Vegetable Gardening

Danny Byrum

March 18, 2013

What is a Vegetable?

• Most definitions are based on usage and

are not botanically based

– A herbaceous plant, or portion of a plant, that

is eaten raw or cooked, generally with an

entrée or in a salad, but not for dessert

– Exceptions: Rhubarb & melons

What is a fruit?

• Botanically speaking:

– Ripened ovary containing seed together with

adjacent part that are eaten at maturity

– Exceptions: Tomato, beans, etc…

• Usage Definition:

– Sweet & edible plant structure consisting of a

fruit (botanical) or false fruit that is eaten raw

or as a dessert

Vegetable Classification

Who belongs where???

Alliaceace: Amaryllis Family

Poaceae: Grass Family

www2.dpi.qld.gov.au/images/13389.jpg

http://extension.missouri.edu/xplor/agguides/hort/g06390.htm

Liliaceae: Lily Family

http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/vegetables/438-102/438-102.html

Brassicaceae: Mustard Family

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ale.jpg

www.veggiegardeningtips.com/wp-

content/upload...

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689.JPG

www.seedfest.co.uk/seeds/radish/radi

sh_easter.jpg

www.hort.purdue.edu/.../im

ages/large/turnip2.jpg

Cucurbitaceae: Gourd Family

www.aftonapple.com/pumpkins.jpg

http://foodpac.gatech.edu/_foodchain/foodchain_7-5.htm

http://vric.ucdavis.edu/selectnewcrop.cucumber.htm

http://www.ipmcenters.org/cropprofiles/docs/NJsq

uash.html

Fabaceae: Bean/Pea Family

Solanaceae: Potato/Nightshade Family

www.avrdc.org/LC/tomato/producti

on/01title.jpg

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www.gardenaction.co.uk/images/pota

to_wilja.jpg

www.avrdc.org/LC/pepper/swtprod/03int1B.jpg

Before you begin, ask yourself the

following:

• Who will be doing the work?

– Alone=keep it small

• What do you & your family like?

– Don’t want to plant veggies you won’t eat

• How do you plan to use the produce?

– Fresh vs. storing

• How much space is available?

Where should you put your

garden?

Its all about location, location, location!

• Suitable soil: loose, well-drained

• Water supply reasonably close by

• Shade

• Crop rotation

• Avoid planting near trees & shrubs

• Gardening where sod has been long

established

Points to consider:

Soil Preparation

• Ideal soil is deep, friable, well-drained, and

has high organic matter

• Chances are, this is not the case

• Soil amendments may be necessary, but

FIRST & FOREMOST…

SOIL TEST!!!!

Soil Testing

• In-state testing $10.00 (basic) through Virginia

Tech Soils Testing Lab (www.soiltest.vt.edu)

• Recommended every 3 years

Soil Amendments

• Any addition to the soil that improves its

physical or chemical condition

• Can be used to adjust pH, increase

nutrients, and improve soil structure

pH

• Ideal pH for vegetable production is 6.2-6.8

• Raise pH (make more basic)

– Dolomitic limestone

– Adds calcium and magnesium

– Wood ashes

• Lower pH (make more acidic)

– Agricultural sulfur

• It is important to add the correct amount, which is why your soil test is so important

Adding Nutrients (Fertilizing)

• Synthetic vs. organic

• Macronutrients

– Nutrients the plants need in large amounts

– N-P-K (10-10-10)

• Micronutrients

– Nutrients the plants need in small amounts

– Equally important

– Magnesium, calcium, boron, etc…

Improving Soil Structure

• Organic matter is a great way to improve soil structure

– Manures, leafmold, sawdust, straw, & many others

• Undecomposed materials & nitrogen

• Compost

• Animal manures

– Apply in fall & allow to

decompose until next spring http://www.cambridgema.gov/TheWorks

/departments/recycle/basics.html

Cover Crops

• Any crop grown primarily to protect,

maintain, or enrich the soil

• Term first used during the 20th century

“Dust Bowl”

• Growers soon realized the benefits of

cover cropping

Cover Crop Categories

• Green manure: cover crop is tilled into the

topsoil to add organic matter and feed the soil

life

• Smother crop: cover crop grown in order to

suppress or choke out weeds

• Catch crop: planted after harvest of a heavily-

fertilized cash crop to soak-up and conserve

leftover mineral N and other soluble nutrients

Cover crop benefits on Soil Health

• Replenish soil organic matter (SOM)

