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Vegetable
Exceptional
flavor, freshness, economy, cultivar selection
and personal satisfaction are some reasons
people grow vegetables. Vegetable gardening
is also a great educational experience for
children and can provide opportunities in
experimentation for adults. The serious
vegetable gardener doesn't need to be a
student of horticulture. However, learning
about gardening techniques, drawing a garden
plan, and keeping notes on each year's performance
can improve results.
Vegetable gardening can be as simple
as growing vegetable plants in pots on
a balcony or patio. Small backyard gardens
do not need to be the straight rows of
vegetables seen on farms. Vegetables can
be grown among herbs, flowers and shrubs,
adding color and interest to the landscape.
SITE
Selecting a
location for a vegetable garden is critical
to good vegetable production. The vegetable
garden site should have the following qualities:
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8 to 10 hours of full
sun per day; |
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a source of water; |
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deep, well-drained, uncontaminated
soil (safe levels of lead, arsenic,
zinc and cadmium); |
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close access to the house (particularly
the kitchen); |
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a level location. |
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SUN AND WATER
Vegetables need
sunlight, proper temperatures, fertile soil
and water for best growth. Trees and shrubs
may need to be trimmed or removed to increase
sunlight and air flow and to reduce competition
for nutrients and water. A hedgerow or fence
will help protect the garden from winds, animals
and contaminated dust.
A garden located
close to the house will be convenient to maintain.
Most houses provide an outdoor source of water.
Vegetables and herbs grown near the kitchen
will be used more readily in daily meals.
Most garden sites
will not meet all the recommendations. Vegetable
gardens are tucked away in all kinds of places.
A gardener will eventually find some crops that
produce well on most sites. |
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| SIZE
Consider
the following factors when deciding on the size
of the vegetable garden:
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limitations
of the physical site. A yard that has
many trees will limit the location and
size of the vegetable garden unless major
landscape alterations are possible. CONTAINER
GARDENS are an option for apartment dwellers
or where the back porch or patio is the
only sunny area. |
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limitations of time.
A busy person who is taking up this hobby
should start small. A small success is
much more satisfying than a large, weedy
failure. A 10' x 10' or 10' x 20' plot
may be all the new gardener will be able
to handle considering the time needed
for planning, soil preparation, planting,
weeding, watering and harvesting. |
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A 400-square-foot
garden (20' x 20') requires a minimum
of a half hour per day early in the season.
In late spring and summer, this garden
plot will require at least a half hour
every 2 or 3 days. |
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Is the home grower
interested in freezing and canning or
fresh produce? People interested in "putting
up" produce for the winter will want
to plan for at least a 20' x 40' site.
They also will want to choose cultivars
that preserve well. |
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SOIL
Although soil building
has been discussed at length in Chapter 2, it
is especially important to emphasize soil conditions
for success in growing vegetables. A loose soil
texture is especially important for root and tuber
crops like beets, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes
and turnips.
Many gardening problems
can be minimized by maintaining a medium-textured,
fertile soil. Quality soil promotes vigorous growth
and minimizes stress. Regular additions of humus,
composted manures, leaf humus and cover crops
increase activity of beneficial microorganisms
and earthworms, increase air space and improve
nutrient reserves.
RAISED BEDS may be
constructed over poorly drained clay soil.
TERRACES may be constructed
to hold garden soil in place on steep slopes.
Gardeners should avoid
placing a vegetable garden near an older painted
building or on a site where a building once stood.
If this cannot be avoided, have the soil tested
for lead and other heavy metals and contaminants.
Soil also may be contaminated with heavy metals
from automobile and equipment exhaust and pesticide
use in old orchards.
Vegetables growing
on contaminated, but otherwise fertile soil, are
contaminated mainly by dust on the leaves. Washing
vegetables before consuming them negates this
potential problem. Some vegetables absorb some
of the heavy metals and become contaminated, posing
a threat to the health of children, the elderly
and ill people who eat them.
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NEW
SITE PREPARATION
New site preparation
can be a large physical task if existing plants,
sod, rocks or brush must be removed. It is best
to begin preparations one season in advance to
reduce weed populations, but time and patience
usually don't allow this. Here are the steps for
converting a turf area to a garden:
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Test soil to determine nutrient
levels. |
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Kill existing foliage with an herbicide
containing glyphosate (such as Roundup and
Kleenup). |
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After the plants and sod die, mow the area,
cut up the sod with a spade and till thoroughly. |
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Add lime, if needed, and till again. |
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Remove rocks, roots and other foreign objects. |
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Add fertilizer, based on a soil test, rake
the surface smooth and plant. |
Removing and
discarding the sod before tilling will make working
the soil much easier, but may require adding organic
matter.
