^ Growing Ci Your Own Vegetables United States Department of Agriculture ,'---,0 Agriculture Information Bulletin 409 ;, <¿ C3D ^>—il?* This is a reprint of Part 2 from the 1977 Yearbook of Agriculture, Gardening/or Food and Fun. The Yearbook may be purchased at government bookstores or ordered from the Superinten- dent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. Original page numbers from the entire book are used in this reprint. Part 2 Home Garden Vegetables Planning Your Vegetable Garden— Plots, PyramidSy and Planters 1^02 Groiving Vegetable Transplants: Lights, Containers, Media, Seed Ill The Complex Art of Planting 119 Vegetables in Containers Require Enough Sun, Space, Drainage 126 Play it Cool With Cole Crops (Cabbage, Etc.); They Attain Best Quality If Matured in Fall 133 The Popular, Cultivated Tomato And Kinfolk Peppers, Eggplant 139 Leafy Salad Vegetables: Lettuce, Celery, Cress, Endive, Escarole, Chicory 147 Onions Are Finicky as to Growing, Curing; And Garlic May Not Be a Joy Either 152 Root Crops More or Less Trouble-free, Produce Lots of Food in a Small Space 157 Greens or "Potherbs"—Chard, CoUards, Kale, Mustard, Spinach, New Zealand Spinach 163 Beans and Peas Are Easy to Grow And Produce a Wealth of Food 171 Sweet Corn, That Home Garden Favorite, For Good Nutrition and Eating Pleasure 181 Cucurbit Crops—Cucumbers, Gourds, Melons, Pumpkins, Squash—Have Uniform Needs 187 Asparagus Starts Up Slow But Goes On and On; Rhubarb Also Takes Its Own Sweet Time 196 Asparagus 196 Rhubarb 201 A Few Rows of Home Garden Potatoes Can Put Nutritious Food on Your Table 205 Sweet Potatoes—^Buried Treasure 212 Herbs for Flavor, Fragrances, Fun In Gardens, Pots, in Shade, in Sun 217 Okra Is Produced Primarily in the South As Main Dish Vegetable, and for Gumbos 224 Miscellany, including Celeriac, Horseradish, Artichoke, Peanuts, Vegetable Soybeans 228 Issued in December 1977 Home Garden PART 2 Vegetables V -^:^^^!t=^. -/'i.-.*C? %. ù'fh Planning Your Vegetable Garden— Plots, Pyramids, and Planters by George and Katy Abraham If you are fortunate enough to have out corn, squash and pumpkins, al- plenty of space for a garden, you can though a few bush squash do very have a traditional type v^ith enough well in small spaces and even in space between rows to run a garden containers. tractor. Before you plant your garden, do Mini Gardening Is Easy some planning. Most people make As the United States moves into their garden too big and by late sum- its third century, we find the Ameri- mer it may be a weed patch. For the can gardener is no longer limited to conventional garden with ample space conventional straight rows and regu- to use a garden tractor, a plot of 50 lated distances in which to raise vege- feet by 50 feet is enough for a family tables. Indeed, the method of culture of 4. With 5 or more members in is limited only by the imagination. households who plan on doing freez- This makes it possible for the urban ing and canning, a space of 50 feet by gardener—like his country cousin— 100 feet is not unreasonable. to have the satisfaction of raising However, if you plan to use muscle juicy tomatoes, snappy green beans power, a hand cultivator and a hoe, and pungent radishes. plus some plastic mulch to keep What's wrong with a window box weeds down, you can put rows only or a balcony planter with a few half as far apart and make your gar- flowers in front for show, and beans, den half the size. With this much carrots, onions, lettuce or radishes space you not only can grow lettuce, in back for food? Many gardeners are tomatoes, radishes, beets, carrots, on- doing just that. An incredible amount ions, snap beans and chard, but you of vegetables can be grown in small also can raise bush squash (both sum- spaces with a little extra plant food mer and winter) and some corn as and a good supply of ingenuity. well. Tomatoes, eggplants and vine crops Corn needs to be planted so that you add color to foundation plantings. have at least two rows side by si'de Cucumbers and melons can be (varieties must mature at the same trained up railings, trellises and time) for cross pollination. It is ac- fences. One cucumber vine will do tually preferable to plant four rows very well in one cubic foot of soil if together. The rows do not need to be it is fed once every two weeks with a long ones but can be arranged in liquid plant food, or if a slow release blocks to aid cross pollination. Re- plant food is added at the time of member it is the seed