Gardening From The Ground Up

 

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Successful vegetable and herb gardening.

Much of the information on vegetables also can be used for herb gardening. Some information, however, will be specific to either vegetables or herbs, and this information is handled under headings indicating vegetables or herbs.

Vegetable Culture Guide, which contains information on general as well as specialty crops for New Mexico gardening.

Planning Guidelines

When planning your garden, it is important to ask a few basic questions: Who will be doing the work? Will the garden be a group project with family members or friends who will willingly work through the season, or will you be handling the hoe alone, in between camping and swimming? Remember, a small weed-free garden will produce more than a large, weedy, messy one.

What do you and your family like to eat? Although pictures in a garden catalog may look delicious, there is no value in taking up gardening space with vegetables that no one eats. Make a list of your family’s favorite vegetables ranked in order of preference. This can be a useful guide in deciding how much of each crop to plant. Succes­sive plantings of certain crops, such as beans, will give a longer harvest period and increase your yield.

How do you plan to use the produce from your garden? Do you plan to can, freeze, dry or store part of the produce? Answering these ques­tions will help you not only in planning the size of the garden but also in selecting the varieties to be grown. Some varieties have much better keeping quality than others. Choose varieties carefully, making sure they are adapted to your area and intended use.

How much space is available? You should consider how much area can be converted into usable garden space, not simply how much empty ground is available.

 Some Additional Planning Hints

       Plan the garden on paper first. Draw a map showing the arrangement and spacing of crops. If you intend to garden all season, you may need a spring, summer and fall plan.

       Plan the garden and order seeds as early as possible.

       In your plan, place tall and trellised crops on the north side of the garden so they won’t shade shorter vegetables.

      Group plants by length of growing period. Plant early spring crops together so that later crops can be planted in these areas when the early crops mature. Consider the length of harvest as well as time to matur­ity. Place perennial crops to the side of the garden where they will not be dis­turbed by annual tillage.

Locating the Garden

       Vegetables grow best in a level area with loose, well-drained soil that receives at least 8 hours of sunlight each day.

      Use contour rows or terraces on sloped or hill­side sites to avoid erosion. South-facing slopes are warmer and less subject to damag­ing frosts.

      Avoid placing the garden in low spots, at the base of a hill or at the foot of a slope bor­dered by a solid fence. Such areas are slow to warm up in spring. Frost settles in these places since cold air natu­rally drains into low areas. If there is a creek nearby, the water table may be high or the area may be subject to flooding.

      Avoid windy locations. If you must plant in a windy spot, build or grow a wind­break.

      Locate near a good and easily-accessible water supply.

      Choose a spot near your home so it is conve­nient to work in the garden when you have time.

       Avoid planting near trees and shrubs. They compete for nutrients, water and light.

       Do not locate your garden too close to buildings as plants may not receive enough sunlight. If possible, observe shading patterns throughout the growing season before starting the garden. If you have a shaded area you wish to use anyway, plant shade-tolerant crops there.

      Try not to plant related vegetables in exactly the same location in the garden more often than once in 3 years. Rotation prevents the buildup of insects and disease. Use old plans as guides for rotating crops.

Soil Preparation

The ideal vegetable garden soil is deep, friable, well-drained and rich in organic matter. Proper soil preparation provides the basis for good seed germi­nation and subse­quent growth of garden crops. Careful use of various soil amendments can improve garden soil.

 Soil Testing 

Check soil fertility and pH by having your soil analyzed at least once every 3 years. Soil pH measures the degree of acidity or alkalinity of the soil. Vegetables vary to some extent in their requirements, but most garden crops will do well with a soil pH of 5.5 to 7.0. If soil pH is too high or too low, poor crop growth will result largely due to the effects of pH on the availability of nutrients to plants. A soil test will also give you a relative idea of the nutrient level in the soil.

Soil test kits are available in nurseries and plant stores.  Private companies also do soil testing; in many cases, they give detailed reports and recommendations, but they may be expensive ($30 is not unusual). For best results, carefully follow the instructions for soil testing.

Make basic nutrient and pH adjustments to the soil by adding required fertilizers and/or acidifiers. In new garden spots, remove sod with a spade and use it to patch your lawn or put it in a compost pile to decay. Plow, spade or till the soil. Work only when soil moisture conditions are right. To test moisture, pick up a handful of soil and squeeze; if it stays in a mud-ball, it is too wet. If it crumbles freely, it is about right. Exces­sively dry soil is powdery and clumpy and may be difficult to work. Take samples at the surface and at depths of 4 to 6 inches in several loca­tions in the garden plot. If soil sticks to a shovel or if the turned surface is shiny and smooth, it is still too wet. Working excessively wet soils can destroy soil structure, which may take years to rebuild. Plowing with a tractor when the soil is wet is especially damaging because it causes the formation of a compaction layer that will inhibit root growth. Soils with adequate humus levels gener­ally allow more leeway because of their improved structural qualities.

Just prior to planting, break up large clods of soil and level the bed with a rake. Small-seeded vege­tables germinate best in smooth, fine-surfaced soil. Do not pulverize the seedbed soil because it destroys the structure and promotes crusting and erosion problems.

Equipment

The type of equipment used to prepare your garden depends on garden size, your physical ability, time and budget. Options include digging with a spade or shovel, tilling with a power rotary tiller or using a small garden tractor or a full-sized farm tractor.

Tilling the Soil

It was once assumed that gardens should be turned yearly with a moldboard plow for weed and pest control. While garden plowing is still a common practice, completely turning the soil over has been found to be detrimental in some cases. It can cause soil compaction, upset the balance of microorganisms and often results in layers of coarse organic material being buried below the influence of insects and microbes that would otherwise decompose the material.

Chisel plowing is one alternative. It does not have this disruptive effect; however, it is limited to sandy or loamy soils. Many gardeners do not have chisel plows, and gardeners in less-than-rural areas may have trouble finding a farmer who will plow and disk their garden for a reasonable price.

Tilling most home gardens is sufficient as long as plant debris accumulation is not allowed to get out of hand. Rotary tilling produces the best results because the upper soil layers are mixed rather than completely turned over. One possible disadvan­tage associated with tilling is the formation of a compaction layer just below the reach of the tines. This occurs at a deeper level if a mold­board plow is used to the same depth every year. Use of deep-rooted cover crops or double-digging can do much to prevent or alleviate this problem if it exists. Small gardens can be designed using raised beds that may be worked entirely by hand if the area is small enough.

Soil Amendments

Any addition to the soil that improves its phys­i­cal or chemical condition is considered a soil amend­ment. Many types of amendments are avail­able to the home gardener.

Sulfur and gypsum are common soil amend­ments. Dolomitic limestone adds calcium and magnesium as it increases alkalinity. Gypsum adds calcium and some sulfur. However, sulfur itself may acidify alkaline soil.

Other amendments are specifically added to improve soil nutrient levels. Nutritional amend­ments that can be purchased for garden use include mushroom mix, cottonseed meal, kelp meal, leather meal and worm castings, as well as an array of synthetic fertilizers. Organic amendments are particularly useful when a trace ele­ment deficiency exists. However, synthetic fertilizers are generally more available, less expensive and yield quicker results.

In special cases, coarse sand, pumice, vermiculite and perlite are sometimes added to heavy clays to help improve soil texture (the ratio of sand, silt and clay) or structure. However, these inert materials can be expensive and large quantities are needed to be effective. Compost, manures and other amend­ments are usually more eco­nomical and are just as effective.

Organic matter is an excellent soil improver for both clay and sandy soils. Good sources of organ­ic matter include manure, leaf mold, saw­dust, straw and other materials that are decom­posed in the soil by soil organisms. Vari­ous factors, such as moisture, temperature and nitro­gen availability, determine the rate of decomposi­tion through their effects on these organisms. Adequate water must be present. Warm tempera­tures increase the rate at which the microbes work. The proper balance of carbon and nitrogen in the material is needed to ensure adequate nutrient availability both to growing plants and decomposing organisms. It may be necessary to add nitrogen if large amounts of undecomposed leaves, straw, sawdust or other high-carbon substances are used. Nitrogen is used by the decayers to make proteins for their bodies. If nitrogen is not present in sufficient amounts, the microbes will steal it from plants. Generally, fresh green wastes, such as grass clippings, are higher in nitrogen than dry materials.

The use of compost is one way to avoid the decomposition problem. Compost is usually made by the gardener from plant wastes. Correct com­posting is an art; it can be a valuable source of nutrients and humus for any garden. The basis of the process is the micro­bial decomposition of mixed raw organic materials, creating a dark, fluffy product resembling rich soil, which is spread and worked into garden soil.

Animal manure is frequently used as a garden soil amendment; however, different manures con­tain different nutrients. For example, fresh horse, sheep, rabbit and poultry manures are quite high in nitrogen and may even burn plants if applied directly to a growing garden. They are best applied in the fall and tilled under. Manures usually have less nitrogen, phosphorus and potas­sium than synthetic fertilizers but are valuable soil-builders. Unfor­tunately, manure may contain weed seeds. If this is a problem, composting in a hot pile may help. In urban areas, manure may not be as plentiful as it is in rural areas.

Cover crops, also referred to as green manures, are another source of inexpensive soil improve­ment that should not be underesti­mated. Cover crops, such as annual rye, ryegrass and oats, are planted in the fall and incorporated into the garden in the spring. For best results, sow seed a month before the first killing frost. In a fall garden, plant cover crops between the rows and in any cleared areas. Cover cropping provides addi­tional organic matter, holds nutrients that might have been lost over winter, and helps reduce erosion and topsoil loss. Legume cover crops can increase the amount of nitrogen in the soil and reduce fertilizer needs. A deep-rooted cover crop allowed to grow for a season in problem soil can help break up hardpan and greatly improve tilth. Incorporate green manures at least 2 weeks before planting vegetables; they should not be allowed to go to seed.

The regular addition of manures, compost, cover crops and other organic materials can so improve soil condition that use of synthetic fertilizers may be greatly reduced or even elim­inated. This comes about not only through the intrinsic ferti­lization value of the amendment, but also through the increased action of micro­organisms on soil and humus particles. Humic acid (and other acids) helps release previously locked-up nutrients that are naturally present in the soil. The extra surface area provided by humus serves as a reserve, holding nutrient elements until they are needed by plants. This highly desirable soil quality does not occur with a single or even several additions of organic material, but instead it is the result of a serious soil-building program. Information on this subject is widely available in books and magazine articles.

Remember, soil is alive and constantly chang­ing. By keeping it rich and fertile, many gar­dening problems may be diminished. Soil is the base for plant growth; considerable atten­tion should be paid to it to get and keep it in the best condition.

Selecting Gardening Equipment

Garden catalogs and stores are full of gar­dening tools. Many are highly specialized, some are very useful, others are nice but not necessary and some are gimmicks. The gardening equip­ment you need depends on the size of your garden, your age and strength and whether you want to get the job done in a hurry or prefer to take your time. The minimum equipment needed by most garden­ers includes a shovel or spade, a hoe, a rake and a trowel. A wide selection of tool styles is available; choices depend on personal preference and price range. You can get the best value for your price range by considering how the tool is to be used and by knowing what qualities to look for when comparison shopping.

