This document provides information on growing vegetables in New Mexico, including the history and benefits of farmers' markets and vegetable gardening. It discusses best practices for various vegetables commonly grown in New Mexico, such as broccoli, lettuce, tomatoes, chiles, melons, and corn. Variety selections and culture guidelines are provided for each vegetable. The New Mexico Farmers' Marketing Association and NMSU Cooperative Extension Service websites are listed as sources for more local gardening information.
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Growing Vegetables in New Mexico - New Mexico State Unviersity
1. Growing Vegetables
in New Mexico
Stephanie Walker
Extension Vegetable
Specialist
2. Benefits of a Vegetable
Garden
Know where your
food comes from, and
what goes into it
Produce as fresh as
possible: more
flavorful and nutritious
Grow the varieties of
vegetables you want
3. Farmers’ Markets History
Ancient method used by farmers to sell
produce directly to customers.
Industrialization food production reduced
popularity.
Current resurgence as consumers seek
fresh, locally grown produce.
4. Advantages
Direct sales to customers / no
middlemen.
Opportunity for new growers.
Direct interaction with customers.
5. Customer Loyalty is the
Goal
Appropriate and consistent prices
Stand is appealing and comfortable
Consistent attendance at market
Customer has pleasant experience
Your customers will spread the word
Consistently high quality
6. Appeal to all the Senses
Sight
Smell
Taste
Touch
Sound
7. Harvest at the Right Time
Know your
vegetables
-Premature harvest
reduces amount of
flavor compounds.
-Late harvested may
result in a fibrous,
less tender, bland or
bitter crop.
8. Plan Before You Plant
How much space do you have?
How do you plan to irrigate?
Drip
Flood
Sprinkler
Do any of your plants require trellising?
Cucumbers, pole beans, tomatoes, etc.
How much room per variety?
9. Prepare Soil
Best soil is deep
well drained, fertile
soil that contains
plenty of organic
matter.
Soil texture: Clay,
sandy and loam
Alkaline vs. acidic
Manures, compost, fertilizers.
10. Plant Your Garden
Direct seeding is the
easiest way to plant
your garden.
Transplants are used
to obtain earlier
maturity, or if seed is
expensive.
-Harden outside, 1-2
weeks, with partial
shade.
11. Water Properly
Water by:
Hand, drip (most efficient),
sprinkler, flood or furrow.
After planting irrigate lightly
every 2-3 days until germination.
Once plants are established do not over
or under water
Root Rots vs. Blossom End Rot
12. Row Covers
Hoop supported vs. floating
Perforated polyethylene vs. spun bonded
polyester or polypropylene
Provides a 2 to 4oF temperature boost
May provide protection from insects
13. Know Your Plants
Plant size, spacing, time to harvest.
Perennial vs. annual.
Hybrid vs. open-pollinated seed.
Determinant vs. indeterminant.
14. Broccoli (Brassica oleracea
var italica)
Cole crop; cool season annual
Grown for it’s edible, immature flower
head
Relatively tolerant to environmental
stress
Plant Apr 15 – Jun 1
Direct seed or
transplant
15. Broccoli Culture
Temperatures below 40°F may cause
chilling injury.
Harvest when heads are firm and florets
haven’t begun to open.
Retain 2-4 inches of stem when cutting.
Cut sprouting broccoli
just below the floret to
stimulate new shoots.
17. Lettuce (Lactuca sativa)
Family Asteraceae
Herbaceous annual.
Cool season – temps
above 70° with long
days cause lettuce
to bolt.
High temperatures and
excess maturity cause bitterness.
18. Lettuce Culture
Seeds germinate best
at 65-70oF; >79oC inhibits.
Seeds need light to germinate;
seed shallow.
Begin planting Apr 1; plant in succession
for prolonged harvest.
Four types: Crisp head, leaf, butterhead,
and romaine (Cos).
19. Lettuce Cultivars
Crisphead
(var. capitata)
Tight, heavy heads.
Latest to mature.
‘Iceberg’
‘Great Lakes’
20. Lettuce Cultivars
Butterhead (Bibb) (var. capitata)
Small, loosely filled head with creamy
interior.
‘Bibb’
‘Buttercrunch’
21. Lettuce Cultivars
Looseleaf (var. crispa)
Easiest to grow; earliest to mature.
‘Black Seeded Simpson’
‘Salad Bowl’
‘Ruby’
‘Prizehead’
‘Oak Leaf’
22. Lettuce Cultivars
Romaine (Cos) (var. longifolia)
Elongated heads
Matures later than butterhead and leaf
varieties
Harvest heads when small
to avoid bitterness.
