Herbs & Veggies | Get Fresh And Flavorful With Your Garden

Martin Garden Center provides 6 full tables of herbs and 8 tables of vegetables in the Spring. Our herbs generally come in 3-4 inch pots, with 1-2 gallon perennial herbs available periodically.

From Basil to Verbena, these herb tables provide a broad expanse of edible and/or aromatic herbs as well as an effective deterrent and sacrificial companion plant for vegetables.

Our vegetable plants, also arranged alphabetically, come in locally-grown 2-inch pots. Our list of Herbs is followed by our list of Veggies.

Herbs

Armoracia (Horseradish) – This past year, we introduced horseradish as one of our herbs. We sold out quickly, so don’t forget to look for it in 2024 in 6″ containers.
Basil – 8-10 varieties throughout the summer. Only 1-3 may be available at any given time. Basil Downy Mildew is a threat that hangs over our season every year. Growing Basil from seed is a smart practice to avoid Basil Downy Mildew.
Borage – Borage is a beautiful baby blue bloomer, but more importantly, one of the only deterrents for hornworms, the tomato stalker. Borage flowers and leaves are edible, and Borage can be used for tea.
Catnip – This is the cat’s meow. Cat owners know the lure of catnip to their feline friends, but did you know it also makes a calming tea?

Chives & Garlic Chives – Chives are fantastic deterrents for pests in a garden. And, they are wonderful accompaniments for any meal. Buy them in droves.
Cilantro/Coriander – We offer cilantro pots in 3″ containers. But, once harvested, they do not grow back. Consider instead purchasing starter plants in the early spring and then sow seeds every 2-3 weeks for a fresh supply of cilantro all year long.
Citronelle – This fast-growing herb is a mosquito deterrent. We offer 4″ containers in the spring and summer. Remember that to bring out the scent to deter mosquitos, you must agitate/rub the plants foliage (gently, not destructively).
Culantro – Culantro is a stronger form of cilantro flavoring and … it does grow back. Consider culantro instead.
Dill – Yum … We usually carry 2 different kinds, fernleaf and bouquet, and both are fantastic. Dill is a a great addition to any recipe or sandwich or dip. Its only limitation is its size, so buy several to ensure you always have a fresh supply of Dill. Note that Dill is an attractor for swallowtail caterpillars so if you see caterpillars on your Dill in the fall, let them eat your plant.

Eucalyptus – Grown for its aromatic branches and gorgeous blue gray color, this plant is an evergreen in the Upstate. It also grows 3+ feet every year so be prepared for this rapid growth. It can achieve heights of 20-30 feet in the Upstate. Beware ice storms. You cannot allow ice to remain coated on the leaves or the plant will die. If you can’t shake the tree, use a long pole to knock the ice off of branches you can shake. You can cut this plant down to the ground every year, causing the plant to form a bush rather than tree form.
Fennel – Green & Bronze – These plants are semi-evergreen in the Upstate. Fennel is another all-around herb that can be used as a flavoring from salads to pesto to potatoes and meat and more. In the fall, watch for the caterpillar that becomes the swallowtail butterfly and allow that caterpillar to eat your Fennel. In fact, plant extra Fennel just for this purpose.
Garlic – Garlic not only acts as a deterrent to pests in the garden, it is also the most used flavoring in the world! We offer Garlic bulb starts in the fall for planting.

Lavender – This aromatic plant is an evergreen perennial in the Upstate. Lavender likes well-drained soil, so pair it with other plants with similar water tolerances.
Lemon Balm – Lemon balm is a herbaceous perennial herb in the Upstate. Consider planting it in the part sun for best results. It has numerous uses from salads to tea to lemon flavoring for cocktails and ice cream and cookies. It is very hardy, and may we say, invasive, so plant accordingly. It also helps repel mosquitos if the foliage is gently agitated.
Lemon Grass – A must have for Asian recipes. Also a very, very fast grower. And, again, a repellant for mosquitoes. We sell hundreds in the spring.
Marjoram – Like oregano, Marjoram intensifies when dried and will fade when cooked. Mostly, Marjoram is suggested for meat flavoring, but it can be added to many other dishes. It has a milder flavor than its cohort oregano.
Mint – We carry 8-12 varieties or mint. Mint is an evergreen perennial in the Upstate. It is also a thug; we placed mint in a 6″ terracotta pot to contain it. In its second year, it busted the pot. Place it in a container to prevent it from spreading or rue the day you failed to follow our advice.