• Feed and support soil life

• Fix atmospheric N into plant-available N

• Make other nutrients more available,

especially phosphorus (P)

• Help maintain nutrient balances in soil

Benefits on Physical Properties of

Soils

• Protect from wind and

water erosion

• Protect from compaction

• Enhance soil tilth (crumb

texture), aeration,

drainage, and moisture

holding capacity

Other Benefits

• Weed suppression

• Enhance crop diversity, reducing pest and

disease problems

• Provide habitat and food for beneficial

insects

Soil Benefits

• Donate about 10% of photosynthetic product

into soil as root exudates

• Stimulate and nourish beneficial

microorganisms

• Leguminous cover crops can fix atmospheric

N and convert into plant-available nitrogen

• If too much N available in soil, a heavy-

feeding crop can capture the N to prevent

leaching and groundwater pollution

Erosion and Compaction

• Partial coverage from a cover crop can greatly reduce wind and water erosion

• Protect from drying effects of sun and compacting effects of rainfall, which can lead to a “dead zone”

• Deep rooted cover crops can act a “bio-plow” to break up hardpans caused from mold-board plowing

http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/icm/2007/5-7/wetsoil.html

http://blog.calciumproducts.com/index.cfm?category=5

Weed Suppression

• Competition

– A good standing cover crop can cover the soil

in about 2-3 weeks

– Puts emerging weeds in the shade and

chokes them out

• Allelopathy

– Chemical interaction between cover crop and

weed species

– Acts as a pre-emergent herbicide

Beneficial Insect Habitat

• Many crops have blooms that house important nectaries for beneficial insect species

• If cover crops left in strips throughout the field, will attract many species of beneficial insects

• Farmscaping

Planting Cover Crops

Tilling the Soil

• Rototilling

– Sufficient for most gardeners

– Mixed the upper layers of soil rather than completely turning the soil over

• Advantages of fall tilling

– Earlier spring planting

– Better decomposition of O.M.

– Potentially reduce weeds, insects, & diseases

– Will still need to be worked before spring planting

www.constructioncomplete.com/cc/images/items/...