‘Rosalita’
‘Valmaine Cos’
‘Paris Island Cos’
23. Tomatoes
Most popular vegetable for home
gardens.
Family Solanaceae
Direct seed or transplant May 1 – May 15
Common disorders in NM: Curly top
virus; blossom end rot
24. Tomato Culture
Self fertile, wind-
pollinated flowers.
Temps < 50 will
cause blossom
abortion, poor
fruit set & cat-
facing.
Excessive
irrigation after
maturity may
cause splitting.
25. Tomato Cultivars
Plum and Small Types (L. cerasiforme-
cherry & pyriforme-pear)
Smaller (½” dia.), sweeter tomatoes
Produce about 100 fruit/plant
‘Sweet 100’
‘Yellow Pear’
‘Tiny Tim’
‘Red Cherry’
26. Tomato Cultivars
Beefsteak
Larger tomatoes, excellent for fresh
uses.
‘Beefmaster’
‘Celebrity’
‘Better Boy’
‘Early Girl’
27. Tomato Cultivars
Paste
High ratio of solids. Excellent for
sauces, processing.
‘Roma’
‘Viva Italia’
‘Amish Paste’
28. Tomato Cultivars
Heirlooms
Older, open pollinated varieties
Brandywine
Black Krim
Hungarian Heart
29. Chile Peppers Capsicum
annuum, C. frutescens, C. chinense
Family Solanaceae
Indeterminant or
determinant.
Planting Dates: May
15 – Jun 15.
Direct seed or
transplant.
Bell peppers
genetically non-
pungent.
30. Chile Habanero : 300,000 SHU
Tabasco : 150,000 SHU
Heat Thai : 95,000 SHU
Serrano : 65,000 SHU
Cayenne : 50,000 SHU
New Mexican : 10,000
SHU
Bell Pepper
: 0 SHU
SHU = Scoville Heat Unit
32. Chile Cultivars
New Mexican-type
‘NuMex R Naky’ (mild)
‘New Mexico 6-4 (mild)
‘NuMex Big Jim’ (medium)
‘Sandia’ (hot)
‘Espanola Improved’
(hot)
‘Barker’ (very hot)
33. Cucurbits
Squash, pumpkins, gourds
Cucumbers
Melons
Don’t transplant well. Direct seeding is
preferred.
34. Cucurbit
Pollination
Cucurbit flowers may be
perfect (have male and
female parts) or imperfect
(have only one or the
other).
Male flowers produced
early; female flowers later.
Genetics, day length, and
temperature determine
what gender of flowers
are produced
35. Melon Cucumis melo & Citrullus
lanatus
Family Cucurbitaceae
Warm season,
herbaceous annual.
May be determinate
or indeterminate.
Melons can only cross-pollinate
with members of the same
species.
Plants are monoecious & can be
self or cross pollinated.
36. Melon Culture
Planting Dates: May 1 –
May 15
Warm temps & sunny
weather produces sweet
fruit.
Bees essential for good
fruit set.
Only allow 1-2 fruits to
develop per plant.
37. Melon
Cultivars
Melons (other) Watermelon
‘Casaba, ‘Black
Golden Beauty’ Diamond’
‘Crenshaw, ‘Crimson
Early Hybrid’ Sweet’
‘Honey Dew, ‘Bush Sugar
Venus’ Baby’
‘Moon & Stars’
38. Corn (Zea mays)
Annual; member of grass family
White corn lacks beta-carotene
Plant sequentially every two weeks to
prolong harvest (May 1 – Jul 15)
39. Corn Culture
Soil temperature 50 – 55oF for optimum
germination
Optimum growth between 75 – 86oF
Plant 1” deep in clay; 1.5” in loam, and 2”
deep in sand
Wind pollinated; poor pollination causes
skips on cob.
Harvest when silks are brown and dry,
and kernels are in milk stage
40. Blue Corn
Blue color from
anthocyanin pigments
Coarser, sweeter and
nuttier taste than other
flour-corn types
Mostly open-pollinated varieties
Pre-plant Phosphorus (80 lbs/ac)
For organic production, apply manure (20
tons/ac) in the fall
41. Sweet Corn Cultivars
‘Merit’
‘Early Sunglow’
‘Hybrid Double Delicious’
‘Early Xtra-Sweet’
‘How Sweet It Is’
42. New Mexico Farmers’
Marketing Association
Contact information: info@farmersmarketsnm.org
Or call toll-free: 1-888-983-4400.
43. Important Sources of
Information
Growing zones, recommended crop
varieties, and planting and harvesting
information for home vegetable
gardens in New Mexico:
http://cahe.nmsu.edu/pubs/_circulars/c
irc457B.pdf
Or, for a complete list:
http://cahe.nmsu.edu/pubs/_h/