Nasturtium – Nasturtium has long been used as a beautiful bloomer. Flowers are edible and can be added to salads and other dishes. It is also listed as a bug repellant and sacrificial plant when growing vegetables. They repel squash bugs. They attract aphids so that Aphids do not attack your vegetables.
Oregano – Oregano is a semi-evergreen in the Upstate. We carry 2-4 varieties. Unlike most herbs that lose flavor when dried, Oregano’s flavor intensifies. It goes with everything and makes an amazing pesto. Cooking oregano will lessen its intensity so add oregano at the end of the cooking process for best results.
Parsley – Parsley is a semi-evergreen in the Upstate. We carry both curled and flat leaf varieties and we usually have 30+ plants each though we do run out of one variety from time to time. Parley is the number one accent plant, providing just the right amount of zing to any dish. In the fall, Parsley may attract caterpillars from the Black Swallowtail family. Let them eat the parsley so that we continue to have beautiful butterflies.
Patchouli – This plant has a unique following amongst tea drinkers and people making their own scented oils. It can also be used as a bug repellant.
Pennyroyal – This plant can be lethal if ingested in toxic amounts. It can be used as a bug repellant.

Rosemary – We carry 8-12 varieties of Rosemary, from the trailing Prostrata Rosemary to the huge ARP. Rosemary is an evergreen perennial in the Upstate. It makes a great addition to Xeriscaping and Water Wise gardens due to its excellent drought tolerance. Rosemary can accent everything from soups to salads to meats to pasta to cocktails. Rosemary has enemies, particularly thrip and mites. Use Organic remedies … Bonide’s Captain Jacks Dead Bug containing Spinosad to eradicate thrip and Bonide’s Neem Max to eradicate mites. Repeat applications within 7 days will be necessary.
Rue – This tart plant adds a kick to your recipe. Try it in soups or salads for a unique taste.

Sage – We carry 4-6 different varieties of Sage. Some, like the purple sage and common Garden Sage are evergreen perennials in the Upstate. Others such as Pineapple Sage are annual. Sages tend to like drier conditions so only water when dry or suffer from root rot. Sage tends to attract White Fly and Aphids. Use Bonide Insecticidal Soap for Aphids and Bonide’s Captain Jacks Dead Bug containing Spinosad to eradicate White Fly.
Savory – You have to try Savory to believe it. We offer summer and winter savory though it is available sporadically. Add it to your favorite meat and see how it enhances the flavor … amazing.
Sorrel – Sorrel is actually a veggie but we place it amongst our herbs when we have it available. Again, available only sporadically. Very tasty.

Stevia – Sweetly flavored crushed leaves. Some of our customers like it for a sugar substitute. We stock this when available, but it is not always available.
Tarragon – Tarragon is a herbaceous perennial. The tiny leaves pack a lot of punch with a slightly licorice flavor. Try a tarragon chicken recipe and see for yourself.
Thyme – Thyme is a perennial evergreen in the Upstate. We carry 6-10 different types. Many thymes are creeping and great as a ground cover. Other make great trailers in pots.
Verbena (Lemon) – Used as a flavoring in teas, and other dishes requiring just a touch of lemon. Try making lemon verbena simple syrup. Also used as a bug deterrent.
Wasabi – Yum.

Vegetables

We classify our vegetables at Martin Garden Center by season … Spring & Fall. In the spring, we carry thousands of 2″ vegetable starters. In the fall, however, we generally carry only 4-pack vegetables. To learn more about making your spring and summer vegetables thrive, consider enrolling in our 3-part series Veggie Course offered in January & February, and again in July & August.

There are several other Vegetables that we offer in other containers such as 2-year-old Asparagus, Martha Washington variety, that we offer in 2-gallon containers. Also do read the summary in our Fall Veggies’ section about growing lettuce year-round. Following our Spring Veggies section will be our Fall Veggies section.

