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Home vegetable gardening
• Produce value of $14 billion per year (U.S.)
• 40% of families have vegetable gardens
Why grow vegetables?
• Taste• Saves money• Health
– Can be chemical-free– Exercise
• Attracts wildlife
Planning a garden
• Location– Water supply– Full sun– Well drained loam,
pH 6-6.5– Away from trees– Away from slopes
Garden layout
• Rows oriented east to west
• Taller & trellised plants on north side
• Shorter plants towards south side
• Plant perennials together
Planning a vegetable garden
• What uses?– Fresh, canning, freezing (p. 500)
• Climate assessment– Dates of avg. spring & fall killing
frosts• Frost free period = # days from last
spring frost to first fall frost (ranges from 60-250 days)
Planning a vegetable garden
• Vegetable characteristics– Days to maturity– Warm season vs. cool season
• Warm season – restricted to frost free period
• Cool season – can tolerate light frost– Start indoors & transplant for Spring crop– Plant as seed for late fall crop
Planning a vegetable garden
• Vegetable characteristics– Harvested crop and light
requirements• Fruit > 8 hours• Root > 6 hours• Leaf > 4 hours
– Harvested crop and nutrient requirements• Leaf crops – high N• Root crops – High K, lower N
Planning a vegetable garden
• Intercropping• Succession planting (double
cropping)• Relay planting• Crop rotation• Companion planting• Row to row distance
Relay planting
• Planting at intervals for continuous, extended harvest– Beans, sweet corn, lettuce– Sow when previous crop has emerged
(germinated)
Companion planting• Some plants do better
next to certain types of plants– Some plants have insect
repellant properties– Some plants attract
beneficial insects– Example: corn/squash
canopy disorients squash vine borer
Poor plant combinations
• Plant antagonism – some plants secrete growth-suppressing chemicals– Beans do not follow onions well– Tomato/potato do not follow Brassicas
well
Plant spacing
• Can determine final size of plants• Equal access to water, nutrients, light• Canopy can suppress weeds
Planting a vegetable garden
• Seed– Viability & storage– Direct vs. indirect sowing– Prepared seed types
• Seed tapes, primed, pelleted, treated
– Pre-germinating seed (p. 493)
– Thinning
Growing vegetables from indirect seeding
• Warm for germination– Seedlings in good light, lower temp.
• Hardening off• Transplanting at proper depth
Garden watering
• Heavy & occasionally– Germinating seeds, seedlings,
transplants – frequent & light
• Critical watering periods• Water in evening• Soaker, drip irrigation
Garden fertilizing
• Vegetable plants vary in N-P-K needs• Annual application of compost (5-
11lbs./sq. yd.) or manure (12lb./sq. yd.)• Green manure crops (legumes, rye)
overwinter or intercropped• Granular N-fertilizers applied in Spring
(one month before planting)
Weed control
• Hand weeding• Hoe weeding• Mulch
– Plastic, organic, newspaper
• Proper plant spacing
Vegetable garden pests (p. 498)
• Animals– Birds, rabbits, deer, voles, insects
• Insects– Sucking insects, chewing insects– Moths/caterpillars; beetles/grubs
• Microorganisms– Bacteria, fungi, viruses
• Virginia Tech – Insect pests of vegetables
Home gardening resources
• NCSU Information leaflets
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