which you eat— planting. if there is no pollination you get no Even though the gardener has no corn. patch of ground he should not be de- If space is limited, it is best to cut terred. Container-grown vegetables are just as tasty. Some containers that make good mini-gardens are George and Katy Abraham of Naples, waste paper cans, half barrels, square N.Y., do a column^ The Green Thumb, for 126 newspapers. They also broadcast boxes, cement blocks (set so openings regularly over TV and radio, and have face the sky), and pails. written seven books on horticultural We have tried galvanized water topics. tanks, cut in half, an eave trough, 102 bushel baskets and beverage boxes. fill the beds. The raised beds can be You can make or buy tower gardens any size, but the most convenient are (called vertical gardens] made of 2- those easily reached from all sides. inch by 4-inch mesh wire fencing A 4-foot square is one we find rolled in a circle and lined with sisal handy. craft paper, into which has been Used car tires make dandy small poured one of the soilless mixes. circular beds. In fact, when you have Openings are cut in the paper, and a slope the tires can be pegged in seeds or plants inserted at appropri- place with stakes, filled with soil and ate intervals. You can also buy or used to grow any number of small construct pyramid gardens using crops. metal, wood or plastic. If you have a If the sun touches any of your gar- sloping piece of property, you can den spots for only a short time during build a terrace garden using the same the day, there's a solution. The trick principle. is to resort to aluminum foil or Vegetables grow faster in the chrome reflectors or mirrors. White warmth reflected from walks, drives houses reflect light, as do white gravel and concrete pads. If plants are grow- mulches. An equivalent of six hours of ing in containers, drainage holes pro- sun a day (whether reflected or direct] vide places for evaporation and you is adequate to grow most crops if the will have to water the containers light intensity remains high. Vege- more often when they are setting on table beds should not be shaded by concrete or blacktop. tall trees or high buildings. We've Even though drainage holes aid in had peppers, tomatoes and lettuce evaporation, containers must be well produce with only three hours of sun drained. Heavy rains can cause water and good reflected light the rest of to stand around roots. No vegetables the day. You can also put your con- do well in waterlogged soil. It is better tainers on wheels and move them to have a well drained container that with the sun. must be watered offener than one that holds water and shuts out air to the Left, bags, baskets, and buckets can be- roots. come minigardens. Right, limited space Fresh vegetable lovers who have for a garden poses no real problem. The patches of ground available with hard authors made this "vertical" garden by packed cement-like soil can grow lining a wire mesh tower with sisaJ craft their produce in raised beds framed paper and filling it with soil. Growing with 1-inch by 6-inch boards. They are squash, tomatoes, peppers, onions, then can make their own soil mix to and lettuce, besides some flowers. 103 Vegetable Planting Spacing Plants or (Inches) Number seed per days ready Vegetables 100 feet Rows Plants for use Asparagus 66 plants or 1 oz. 36-48 18 (2 years) Beans, snap bush V2 lb. 24-36 3-4 45-60 Beans, snap pole V2 lb. 36-48 4-6 60-70 Beans, Lima bush V2 lb. 30-36 3-4 65-80 Beans, Lima pole V4 lb. 36-48 12-18 75-85 Beets 1 oz. 15-24 2 50-60 Broccoli * 40-50 pi. or V4 oz. 24-36 14-24 60-80 Brussels sprouts * 50-60 pi. or 1/4 oz. 24-36 14-24 90-100 Cabbage * 50-60 pi. or V4 oz. 24-36 14-24 60-90 Cabbage, Chinese * 60-70 pi. or 1/4 oz. 18-30 8-12 65-70 Carrots V2 oz. 15-24 2 70-80 Cauliflower * 50-60 pi. or 1/4 oz. 24-36 14-24 70-90 Celeriac 200 pi. 18-24 4-8 120 Celery 200 pi. 30-36 125 Chard, Swiss 2 oz. 18-30 6 45-55 CoUards and kale V4 oz. 18-36 8-16 50-80 Corn, sweet 3-4 oz. 24-36 12-18 70-90 Cucumbers Vz oz. 48-72 24-48 50-70 Eggplant Vs oz. 24-36 18-24 80-90 Garlic (cloves) 1 lb. 15-24 2-4 140-150 Kohlrabi V2 oz. 15-24 4-6 55-75 Lettuce, head VA oz. 18-24 6-10 70-75 Lettuce, leaf 1/4 oz. 15-18 2-3 40-50 Muskmelon (cantaloupe) * 50 pi. or V2 oz. 60-96 24-36 85-100 Mustard V4 oz. 15-24 6-12 30-40 Okra 2 oz. 36-42 12-24 55-65 Onions 400-600 plants or sets 15-24 3-4 80-120 Onions (seed) 1 oz. 15-24 3-4 90-120 Parsley V4 oz. 15-24 6-8 70-90 Parsnips V2 oz. 