Spring Veggies

We usually try to have a full table of spring vegetables beginning 4/1, weather depending. While the largest, most extensive offering of vegetables is available in early April, it may not be wise to plant in early April if threat of frost is imminent. And, for peppers and tomatoes (and basil), which should not be planted until after nighttime temperatures consistently exceed 50F, planting early can stunt the growth of your plants.

Note that some of the Veggies are listed as AAS, which stands for All America Selections. This means that they have the best yield, the best taste, and the best hardiness according to farmers, not big marketing companies. So, we recommend you seriously consider the AAS varieties, and always, always try one or two (or more) new varieties each year.

That being said, here is the extensive list of the Spring Veggies available in 2024:

Bean

Bush Blue Lake Green Bean – The quality standard, easy to pick, long season
Blue Lake Pole Green Bean – Cross between Kentucky Wonder and Blue Lake, early harvest
Lima – Variety Henderson Bush, great for canning or freezing

Beet

Detroit Dark Red – Good producer for tops and dark red beets, harvest tops regularly

Cantaloupe

Ambrosia – Garden favorite, heavily ribbed, super sweet, distinct flavor
Athena – Large fruit with small seed cavity, firm thick flesh, heavy yields
Honey Dew – Lime green flesh, heavy yields, good keeper

Carrot

Nantes Coreless – Good in heavy soils

Corn

Bicolor – Super sweet variety with white and yellow kernels on the same ear
White – Super sweet variety, all white kernels
Yellow – Super sweet variety, all yellow kernels

Cucumber

Burpless – Carries the non-bitter gene, thin skinned, vigorous plant
Burpless Bush – Carries the non-bitter gene, thin skinned, bush plant
Diva – AAS, seedless and burpless all female variety, sweet crispy slicer
Pickling Regal – slightly longer thinner pickling variety, customer favorite
Pickling Bush Carolina – high yields, blocky, good briner
Slicing Dasher – high yields, market favorite
Slicer Bush -Tagged Bush Crop, great for containers, good yields

Eggplant

Black Beauty – Purple, oval, garden favorite
Classic -Dark purple/black, elongated oval, high yields
Fairy Tale – AAS, lavender with white stripes, slender, bush plant, great for containers
Gretel – AAS, white, slender, tender fruit when harvested at 3 – 4 inches
Hansel – AAS, purple, slender finger-like clusters
Jap Long – Variety Millionaire, brilliant black, slender, early

Okra

Clemson Spineless – Garden favorite, tapered pods on spineless plant

Onion

White Bunching Variety Feast, green leaves, long white stem, summer harvest

Pepper Bell

Big Bertha – Green to red, home garden classic
Calwonder – Green to red, large fruit
Chocolate – Chocolate to red, heavy yields
Orange Bell – Orange, Stewart Farms’ favorite, high yields, no nonsense plant
Park’s Whopper – Green to red, large fruit, southern favorite
Purple Bell – Purple to red, great yields, beautiful
Red Bell – Green to red, high yields
White Bell – Variety Bianca, pale yellow to red, good leaf cover
Yellow Bell – Large, glossy fruit, good leaf cover

Pepper Sweet

Carmen – AAS, green to red, high yields, very sweet fruit
Cherry – Green to red, small cherry size fruit
Cubanelle – Variety Aruba, Stewart Farms’ favorite, high yields, sweet fruit
Fooled You – Looks like a jalapeno but has no heat, enormously flavorful
Giant Marconi – AAS, green to red, sweet yet smoky flavor
Italian Roaster – Heirloom “Horn of the Bull”, Corno di Toro Variety, great for grilling
Jimmy Nardello – Heirloom from Italy, excellent sweet frying pepper
Pimento – High yields, suitable for canning, home garden
Pretty ‘n Sweet – AAS, just as beautiful as it is tasty, called an “ornamedible”
Sweet Banana – Pale green to yellow to red, sweet thick walled fruit
Sweet Sunset – AAS, great sweet banana pepper for containers, superior taste
Tukaro Shistito – Used in Japanese dishes, little to no heat, excellent yield

