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Plant the seed! Vegetable Gardening
- 1. Plant the Seed! Karen Eaton Conservation Garden Park Horticulturist
- 2. Why plant a vegetable garden?
- 4. Health
- 7. Can be environmentally more responsible
- 8. Where to plant a garden
- 9. Full sun (at least 6 hours/day)
- 10. Plant large garden plots, use garden boxes or raised beds,
- 11. Tuck crops into existing landscape or plant vegetables in pots.
- 12. When to work the soil
- 13. Clay soil takes longer to dry out and warm up than sandy or loamy soil. •Too moist forms clods •Should crumble when dropped
- 14. Improve soil by adding organic matter
- 15. What to plant
- 16. Choose crops you and your family like to eat and share • Let family members participate in choosing crops. • They will be more likely to eat those crops is they have a vested interest in it.
- 17. Try a few new crops every year, but in small quantities • Plant crops adapted for our area (not blueberries) • Pay attention to planting and harvesting times
- 18. Rotate crops for more disease resistance and soil nutrition
- 19. When to plant what crops
- 20. Very hardy crops, such as peas and potatoes, can be planted as early as mid- March, depending on the weather.
- 21. Semi-hardy crops: lettuce, broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, radishes, beets, carrots, chard, onions can usually be planted in April.
- 22. Tender crops: tomatoes, peppers, melons, cucumbers, corn, beans, and basil, are best planted mid-May after frost danger is past.
- 23. Transplants should be hardened off before planting outside •Gradually expose them to full sun, cool nights, wind etc.
- 24. Care of the garden
- 26. Watering: drip, sprinkler, furrow
- 27. Watering your newly planted garden
- 28. Watering according to soil type
- 29. Weeding and pest problems •Plant disease resistant varieties of crops •Use organic gardening principles •Enjoy healthier plants which are healthier for you to consume
- 30. Pest Problems We Can Live With (What, us?)
- 31. Harvest
- 32. Saving Seeds
- 33. Record keeping • What was planted? • Where it was planted? • Did you like it? • What would you change? • What to do in the fall to prepare for next season?
- 34. If you have children, involve them in the process. “…they will find it far more interesting both to work and to eat the results.” (P. 7 Family Kitchen Garden)
- 37. Asparagus
- 38. There’s always next year to try again.
- 39. Plant the Seed!
Editor's Notes
- Organic or not, you know what chemicals you may have used. Fresher than from the local store. Optimal nutrition because of its freshness. Costs of producing it are many times less than buying organic produce.
- Gardening work is exercise. It can be very therapeutic and can relieve stress. Being out in the sun gives your body a natural dose of Vitamin D. Growing a garden can improve your family’s dietary habits.
- Insurance against difficult economic times. Provides the ability to can, freeze or dry your extra produce. You can teach your children how to garden so that it doesn’t become a lost skill. Teaches gratitude for and knowledge of where our fruits and vegetables come from.
- A gardening experience gives you a sense of accomplishment and gives you the opportunity to share the harvest with others.
- Eating your own home-grown produce uses fewer natural resources than buying produce at the store. If you grow an organic garden, chemicals which may harm beneficial insects, animals or man will not be introduced into the environment.
- Plant tall crops to the north of shorter crops so that shorter crops can still receive full sun.
- When squeezed by the handful, it should crumble when dropped. If water squeezes out, it is definitely too, wet
- Sandy soil can be improved by adding composted organic matter as the matter will soak up the moisture and slow its flow through the sand. Clay soil benefits from composted organic matter as it adds particles of irregular shapes and sizes which adds pore space to separate the tiny, flat, tightly fitting clay particles. Organic matter will increase the tilthiness of the soil and provide for better flow of moisture and oxygen through the soil.
- Change the family of crops that you plant in a given area. For example peppers, tomatoes, eggplant and potatoes are all in the nightshade family. Do not plant any of them in the same area as you had them last year. This year plant squash, corn, lettuce, or root crops in that area. Diseases and insects are often associated with particular plant families.
- We are in zones 5 or 6, but there can be varying degrees of below or above those zones in this valley. Logan, Heber and Park City are all lower numbered zones than Salt Lake County. St. George and Moab are higher. The zones are based upon the average annual low temperatures of an area. Be aware of when the average last frost happens in the spring and when the average first frost happens in the fall. That way you can determine how many days you will be able to plan on to allow a crop to mature.
- Very hardy crops can withstand frost. They can be planted as early as mid-march if the ground is not covered in snow, frozen and is able to be worked. The soil temperature needs to be warm enough for those particular seeds to sprout. You can cover the ground with black plastic to warm it up earlier if desired. There are various other tricks which can be used to start your garden earlier than the usual time.