Hand Tools

There are several different types of hand tools for cultivating (Figure 6.1). A garden shovel with a pointed blade is lighter and smaller than most other shovels and is well suited for moving soil in the garden. A shovel has a dish-shaped blade mounted to the handle at an angle, while a spade has a flat blade and is designed for cutting rather than lifting or moving soil. Spades are excellent for shaping straight-sided trenches and for edging beds. For general purpose digging, lifting and moving, a long-handled shovel is ideal. Shovels and spades come with long or short handles in stan­dard or D-shaped styles. Choice of handle style depends on personal preference; long handles offer greater leverage and are less tiring to use in many cases. Short handles are often thicker and stronger than long ones.

A spading fork is another useful digging tool. It is ideal for breaking and turning heavy soils and for loosening subsoil layers when double-digging a bed. Turning coarse compost, digging root crops and spreading mulches are other jobs suit­able for a spading fork.

A hoe is essential in any garden for preparing the seed bed, removing weeds and breaking up en­crusted soil. Several different hoe styles are available. The pointed hoe with a heart-shaped blade is lightweight and useful for opening seed furrows and cultivating between plants. The hula or action hoe is a type of scuffle hoe that is very lightweight and maneuverable. Pushing and pulling it just under the soil surface eliminates newly emerging weeds and breaks up any crust on the soil surface. This type of hoe is most easily used on soil that is not compacted since the blade is relatively thin and lacks the clod-breaking capabilities of a heavier hoe. It is also less effective in cases where weeds have gotten a good start. Other types of scuffle hoes are somewhat more sturdy and are used with a pushing motion rather than pushing and pulling motions. The most com­monly used hoe is probably the square-bladed hoe, which lends itself well to many garden tasks.

A sturdy rake is useful to clear the garden of rocks and debris, spread mulches and smooth seed­beds. Correct rake size depends on how it is going to be used; your size and strength also should be considered. As the number of tines increases, rake weight also increases. Avoid choosing a rake so heavy that you tire after a short period of raking. The length of the rake handle is also impor­tant. When standing upright, the tip of the handle should reach your ear. A handle that is too short will make your work harder, causing unnec­es­sary bending and back strain.

A trowel will be in con­stant use for those many digging jobs that do not call for full-sized tools, especially in the spring. The trowel is perfect for transplanting seedlings and bulbs or for digging shallow-rooted weeds. Small hand culti­vators, often sold in sets with trowels, are useful for weeding between closely-spaced plants and in other small areas.

Another useful small digging tool is appropri­ately named a digger, but it also may be referred to as a weeder, cultivator or aspara­gus knife. This tool is available from most hard­ware or discount stores for a few dollars. It is indispensable for digging up weeds with long taproots, such as dan­de­lions, or for prying out Johnsongrass rhizomes. It has a long (10 to 14 inch), solid metal rod with a two-pronged blade opposite the handle. This tool is prac­tically indestructible and is well worth its price. Some other tools that may have a place in the garden tool shed include the pick-axe, mattock and wheel cultivator. Pickaxes are used to break up extremely hard-packed or stony soil. Mattocks are used for the same purpose but are equipped with a cutting blade for areas where larger roots need to be removed. A mattock may also be used to chop up debris for composting. A wheel cultiva­tor (Figure 6.2) has a number of attachments for soil prep­aration and weed control and may be a good investment for use in larger gardens.

Power Tools

The power rotary tiller (Figure 6.2) is probably the most common power tool purchased by gar­den­ers. Whether or not a gardener needs a tiller depends on garden size, the gardener’s capabil­ities and the intended uses of the tiller. Tiller selection may be based on the nature of work to be done, quality of the machine and ease of re­pair, as well as personal preference. The tiller’s engine powers rotating blades or tines that can make garden soil loose, fluffy and ready for plant­ing. It can also chop plant debris and mix it into the soil. Incorporating organic matter and manure into garden soil is easily accomplished with a tiller, thus reducing the tendency to procrasti­nate. The ability of the tiller to do these jobs effectively is a function of its weight, strength, design, type of tines and type of soil. A heavy, powerful tiller is most effective on stony clay soils. In a small garden or one with light soil, a smaller tiller is more appropriate. Very lightweight tillers, known as soil blenders, are designed mainly for raised bed gardening; how­ever, they are not widely avail­able and generally have to be mail-ordered.

Both front- and rear-mounted tine tillers are available. Rear-tined tillers are able to self-propel on all but the rockiest soils more easily. They travel in a straight line and can produce a footprint-free seedbed. Rear-tined tillers often have a number of attachments avail­able for a vari­ety of uses, such as hilling potatoes, making raised beds and even plowing snow. In most cases, the price of a rear-tined tiller is considerably higher than a front-tined tiller. So consideration should be given to the payback time necessary for such a large investment.

If gardening is simply a hobby or if the garden is small, a front-tined tiller may be more appro­priate. Front-tined tillers are usually light­weight but may require considerable strength to guide them through the soil. Leverage is necessary for adequate control; operating this type of tiller is comparable to handling a large floor polisher simi­lar to those used in schools and hospitals. New gardeners are sometimes scared away from these tillers because of the initial experience of having a tiller run away from them. The front-tined tiller may not make as straight a pass as the heavier rear-tined type, but it is much easier to turn. Due to this increased maneuverability, the front-tined tiller is easy to use in small gardens and in corner areas.

The purchase of a power tiller is a major invest­ment. Some features to consider include heavy cast iron, steel plate and tubing, heavy bearings, strong welds used in construction and controls that are easy to operate. Ask to see the operator’s manual and try to determine how difficult it is to do a tune-up. You may save yourself a great deal of trouble and money if you can replace plugs and points yourself. This is particularly true if you do not have a pickup truck to haul the tiller. Also consider the locations of service centers and parts dealers. Care­ful attention to your needs, abilities and price range is important. Talk to people who have the type of tiller you are interested in purchasing. If possible, borrow or rent different machines and send for infor­ma­tion before buying.

If you are considering the purchase of a used tiller, plan to do so well ahead of time so that you will not be rushed into a purchase. If you do not know much about such equipment, it may be help­ful to have a mechanically-minded friend look over the machine you are considering. Above all, test each tiller for ease of starting and operation. An engine that smokes or runs roughly may need a lot of work. Tines should operate smoothly and freely. Check the welds in the handles to see that they are strong; any sign of re-welding may mean that the handles were broken at one time, which is a com­mon problem in older tillers. Look at the dip­stick if there is one; low oil or very sludgy oil may mean that the tiller has been poorly main­tained. Check oil and other fluids by opening the drain plugs. Look for excessive dirt around the engine or in the air filter. This may also indicate poor maintenance habits. Ask the owner for an opera­tor’s manual and ask where the machine has been serviced in the past. A good tiller is a long-term investment, so plan carefully before you buy.

Other Power Tools

There are few other power tools needed in a vegetable garden. Cordless tools come with vari­ous cultivating attachments; most are recharge­able and can make garden chores more pleasur­able. These tools are especially useful for persons with physical disabilities that may limit strength.

A garden shredder is practical in large gardens with abundant plant wastes. Hand-operated shred­ders are slow but effective if wastes are small in quantity and not too coarse. Gasoline shredders are quite expensive and may be a disap­pointment to the gardener who wants to chip branches and other large materials. They are best used for shredding leaves, small branches and other plant wastes (sunflower stalks would prob­ably be too bulky). On the other hand, a chipper will chip large branches and other coarse material, but the cost of $1,000 or more makes the chipper uneco­nom­ical for most home gardeners.

Seeding and Planting Tools

Depending on the size of your garden and your physical abilities, you may want to consider a row seeder. Seeders with wheels make easy work of sowing long rows of corn, beans or other vegetables. Seeders that make a furrow, properly space the seeds and close the furrow behind the seed all in one pass are available. They do not perform quite as well on small-seeded crops, and it is not worth the effort of setting up a seeder for small areas. A hand-held seeder is probably a better choice for this type of work. Broadcast seeders are available for sowing seeds such as rye or wheat for a cover crop, but these are not necessary for the average home gar­dener since broadcasting is easily done by hand once the proper technique is learned.

Carts/Wheelbarrows

A wheelbarrow or cart is very useful in and around the garden area. It should be easy to handle when full and have good maneuverability. Durable construction is well worth the price for a long, useful life.

Choose a cart or wheelbarrow that is appropri­ate for your physical abilities and garden needs. A wheel­barrow generally requires more strength and control than most garden carts. Many of the small carts are made of relatively flimsy metal, and though inexpensive, they may not be very durable or suitable for heavy items such as rocks. Again, consider your needs. If you plan to haul only lightweight straw, leaves, sawdust and so forth, a small cart may be suitable. For heavier jobs, you may need a wheel­barrow. Investigate some of the newer garden carts, especially those with bicycle-sized tires, which make easy work of hauling. These are made of heavy plywood and metal but are well-balanced and easy to maneu­ver. How­ever, they may cost as much as several hundred dollars and require a large storage space. There­fore, they may be practical only for serious gardeners or for those with other uses for such a cart. One alternative is to build your own cart from one of several plans available from garden­ing magazines or private companies.

Watering Equipment

An adequate water supply makes a big dif­ference in garden yields. Purchase of watering equipment depends upon available facilities, water supply, climate and garden practices. If there is no outdoor spigot near the garden, the expense of having one installed may be greater than the bene­fits gained except in very drought-prone areas or in the case of a gardener who is fully dependent on the season’s produce. Where rainfall is ade­quate, it is wise to keep watering equipment simple; a rain barrel or a garden hose with a fan-type sprinkler will suffice. A water breaker for small seedlings is a nice extra.

In areas where there are extended periods of hot weather without precipitation, the local water supply is likely to be inadequate. Overhead sprinklers waste water; so a drip irrigation system may be in order. Drip irrigation puts water right at the roots and does not wet plant leaves, helping to avoid disease. Timers that allow automatic watering with drip and some other sys­tems are available. However, this type of system is rela­tively expensive and may be considered a nuisance by some gardeners because of maintenance and place­ment requirements. Determine whether cultural practices, such as mulching, close plant spacing, shading or wide bed planting will meet most of your extra water needs; then purchase watering equipment accordingly.

Soil Testing Equipment

Soil testing kits can be purchased in various sizes and levels of sophistication. These are handy but not always necessary. For most gardening purposes, soil testing does not have to be done more than once a year. If inexpensive garden soil tests are offered through the Extension Service or private labs, this is often preferable as results are likely to be more accurate. Some gar­deners like to monitor soil quality frequently, thus making a soil testing kit a worthwhile purchase. An electronic pH tester is on the market for those who prefer more high-tech equipment.

Environmental Monitoring Equipment

Serious gardeners often invest in various types of equipment that allow them to monitor the micro­climate around the garden or indoors. A rain gauge is an inexpensive device that helps the gardener deter­mine if enough rain has fallen for garden plants. A maximum-minimum thermometer is a costly but often useful device to measure nightly low and daytime high temperatures within an area. These are especially valuable in a greenhouse. Soil thermometers mea­sure soil temperature as well as the internal tempera­ture of a compost pile. Light and watering meters can be purchased for indoor plant monitoring.

Trellises/Cages

Trellises and cages for vining plants save space and keep fruits off the ground, reducing dam­age to plants and the amount of stooping re­quired for harvest. Look for heavy-duty materials and a sturdy design that will stand up to rain, wind and drying. Wire should be heavy gauge and wood should be treated with non-phytotoxic mate­rials (not toxic to plants). Metal parts should be rustproof or at least rust-resistant. If you build your own trellis or cage, you will probably save a considerable amount of money and get better qual­ity for the price.