Pepper Hot

Anaheim Chile – 900-3500 RSR, green to red, pungent fruit for canning/freezing
Big Jim Numex – 2,500 RSR, giant chile up to 12″ long, high yields, great for stuffing
Cayenne – 30,000 to 50,000 RSR, green to red, high yields of slim very hot fruit
Cherry Bomb – 2,500 to 5,000 RSR, green to red, high yielding hot cherry pepper
Cowhorn – 2500 to 5,000 RSR, green to red large pepper shaped like a cow’s horn
Garden Salsa – 5,000 RSR, green to red chile pepper, tobacco mosaic resistant
Habanero – 200,000 + RSR, green to orange, blazing hot
Habanero Red – 300,000 + RSR, green to bright red, super blazing hot
Holy Mole – 700 RSR, green to chocolate, used in Mole sauce, nutty tangy flavor
Hot Banana – 2,500 to 4,500 RSR, yellow to red, high yields
Hot Sunset – AAS, 650 RSR, fantastic hot banana pepper, may need staking
Jalapeno – 3,500 to 5,000 RSR, green to yellow, most popular hot pepper
Mad Hatter – AAS, 500 RSR, used in Bolivian/Peruvian dishes, citrusy
Mariachi – AAS, 500 to 600 RSR, delicious mild yellow to red, gourmet flavor
Mexibell – AAS, 100 to 1,000 RSR, shaped like a bell pepper, low heat
Mucho Nacho – 4,500 to 6,000 RSR, jumbo jalapeno, vigorous, high yields
Padron – 2,500 RSR, Heirloom from Spain, excellent yields
Poblano/Ancho – 1,000 RSR, great for stuffing, used in chili relleno
Santa Fe – 500 RSR, yellow to red, southwest favorite for stuffing
Serrano 2,500 to 4,000 RSR, some prefer Serrano over Jalapeno
Tabasco – 137,500 RSR, super hot, used in the famous Tabasco Hot Sauce
Thai Hot – 50,000 to 100,000 RSR, used in Asian dishes

Squash

Acorn – Green skin with bright orange flesh, great taste and holding
Butternut – Medium fruit on bush plant, color, flavor, texture excellent
Crookneck – Amazing yields when kept picked, high quality, great taste
Greenstem – Green stem straightneck variety, excellent disease package
Spaghetti – Classic winter squash, good sub in pasta dishes
Straightneck – Amazing yields when kept picked, high quality, great taste

Tomato Slicing

Beefmaster – Indeterminate, favorite for high solids, meaty flesh
Beefsteak – Indeterminate, large, ribbed fruit up to 2 lbs., old fashioned taste
Better Boy – Indeterminate, a best seller, excellent foilage protection
Big Beef – AAS, Indeterminate, great disease package
Big Boy – Indeterminate, huge crack free fruit, ideal slicer
Carolina Gold – Determinate, large yellow-gold fruit, low acid
Celebrity – AAS, Semi-determinate, great disease package, smooth fruit
Chef’s Choice Black – AAS, Indeterminate, high yielding addition to the family, green to black
Early Girl – Indeterminate, very early yields of smooth, meaty fruit
Genuwine – Indeterminate, heirloom/hybrid cross, heirloom flavor/hybrid yields
Goliath – Indeterminate, old-fashioned flavor with sweet, smooth fruit
Heatmaster – Determinate, will set fruit even in SC’s hottest summers
Jet Star – Indeterminate, excellent flavor, low acid, no core
Lemon Boy – Indeterminate, low acid Better Boy type
Marion – Indeterminate, Rutgers-type, high yields, excellent canner
Mountain Fresh – Determinate, best tasting of the Mountain series, 12 oz. fruit
Mountain Pride – Determinate, again great flavor, 6 oz. fruit, 70 day variety
Park’s Whopper – Indeterminate, old time favorite
Phoenix – Determinate, extremely heat tolerant, great flavor, 12 oz. fruit
Pink Girl – Indeterminate, low-acid pink fruit on vigorous plants
Purple Boy – Indeterminate, Cherokee Purple’s great taste with excellent disease package
Roma – Determinate, pear-shaped standard, great for paste and juice
Rutgers Indeterminate, all purpose variety, ideal for canning
San Marzano – Indeterminate, better than standard Romas, provides classic Italian flavor
Supersonic – Indeterminate, mid-season beauty, smooth fruit
Tomatillo – Vining tomato, green, used raw or cooked in many Mexican dishes