18-30 3-4 120-170 Peas, English 1 lb. 18-36 1 55-90 Peas, southern V2 lb. 24-36 4-6 60-70 Peppers Vs oz. 24-36 18-24 60-90 Potatoes, Irish 6-10 lb. of seed tubers 30-36 10-15 75-100 Potatoes, sweet 75-100 pi. 36-48 12-16 100-130 Pumpkins V2 oz. 60-96 36-48 75-100 Radishes 1 oz. 14-24 1 25-40 Salsify V2 oz. 15-18 3-4 150 Soybeans 1 lb. 24-30 2 120 Spinach 1 oz. 14-24 3-4 40-60 Squash, summer 1 oz. 36-60 18-36 50-60 Squash, winter V2 oz. 60-96 24-48 85-100 Tomatoes 50 pi. or Vs oz. 24-48 18-36 70-90 Turnip greens V2 oz. 14-24 2-3 30 Turnip, roots V2 oz. 14-24 2-3 30-60 Watermelon 1 oz. 72-96 36-72 80-100 * Transplants 104 Keep Soil Moist square space is desirable to provide Keep in mind that because growing good cross pollination. space is restricted, container-grown Measurements do not have to be vegetables will need more feeding exact and circular containers work and more water than those grown in as well as square or rectangular ones. open ground. Once fruit starts to form on tomatoes, peppers, or vine crops Approximate they will need even more water, as number of plants per will the vegetables growing under- Vegetable square foot ground. Soil should be kept moist Beans 3-4 for a good yield. Also keep in mind Beets 25 i that vegetables such as onions and Broccoli 3 radishes will get unbearably hot tast- Brussels sprouts 2 ing if they are allowed to grow dry. Cabbage 2 True garden enthusiasts make suc- Carrots 100 2 cessive sowings of salad crops such Cauliflower 2 as radishes, onions and lettuce about Chard, Swiss 9 Corn (dwarf) 4 ten days apart [if they have the space) Cucumber (standard) 1 ^ so that when one containerful has (dwarf) 2 3 been eaten another is already mature Dandelion 6 enough to enjoy. Eggplant 1 Many lettuce varieties will grow all Endive 4 season, providing tender outer leaves Garlic 36 constantly if the small center leaves Kale 4 Kohlrabi 4 are left to grow. Buttercrunch is a Leeks 64 favorite. Lettuce (head) 4 A perennial question is how thick (leaf & semi-head) 6 to plant so that a maximum crop can Muskmelon 13 be harvested in the space available, Mustard greens 9 wihout crowding the plants into in- Onions (cooking) 16 efficiency. The large chart gives an (hamburger) 9 (green bunching) 100 ^ approximate measure for space Parsley 16 needed by various vegetables to help Parsnips 25 the gardener determine how many Peanuts 4 ^ plants a certain size area will accom- Peas 25 3 modate. Plant breeders have devel- Peppers 4 oped many mini-vegetables in dwarf Potatoes 1 forms for small-space gardeners. Look Sweet potatoes 1 for them in seed catalogs and at Radishes 144 ^ Rutabaga 5 garden centers. Spinach 4 Summer squash (bush) 1 Chart for Small Space Gardeners Winter squash (bush) 1 For those who must grow their Tomato (regular) l 3 vegetables in small spaces this chart (dwarf) 2 gives the approximate number of Husk tomato (Physalis) 2 plants a square foot of container Watermelon (dwarf) 1 ^ space will accommodate. Containers 1 Thin at 1-inch diameter for "greens" and let should be at least eight inches deep remainder grow. for medium sized and small vegetables 2 Thin every other one when "fingerlings" and let others grow. but a foot to 18 inches deep for veg- 3 Train on trellis. etables such as tomatoes, eggplants 4 Can thin to eat and let others grow into cook- ing onions. or corn. In the case of corn a 4-foot- 5 Thin small ones to eat and let others grow. 105 It's not easy to figure exactly how 30 feet of trees in the black walnut profitable your gardening enterprise family since they produce a toxic sub- will be but one thing is certain, it's stance called juglone through the good for your waistline and your roots. Many vegetables such as to- general well-being. Few things around matoes, corn, peppers and others will the home give as much satisfaction— become stunted, wilted or even die, as well as a bit of a boost to the bud- when their roots come in contact with get—as your garden. Studies show walnut roots. that for the time you spend in the Soil Texture: Sometimes a soil is garden, you get a net return of $3 heavy clay, but don't let this discour- to $5 per hour. One State university age you from planting a garden. There cites figures to show that the average are ways of making it more friable home garden in its State will be worth (workable). Here is a simple test for $165. The average gardener will spend soil fitness: Grab a handful of moist around $35 on his garden, which earth and squeeze it tightly for ten