Harvesting and Food Preparation Equipment

Harvesting equipment varies depending on the size and type of garden, whether or not food is to be stored and the way in which it is to be pro­cessed. Baskets are useful to most gardeners; they can be purchased at garden or farm supply stores or they can sometimes be salvaged from local grocery stores or fruit stands. Berry baskets for small fruits, baskets with handles for carrying vege­tables and peck or bushel baskets for storage are all useful. Fruit pickers are nice and easy to use for tall fruit trees. A sharp knife for cutting vegetables off plants is handy and helps prevent plant damage.

Food processing equipment includes canners, blanchers, dehydrators and sealers for frozen food packages. There is even a very expensive home vacuum-packer available. A food mill is inexpen­sive and very useful for making sauces and juices; a blender or food processor is also useful to the gardener with extra food. More specialized tools include corn cutters, which remove kernels from the cob, bean Frenchers and shellers, cherry pit­ters, strawberry cappers, apple corers and peelers, jelly strainers, thermometers and many more. A large kettle or pot is indispensable for preparing food prior to canning. A jar lifter prevents burned fingers, and a funnel to transfer food to jars reduces messiness. Choices depend on individual needs and preferences.

Purchase and Maintenance

When purchasing tools, buy for quality rather than quantity. Your tools will be used frequently throughout the garden season. Cheap tools tend to break or dull easily and may end up making a job unnecessarily difficult and frustrating. Quality tools last longer and tend to increase in value over time if well maintained. Tools should be light­weight for easy handling but heavy enough to properly do the job. Metal parts should be made of steel, which stays sharp, maintains shape and outlasts softer metals. Consumer magazines and gardening publications frequently have articles explaining what to look for in tools, and they often list alternatives to local hardware stores, which may carry only a single line of tools. Several excellent books featuring garden tools have been published and may be available at the library.

Keeping a tool clean and sharp increases its usefulness and lengthens its life. Learn the techniques of sharpening each tool and practice frequently. Professional gardeners often carry sharpening stones or files while working and sharpen their tools after every hour or so of use. It is important to clean your tools after each use. One effective method is to keep a 5-gallon bucket filled with sand and used motor oil in the tool shed. At the end of the gardening day, remove clinging dirt from tools by plunging them into the oily sand several times. This keeps the tools cleaned, oiled and helps prevent rusting.

The last and perhaps most important step in tool care is to put tools in their proper places. Tools left in the garden will rust and break and can be a safety hazard. Some gardeners paint the handles with a bright color to make them easy to spot. If each tool has its own place in the storage area, it is simple to determine if tools are missing before closing for the day.

Before winter sets in, sharpen tools, coat metal parts lightly with oil and rub wooden handles with linseed oil. Drain gasoline from power tools and obtain filters, mufflers and tune-up parts so that a fall or late-winter tune-up will leave the machine ready for early spring. Have nec­es­­sary maintenance done in winter when demand is lowest, and you can afford to let the repairer take his or her time.

In fall, any trellises or cages that have been outdoors should be cleaned and stored inside if possible. Traps and other pest control devices should also be stored if the pest season is over. Coldframes and other season extenders should be protected from damage by ice and snow or high winds, and once their job is done should be repaired if necessary and put away if possible. Tools with wheels, like cultivators, seeders and carts, should be oiled and stored. When thoughtfully selected and maintained, your tools will give many years of service. This extra help in the garden will pay for itself in time.

Seed for the Garden

Choosing and purchasing vegetable seeds is one of the most enjoyable gardening pastimes. Thumbing through colorful catalogs and dreaming of the season’s harvest is one way to make winter seem a little warmer. Seed purchased from a depend­able seed company provides a good start toward realizing that vision of bounty. Keep notes about the seeds you purchase — their germination qualities, plant vigor, tendencies toward insects and disease, etc. From this information, you can determine whether a seed company is meeting your needs or whether the varieties you have chosen are unsuitable for your area or gardening style. For example, if powdery mildew is a big problem on plants in your area, next year you may want to look for mildew-resistant varieties.

Saving Seed

Saving your own vegetable seed is another plea­sur­able activity. It offers a sense of self-sufficiency and saves money. You can maintain a variety that is not commercially available, thus helping to perpetuate a broad genetic base of plant vari­eties. Breeders often search for old-time varieties when attempting to improve commercial plants since the heirloom vegetables (as they are some­times called) often have inbred disease and pest resistance or cold-hardiness. Participation in a seed-saver’s exchange can be a rewarding experi­ence. Your extra seeds may be traded for unusual types that are not available through other sources.

There are certain considerations to keep in mind when saving seed. Hybrid varieties are not likely to be the same as the parent plants; there­fore, only open-pollinated varieties should be used for home seed production. Some seed dealers have responded to the increasing interest in seed-saving by clearly marking open-pollinated varieties in their catalogs. Another concern in saving seed is the possibility of carry­ing seed-borne diseases into next year’s crop. Many commercially-grown seeds are grown in dry areas unsuitable to fungal, viral and bacterial diseases that may be present in your region. Take care to control diseases that can be carried in seed. Another weather-related factor is how long it takes seeds to dry; this can be adversely affected by frequent rain and/or high humidity. Finally, if you have ever saved squash seed during a season in which you had more than one type of squash planted, you have probably seen the strange effects of cross-pollination. Saving seeds from cross-pollinated crops is not generally recommended for the novice because of problems with selection, requirements for hand pollination and isolation, biennial habits and genetic variability.

Some common, self-pollinated, annual plants from which seed may be saved include lettuce, okra, beans and peas, herbs and tomatoes. Methods for savings these seeds are described below.

Beans, peas and okra. Allow the seed pods to turn brown on the plant. Harvest the pods and dry them for 1 to 2 weeks. Shell and store them in a paper bag in a dry, cool (below 50° F) envi­ronment.

Lettuce seed. Cut seed stalks when fluffy in appearance, just before all the seeds are complete­ly dried. Seeds will fall off the stalk and be lost if allowed to mature on the plant. Completely dry the har­vested seed stalk. Shake the seeds off and store in a cool, dry environment in an envel­ope or small glass jar.

Herb seeds. Herbs vary in methods of seed pro­duction. In general, allow herb seeds to almost completely dry on the plants. Some seed heads, such as dill, shatter and drop their seeds as soon as they are dry. Watch the early-ripening seeds; if they tend to fall off, harvest the other seed heads before they reach that point, leaving several inches of stem attached. Hang several stems up­side down, covered with a paper bag to catch falling seed, in a warm, dry place until the drying is complete. Remove seeds from the seed heads and store them in envelopes or small glass jars. Some herb seeds, such as dill, celery, anise, cumin and others, can be used for flavoring as soon as they dry.

Tomato seeds. Pick ripe fruit from desirable plants. Cut the fruit and squeeze the pulp into a container. Add a little water and then let this ferment for 2 to 4 days at room temperature, stirring occa­sion­ally. When the seeds settle out, pour off the pulp and spread the seeds thinly to dry thoroughly. Store in an envelope or glass jar in a cool dry place.

For all kinds of saved seeds, be sure to clearly mark the storage containers with permanent, pref­er­­ably waterproof ink indicating the variety and date saved. If properly stored, seeds will remain viable for some time (Table 6.2). To test germina­tion, sprout seeds between moist paper towels; if germi­nation is low, either discard the seed or plant extra to yield the desirable number of plants.

Depth for Planting Vegetable Seeds

The depth to cover seeds when you plant them depends on a number of factors, including seed size, soil type and season of the year.

As a general rule, vegetable and flower seeds should be covered about two to three times their lateral diameter or width (not their length); how­ever, there are exceptions. You should always read packet directions. Some seeds require light for germination and should not be covered at all. These instructions apply to seeds planted both indoors and outdoors.

Starting Seed Indoors

To start seed indoors, it is important to have enough light. This factor probably accounts for the loss of more homegrown seedlings than any other. Vegetable seedlings grown under low-light condi­tions are likely to be leggy and weak, and many will fall over under their own weight after they are 3 to 4 inches tall. If you do not have a sunny room or back porch with a southern expo­sure, you will probably need supplemental light­ing. A simple fluorescent light with grow lights or with one warm-white and one cool-white bulb will suffice.

It is advisable to use a soilless or peat-lite mix to start seedlings since garden soil contains disease organisms which can be highly destructive to small plants. Soil can be sterilized in the oven by baking it at 200°F until the internal soil tempera­ture reaches 180°F for at least 30 minutes. This is a smelly process, but it works. Garden soil that is high in clay should be conditioned with compost or perlite to prevent excess moisture or shrinkage.

You can make your own peat-lite mix if you prefer; 50 percent vermiculite or perlite and 50 percent fine sphagnum peat is an excellent mix for starting seeds. Half the normal strength of fertil­izer may be added, and all the ingredients should be thoroughly mixed.

Many types of containers can be used to start seeds. Flats or other large containers may be planted in rows, and the seedlings grown until they have one or two sets of true leaves. At this point, they are transplanted into other containers until they reach the right size for transplanting out­doors. Seed­lings also can be started in pots, old cans, cutoff milk cartons, margarine tubs, egg cartons or other throwaways. The pop-out trays found at garden centers are both easy to use and reusable.

Regardless of the type of container chosen, fill it three-quarters full with seed-starting mixture and sow the seeds. Cover to the specified depth and water. If your home is dry, it may help to cover the containers with plastic wrap to main­tain a con­stant moisture level. Although seeds and seed­lings are extremely sensitive to drying out, they should not be kept soaking wet. This is con­ducive to damping-off, a fungal disease deadly to seed­lings. Damping-off can be prevented or dimin­ished by sprinkling milled sphagnum moss, which contains a natural fungicide, on top of the soil.

Another option is to use peat pellets or cubes which are preformed and require no additional soil mix. The pellets or cubes are soaked until thor­oughly wet; then seeds are planted in preformed holes. The whole pellet or cube can be planted without disturbing the roots. The only disadvan­tage to this method is expense.

Starting Seed Outdoors

Many seeds can be directly sown into the gar­den. The plant production data chart in Table 6.3 lists types of seed best planted this way. Young seedlings can emerge quite easily from sandy or organic soil. Seeds can be planted more deeply if garden soil is very sandy or if it is mellow with a high organic matter content. If garden soil is heavy with a high silt or clay content, the seeds should be covered only 2 to 3 times their diam­eter. In such soils it may be helpful to apply a band of sand, fine compost or vermiculite 4-inches wide and ¼-inch thick above the row after the seeds are planted. This helps retain soil moisture and reduces crusting, making it easier for seed­lings to push through the soil surface.

Soil temperature affects the speed of seed germination. In spring, soil is often cold and seeds of some plants will rot before they have a chance to sprout. Optimum soil temperatures are also listed in Table 6.3.

When planting a fall garden in midsummer, soil will be warm and dry. Cover the seeds to 4 to 5 times their diameter. To pro­mote germina­tion, gently water each day with a sprinkler or a sprinkling can. Retain moisture with shallow mulch or by cover­ing the row with a board until the seeds have sprouted. Shading the area may keep the soil cooler for seed germination, espe­cially when planting cool-weather crops in summer. Seed requiring a lower germination tem­per­a­ture may benefit from pre-sprouting indoors or from storage in the refrigerator 2 weeks before planting. Pre-sprouting is also a useful technique for planting in cold soils; however, seed must be handled very carefully once sprouted to prevent damaging new root tissue.