- Semi-hardy crops can withstand an amount of frost also, but require a slightly warmer soil temperature in order to sprout. They usually prefer cooler temperatures and are often referred to as cool-season crops. Broccoli, lettuce and spinach produce better when it is cool. Warm temperatures cause them to bolt (go to seed) and some, such as lettuce turn bitter and are no longer pleasant to eat.
- Tender crops cannot withstand frost. Frost may kill or damage them and they will not be productive at all. They can be planted earlier if they are protected with walls of water or low tunnels to extend their season.
- You can accomplish this by bringing them outside for short periods of time. You can lightly shade them, gradually increasing the time of the exposure to full sun, night temperatures that are cool, but well above freezing. Their greenhouse environment has provided a perfect environment for them, but has not prepared them for the real world. Compare it to a healthy parent/child relationship.
- Mulch helps to retain moisture in the soil, keeps down weeds and will add organic matter to your soil. I prefer composted organic matter, grass clippings or small bark. These can all be turned into the soil at the end of the season. Some people use black plastic, but it can make the soil too hot or make it hard for the moisture to get to the plants. Sometimes the soil underneath the plastic or landscaping cloth becomes very hard and baked.
- Sprinkling can be used, but is very inefficient. A lot of water is lost to evaporation. You will have a lot more weeds with sprinkling. Furrow irrigation is often used in very large gardens. It is very effective in watering deeply and for large volumes of crops such as corn. Drip systems are very effective in garden boxes and large garden plots. They are very efficient. There are several types. You can usually use a drip system for many years.
- When planting your crops by seed, make sure you keep the seeds moist, but not soggy. I like to check on my newly planted garden every morning and every evening. On warm days, it may need to be sprinkled at both of those times. On cool days or rainy days you may not even need to water. You will need to keep young plants, including those that you transplanted, moist until their root system is well established, however, allow them to dry a little in between. Once the root system is established you can water less frequently and deeper. That is when I begin to rely on the drip system.
- How often you water your vegetable garden really depends upon what type of soil you have. If you have sandy soil, you will need to water more often and for a shorter time period because sand is not able to retain the moisture. Because the particles and pore spaces are large, water runs right through it and is not stored. Adding composted organic matter to sandy soil will help to slow down the movement of the water through the soil. Clay soil, however, is able to store the water for longer periods of time. Watering deep and less often is best in clay. Adding organic matter to the clay will also help to improve its aeration and tilth. Organic matter is the solution for both problems.
- Weeds, pull them out before they go to seed or take over. They are just part of the garden experience. (“…if the produce grows without chemicals, why use them?”) It’s good to know what is in your produce. If you don’t use chemicals, then you don’t have to worry about being exposed to harmful substances. Chemicals also damage beneficial insects, wildlife and can pollute ground water. There are many reasons not to use them. Wildlife can be a big problem. Deer, quail, rabbits, etc. can all be very pesky. Some of these we just have to put up with. I came in this past Monday morning to find deer leg holes in my newly planted peas.
- These guys love vegetables. The good thing is they don’t eat everything all up at once and they pick their own. We had to plant carrots in another location because there weren’t any to harvest at the end of the season.
- You can use seeds that are leftover from previous years for a short period of time if they are stored in a cool, dark, dry place. You might consider saving some seeds from a favorite heirloom tomato. You can find tutorials online about how to ferment tomato seeds in order to store them.
- You may think you will remember all of these things, but you don’t. Keeping a garden journal or notes can be a lifesaver.
- Plant corn with at least 4 X 4 rows. Corn is cross-pollinated by the wind and blocks of corn are best. When you have ears of corn with missing spaces, it is because of poor pollination. Tomatoes need even watering to prevent or minimize blossom end rot. They usually do not need added nitrogen as it will cause the plant to be very large and not as productive. Cut back on watering in late August in order to speed up or encourage ripening of the fruit.
- Short season crops can be planted early in the spring and again by August first for a second crop in the fall.
- Asparagus can be planted from seed or from one or two year old crowns. If planted from seed, the plants should not be harvested for 3 seasons in order to establish strong plants. If planted from crowns, they are already one or two years old. They can then be harvested in one or two years. They prefer a well drained soil with lots of organic matter. It is good to add organic mulch to them each spring.
- There are many publications by USU Horticulture Extension available online. They cover almost any crop of gardening topic. I have listed some of the ones that may be helpful on your handout. The best thing about gardening is that there’s always next year. It is never boring.