http://lawn-aerator-attachment.com/

http://www.amazing-atv-machinery.com/atv-

rototiller-agrifab-products.html

Equipment

Seeds

• Take care to purchase

seed from a reputable

seed source

• Keep notes on

germination qualities,

vigor of plants,

tendencies toward

insects & disease, etc…

Saving Seeds

• Save only from open-pollinated varieties

• Hybrid seeds will not produce true-to-type

• Seed-borne diseases

• Cross-pollination

Storing Seeds

• Properly stored seeds will remain viable

for different periods of time

• If seeds were purchased, be aware that

the seed company could have saved them

for years before selling

• Store in air-tight containers in a cool, dark

location

• Be sure to label with the name and

package date

Starting Seeds Indoors

• Make sure you have enough light

– If you don’t have a sunny room, you may

need supplemental light

• Use a soilless or peat-lite mix to start

seedlings

• Start in some type of tray and when

seedling have 1 or 2 sets of true leaves,

transplant into larger pots

• Peat pots

http://www.novoselenterprises.com/products/jiffy.asp

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:See

dling_cotyledons_small.jpg

http://progressivegardening.com/pottingmi

xalternatives.html

Direct Seeding

Transplanting

• Stocky, healthy, disease-free, and have good

roots

• Hardened-off

• Transplant on a shady day, in late afternoon, or

in early evening to prevent wilting

• Set plants slightly deeper than previously

planted

– Tomatoes are the exception to this rule

– Water the plants 2x daily, if there isn’t sufficient

rainfall

Irrigation

• Critical to successful vegetable gardening,

especially in our area

• A healthy plant is composed of 75-90%

water

• Vegetables need 1 inch of water per week

– Helpful to have a rain gauge near the garden

– If rainfall not adequate, will have to

supplement with irrigation

Trickle Irrigation

• Much more efficient in use of water

– Utilizes more frequent or continuous

application of water in smaller amounts to

prevent dryness

• Systems available in many lawn & garden

stores

• May want to purchase from irrigation

company

http://www.rittenhouse.ca/asp/product.asp?PG=1655

http://www.berryhilldrip.com/ http://www.berryhilldrip.com/

http://www.berryhilldrip.com/

Reducing Water Demands

• Organic matter will improve the moisture-

holding capacity of the soil

• Mulching

– Prevents evaporative losses

• Know the critical watering periods of the

plants in your garden

Crop Critical watering periods

Asparagus Spear production, fern development

Beans Pod filling

Broccoli Head development

Cabbage Head development

Carrot Seed emergence, root development

Cauliflower Head development

Sweet Corn Silking, tasseling, ear development

Cucumber Flowering, fruit development

Eggplant Flowering, fruiting

Lettuce Head development,

Melons Flowering, fruit development

Peas Pod filling

Tomato Flowering, fruiting

Benefits of Irrigation Practices

• Aid in seed emergence

• Reduce soil crusting

• Improve germination & plant stand

• Reduce wilting and checking of growth in transplants

• Increase fruit size of tomato, cucumber, & melon

• Maintain uniform growth

• Improve the quality and yields of most crops

Weeds

• Plants out of place

• Weed seeds may remain viable for seven years or more when conditions are not right for their growth

• When you work the garden for vegetables, you are creating an ideal environment for their growth

• Problems with weeds

– Shading, competition for water & nutrients, harboring insect & disease

Control Methods

• Cultivation

• Mulching

• Close spacing

• Cover crops

• Herbicides

How much to plant?

Choosing Vegetable Varieties

• Many different varieties of each crop to

choose from

• Selection will be based on personal

preferences

• Seed catalogs vs. garden supply store

Tomatoes

• Transplants

• Spacing: 18-36” x 36” if staked or

caged

• Fertilizer: sidedress 1-2 wks after

1st cluster begins to develop; then

again when 2 wks after 1st ripe

tomato; repeat in 1 month

• Determinate vs. Indeterminate

‘Brandywine’

‘Cherokee purple’

‘Crista’ ‘Better boy’

‘Juliet’

Peppers

• Transplants

• Spacing: 18-24” x 30-36”

• Fertilizer: sidedress after 1st fruit sets; too

much will cause excessive vegetative

growth

• Bell peppers: green=immature; red,

orange, yellow, etc…= mature

‘Chocolate Beauty’ ‘Paladin’

‘Bianca’

• Planting: Seed after danger of frost has passed

• Spacing: 9-12” by 4-36”: want minimum of 3 rows (preferably 4) for pollination

• Hardiness: Tender annual

• Fertilizer needs: heavy feeder; preplant broadcast (4 lbs of 5-10-10/100 ft2 row); sidedress when plants are 8-10” high & when tassels begin to form (1 lb 5-10-10/100 ft2 row)

Sweet Corn (Culture)

Sweet Corn

• Light: sunny

• Soil: deep, well-

drained loam

• Fertility: rich

• pH: 6.0-7.0

• Temp.: Warm (60-

75° F)

• Moisture: average

(Environmental Preferences)

Cultural Practices for Sweet Corn

• Continuous harvest

• Super-sweet (Sh),

sugary enhanced (Se),

Normal (Su)

• Mulching

• Harvest

Standard sugar

(su)

Sugar enhanced

(se)

Super sweet

(sh2)

Su

O.K.

O.K.

Starchy

Se

O.K.

O.K.

Starchy

Sh2

Starchy

Starchy

O.K.

‘Maple Sugar’

‘Silver Queen’

‘Serendipity’

Insect Pests of Sweet Corn

Insect Pests of Sweet Corn

Corn Diseases

Cultural Problems with Sweet Corn

• Poor kernel development: not filled to tip

• Dry weather during silking

• Planting too close

• Poor fertility (K+ deficiency)

• Poor pollination caused by insufficient number

of rows

• Lodging: falling over

• Excess nitrogen

Muskmelon (a.k.a. cantaloupe)

• Transplants or direct seeded

• Spacing: 6-8’ between hills, 7’ apart

• Fertilizer: be careful not to give too much

nitrogen, as this may adversely fruit quality

• Be careful with excessive moisture; may

cause splitting or rotting on bottom of fruit

• When ripe, the fruit will ‘slip’ easily from the

vine

• Pollination is dependent on bees

‘Ambrosia’

‘Athena’

‘Sun Jewel’