Row Planting

A string stretched between stakes provides a guide for neat, straight rows (Figure 6.3). Use a hoe handle, a special furrow hoe or a grub hoe to make a furrow of the appropriate depth for the seed being planted. Sow seed thinly; it may help to mix very small seed with coarse sand to dis­tribute the seeds more evenly. Draw soil over the seed, removing stones and large clods. Firming soil over seeds improves soil moisture uptake and hastens germination. Water the seeds to improve soil and seed contact. When the plants have reached 4 to 6 inches in height, thin accord­ing to seed packet instructions to provide adequate room for growth.

Broadcast Planting

Many crops may be sown in wide, banded rows or beds instead of long, single rows (Figure 6.3). Crops such as spinach, peas, beets, lettuce, green onions and carrots are especially suited to this type of culture. Seed should be sown evenly over the area, then raked in with a rake or three-pronged hand culti­vator. Firm soil over the seeds; then thin young plants to allow room for growth.

Hill Planting

Larger vegetables, such as melons, squash, corn and cucumbers, can be planted in hills. Soil is mounded to a foot or so in diameter at the recommended spacing (Figure 6.3). Plant four to six seeds per hill, firming the soil well. Thin the seedlings to three to five plants per hill.

Transplants for

the Garden

Most gardeners use transplants in the garden at one time or another to give long-season plants a chance to grow to maturity under preferred weather conditions or just to lengthen the harvest season. Cool-season crops, such as head lettuce, broccoli, celery and others, would not have a chance to reach their prime harvest stage in most areas of  New Mexico in spring if not given those extra weeks indoors to get a head start. Tomatoes, peppers and eggplants might not produce at all if not grown from transplants.

Due to the amount of time, attention and the need for controlled growing conditions, many gardeners prefer to purchase plants for their gar­dens. How­ever, for a larger selection of varieties and to control plant production from seed to harvest, others gardeners choose to start their own. Table 6.4 lists several plant varieties according to how easily and successfully they can be transplanted.

Annual Plants

Transplants of annual vegetables and flowers should have good roots and should be stocky, healthy and free from disease. They should not be too small or too mature. Be sure plants have been hardened-off so that they easily adapt to environ­mental change. However, they should not be so hardened-off that they are woody or yellow. Suc­cess­ful trans­planting is achieved by inter­rupting plant growth as little as possible. This is the advantage of using peat pots or peat pellets which are not removed when transplanting.

Have the garden soil prepared before trans­planting. All additives which require time to break down, such as manures, limestone, rock fer­til­izers and green manures, should be incor­porated several weeks before planting. Fertilizers and well-decayed compost can be added just before planting.

Transplant on a shady day in late afternoon or early evening to prevent wilting. It helps to water the plants several hours before trans­planting. When using bare-root plants, such as sweet potato slips or plants from a farm supply store, thor­oughly soak the roots for an hour or two before setting them out in the garden. The roots should not be allowed to completely dry out. Handle plants carefully; avoid dis­turbing the roots or bruising the stems.

Dig a hole large enough to hold the plant’s roots. Set the plants slightly deeper than pre­viously planted and at recommended intervals. Toma­toes are an exception to the planting depth rule; they will develop roots all along the stems so that you can plant them deeply enough to leave only 2 or 3 sets of leaves exposed. Press the soil firmly around the roots of transplants. Pour about 1 cup of starter solution in the hole around the plant.

For a few days after transplanting, protect the plants from wind and sun by placing newspaper or card­board on their south sides or by covering them with jugs, baskets or flower pots. Water the plants once or twice during the next week if depending on the amount of rainfall.

Perennial Plants

When buying small fruit plants or perennial crowns such as asparagus, order early or buy from reliable local outlets. Discount department stores often allow plants to dry out; watch for this espe­cially if you are buying sale plants. Select vari­eties that will do well under your growing condi­tions. For perennial plants, it pays to find out about the major disease and insect pests and to buy resistant varieties. Dormant bare-root plants and 1- or 2-year-old crowns are preferred. Look for roots that are full, slightly moist and have color. Roots that are dry brown or soggy black indicate poor storage and will probably not give good results. Check crowns for signs of viable buds and inspect plants for signs of insects or disease. If you receive plants by mail which are unsatisfactory, do not hesitate to write the dealer.

Once you have the plants, keep roots moist (but not soaking wet) by occasionally misting them. Do not allow them to freeze or to be exposed to high temperatures. If it is necessary to keep the crowns for more than a few days, either place them in cold storage (not freezing) or heel them in a trench of moist soil in a shaded location. Pack soil firmly against roots to eliminate any air pockets.

Transplant crowns according to directions, digging holes large enough to give the roots plenty of room to spread. Remove any discolored or dried-out roots. Perennial plants appreciate a dose of compost mixed into the bottom of the hole. For plant-specific details, refer to the crop descriptions later in this chapter.

Once transplanted, shade the plants if neces­sary and water when needed. Extra care at the beginning of growth will result in productive, healthy plants.

Irrigating the Home Garden

Adequate soil moisture is essential for good crop growth. A healthy plant is composed of 75 to 90 percent water. Water is used for a plant’s vital functions, including photosynthesis, support (rigidity) and transportation of nutrients and sugars to various parts of the plant. During the first 2 weeks of growth, plants are becoming estab­lished and must have water to build their root systems.

During growth, vegetable crops need about an inch of water per week from rain, irrigation or both. Keep a rain gauge near the garden or check with the local weather bureau for rainfall amounts. Supplement rainfall with irrigation water as needed.

During dry periods, a single thorough, weekly watering of 1 to 2 inches of water (65 to 130 gallons per 100 square feet) is usually enough for most soils. Soils should be wetted to a depth of 5 to 6 inches each time you water and not watered again until the top few inches begin to dry. Average garden soil will store about 2 to 4 inches of water per foot of depth.

Reducing Water Demands

There are ways to reduce the amount of water you have to add. The first step toward improving moisture con­ditions in the garden is to add organic matter. Soil moisture may not be avail­able to plants, par­tic­ularly if the soil is a heavy clay which tends to retain water. For example, if there are 4½ inches of water per foot in a heavy clay soil, there may be as little as 1½ inches of water available for plants. A relatively high level of humus in the soil, brought about by the addition and breakdown of organic matter, can increase the water available to plants. By causing clay par­ticles to form aggre­gates or large clumps of particles, humus also increases the porosity of tight clays, thus allowing moisture to drain to lower levels as a reserve instead of puddling and running off the top of the soil.

The moisture-holding capacity of sandy soils is also improved by adding organic matter. Al­though most water in sandy soil is available for plants, it drains so quickly that even a few days after a rain, plants are unable to reach water. Humus in sandy soil gives the water something to cling to until it is needed by plants.

Mulching can significantly decrease supple­mental water requirements. A 4- to 6-inch layer of organic mulch can reduce water needs by as much as 50 percent by smothering weeds (which take up and transpire moisture) and by reducing evapora­tion of moisture directly from the soil. Organic mulches hold some water them­selves and increase the humidity level around a plant. Black plastic mulch also conserves mois­ture, but it may dramatic­ally increase soil tempera­tures during summer (to the detriment of some plants and the benefit of others) if not covered by other mulch materials or foliage.

Shading and windbreaks can also help con­serve moisture. Plants that wilt in very sunny areas can benefit from partial shade in the after­noon; in particular, small plants should be pro­tected. Air movement carries moisture away from leaf surfaces, causing the plant to need more water. In windy areas, roots often cannot keep up with leaf demands, and the plant wilts. Thus, temporary or permanent windbreaks can sig­nificantly reduce supplemental water needs.

When rainfall is sparse, temperatures are high and cultural practices do not seem to be effec­tive, supplemental water may save the garden. When properly used, irrigation can bene­fit the garden in many ways including the following:

      Aid in seed emergence

      Reduce soil crusting

      Improve germination and plant stand

      Reduce wilting and checking of growth in transplants

      Increase fruit size of tomato, cucumber and melon

      Prevent premature ripening of peas, beans and sweet corn

      Maintain uniform growth

      Improve the quality and yield of most crops

Irrigation Methods

The home gardener has several options for watering plants — a sprinkler can, a garden hose with a fan nozzle or spray attachment, portable lawn sprinklers, a perforated plastic soaker hose, drip or trickle irrigation or a semiautomatic drip system. If properly maintained, quality equipment will last for a number of years. There are many considerations in selecting watering equipment.

One of the best ways to water a garden is with a drip irrigation system.  Drip irrigation is the controlled application of water at a very low flow over a prolonged period.  It differs from conventional watering systems in that the soil is not supersaturated with water.  When the rate of drip irrigation is adjusted correctly, there are no puddles of water and no runoff.

Some drip systems use small water-releasing mechanisms called emitters which drip a certain volume of water when a certain amount of water pressure is supplied.  Many of these systems are prepackaged and allow little versatility or adaptation to various garden sizes and shapes.

Several systems currently available in garden centers can be easily adapted to almost any garden size and situation.  The most common system has small holes in plastic tubes which allow the water to come out in small amounts.  The tube is placed along the row so that the root zone is moistened by the dripping water.  Holes are prepunched in the tubing at 12-inch intervals so that adequate water is available for all vegetable crops.

Once the drip irrigation system is in place and operating, the question always arises as to how long it should be used.  A general recommendation is to operate the system three hours a day on alternating days, such as Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  When rainfall is adequate, it is not necessary to water for several days.  To insure adequate moisture when the garden is planted, apply at least 2 inches of water to the planting zone before seeding or transplanting (pre-irrigation).  Be sure the rows are well-firmed at the time of pre-irrigation so the water moves laterally in the soil as well as downward.  In many cases, sprinkling the entire garden area may be necessary to settle the soil enough for drip irrigation water to move horizontally and not go straight down in the rows.  This is especially necessary in gardens with sandy soil.

Following are some basic techniques and principles for watering.

1.   Adjust the flow or rate of water applica­tion to about ½ inch per hour. A faster rate will only result in runoff unless the soil has excep­tionally good drainage. To determine sprinkler rates, place small tin cans at various places within the sprink­ler’s reach check the water level in the cans at 15-minute intervals.

2.   When using oscillating lawn sprinklers, place the sprinkler on a platform higher than the crop to prevent water from being diverted by plant leaves. Keep the water pattern even by frequently moving the sprinkler and overlap­ping about one-half of each pattern.

3.   Do not sprinkle foliage in late after­noon or evening. Watering in the morning is prefer­able because wet foliage at night encourages diseases.

4.   Perforated plastic hoses or soaker hoses should be placed along one side of the crop row or underneath mulch. Water is allowed to slowly soak or seep into the soil.

5.   It is best to add enough water to soak the soil to a depth of 5 to 6 inches. It takes approxi­mately 2/3 gallon of water for each square foot or about 65 to 130 gallons for 100 square feet of garden area. However, this varies accord­ing to the nature of the soil. Fre­quent, light watering only encourages shallow rooting and causes plants to suffer more readily during drought periods, especially if mulches are not used. On the other hand, too much water can be as damaging to plant growth as too little water, especially in poorly drained soils.

6.   By knowing the critical watering periods for selected vegetables or vegetable types, you can reduce supple­mental water needs. This is particularly important where water is limited. In general, adequate water is most critical during the first few weeks of develop­ment, immediately after trans­planting and during development of edible storage organs. Specif­i­cally, the critical watering periods for selected vegetables are outlined in the following table.