If coarse organic
matter is used to improve the soil, remember that
decomposition occurs fastest when the organic
matter is close to the soil surface. Burying coarse
organic matter results in slower decomposition.
For gardeners who
have the time, there is a method of clearing sod
on a new site that does not require herbicides.
Cover the selected garden area with black plastic
in early summer. This will cause the plants under
the plastic to die. Dead vegetation can be tilled
under in the fall or following spring.
Perennial grass pieces
may reroot and become a weed problem any time
sod is turned directly back into the soil. However,
cultivating or mulching will control the problem.
The benefit of turning the nutrient-rich sod back
into the soil overrides the potential weed problem.
When preparing a new
site, consider DOUBLE-DIGGING the area to provide
optimal soil conditioning. |
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SOIL TEST
Most vegetables prosper
in a pH range of 6.2 to 6.8 (slightly acid soil).
A soil test will determine the existing pH of
the soil and provide guidelines for adding amendments,
such as lime, fertilizer and organic matter, to
the soil.
Lime and organic matter
are best added in the fall because these materials
take time to react with the soil. Manures should
be thoroughly composted before adding to the soil.
If you must use fresh manure, add it sparingly
and only in the fall. Have the soil tested every
three years.
WHEN TO WORK SOIL
Work soil when it
is neither too wet nor too dry. To test the soil
moisture level, take a handful of soil and squeeze
it. If it remains in a tight ball when you release
your grip, it is too wet. If it crumbles, it is
ready to till. Dry soil is difficult to cultivate
and valuable topsoil can be blown away by tilling
on a windy day.
TILLING
There are 2 customary
times to till: fall and spring. Fall tilling presents
many advantages over spring tilling. It eliminates
the need to till in the spring and allows earlier
planting. Soil moisture and temperature conditions
are favorable for decomposition of organic matter
that is turned under in the fall. Disease organisms,
insects and perennial weeds can be reduced by
tilling in the fall.
Tight soil aggregates
found in heavy clay soils will be broken up by
winter's alternating freezing and thawing conditions.
More snow is trapped by roughly tilled soil, so
the soil moisture level is improved. And, finally,
lime has more time to react with the soil and
is best added in the fall.
If your garden is
on a slope, do not till in the fall. Plant a cover
crop to reduce erosion.
Although rototillers
can reduce the physical effort in soil preparation
and cultivation, they also can ruin good soil
structure. A compacted layer can form just below
where tines bite into the soil. To avoid problems,
till only for an intended task, such as preparation
for planting or preparing a new bed.
Turning soil over
completely each season may upset the microorganism
balance. Also, it can bury coarse organic materials
that need insects and microbes living near the
soil surface to breakdown it down. Gardens arranged
into beds do not need to be deeply tilled every
spring or fall. |
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Vegetables Garden
When you think of
a vegetable garden, you may feel that you need
to have a big yard for growing them. Even though
a big yard has its advantages, some of the vegetables
can be grown entirely in pots or in raised compact
beds on terraces or planter boxes to get maximum
yield from the smallest amount of space.
Most garden vegetables
do best on fertile, well-drained soil that are
slightly acid to neutral (6.0 to 7.0) and provided
with proper nutrients. The fertility of the
soil should be maintained by proper cultivation,
use of organic matter and control of pests.
Organic matter helps release nitrogen, minerals
and other nutrients for plant use when it decays.
Any plant material can be composted for use
in the garden and the composting material should
be kept moist and supplied with fertilizers.
Most plants do well
in direct sunlight. Leafy vegetables can be
grown in partial shade but vegetables producing
fruit must be grown in direct sunlight. Plants
should be grouped and planted according to its
size, time of maturity etc. so that one group
don't hinder the growth of the other. Tall growing
plants should be planted where they will not
shade or interfere with the growth of smaller
ones. Early-maturing crops may be grouped so
that as soon as one rop is removed, another
can be planted. But it is not always necessary
to wait until the early crop is entirely removed;
a later one may be planted between the rows
of the early crop. Here are some vegetables
you can easily grow in your garden.
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