Tomato Basket

Tumblin’ Tom – Indeterminate, cascades of red 1 to 2 in. fruit, containers or baskets
Tumblin’ Tom Yellow – Indeterminate, same description as Tumblin’ Red but with yellow fruit

Tomato Bush

Better Bush – Indeterminate, bush plant, no need to stake, great taste, good yields
Husky Cherry Red – Indeterminate, short-internodes, cherry-sized fruit on bush plant
Patio – Indeterminate short-internodes, excellent container plant
Patio Yellow – AAS, Determinate, compact, connoisseur’s fav taste, high yields
Supremo – Determinate, early (68 days), heat tolerant, 6 oz roma type fruit

Tomato Cherry

Chocolate Sprinkles – Indeterminate, red fruit with green stripes, 50-55 day (very early)
Fantastico – AAS determinate, long clusters, great for containers/baskets
Grape – AAS, Indeterminate, Juliet variety name, high yields, very sweet
Green Grape – Indeterminate, high yielding, very sweet
Grape Yellow – Indeterminate, true yellow grape with high yields
Midnight Snack – AAS, Indeterminate, glossy dark purple, high yields, upgrade of chocolate cherry
Red Pear – Indeterminate, pear-shaped red fruit, excellent yields
Sungold – Indeterminate, heavy crop of golden fruit, good crack resistant
Sungreen – Indeterminate, high sugar content, stays green when ripe
Sunorange – Indeterminate, high sugar content, orange when ripe
Sweet 100 – Indeterminate, very popular super sweet high in Vitamin C
Sweet Million – Indeterminate, early maturing fruit 1/2 oz, double to triple clusters
Yellow Pear – Indeterminate, similar to red pear with yellow fruit (low acid)

Tomato Heirloom

Amish Paste – Indeterminate, large paste tomato, Amish heritage, oblong ox-heart fruit
Arkansas Traveler – Indeterminate, from the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, pink color
Belgium Giant – Indeterminate, huge fruit 5 lbs., pink fruit
Black Krim – Indeterminate, dark red to black with green shoulders, sweet and tasty
Brandywine – Indeterminate, from 1800s, classic heirloom taste
Brandywine Black – Indeterminate, same great Brandywine flavor, attractive chocolate color
Cherokee Chocolate – Indeterminate, better yields and taste than sister Purple
Cherokee Purple – Indeterminate, from Cherokee Indians, purple great-tasting fruit
German Johnson – Indeterminate, great in the South, potato leafed plant, best of the pink
German Pink – Indeterminate, lighter pink than Johnson, potato leafed plant
Golden Jubilee – Indeterminate, great for making juice, low acid, excellent flavor
Green Zebra – Determinate, fully ripe fruit green to light green, great flavor
Hillbilly – Indeterminate, from W.V., huge yellow, red, orange fruit
Mortgage Lifter – Indeterminate, longtime favorite with mild flavor, meaty, pink skin
Mr. Stripey – Indeterminate, from Virginia, huge red fruit with yellow stripes
Oxheart – Indeterminate, old-time favorite, heart shaped flavorful fruit
Pineapple – Indeterminate, huge fruit, yellow and red marbling, heavy foliage

Watermelon

Crimson Sweet – Striped, blocky shape, brilliant red, 85 day
Jubilee – Light green with dark stripes, elongated oval, medium red, 95 days

Zucchini

Elite – The best zucchini on the market, high yields, great taste

Fall Veggies

We begin seeing our fall veggies in late August early September. See our list of Fall Veggies at the end of this discussion for more information. They are generally grown by our vendors in 4-packs and flats. Eight 4-packs makes a flat. These are cold hardy plants, meaning they will survive a frost but not a heavy freeze. In the Upstate, we define a heavy freeze as below 26F for several hours.