7.   In areas prone to repeated drought, look for drought-resistant varieties when buying seed or plants.

8.   If water supplies are short in your area and you wish to use gray water (waste water from house­hold uses) on your vegetable garden, a few rules should be observed.

      Apply gray water to the soil, but not to plant leaves.

      Do not use “black water” (water run through the toilet) because of possible contamination from fecal organisms.

      Avoid using kitchen waste water that con­tains grease, harsh cleaners, ammo­nia, bleach, non-biodegradable deter­gents or softeners. If using water from the bathtub or washing machine, use only mild, biode­gradable soaps, omitting softeners and bleaches. If possible, allow wash and rinse water to mix, thus diluting the soap content. Never apply water containing a borax product (such as washing soda) to a garden because of the danger of plant-toxic levels of boron.

Fertilizing

the Garden

The amount of fertilizer to apply to a garden depends on the natural fertility of the soil, the amount of organic matter present, the type of fer­tilizer used and the crops being grown. The best way to determine fertilizer needs is to have the soil tested. Soil testing is available through your local Extension agent or private laboratories and with soil testing kits which can be purchased from garden shops and catalogs. Vegetables can be grouped into three main categories according to their fertilizer requirements: heavy feeders, medium feeders and light feeders. It may be advan­tageous to group crops in the garden accord­ing to their fertilizer requirements for easier application. For a complete discussion of ferti­lizers, refer to Chapter 2.

Weed Control

in the Garden

The old saying, “1 year’s weed - 7 years’ seed,” contains more truth than myth, as most gar­den­ers soon learn. Weeds (some native and some introduced) are remarkably adapted to conditions in the area where they grow, usually much more so than the imported, cultured vege­tables used for food. Many weeds which would other­­wise not be grow­ing in a lawn or natural area seem to magi­cally appear when the soil is culti­vated. Weed seeds can remain viable for those 7 (or more) years, even when conditions are not suitable for weed growth. When brought to the surface by tilling and uninhibited by sod, shade or other factors, weed seeds germinate and become pests, taking water, nutrients, sunlight and space away from vegetable plants.

Cultivation

There are several ways to rid the garden of most problem plants. Since mature weeds extract large quantities of moisture and nutrients from the soil, it is more beneficial (and easier) to remove weeds when they are young and tender. Hand-pulling and digging are appropriate for small gardens and raised beds, but a hoe may be better suited for large garden areas. Manually-powered rotary cultivators do a good job on long rows and pathways as long as the soil is not too wet or dry and the weeds are small. In large gardens, a tiller of appropriate size makes the work easy and fast, but it is not the most pleasant chore to get behind a smoky, noisy engine on a hot summer day. Both manual and electric rotary cul­tivators are usually unable to turn weeds under very close to vegetable plants without damaging the vegetables. Hoeing with a light touch or hand-pulling are best for removing weeds near vegetable plants. Deep cul­ti­vation with any instrument is likely to damage roots or stems of crop plants.

Turning weeds under, especially before they flower, provides soil with organic matter. Hand-pulled weeds (except rhizomatous grasses) may be laid on top of the soil to dry and will eventually add organic matter to the soil. However, if rain is predicted in the area within a day or two, it is best to collect the weeds and add them to the com­post pile. Rain will wash soil around the roots and some weeds will survive. If weeds have started to go to seed, they should not be left in the garden. If the compost pile doesn’t heat up enough after weeds are added, weed seeds may not be destroyed. Grasses that spread by rhizomes or stolons also present a problem if not completely dried. In these cases, despite their potential value as organic material, it is better to completely remove the weeds from the garden area. Reducing weed growth around the garden by mowing or other means will also help prevent the spread of weeds and seeds to the garden area.

Cultivation is best done when the soil is some­what moist but not wet. Working wet soil will change soil structure, especially in heavy soils. When it is too dry, weeds are hard to pull and hoeing is also difficult. A day or two after rain or irrigation is probably the best time to cultivate. If you have a choice, remember that the work will be much more pleasant in the cool temperatures of early morning or evening. On hot summer after­noons, you are likely to become fatigued more easily, get sunburned or suffer from sun poison­ing, sunstroke or worse. Wear protective clothing if you must work when it is sunny and stop fre­quently for rest and refreshment.

Mulching

Mulching can be an alternative to weeding if you have a reliable source of mulching materials. Thick layers of organic mulch will prevent most annual weeds from appearing and any that do are usually easy to pull. Weeds with runners are often not as easily controlled; black plastic mulch may be a better choice where these prevail. For walkways or paths, excellent weed suppression is provided by newspaper, old carpeting or similar materials covered with sawdust. However, do not use sawdust in the immediate area of vegetable plants. Sawdust has a tendency to crust, and bacteria that decompose sawdust take nitrogen from the soils and thus from the plants.

Various Mulches Available

Mulch is defined as any material spread on the garden to protect root plants from heat, cold or drought; to reduce problems with weeds; and to keep fruit clean.  Mulching materials can be:

Clear plastic - Clear plastic warms the soil more than most other mulches, stimulating weed seed germination and growth.  It also can be laid over seeded rows to stimulate early vegetable seed germination.  Remove the plastic as soon as seedlings emerge.  If weeds are not a problem, clear plastic is an excellent mulching material.

Black plastic - Black plastic makes the soil warmer early in the season and greatly reduces the weed population.  Black plastic, however, will not control nutgrass. Adequate soil moisture should be available when black plastic is applied.  Cut holes through the plastic after it is applied over the bed to allow for seeding or transplanting.  Water by using drip systems or water soakers beneath the plastic, by furrow watering or by sprinkling.  If sprinklers are used, it may be necessary to cut T-slits in the plastic for water penetration.

Paper - Various types of paper are used as mulches, with newspaper being by far the most common.  Several sheets of newspaper laid flat over the surface of the garden row work well as a mulch.  However, paper reduces soil temperature.  Paper mulch used early in spring when the soil is cold causes delayed maturity of many garden vegetables, such as tomatoes, peppers, squash, etc.  For these crops, paper can be applied after crops are growing and the soil has warmed up.  Paper mulch will not delay cool-season, spring-planted crops such as lettuce, broccoli and cabbage, as much as warm-season plants.  As with black plastic, apply paper when the soil contains adequate moisture.  Unlike plastic, paper deteriorates and does not have to be removed at the end of the gardening season.

Organic mulches - Organic mulches are by far the most common.  Benefits of organic mulches are gained primarily in summer because they reduce soil temperature and save soil moisture.  Do not use organic mulches too early in spring.  If applied to cold garden soils, the soils warm up more slowly and crop maturity is reduced.  Organic mulches prevent soil crusting, control weeds, prevent erosion, lessen fruit rot, conserve moisture and reduce soil temperatures during summer.

After the soil warms, apply organic mulches to a depth of 1 to 2 inches around growing plants.  With organic materials such as sawdust, leaves, rice hulls, etc., it usually is necessary to increase the amount of garden fertilizer by about one-fourth to compensate for the nutrients used by microorganisms during the breakdown process.  At the end of the season, turn organic mulches under to improve the soil’s physical condition.

Close Spacing

Weed growth can be effectively inhibited if established vegetable plants have been planted close enough to each other to shade the soil. This is achieved by a well-planned, raised bed in which plants are spaced so that the foliage of adjacent plants touches and forms a closed canopy when the plants are mature.

Other Practices

Some gardeners are experimenting with vari­ous types of no-till gardening to reduce weed prob­lems and prevent erosion and moisture loss. The standard farming no-till practice of sowing a fall cover crop, killing it with herbicide and planting vegetables in the dead sod after a recom­mended waiting period is one method. However, there are presently no herbicides recommended for use in established home vegetable gardens to kill emerged weeds. Use of weed-killers normally rec­om­mended for lawns or other areas is not advised. Until a safe herbicide is available, this type of no-till practice is unsafe for growing vegetables in the home garden. One alternative is the use of a living sod, mowed regularly, which has many of the benefits of no-till and does not necessitate the use of herbicides. This practice works best with raised beds so that only the paths need to be mowed.

The use of cover crops over several seasons or years in a particularly weedy section can also reduce weed problems; however, this method re­quires leaving that part uncultivated, thus reducing gardening space. Cover crops must also be mowed or harvested regularly, which can be both time-consuming and difficult without appropriate tools. Thoroughly investigate crop rotations before using cover crops to control weeds. All of the above techniques are still in the experimental stage for home gardeners. Try them in small sections of the garden to determine their effectiveness.

Herbicides

As mentioned previously, herbicides may be used in and around home gardens, but they can be risky. They should always be used according to label instructions and only for crops listed on the label. The wrong herbicide can destroy a garden’s pro­ductivity for years. Even when properly used, the drift from herbicides sprayed on lawns or in areas surrounding the garden can damage vege­table plants. Take care to spray on windless days and erect barriers to protect plants if nec­essary. Drift from preemergence herbicides does not dam­age growing plants but may prevent seed ger­mi­na­tion. Be aware that treatment with a herbi­cide for one type of weed may result in the area being colo­nized by other weeds which are tolerant to the chemical. Finally, never use an herbicide in the same sprayer used for insect and disease control; keep a separate sprayer for herbicide use only.

Vegetable Planting Guide and Recommended Varieties

The maps shown in Figures 6.4 and 6.5 can be used to determine the average date of the last spring frost and the first fall frost in your area. Actual dates vary due to local conditions and yearly temperature fluctuations.

An important factor in successful vegetable gardening is choosing the best varieties. Table 6.5 lists vegetable varieties recommended for New Mexico. These varieties have shown superior production in vegetable trials conducted by the New Mexico Extension Service.

The vegetable planting guide (Table 6.6) can be used to approximate the proper amount of crop to plant for the desired yield, the amount of seed or transplants required for that amount of crop and proper spacing between plants in a row.

Intensive Gardening Methods

The purpose of an intensively grown garden is to harvest the most produce possible from a given space. More traditional gardens consist of long, single rows of vegetables widely spaced apart. Much of the garden area is taken by the space between rows. An intensive garden reduces wasted space to a minimum. The practice of intensive gardening is not just for those with limited garden space; rather, an intensive garden concentrates work efforts to create an ideal plant environment, providing better yields with less labor.

Though its benefits are many, the intensive garden may not be for everyone. Some people enjoy seeing long, straight rows in their gardens. Others prefer machine cultivation to hand weed­ing although there is often less weeding to do in intensive plantings because of fewer path­ways and closely-spaced plants. Any necessary weeding is usually done by hand or with hand tools. Other gardeners like to plant their gardens in a very short period of time and have harvests come in all at once. The purpose of intensive gardening is to have something growing in every part of the gar­den at all times during the growing season.

A good intensive garden requires early and thorough planning to make the best use of time and space in the garden. Interrelationships of plants must be considered before planting, includ­ing nutrient needs, shade tolerance, above-ground and below-ground growth patterns and preferred growing season. Using the techniques described below, anyone can develop a high-yielding inten­sive garden.

The Raised Bed

The raised bed or growing bed is the basic unit of an intensive garden (Figure 6.6). A system of beds allows the gardener to concentrate soil preparation in small areas, resulting in effective use of soil amendments and creating an ideal envi­ronment for vegetable growth.