Watermelons

• Transplant or direct seed

• Spacing: 2-3’ between hills; 5-7’ apart

• Fertilizer: same as cantaloupe

• Again, need to be careful with excessive moisture

• Harvest when: 1. the curl closest to the melon begins to dry, 2. the bottom of the melon turns from white to yellow

• Pollination dependent on bees

‘Charleston Gray’

‘Crimson sweet’

‘Sugar baby’

‘Sunshine’

Cucumber

• Transplant or direct seed

• Spacing: depends on cultural method; see MG

guide

• Fertilizer: sidedress 1 wk after blossoming and

again 3 wks later

• Harvest: personal preference, but want to pick

before they start to turn yellow; if seeded variety,

seeds grow with the cucumber

• Pollination may or may not depend on bees,

depending on type

‘Picklebush’ ‘Lemon’

‘Sweet Success’

Summer Squash

• Transplant or direct seed

• Spacing: 3-4’ x 4-6’; 2-3 plants per hill

• Spacing can be decreased if planted as

singles

• Fertilizer: sidedress 1 wk after

blossoming; repeat 3 wks later

• Harvest: pick before fruit is too old; take

old fruit off so new ones will develop

‘Sweet Zuke’

‘Zephyr’

‘Gentry’

Potatoes

• Seed pieces with one good eye (Mar. 15-Apr. 20th)

• Spacing: 10-12” x 24-36”

• Fertilizer: high phosphorus fertilizer before planting; sidedress 1-2 times after tubers begin forming

• Harvest: Dig early potatoes when large enough to eat

• Storing: two weeks after light frost; avoid freezing

‘Swedish peanut’

‘Red pontiac’ ‘Adirondack red’ ‘Adirondack blue’

‘Russian banana’ ‘Kennebec’

Intensive Gardening

• Intensive versus traditional gardens

• TG are long single rows of vegetables

• IG reduces wasted space so that you

can harvest as much produce as

possible from a given space

• With IG, you concentrate work efforts to

create an ideal plant environment, giving

better yields with less labor

Intensive Ideal

• Have something growing in every part of

the garden at all times during the growing

season

• Continuous garden

• May not be for everyone

The Raised Bed

• Basic unit

• Frames versus no

frames

• Good soil (hold

water and

nutrients) = less

competition within

garden

• Plant spacing

Plot 1 Plot 2

Plot 4 Plot 3

8’

8’

Grass Strip

21” wide

Grass Strip

21” wide

(Rotation)

Vertical Gardening

• Trellises, nets, strings, cages, poles

• Ideal plants are vining and sprawling

plants

• Shadows

• Water requirements

• Soil

Interplanting

• Growing 2 or more types of vegetables in same space at same time

• Must take these factors into account:

• Length of growth periods

• Growth pattern

• Negative effects on other plants?

• Season

• Light, nutrient, & water requirements

Wide Row Planting

• Distance from one plant to all other plants

around it is the same distance

• With more than one row, means plants

need to be staggered

• Results in an efficient use of space with

less area to weed and mulch

• Plant canopy eventually shades all areas

of soil to help conserve water

Succession & Relay Planting

• When one crop is finished, plant something

new in its place

• Making the most of your IG

• Disease and insects

• Relaying: overlap plantings of one type of

crop

Container Gardening

• Limited space

• Soil-borne diseases, nematodes, or poor soil

• Grow vegetables that take up little space or bear over a long period of time:

• Root vegetables (carrots, radishes)

• Lettuce

• Tomatoes & peppers

What type of container do I need?

• For vegetables, must be:

• Big enough to support plants when fully grown

• Hold soil without spilling

• Adequate drainage

• Never held toxic products

• Deep enough to hold right amount of soil for

adequate root growth

Media for Container Gardens

• Need a lightweight potting mix

• Don’t use soil from your yard or garden

• Soilless mixes are generally too

lightweight

• Recipe for making own soil:

• 1 part peat moss, 1 part garden loam, 1 part

clean, coarse sand (perlite), & slow-release

fertilizer

• Soil Test

Watering & Fertilizing Containers

• Containers versus in-ground gardens

• Fertilizer in soil mix

• Frequency

Indoor Container Vegetables

• Cherry/grape tomatoes, peppers,

lettuce, herbs

• Avoid overwatering

• Humidity requirements

• Lighting

• Indoor pests