Most of our fall veggies need 60 days minimum to yield and some of the Cauliflower require up to 80 days. Consequently, it may be 90 degrees outside when you buy these veggies on August 15th, but in order to get a crop that takes 80 days to yield, you better have them planted to have veggies by November 5th. Note that November 5th is the average 1st frost date in Zone 8. But a frost date is not necessarily your deciding factor as these fall veggies are cold hardy. So, the gamble is when is the average hard freeze date when it drops below 26F. The answer … we don’t know. It may be December 15th. It may be January 15th. But the point is this, begin your fall vegetables early or you may not get a harvest before the plant dies back down to the ground. Have no fear though, this is the South. Your fall veggie should come back in the spring and produce a spring crop before it gets too hot.

A good strategy – buy some veggie starts as soon as they are available circa August 25 and then wait a month and buy some more circa September 20. Then, tempt GOD and buy another group circa October 15th (and prepare the frost blankets for these). We will still have fall veggies after October 15, but in a limited number because we want our customers to understand the process. And, trust me, the outside temperature may still be over 90F when you buy your veggies in October. I won’t forget the year that the 90F days started in mid-June and did not stop until the 2nd week of October. That was a defining summer!

Oh, and about the heat … this is the South. It is hot here. Fall veggies are cool season vegetables. That means that they don’t produce well in the heat. This also means those huge Broccoli heads you see on the internet just ain’t gonna happen in Upstate SC. It’s too hot here. But, you will get a harvest of the main head and ancillary harvests off the sides. So, accept the fact that cool season veggies don’t get enough cool in the Upstate of SC to provide large yields and rejoice in the fact that your Tomatoes will continue to yield through the end of November and sometimes into December. Take that you Northern Gardeners. Southern Gardens rule … Northern Gardeners drool!

Another very important thing about Fall vegetables … a good majority come from the Brassicaceae family, and their aroma is VERY enticing to moths and butterflies. Consequently, if you have a fall garden, the caterpillars and the worms will come. In the fall, butterflies and moths are flying around all willy nilly and they will find your fall veggies. And, after they lay hundreds of eggs, those eggs will hatch into hundreds of hungry little worms and caterpillars. Yes, you can try deterrents and physical means to keep your fall veggies healthy. However, we recommend BT (Bacillus Thuringiensis), which is an organic way to kill the worms and caterpillars trying to eat your food. And, then there are the Aphids who love the Brassicaceae family. For Aphids, we recommend another organic pesticide, Bonide Insecticidal Soap.

Finally, about the good news and bad news about lettuce and the spinach. Your lettuce plant is also cold-hardy and you will have multiple yields before it succumbs to a hard frost. Your lettuce plant is NOT from the Brassicaceae family so it won’t have worms and moths and aphids. Instead, you will just have yummy yummy yummy lettuce through multiple harvests.

And, here is the best news ever … You can grow lettuce all year round in the South. You only need to grow it in the shade in the summer. Lettuce will yield and yield well as long as you harvest it regularly to keep it from going to seed, you keep it protected from the sun and you keep it well watered. Hurray for the secrets of the South. Now the bad news about your Spinach. Spinach won’t germinate until the temperature is cool so our vendors can’t produce Spinach until late November early December. We recommend you sow it indoors in a cool location in your home with the air conditioning, and then plant it outside to have early Spinach harvests. But don’t even think about asking for Spinach starts in September or October or November because it is the South and it ain’t gonna happen.

Our list of Fall Veggies more or less follows:

Arugula
Brocolli – Iron Man, Luna, Marathon, Southern Comet, Packman
Brussels Sprouts – Jade Cross, Long Island
Cabbage – Bravo, Early Jersey Wakefied, Fast Vantage, Red
Cauliflower – Amazing, Snow Crown & Cheese in 3″
Collards – Flash, Georgia, Morris Heading
Garlic Bulbs
Kale – Black Magic, Blue Curled, Blue Knight, Prizm
Lettuce – AllStar, Encore, Red Salad Bowl, Martin’s & Wildfire Mixes; Buttercrunch Red & Green, Romaine Red & Green, Freckles, Red Oakleaf, Sulu (Green Oakleaf), and more
Onion Bulbs
Pac Choi – Red & Green
Spinach – Bloomsdale, Corvair, Kookabura, Seaside, Space, Sun Angel.

Note that there are other fall vegetables that you can grow in the Upstate but our vendors only carry the above listed veggies. Don’t forget the Garlic and Onion bulbs are also available in the fall.