Beds are generally 3 to 4 feet wide and as long as desired. The gardener works from either side of the bed, reducing soil compaction caused by walking on the bed.

Soil preparation is the key to successful inten­sive gardening. To grow so close together, plants must have adequate nutrients and water. Provid­ing extra synthetic fertilizers and irrigation will help, but there is no substitute for deep, fertile soil rich in organic matter. Humus-rich soil will hold extra nutrients. Existing elements that are “locked up” in the soil are released by the actions of earthworms, micro­organisms and acids present in a life-filled soil, thus making them available for plant use.

If your soil is not deep, double-dig the beds for best results. Remove the top 12 inches of soil from the bed. Insert a spade or spading fork into the next 10 to 12 inches of soil and wiggle the handle back and forth to break up any compacted layers. Do this every 6 to 8 inches throughout the bed. Mix the top soil with a generous amount of com­post or manure and return the mixture to the bed. It should be somewhat fluffy and may be slightly raised. To create a true raised bed, take topsoil from the neighboring pathways and mix it in as well.

This is a lot of work! Try it in one or two beds for some of your most valuable plants. If you like the results, you can proceed to other beds as you have time. One nice thing about raised bed gardening is that it breaks work into units. Instead of desperately gazing at a garden full of weeds, thinking you will never have time to clean it up, you can look at each bed and say, “I can do that in a half-hour today!” Other chores are accomplished with the same ease.

By their nature, raised beds are a form of wide-bed gardening. Seeds and transplants can be planted in wide bands of several rows or broadcast in a wide strip. In general, the goal is to space the plants at equal distances from each other so that when the plants reach maturity, leaves on all sides will touch. Not only does this save space, the close plantings reduce moisture loss from surrounding soil and help control weed growth.

Vertical Gardening

The use of trellises, nets, strings, cages or poles to support growing plants is known as verti­cal gardening (Figure 6.7). This technique is espe­cially well-suited for small garden spaces, but can be used in gardens of all sizes. Vining and sprawl­ing plants, such as cucumbers, tomatoes, melons and pole beans, are obvious candidates for vertical gardening. Some plants entwine them­selves onto the support, while others may need to be tied. Remember that vertical planting will cast a shadow. Be careful not to shade sun-loving crops, or alternatively, take advantage of the shade by planting shade-tolerant crops near vertical crops.

Vertically-grown plants need much less ground space; although the yield per plant may be (but is not always) less, the yield per square foot of garden space is much greater. Because verti­cally-grown plants are more exposed, they dry out faster and may need to be watered more frequently than if they were allowed to spread over the ground. Rapid drying is also an advan­tage to those plants suscept­ible to fungal diseases. Soil should be deep and well-

drained to allow roots to extend vertically and to avoid competition with other roots in shallow soil.

Interplanting

Growing two or more types of vegetables in the same place at the same time is known as inter­planting. Proper planning is essential to obtain high production and increased crop quality. This technique has been practiced for thousands of years, but it is just now gaining wide­spread support in this country. To successfully plan an inter­planted garden, the following factors must be taken into account for each plant:

      Length of the plant’s growth period.

      Growth pattern (tall, short, below-ground or above-ground).

      Possible negative effects on other plants.

      Preferred season.

      Light, nutrient and moisture requirements.

Interplanting can be accomplished by alter­nating rows within a bed (plant a row of peppers next to a row of onions), by mixing plants within a row or by distributing various species through­out the bed. For the beginner, alternating rows may be the easiest to manage.

Long-season (slow to mature) and short-season (quick to mature) plants, like carrots and radishes, respectively, can be planted at the same time. The radishes are harvested before they begin to crowd the carrots. An example of combining growth pat­terns is planting smaller plants close to larger plants, such as radishes at the base of beans or broccoli. Shade-tolerant species, like lettuce, spinach and greens, may be planted in the shadow of taller crops. Heavy feeders, such as crops in the cabbage family, should be interplanted with light feeders (Table 6.7).

Interplanting may help keep insect and disease problems under control. Pests are generally crop-specific, which means that they prefer vegetables of one type or family. Mixing families of plants helps break up large areas of the pest-preferred crop, thus helping to contain early pest damage within a small area. This gives the gardener a little more time to con­trol the problem. However, one disad­vantage is that when pesticides are used, it is difficult to be sure that all plants are protected.

Spacing

Individual plants are closely spaced in a raised bed or interplanted garden. An equidistant spac­ing pattern calls for plants to be the same distance from each other within the bed space plants so that the center of one plant is the same distance from plants on all sides of it. In beds with more than two rows, plants should be stag­gered so that plants in every other row are equally spaced from plants in adjacent rows. On a seed packet, the distance recommended for plants with­in the row is the distance from the center of one plant to the center of the next. This results in an efficient use of space, leaving less area for weeding and mulch­ing. Close spacing tends to create a nearly solid leaf canopy, acting as a living mulch, decreasing water loss and keeping weed problems down. How­ever, plants should not be crowded to the point at which disease problems develop or com­pe­ti­tion causes stunting. Guide­lines for space requirements of various crops are listed in Table 6.8.

Succession and Relay Planting

Succession planting is an excellent way to make the most of an intensive garden. To obtain a succession of crops, plant something new in spots vacated by spent plants. Corn after peas is one type of succession.

Planting a spring, summer and fall garden is another form of succession planting. Cool-season crops (broccoli, lettuce, peas) are followed by warm-season crops (beans, tomatoes, peppers). In most areas of  New Mexico, these can be followed by more cool-season plants or even a winter cover crop.

Relaying is another common practice whereby plants of one crop are overlapped; the new planting is made before the old one is removed. For instance, sweet corn can be planted at 2-week intervals for a continuous harvest. This requires some care because crops planted very early are likely to get a slower start because of low tem­peratures. In the case of corn, it can be disastrous to have two varieties pollinating at the same time as the quality of the kernels may be affected. For best results, give early-planted corn extra time to get started. Another way to achieve the same result is to simultaneously plant various maturing varieties of the same vegetable. For example, you can plant an early-season, mid-season and late-season corn at the same time to have a lengthy harvest.

Starting seed indoors for transplanting is an important aspect of intensive gardening. To get the most from the garden plot, a new crop should be ready to take the place of the crop being removed. Several weeks may be gained by having 6-inch transplants ready for newly-vacated areas. Don’t forget to recondition the soil for new plants.

Planning an Intensive Garden

Begin planning your garden early. When the cold days of winter seem never-ending, pull out last year’s garden records and start looking through new seed catalogs. Table 6.5 lists vegetable varieties recommended for New Mexico. With any gar­den, you must decide which crops you want to grow based on your own preferences as well as on how much of each crop you will need. A record of which cultivars were most successful or tasted best is helpful in making crop choices. Use the tables in this chapter and rely on your own experience to determine which crops are likely combinations.

Good gardening practices, such as watering, fertilizing, crop rotation, composting and sanita­tion, are especially important in an intensive garden. An intensive garden requires more detailed planning, but the time saved in working the garden and the increased yields make it well worthwhile. Use your imagination and have fun!

Economic Value of Crops

It is difficult to evaluate the economic value of crops grown in the vegetable garden because of the dif­ferent lengths of time they require for maturity and harvest. In addition, the availability of varieties and vege­table types not generally found in the marketplace and the lack of comparison values for vegetables that are not acceptable by commercial standards (cracked tomatoes, crooked cucumbers, etc.), but which are perfectly usable by the home gardener make economic evaluation more difficult. Nevertheless, several studies have attempted to determine which crops bring the most value per square foot of garden space, partly to aid small-space gardeners in making decisions about what to plant. Of course, if no one in the family likes beets, there is no point in growing them just because they are economically valuable. Table 6.9 may help you determine which vegetables to plant and which to buy. Perennial crops are not included in Table 6.9 because each study was based on one season. Asparagus, rhubarb, horseradish and other perennial crops also have considerable economic worth. Remember that value per square foot may be increased by planting miniature varieties or crops suited for vertical gardening.

Container Gardening

If you don’t have space for a vegetable garden or if your present site is too small, consider raising fresh, nutritious, homegrown vegetables in containers (Table 6.10). A window sill, patio, bal­cony or doorstep can provide sufficient space for a productive container garden. Prob­lems with soilborne diseases, nematodes or poor soil can also be avoided by switching to container gardening.

For the best use of space and containers, grow vegetables that require only limited space, such as carrots, radishes and lettuce, or crops that bear fruits over a period of time, such as tomatoes and peppers. Dwarf or miniature varieties often mature and bear fruit early, but most do not pro­duce as well overall as standard varieties. With increasing interest in container gardening, plant breeders and seed companies are working on vege­tables speci­fically bred for container culture. These varieties are not necessarily miniature or dwarf, and they may produce as well as standard types if properly cared for.

The amount of sunlight your container gar­den receives may determine which crops can be grown. Generally, root crops and leaf crops can tolerate partial shade, but vegetables grown for their fruits generally need at least 8 hours of full, direct sunlight each day. Available light can be somewhat increased by providing reflective mate­rials around the plants, such as aluminum foil, white-painted surfaces or marble chips.

Container gardening presents opportunities for many innovative ideas and lends itself well to attrac­tive plant scaping. A dull patio area can be brightened by baskets of cascading tomatoes or a colorful herb mix (Figure 6.8). Planter boxes with trellises can create a cool shady place on an apartment balcony.

Containers

There are many possible containers suitable for gardening. Clay, wood, plastic and metal are some of the suitable materials. Containers for vegetable plants must be big enough to support plants when they are fully grown, must hold soil without spilling, must have adequate drainage and must never have held products that would be toxic to plants or people. Consider using barrels, flower pots, cutoff milk or bleach jugs, recycled styrofoam coolers, window boxes, baskets lined with perforated plastic for drainage or even pieces of drainage pipe or cinder block. If you are building a wooden planting box, redwood and cedar are the most rot-resistant, but bear in mind that cedar trees are much more plentiful than red­woods. Recent studies show that wood treated with creosote or pentachlorophenol wood preser­va­tives are not toxic to plants or harmful to humans. However, the decision to use chemically-treated wood is left up to each gardener.

Some gardeners have built vertical planters out of wooden lattices lined with black plastic and filled with a lightweight medium, or from cylin­ders of welded wire lined with sphagnum moss and filled with soil mix (Figure 6.9). Depending on the size of your vertical planter, 2-inch diameter perforated plastic pipes may be needed inside to aid watering.

Whatever type of container you use, be sure that there are holes in the bottom for drainage so that plant roots do not stand in water. Most plants need containers at least 6 to 8 inches deep for adequate rooting.

Any container can be used as long as it meets the basic requirements described above. The imag­i­native use of discarded items or construction of attractive patio planters is a very enjoyable aspect of container gardening. Dollies or plat­forms with wheels or casters can be used to easily move the containers from place to place. This is especially useful for apartment or balcony gar­dening. Plants can be moved for maximum use of available space and sunlight, and plant damage can be avoided if severe weather occurs.

Media

A fairly lightweight potting mix is needed for container vegetable gardening. Soil straight from the garden should not be used. Container media must be porous in order to support plants because roots require both air and water. Packaged pot­ting soil available at local garden centers is relatively lightweight and may be a good container medium. Soilless mixes, such as peat-lite mixes, are generally too light for container vegetable gardening by not offering enough support for plant roots. If the container is lightweight as well, a strong wind can blow plants over and cause major damage. Also, soilless mixes are sterile and contain few nutrients; even though major ferti­lizers are added, no trace elements are available for good plant growth. For a large container garden, the expense of prepackaged or soilless mixes may be quite high.

