Montana; Planting a Successful Home Vegetable Garden

8/3/2019 Montana; Planting a Successful Home Vegetable Garden

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MT 199502 AG revised 6/07

This guide covers basic garden planning and growing transplants, plus includes

a table with days to maturity, planting depth and spacing, projected yields andgermination temperatures for 40 common vegetables.

by Cheryl Moore-Gough, Extension Horticulture Specialist and R.E. Gough,

Proessor o Horticulture

C-6

a combination o warm and cool white uorescent bulbs toprovide supplemental light or grow lights, which provide theull spectrum o light waves. Space light bulbs about 2 inchesapart, center to center, and no higher than 18 inches above theplants. Leave them on rom 12 to 16 hours each day ater the

seedlings have emerged.Grow peppers, eggplants, and tomatoes in ats and

transplant them to the garden bare-root. Plant cell packs may also be used. Cucumber, squash, muskmelon and watermelondo not transplant well bare-root, so grow them in peat pots or

jiy pellets and transplant them to the garden with an intactsoil ball. Grow cabbage, cauliower, Brussels sprouts, broccoli,lettuce, and onion transplants either in ats or in containers.

I you use peat pots or transplanting, be sure the entire pot is buried to prevent water loss rom soil around the plantthrough the “wick” action o the peat pot rim being exposedto the air. You can use Styrooam cups as growing containers

i you punch drainage holes in their bottoms. Remove thesecontainers at planting.

Purchase a good soilless grow mix in which to raise yourtransplants or make one yoursel by mixing equal parts groundsphagnum moss and horticultural vermiculite or perlite. I theoliage o your seedlings turns yellow-green, water your plants

with a solution o 2 tablespoons o a ertilizer such as 20–20–20 in a gallon o water.

Sow seeds o warm season vegetables 1/4 inch deep in rowsat the rate o 1 seed per inch o row i in ats, or 1-2 seeds percontainer. Wet the planting medium and allow excess water todrain beore planting. Don’t over-water your seedlings.

Seeds o warm season crops such as eggplant and peppersgerminate astest at 80°–90°F while those o other vegetablesgerminate better at 60°–80°F. Ater emergence, reduce thegrowing temperature to 60°F at night and 70–75°F duringthe day or most warm season crops. Cool season crops andtomatoes do well with 68° F day temperatures and 45° to 50° Fnight temperatures.

Pg SssHom Vg G

HaVinG a SucceSSful VeGetable Garden

depends not only upon how you garden but upon plantingenough o the right vegetables at the right time to supply youramily’s needs.

Plant at the right time. Tis will vary with air temperature,

soil temperature and the needs o individual crops. Hardy crops like cabbage tolerate rosts and can be planted in early spring; tender crops like peppers don’t tolerate rosts and needmore heat to mature properly, so plant them when the soil has

warmed to 60° F.

How you organize crops in the garden is also important.Plant tall vegetables like corn on the north or northeast side o the garden to reduce shading. Orient all rows in a north-southdirection to take advantage o the best sunlight distribution.Plant vegetables that need heavy watering in the all away romthose like onions, potatoes, and other root crops, which need tobe dry to be stored properly. Proper spacing between plants is

also important.Te table on pages 2 and 3 contains inormation about

average days to maturity, plant spacing, planting depth, averageyields, and planting dates or common vegetables.

Cultivars

Note the number o “days to maturity” on the seed packet tobe sure the cultivar will have time to mature beore the end o the season. o determine your rost-ree period, contact yourcounty Extension agent or use MontGuide 199308 AG, “CanI Grow Tat Here?” or EB165 - "A Montana Garder's Book of Days" . Te dates given or your locality represent average length

o growing seasons and the real season length can vary by plusor minus two weeks rom the length given.

Growing Transplants

Many tender vegetables can’t mature in our short seasons; startplants indoors or buy transplants rom a local nursery or gardencenter.

I you grow your own transplants, give them adequate light.Te windowsill may appear bright enough but it isn’t. Use



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1 T e s e v e g e t a b l e s s u r v i v e h a r d f r o s t s a n d c a n b e p l a n t e d 2 – 3 w e e k s b e f o r e t h e

a v e r a g e d a t e o f t h e l a s t 3 2 d e g r e e t e m p e r a t u r e i n s p r i n g .

2 T e s e v e g e t a b l e s w i t h s t a n d l i g h t f r o s t s a n d t h e i r s e e d s g e r m i n a t e a t l o w s o i l t e m p

e r a t u r e s . P l a n t t h e m 2 w e e k s b e f o r e t h e a

v e r a g e d a t e o f t h e l a s t 3 2 d e g r e e

t e m p e r a t u r e i n s p r i n g .

3 T e s e v e g e t a b l e s d o n o t w i t h s t a n d f r o s t

a n d t h e i r s e e d s w i l l n o t g e r m i n a t e i n c o l d s o i l . P l a n t t h e m a t a b o u t t h e a v e r a g e d a t e o f t h e l a s t 3 2 d e g r e e t e m p e r a t u r e .

* Y i e l d s w i l l v a r y w i t h l o c a l c o n d i t i o n s .



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the basis o race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political belies,

sexual orientation, and marital and amily status. Issued in urtherance o cooperative

extension work in agriculture and home economics, acts o May 8 and June 30, 1914, in

cooperation with the U.S. Department o Agriculture, Douglas L. Steele, Vice Provost and

Director, Extension, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717.

Copyright © 2007 MSU Extension

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http://www.montana.edu/wwwpb/pubs/mt199502AG.pdf

File under: Horticulture

C-6 (Vegetables)

Revised June 2007 1000 0507SA

ransplant bare-root seedlings into cube trays or individualplanting pots when they’ve reached an inch in height. Moistenthe medium and, with a pencil, punch a hole in the mediumdeep enough to accommodate the root system withoutcrowding. Lit the seedling rom the original container with apencil, set it into the hole, and frm the medium around it withthe pencil.

Sow large-seeded vegetables like cucumber and pumpkininto individual containers by pushing the seeds into the mix

with a pencil eraser. Water the transplants until water exits through the drain

holes or through the peat pot. Ten don’t water again untilplants just begin to wilt. est the need to water by squeezing asmall amount o medium rom the upper hal o the containerbetween your fngers. I no water appears, it’s time to water. Forsoilless mixes such as peat moss, perlite or vermiculite, don’t

water i water drips rom the mix.

Harden transplants beore setting them to the garden. Slowly reduce the temperature, reduce watering, and increase light

levels. Placing plants outside during avorable weather or twoto three weeks beore transplanting is a good way to hardenthem to outside conditions. Bring plants indoors each night

when rost is expected.

For warm season crops such as cucumber, tomato, pepperand eggplant, plastic mulch or the newer geotextile abricmulches help warm the soil and reduce weed competition. Setplants through aps cut in the plastic sheeting or abric. Youcan seed cucumber and squash directly into the soil beneath

aps that you cut into the material.

Pest Control

You can eliminate many pest problems i you use artifcialsoil mixes or sterilize garden soil prior to seeding. Buy diseaseresistant cultivars, space the plants properly to allow circulatingair to dry the oliage and never water at night.

Rotate vegetable crops each year and clean up debris at theend o each season.

Documents

Montana; Planting a Successful Home Vegetable Garden