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Starting a Successful Vegetable Garden Jon Traunfeld- [email protected]

Starting a Successful Vegetable Garden

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Starting a Successful Vegetable Garden. Subtitle Jon Traunfeld- [email protected]. Why do people grow vegetables?. Flavor, freshness, pesticide-free Save money; learn new skills Health benefits exercise, nutrition, phytochemicals Connection to nature and family traditions - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Page 1: Starting  a Successful  Vegetable Garden

Starting a Successful Vegetable Garden

Jon Traunfeld- [email protected]

Page 2: Starting  a Successful  Vegetable Garden

College ofAgriculture and Natural Resources

Page 3: Starting  a Successful  Vegetable Garden

Why do people grow vegetables?• Flavor, freshness, pesticide-free• Save money; learn new skills • Health benefits

exercise, nutrition, phytochemicals• Connection to nature and family traditions• Introduce youth to gardening

v

Page 4: Starting  a Successful  Vegetable Garden

Join the Grow it Eat it Network!

• A program brought to you by Maryland Master Gardeners and the Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC)

• Goals:– teach people how to grow food– increase the number of Maryland food gardeners– create a network of food gardeners who will

keep learning and sharing through classes, workshops, events, web site, blog

Page 5: Starting  a Successful  Vegetable Garden

We teach a common-sense, ecological approach

• Rely on locally available materials and resources- (rocks, leaves, animal manure).

• Feed the soil (with organic matter) to increase garden productivity.

• Maximize biological and genetic diversity to strengthen your garden eco-system. – Example: Plant an assortment of annual flowers

and herbs to attract and feed beneficial insects.

Page 6: Starting  a Successful  Vegetable Garden

Ingredients for first year success

• Good, deep soil; add organic matter.• Give your plants the nutrients, water, and

sunlight they need.• Prevent weeds from growing.• Make a plan; give it a little time each day • Observe and take notes• ENJOY!

Page 7: Starting  a Successful  Vegetable Garden

What type of vegetable garden?

• In-ground- convert turfgrass to vegetables• Containers- on back step, deck, or balcony or

along driveway • Edible landscape- pepper, cabbage, Swiss

chard, etc. mixed into ornamental beds• Combination of the first three

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Vegetable crops

• 5-10 plant families may be represented in the average garden (almost all of our vegetable crops are non-native- not even from North America!)

• Most are annuals with a life cycle somewhere between 25 days (radish, baby greens) to 110 days (big pumpkins.)

• Require good growing conditions to produce high yields.

• Can be incorporated into ornamental landscape.

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Making a plan

• Good planning will save you time, work, and $

• Garden size; how big?- consider time, space, mouths to feed, motivation– Always best to start small

• What should I grow– Easy crops– What your family will eat

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7 good crops for starters…• Tomato- productive and popular• Pepper- slow-growing but worth the wait• Cucumber- make them climb to save space• Summer squash- feed the neighborhood! • Bush bean- plant them twice• Lettuce- grow best March-June and Sept.-Nov.• Leafy greens- mustard, kale, collards, Asian

greens, and Swiss chard (grows during hot weather)

Page 11: Starting  a Successful  Vegetable Garden

Sample 8 ft. X 8 ft. garden8

ft.

3 ft.

•Two raised beds- 8 ft. X 3 ft. with a 2 ft. path in the middle

•Time: late May

•Both beds could have been planted in salad greens from April 1 through mid-May

2 cuke plants

1 squash plant

Page 12: Starting  a Successful  Vegetable Garden

Can I really save $?

• Yes, but have you heard the one about the $100 tomato?

• Only buy what you really need; be resourceful• An 8 ft. X 8 ft. garden with 48 sq. ft. of growing

space should produce $175-300 of fresh produce

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Picking a site• Level ground; close to water source.• Southern exposure; tallest plants on North

side.• Protection from critters.

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Digging and aerating tools

Page 15: Starting  a Successful  Vegetable Garden

Soil prep Kill sod and control weeds- • Cover area with newspaper or cardboard,

and cover with leaves, and compost OR• Dig up the area by hand or with a tiller

Page 16: Starting  a Successful  Vegetable Garden

Soil prepSlicing off sod

Turning soil

Loosening subsoil

Page 17: Starting  a Successful  Vegetable Garden

Sheet compost your way to a vegetable garden

Page 18: Starting  a Successful  Vegetable Garden

You need “good soil”

• Well-drained• Friable- deep, crumbly; allows for maximum root

growth.• Regular additions of organic matter will improve soil

structure and create a reservoir of slow-release nutrients.

• Test your soil; 6.0-6.8 is preferred range for soil pH.• Urban/suburban soils are often low quality soils

Page 19: Starting  a Successful  Vegetable Garden

Ways to add organic matter

• Farmyard manure (fall)• Compost• Shredded leaves and grass clippings• Organic mulches• Plant roots• Cover crops

• Large amounts of organic matter may be needed for several years.

• Thereafter, 1 in. of compost will help maintain high yields.

Page 20: Starting  a Successful  Vegetable Garden

Cover crops improve and protect soils

• Increase soil organic matter. • Mine the soil for nutrients. • Protect soil from erosion.