Try mixing your own media with one part peat moss, vermiculite or perlite, one part clean, coarse (builder’s) sand and a slow release ferti­lizer (14-14-14, according to container size). As with a large garden, a soil test is helpful in determining nutrient requirements and any neces­sary adjustments in pH.

Planting

Plant container crops at the same time you would plant a regular garden. Fill a clean container to within half an inch of the top with the slightly damp soil mixture. Peat moss in the mix will absorb water and mix much more readily if soaked with warm water before putting the mix in the container. Sow the seeds or set transplants according to instructions on the seed package. Put a label with the name, variety and date of planting on or in each container. After planting, gently soak the soil with water, being careful not to wash out or displace seeds. Thin seedlings to obtain proper spacing when the plants have two or three leaves. If cages, stakes or other supports are needed, provide them when the plants are very small to avoid root damage.

Watering

Pay particular attention to watering container plants. Because the volume of soil is relatively small, containers can dry out very quickly, especi­ally on a concrete patio in full sun. Daily or even twice-daily watering may be necessary. Apply water until it runs out the drainage holes. On an upstairs balcony, this may cause problems with down­stairs neighbors, so make provisions for water drainage. Large trays filled with coarse marblechips work nicely. However, the soil should never be soggy or have water standing on top of it. When the weather is cool, container plants may be subject to root rot if the soil is consistently too wet.

Clay pots and other porous containers allow additional evaporation from the sides of the pots, thus requiring more frequent watering, and small pots tend to dry out more quickly than larger ones. If the soil appears to be excessively dry (plants wilting every day is one sign), group the containers together so that the foliage creates a canopy to help shade the soil and keep it cool. On a hot patio, you might consider putting containers on pallets or other structures that allow air move­ment beneath the pots and prevent direct contact with the cement. Check containers at least once a day and twice a day if it is hot, dry or windy. Feel the soil to determine whether it is damp. Mulch­ing and windbreaks can help reduce water require­ments for containers. If you are away from home a lot, consider an auto­matic-drip emitter irrigation system.

Fertilizer

If you use a soil mix with fertilizer added, then your plants will have enough nutrients for 6 to 8 weeks. If plants are grown longer than this, add a water-soluble fertilizer at the recom­mended rate. Apply the nutrient solutions every 5 to 10 days, depending upon frequency of watering. An occasional dose of fish emulsion or compost will add trace elements to the soil. Do not add more than the recommended rate of any fertilizer since this may cause root burn and kill the plants. Container plants do not have the buffer of large volumes of soil and humus to protect them from overfertilizing. Just because a little fertilizer is good for the plants does not mean that a lot is better.

General Care

Vegetables grown in containers can be attacked by the various types of insects and diseases that are common to any vegetable garden. Plants should be periodically inspected for the presence of foliage-feeding and fruit-feeding insects as well as for the occurrence of diseases. Protect plants from very high heat caused by light reflection from pavement. Move them to a cool spot or shade them during the hottest part of the day. Plants should be moved to a sheltered loca­tion during severe rain, hail or wind storms and for protection from frosty weather.

Indoor Container Gardening

with Vegetables

If you want fresh, homegrown vegetables over winter or if you don’t have an outdoor space to place containers, indoor container gardening is a possible option. Of course, you cannot have a full garden in the house, but a bright, sunny window can be a site for growing vegetables. Some small-fruited tomatoes and peppers, several types of lettuce, radishes and many herbs are among the plants suitable for indoor gardening.

Follow the directions given above for pre­paring pots, watering, fertilizing and general care. However, note that plants will dry out less quickly indoors and will also grow more slowly, thus need­ing less fertilizer. To make watering easy, set the pots in large trays with 1 or 2 inches of decora­tive stones in them. Not only will this pre­vent having to move the plants in order to water them, which may discourage you from water­ing when you should, but it will also provide humid­ity, which is a major requirement especially during winter when the house is warm and dry.

A sunny window, prefer­ably facing south, is a must for indoor vegetable growing. Insuffi­cient light results in tall, spindly plants which fail to flower and set fruit. Fruiting vegetables, such as tomatoes and peppers, may need supple­mental light; try a combina­tion warm-white/cool-white fluorescent fixture.

Herbs are a prime choice for many indoor gardeners. Many herbs are less demanding than vege­table plants, and cooks enjoy snipping off a few sprigs of fresh parsley or chopping chives from the windowsill herb garden. Chives grow like small onions with leaves about 6 inches tall. These plants prefer cool conditions with good light, but will grow quite well on a windowsill in the kitchen. One or two pots of chives will pro­vide leaves for seasoning salads and soups. Plant seeds or small bulbs in a 6-inch pot. The plants should be about 1 inch apart over the entire sur­face area. It will require about 12 weeks from the time seeds are planted until leaves can be cut. For variety, try garlic or Chinese chives, which grow in a similar fashion and have a mild garlic flavor.

Parsley seeds can either be directly planted into 6-inch pots, or young healthy plants can be trans­planted from the garden. One vigorous plant per pot is enough. Standard parsley develops attrac­­tive green, curly leaves about 6 to 8 inches tall. Italian, or single-leaved parsley, has a slightly stronger flavor and is a favorite for pasta dishes. Leaves can be clipped about 10 to 12 weeks after planting the seeds.

Cilantro, the leaves of the young coriander plant, can be grown in the windowsill garden. Cilantro must be used fresh and is found in many Oriental and Mexican dishes. Grow cilantro as you would parsley. Thyme and other herbs will also grow well indoors under the right conditions.

Small-fruited tomato varieties, such as ‘Tiny Tim’, ‘Small Fry’ and the paste tomato, ‘Roma’, may be raised quite satisfactorily in the home. They will challenge your gardening ability and supply fruits which can be eaten whole, cooked or served with salad. The ‘Tiny Tim’ tomato grows to a height of about 12 to 15 inches. ‘Small Fry,’ which is about 3-feet tall, and ‘Roma’ will need more space and should be located on an enclosed porch or in a sun room. Several varieties have been developed for hanging baskets which may be worth experimenting with.

Some small-fruited peppers may be grown as houseplants. Like tomatoes, they prefer warm, bright conditions in order to grow well indoors. Tomato and pepper fruits will be ready to harvest about 10 weeks after planting. Whiteflies and aphids may be a problem on indoor tomato and pepper plants. Keep a close watch for these pests so that they do not become established in your planting. Yellow sticky traps, either purchased or homemade, are effective in trapping whiteflies. To control aphids, insecticidal soap or another pesticide approved for vegetable plants can be used. With an indoor garden, you are less likely to experience problems with such outdoor pests as tomato hornworms, corn earworm (in peppers) or late blight.

For a quick-growing crop, try radishes. They must be grown very rapidly if they are to be crisp and succulent. Scatter radish seeds on moist soil in a 6- or 8-inch pot. Cover with ¼-inch of soil and place a piece of glass or plastic wrap over the pot to conserve moisture until the seeds germinate. Carrots are slower but can be grown in the same way. Use small-rooted carrot varieties, such as ‘Little Finger,’ for best results indoors.

Experiment with various types of lettuce. Leaf lettuce and miniature ‘Tom Thumb’ butter­head are suggestions. Space them according to package directions, keep the soil moist and place in a very sunny spot.

If light is limited, an old standby for fresh taste and high food value is sprouted seeds. Almost any seeds can be sprouted: corn, barley, alfalfa, lentils, soybeans, rye, peas, radish, mung beans, sunflowers, etc. Use only special seeds for sprouting available from health food or grocery stores to avoid the possibility of getting seeds treated with poison. Any wide-mouthed con­tainer, such as a Mason or mayonnaise jar, is suitable. Soak the seeds overnight, drain them and place in the container. Cover with a sprouting lid or a double cheesecloth layer held with rubber bands. Set the container in a consistently warm spot. Rinse and drain the seeds two or three times daily. In less than a week, the sprouts will be 1- to 3-inches tall and ready for harvesting.

Vegetable Gardening

in the Fall

By planning and planting a fall vegetable garden, it is possible to have fresh vegetables up to and even past the first frost. When retail vegetable prices are on the rise, you can be reaping large and varied harvests from your still-productive garden site.

Many varieties of vegetables can be planted in mid- to late-summer for fall harvest. Warm-season crops, such as tomatoes, peppers, cucum­bers, squash, corn and beans, can be har­vested until the first killing frost. Cool-season crops, such as kale, turnips, mustard, broccoli and cab­bage, grow well during cool fall days and are able to withstand frosty weather. Timely planting is the key to a successful fall garden.

To determine when to plant a particular vege­table for the latest harvest in your area, you need to know the average date of the first killing frost (Figure 6.5) and the number of days to maturity for the particular crop variety. Choose the earliest-maturing varieties for late plantings. The formula below will help determine when to start your fall garden by calculating the number of days to count back from the first frost.

+    Number of days from seeding or transplanting to harvest

+    Fall Factor (2 weeks)

+    Frost Tender Factor, if applicable (3 weeks)

=    Days to count back from first frost date

The “Frost Tender Factor” is added only for crops that are sensitive to frost (corn, beans, cucum­bers, tomatoes, squash, etc.). These must mature 3-4 weeks before a frost to produce a reason­able harvest. The “Fall Factor” takes into account the slower growth that results from cooler weather and shorter days in fall, which amounts to about 2 weeks.

When planting fall crops, prepare the soil by restoring nutrients removed by spring and summer crops. A light layer of compost or aged manure, or a small application of complete fertilizer will boost soil nutrients in preparation for another crop.

Dry soil may make working the soil difficult and inhibit seed germination during midsummer. Plant fall vegetables when the soil is moist after a rain, or water the area thor­oughly a day or so before planting. Cover the seeds about twice as deeply as you do in spring. A standard trick for germinating seeds in midsummer is to plant the seeds and water them well. Place a board over the row until the sprouts just reach the soil sur­face and then remove the board. Plastic also works, but it must be anchored so that it does not blow away or the soil does not dry out under­neath. Plastic, especially black plastic, may cause the soil to get too hot. An organic mulch on top of the plastic will help keep the soil cool. Mulch­ing between rows can also help keep soil cool and decrease soil drying. In severe hot weather, a light, open type of mulch, such as loose straw or pine boughs, may be placed over the seeded row. This must be removed as soon as seedlings appear so that they receive full sun. Another possibility is to start transplants in a shaded coldframe or in a cool indoor area.

Once young plants are established, a heavier mulch may be used to hold moisture and control weeds. Irrigate when necessary so the young plants have sufficient moisture. Summer and fall are periods of peak insect activity, and these plantings often have severe insect problems.

Some of the best quality vegetables are produced during the warm days and cool nights of the fall season. These environmental conditions add sugar to sweet corn and crispness to carrots. Parsnips and collards are examples of crops that are very much improved by a touch of frost.

The fall garden gives you a chance to try again any spring failures you might have encoun­tered. Some crops, in fact, grow better in fall in certain areas. Cauliflower, carrots and broccoli are examples of crops which do not produce well in the southern areas of  New Mexico in spring because they do not reach maturity before the weather gets too hot.

Protection of vegetable plants during cold periods may extend your season even further. Although the last thing you want to think about in the hot days of summer is planting more crops to take care of, look ahead to the fall garden which offers its own satisfaction through its prolonged harvest of fresh vegetables, savings in food costs and the knowledge that you are making full use of your gardening space and season.