means he will be getting around 75 seconds. If the soil breaks in several cents "profit" for every $1 he spends. places when dropped from a 3-foot And he eats better to boot. height, it's workable. Soil that forms Location: The closer to the kitchen a mudball that will not break into you can locate your garden plot, the pieces when the test is applied is apt better. It's mighty handy to be able to be too difficult to work in its to take a few steps outside and snip present state. off a handful of herbs or lettuce. Another way to tell if your soil It makes little difference which way has good "tilth" or working quality is the rows run, although running them to feel it with your fingers. If the soil lengthwise of the garden makes cul- has a nice "loamy" texture, it's great tivation easier. If rows run east and for plants. Loam (called "loom" by west, plant your large crops on the old timers) is simply a well balanced north side of the garden so that they mixture of large, medium and small will not shade the small crops. Keep particles of sand, silt and clay. in mind that crops should get at least six hours of sunlight daily. Try not to Organic Matter locate the garden near trees, build- If you find you have a problem ings, ridges or anything that will soil, the best conditioner you can get block out the sun. is organic matter, such as compost, While certain flowers have been peatmoss, sawdust, leaves, rotted bred to grow in shade, vegetables are dead weeds and plants removed in sun worshipers and do not do well cleaning up the yard (avoid any di- near trees, both because of the shade seased materials). Lawn clippings, and the competition from tree roots. wood chips, kitchen scraps, barnyard A hardwood tree iy2 feet in diameter manures, and green manures—which at shoulder height gives off as much include crops such as winter rye, as 125 tons of water in a single sea- buckwheat and legumes—are turned son, robbing plants not only of sun under to rot in the soil. Humus opens but also of water for nearby soil. the clay and encourages earthworms If you must garden in semi-shade, to be more active helpers. The earth- try increasing the light intensity by worms in a single acre of ground may installing aluminum sheets or other pass more than 10 tons of dry earth reflectors to accent the sun's rays, through their bodies annually. They as small space gardeners often do. mix organic matter with the subsoil. Steer clear of black walnut trees. They also build up topsoil and their Gardens should not be planted within burrows aerate the earth. 106 Don't add sand to a claylike soil to time, and because of the rosin cover loosen it. The result may be a con- over each particle they will be re- crete-like mixture harder than the leased at intervals during the growing original clay. Limestone has a loosen- season. ing effect on a heavy clay soil, coag- Pesticides: Don't douse your vege- ulating the fine particles into larger tables with sprays or dusts so thickly ones, allowing air and water to pass that it takes many washings to get freely. Ground limestone or dolomi- them clean enough to eat. Most small tic limestone can be used. Ground gardens are easily de-bugged by hand- limestone is less expensive and is picking each day. Vigilance is the easy to apply. Dolomitic lime has 20 watchword. A few minutes each day to 30 percent magnesium, plus 30 to checking your vegetables will usually 50 percent calcium, and is available in be all that's needed to keep out bad both hydrated and ground stone bugs. types. Since magnesium is another Remember that only 10 percent of element needed for plant growth, all bugs are bad. Our natural preda- many prefer dolomitic limestone. tors, including beneficial insects, Any form of lime can be used, but birds, frogs and toads will eliminate remember the more concentrated most pests if we don't kill them off forms such as the hydrated or burned with sprays. However, should an in- lime forms should be used in lesser festation get the best of you, check amounts. The big problem most gar- it with the latest control methods rec- deners run into is using the 3 forms in ommended by your county Extension equivalent amounts. Roughly speak- agent, State university, or the U.S. ing, 100 pounds of ground limestone Department of Agriculture. is equal in action to about 74 pounds Crop Rotation: Farmers for centur- of hydrated lime or 56 pounds of ies have found it good business to burned lime. shift their crops around each year. Fertilizer: A good well rotted com- Home gardeners cannot rotate their post pile is a valuable adjunct for any crops that easily because of limited gardener. We have already mentioned space. But with careful planning, you how it breaks up a heavy soil. It also can maintain a certain amount of ro- adds nutrients to some degree but it tation. Some diseases—such as root cannot be counted on to feed vege- knot, clubroot, fusarium wilt, and cab- tables all the necessary nutrients. Any bage yellows—will build up in the balanced fertilizer with the big three soil if one crop is planted in the same (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash) spot year after year. Another advan- can be added to the garden in fall or tage of shifting crops around into dif- spring before you plow. Many gar- ferent spaces is that vegetables such deners use a liquid plant food, usually as peas or beans are legumes and can applied at planting time and again take nitrogen out of the air and put two or three times during the growing it into the soil. season. If a regular dry fertilizer is Corn is a gross feeder and takes a applied for a mid-summer snack, take large quantity of nutrients from the care that it doesn't touch the plants. soil. However, you might have to com- It can be applied as a side dressing a pensate for this deficiency by extra few inches away so that it can be feeding, since corn plantings may need washed into the soil near the roots, to occupy the same area year after but if it touches the plant in the dry year since they might shade shorter state it will burn plant tissues. vegetables if moved to a different Many slow release fertilizers on the location. market can be applied at planting Radishes, cabbage, tomatoes or let- 107 practice succession planting. This means getting two crops from each garden row—one which can be har- vested in early summer, the other in fall. Often the fall garden is more productive, and fall-grown vegetables are usually of higher canning quality than those which mature during the hot dry periods of midsummer. Take beans, for example. They mature early and are finished by early summer. The vines can be dug and that same space planted with broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, string beans or turnips. Summer drought and early killing frost are two factors you have to keep in mind in planting the late garden. Midsummer heat can be offset by watering and mulching. To beat Jack William E Carnahan Frost, concentrate on hardy vegetables like spinach, chard, turnips, beets, and any of the cabbage family, plus fall tuce can easily be rotated with beans crops of lettuce. and peas, alternating their locations Most of these vegetables can be each year. planted as late as early July in most Many disease problems can be pre- areas and still produce a fair crop. vented by practicing good sanitation. Long season crops such as tomatoes, Plant parasites often overwinter in peppers, or eggplants will continue to refuse from last year's crops. Pulling bear until frost if well cared for. Lima vines, stalks and overripe fruits is an beans and okra will produce a partial effective way to control plant diseases crop when planted as late as the first and bacteria. If these parts of plants of July. Garden peas such as Wando show any disease they should not be are a dependable fall crop. put on the compost pile but sealed in plastic bags and sent to the Onion sets may be planted any time disposal. during the summer for green bunching Use Good Seed: Another way to onions. Seed can be sown in spring or prevent disease problems is to use early summer for a fall crop. Top sets treated seed or certified seed and from winter onions can be planted for raise your own plants. If you buy fall use. Those not used may be left in plants be sure they are from a trust- the row and will usually over-winter worthy grower. Avoid any plants with for spring use. root swellings or lumps. In many areas beets and carrots can Gardeners are fortunate to have be left in the garden all winter if a plant breeders who are constantly de- light mulch is added. Parsnips are a veloping disease-resistant varieties. welcome spring delicacy but take a Study the seed catalog. It lists resist- long growing season so should be ant varieties and although they are sometimes a bit more expensive, they are worth it. Succession Planting' To get the Planting calendar helps in working out succession planting sclieduie for garden. most from your garden it's smart to 108