Page 21: Starting  a Successful  Vegetable Garden

Raised beds

some advantages… • Warm up quickly in spring.• Drain well; less compaction and erosion.• Increase available rooting area. • Can produce greater food production per

square foot.and some disadvantages…• Up-front labor and expense.• Dry out quickly if weather is hot and dry.• Don’t work on slopes, unless terraced.

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Raised bed basics2-4 ft. wide; usually 6”-8” above grade; can be bordered with wood, stone, brick

“Instant” raised bed filled with a purchased soil/compost mix

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Good info on most seed packets

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Growing healthy transplants

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Intensive gardening: getting the most per square foot

• Close planting• Vertical growth• Inter-planting• Succession/relay

planting

Page 26: Starting  a Successful  Vegetable Garden

How close is too close??Correct spacing for big onions

Okra plants are too tight

Page 27: Starting  a Successful  Vegetable Garden

Interplant to maximize productionpurslane is edible!

Page 28: Starting  a Successful  Vegetable Garden

Mustard greens on north side of tomatoes

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Keep the harvest coming with succession planting

• Requires planning• Transplants fill the

space quickly• Special attention to

water and nutrient needs

• Floating row cover for protection from pests and excessive heat

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An entire raised bed of Asian leafy greens.

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Get the most from every square foot: succession planting examples

• Garlic (11/1)-cucumbers (7/1)-oats/clover (9/20)• Peas/favas (3/1)-squash (6/1)-kale (9/1)• Lettuce (3/20)-green beans (5/15)-broccoli (8/1)• Radish (3/1)-Asian greens (4/15)-eggplant (6/1)-

rye (9/15)• Cucumber (4/15)- green bean (7/1)-spinach (9/20)

Page 32: Starting  a Successful  Vegetable Garden

Most commonly available commercial organic fertilizers

• Fish emulsion: 6-2-2• Seaweed extract: 1-.5-2• Bloodmeal: 15-1-0• Cottonseed meal: 6-2.5-1.5• Guano: 8 to 13-8-2• Bone meal: 4-21-0• Rock phosphate: 0-22-0• Alfalfa meal: 3-1-2

Page 33: Starting  a Successful  Vegetable Garden

Fertilizing tips

• Nitrogen is nutrient most often in short supply. Use one of the “meals” (kelp, fish, cottonseed, alfalfa) to supplement N from organic matter.

• Follow label directions.• Organic fertilizers can be over-applied and burn

plants or stimulate excessive leaf growth at the expense of fruit.

• Add 1 inch of compost each year to contribute to long-term nutrient reservoir.

Page 34: Starting  a Successful  Vegetable Garden

Weed management

• Weeds are plants that thrive in disturbed soil.• Best control methods:

– crop cover– hand-pull– sharp hoe– mulch

• Other methods: vinegar, flame weeder, commercial herbicidal soap.

Page 35: Starting  a Successful  Vegetable Garden

Organic mulches • Prevent weed growth.• Moderate soil temperatures.• Conserve soil moisture.• Add to soil organic matter.• Should be spread after soil warms up.• Can provide habitat for pests along with

beneficial critters.

Examples: grass clippings, newspaper covered with straw, shredded leaves, compost

Page 36: Starting  a Successful  Vegetable Garden

Synthetic mulches• Black plastic mulch warms the soil for

earlier, higher yields of warm-season crops.

• Red plastic mulch may produce higher yields of tomato than black plastic.

• Landscape fabric warms soil and allows water and air into soil. Can be re-used.

Page 37: Starting  a Successful  Vegetable Garden

Drip irrigation: saves time and water

Page 38: Starting  a Successful  Vegetable Garden

Growing up: using vertical space• Increase yields per sq. ft. • Fewer fruit problems; easier to pick, water,

and spray.• Adds complex texture to garden; enhances

ecosystem (shading, micro-climates.)

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Fence out the critters

Page 40: Starting  a Successful  Vegetable Garden

Container vegetables 8 cu. ft. of growing

mediaWhiskey barrel- 1-2 plant

capacity

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EarthBox- “self-watering” container

Page 42: Starting  a Successful  Vegetable Garden

Univ. of MD Salad Table: Growing salad greens at waist height March-November

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Mixed greens cut at 1” above soil line

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University of MD Salad Box

Page 45: Starting  a Successful  Vegetable Garden

Resources

• Grow It! Eat It!http://www.extension.umd.edu/growit

– We have all types of practical food gardening tips and information. Check out our popular blog!

• Home and Garden Information Centerhttp://www.extension.umd.edu/hgic

– Here you will find factsheets, photos, and videos. You can also subscribe to the free monthly e-newsletter.

– We answer gardening questions 24/7…just click “Ask Maryland’s Garden Experts”

• Maryland Master Gardener Programhttp://www.extension.umd.edu/mg

– Consider becoming a trained MG volunteer!

Page 46: Starting  a Successful  Vegetable Garden

This program was brought to you by the

Maryland Master Gardener Program

Howard County

University of Maryland Extension