing water will be full of mosquitos.  You should absolutely be aware that mosquitoes could multiply in something like a kiddie pool and you should keep an eye out for this.  However, I will say when I have one that is planted with water chestnuts and has tadpoles in it and dragonflies flying around I don’t see mosquito larvae in the pond.  Sometimes early in the season, I see some and there is a very easy solution.  They make special BT dunks or BT granules that are specifically made to add to ponds that kill just mosquito larvae and are nontoxic to other organisms.  These work wonderfully and are inexpensive.

The first time I added a shallow tub to my garden I did it specifically to grow water chestnuts and I now do this every year.  I of course love eating the water chestnuts but I think what I love more is seeing my daughter get excited to see the tadpoles each spring.  I love hearing the dragonflies buzz around my head as I work out in the garden.  I love walking in the garden and seeing a bird taking a bath with the water chestnuts.  I love all of the pest management this little pond can do for me and I love that this can all be done with just a container to hold water and a little soil.  

The post Low-Cost Water Feature for your Garden & Orchard appeared first on Seed St. Louis.

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Materials: Trays with drainage holes, sand, coconut coir, compost, grow lights, and heat mats.

1. Tray 1: Sand
2. Tray 2: Coconut Coir
3. Tray 3: Compost

We filled each tray with its soil material and then placed the sweet potatoes so that each potato was buried about halfway in the soil material. All three trays were then placed on a heat mat and under grow lights. This was done on march 6.

By March 20, we saw sprouts on Tray 1 (sand) and Tray 2 (coconut coir). Tray 3 (compost) quickly followed with sprouts within the week.
As the sprouts grew, we noticed that in Tray 1 (sand) they were growing only very small leaves while tray 2 (coconut coir) and 3 (compost) had normal-sized leaves on their sprouts. We also noticed that the sand in Tray 1 dried out very quickly which could have been a contributing factor. The coconut coir in Tray 2 also dried out a little faster than the compost.
On May 8 the sprouts were tall enough for our jars so we cut them at the base of the sprout and placed them in jars filled with water. (We probably could have done this a bit earlier since our sprouts got a little tall!) We did not do this with the sprouts from Tray 1 (sand) since they continued to have very small leaves.

Once we had cut the sprouts from the potatoes, we emptied the trays and put the potatoes in the compost pile. When we pulled the potatoes from the soil material we noticed that those from Tray 1 (sand) had very little, if any, roots! Potatoes from Tray 2 (coconut coir) and Tray 3 (compost) both had lots of roots coming from the sections of the potatoes that were under the soil.
Within a couple of days, the sprouts in water had roots! It’s important to change the water often (every 2-3 days). Once they have a good amount of roots on them, and the temperature outside is warm, they are good to plant in the ground!
All in all, we don’t recommend growing them in sand since they dried out very quickly. This would be especially important for teachers since they won’t be watered over the weekends. The compost was the best soil material but coconut coir also worked well!

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