Care of Fall Crops

Fall garden care begins with the first arrival of frost. Your main concern then is to harvest all ripe, tender crops. Tomatoes, summer squash, melons, eggplant, cucumbers, peppers and okra are some of the crops that cannot withstand frost and should be picked immediately. Properly store vegetables until they are needed for eating or processing. If the frost warning is mild (no lower than 30°F), try covering tender plants that still hold an abundance of immature fruit. Baskets, burlap or canvas sacks, boxes, blankets or buckets will help protect them from frost. Warm days after the frost will allow some of the fruit to mature as long as the plants have this nightly frost protec­tion. Much depends on the garden’s micro­climate. If your spot is low and unsheltered, it is likely to be a frost pocket. Gardens sheltered from winds and on the upper side of a slope are less susceptible to early frost damage.

Cool-season crops, such as lettuce, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, spinach and Brussels sprouts, can withstand some cold. In fact, their flavor may be enhanced after a frost. In some areas of  New Mexico, cool-season crops cannot stay in the garden all winter, but they do not need to be harvested immediately either. Kale, spinach, evergreen bunching onions, parsley, parsnips, carrots and salsify are some crops that may sur­vive all winter in the garden. Most of these vegetables can be harvested as needed throughout winter and early spring.

Prepare perennial vege­tables for winter, too. Most will benefit from a topdressing of manure or compost and a layer of mulch which reduces dam­age from freezing and thawing. Dead-leaf stalks of perennial vegetables, such as asparagus, should be cut to the ground after their tops are killed by frost. Don’t forget strawberry beds. Remove any weeds that grew last summer. You can transplant some of the runner plants if you carefully dig a good-sized ball of soil with the roots. Mulch the bed well with a light material.

When tender crops have been harvested and over­wintering crops cared for, pull up all stakes and trellises in the garden except those stakes that are clearly marking the sites of overwintering plants. Clean stakes and trellises of plant material remnants and soil. After they are washed and dried, tie stakes in bundles and stack them so that they won’t get lost over winter. If possible, roll up trellises and tie them securely. Store these items in an area where they are out of the way and where rodents or other animals cannot damage or nest in them.

Preparing Soil for Winter

If you do not intend to garden throughout the year, soil should be prepared for winter before the weather becomes too cold. Pull up any dead or unpro­duc­tive plants and place them in the compost heap or on top of the soil to be tilled. Any diseased or insect-infested plant material should be removed from the garden as it may shelter over­wintering stages of these pests. If this plant material is left in the garden, dis­eases and insects are left behind that will begin to reproduce next spring and add to your pest problems.

To prevent this from occurring, either totally remove infested plant material from the garden or burn it. Burn­ing kills any diseases or insects that may be in plant wastes. Check the laws in your area before burning anything; you may need a per­mit. If you live near a wooded area, burning may be too risky. In this case, haul the diseased material away.

Winter cleanup also gives you the chance to add compost to the garden. Compost contains highly nutritious, decomposed plant materials and bene­ficial organisms; it is an excellent soil-builder. By spreading compost and other wastes on the soil and then plowing, you are adding nutrients to the soil for next year’s crop. The beneficial insects and microorganisms in the com­post will help integrate the compost with the soil and the added humus will improve soil struc­ture.

Excellent sources of organic material are available during fall. Sawdust and wood chips can be obtained this season from sawmills, and many farms and stables want to get rid of manure piles before winter. Leaves are also abundant, and non-gardening neighbors are usually glad to give away their leaves. Put some on the garden now and store some for mulching next year. Leaves will mat if layered too thickly and will not decompose quickly. You can help leaves break down more easily by running a lawn mower back and forth over the pile. Put the shredded leaves directly onto the garden or compost them.

If you wait until spring to add organic material to the garden, it may not have time to decompose and add its valuable nutrients to the soil by the time you are ready to plant, and then you may have to delay planting to a later date. Hot or very fresh manure can burn young seedlings. By adding these materials in fall, there is plenty of time for them to decompose and blend into the soil before planting. If you don’t have enough organic mate­rial for the entire garden, try to cover those areas that you want to be especially rich for next summer’s crop.

If the weather stays dry enough, you can plow or till in fall and winter. Turning under vegeta­tion in fall allows earlier planting in spring. It is especially good for heavy soils since they are exposed to freezing and thawing over winter; this helps improve soil structure. If you have a rainy fall or if the garden is steep and subject to ero­sion, you may decide to plant a cover crop for winter garden protection. A cover crop decreases erosion of the soil during winter, adds organic material when it is incorporated in spring, adds valuable nutrients and improves soil tilth and porosity. Winter cover crops should make some growth before hard frost kills them. Where you have fall crops growing, you can sow cover crop seed between rows a month or less before expected harvest. This way the cover crop gets a good start but will not interfere with vegetable plant growth. Mixtures of non-legumes and legumes are effec­tive. Some cover crops suit­able for winter use are listed in Table 6.11.

Prepare soil for cover crops by tilling under plant wastes from summer. Ask your county Exten­sion agent what the best type of cover crop for your area is and what rate to plant (pounds per 100 square feet). Broadcast the seed, preferably before rain, and rake it evenly into the soil. Spring planting may be some­what delayed by the practice of cover cropping since time must be allowed for the green manure to break down. If you have crops that need to be planted very early, you may prefer to leave a section of the garden bare or with a stubble mulch.

If time or weather prohibits either tilling or cover cropping, you may wish to let your garden lie under a mulch of compost, plant wastes or leaves all winter to be plowed or tilled under in spring. However, if you want to plant early next spring, a mulch of heavy materials, such as whole leaves, may keep the soil too cold and delay plant­ing. Chop the leaves finely so that they will break down over winter. Adding fertilizer high in nitro­gen will also help break down organic matter more quickly.

Season Extenders

To get the most out of a garden, you can extend the growing season by sheltering plants from cold weather in early spring and during fall. Very ambitious gardeners harvest greens and other cool-weather crops all winter by providing the right conditions. There are many ways to lengthen the growing season; your choice depends on the amount of time and money you want to invest.

Coldframes and Hot Beds

Coldframes, sun boxes and hot beds are relatively inexpensive, simple structures that provide a favorable environment for growing cool-weather crops in early spring, fall and even into winter months (Figure 6.10). Some are elaborate and require a large investment, but may be the best option for those who are serious about having fresh vegetables during winter.

Coldframes and sun boxes have no outside energy requirements, relying on the sun for their source of heat. Hot beds are heated by soil heat­ing cables, steam-carrying pipes or fresh, straw-filled manure buried beneath the rooting zones of plants. Heat is collected by these frames when sunlight penetrates the sash made of clear plastic, glass or fiberglass.

To ensure good drainage and maximum solar absorption, the ideal location for a coldframe is a southern or south­eastern expo­sure with a slight slope. A shel­tered spot with a wall or hedge to the north will provide protection against winter winds. Sinking the frame slightly into the ground also provides protection by using the earth for insulation. A walkway in front of the frame, ade­quate space behind the frame to remove the sash and weights to raise and lower the glass sashes make using a frame easier. Some cold­frames are light­weight enough to move between sections of the garden. Another possibility is the Dutch light, which is a large, portable, greenhouse-like structure that can be moved from place to place (Figure 6.11).

Passive solar energy storage is utilized in cold­frame design. For example, barrels painted black and filled with water absorb heat during the day and release it at night. The solar pod (Figure 6.12) provides this type of heat storage. Other cold­frame designs are very well-insulated and have a high back and a steep glass slope. Some have movable insulation that is folded up during the day and folded down at night or during extremely cold weather to protect growing plants.

A coldframe is also useful in early spring to harden-off seedlings which were started indoors or in a greenhouse. This hardening-off period is important as seedlings can suffer serious setbacks if they are moved from the warmth and protection of the house directly to the garden. The cold­frame provides a transition period for gradual adjust­ment to outdoor weather. It is also possible to start cool-weather crops in a coldframe, either transplanting them to the garden or letting them grow to maturity in the frame.

Spring and summer coldframe uses center around plant propagation. Young seedlings of hardy and half-hardy annuals can be started in a frame many weeks before they can be started in the garden. A portion of the soil can be replaced with sand, peat moss or some other suitable medium to root cuttings or to start sweet potato slips.

Fall is a good time to sow some cool-weather crops in frames. With adequate moisture and fer­ti­lization, most cool-season crops will continue to grow through early winter in the coldframe’s pro­tected envi­ron­ment. Depending on the harsh­ness of winter and whether addi­tional heating is used, your frame may continue to provide fresh greens, herbs and root crops throughout cold winter months.

Growing frames can be built with a variety of mate­rials, but wood and cinder blocks are the most common. Wooden frames are not difficult to build. Use decay-resistant wood, such as high quality cypress, or choose pressure-treated wood. Kits are commercially available and can be easily assembled; some kits even con­tain automatic ventilation equipment.

There is no standard size for a coldframe. Frame dimensions depend on the amount of avail­able space, desired crops, the size of the window sash and the permanency of the structure. Do not make the structure too wide for weeding and har­vesting; 4 to 5 feet is about the maximum width to comfortably reach across. The frame sash should be sloped southward for maximum sunlight expo­sure and absorption.

Insulation may be necessary if a sudden cold snap is expected. A simple method is to throw burlap sacks filled with leaves over the frame sash at night to protect plants from freezing. Another method is to stack bales of straw or hay against the frame.

Ventilation is most critical from late fall through early spring on clear, sunny days when temperatures rise above 45°F. The sash should be partially raised to prevent the buildup of extreme temperatures inside the frame. Lower or replace the sash early enough to conserve some heat for evening.

In summer, extreme heat and intensive sun­light can damage plants. This may be avoided by shading with lath sashes or old bamboo window blinds. To help reduce disease problems, water plants early in the day so that they will be dry before dark.

It is possible to convert a coldframe to a hot bed. For a manure-heated bed, remove 2 feet of soil (for better drainage, remove more soil and add a layer of gravel). Add an 18-inch layer of straw-filled horse manure and then cover with 6 inches of good soil. For an electric-heated bed, remove 8 or 9 inches of soil. Place thermostatic­ally-con­trolled electric cable in 6- to 8-inch loops on the soil, evenly spacing the cable but not allow­ing it to cross itself. Cover the cable with 2 inches of sand or soil, and then place hardware cloth on top to protect the cable. Finally, cover this with 4 to 6 inches of good soil.

Cloches and Row Covers

The cloche (pronounced klosh) was originally a bell-shaped glass jar set over delicate plants to protect them. However, many types of portable struc­tures which shelter plants from drying winds and cold air are now defined as cloches.

Cloches provide a greenhouse-like atmosphere for seeds and small plants in order to get an early start on the season or to extend the fall garden as long as possible. They are either placed over indi­­vidual plants or can be tunnel-shaped to cover whole rows (Figure 6.13). Cloches trap solar radi­ation and moisture evaporating from the soil and plants. Simple forms are a hotkap or plastic jugs cut in two pieces. More elaborate cloches include fiber­glass tunnels, special plastic cloches or row covers with slits in them to provide aeration, as well as panes of glass connected by specially designed hinges to form a tent. There are a variety of forms on the market now, some more effective than others, and some can be easily constructed from household materials.

Cloches are generally lightweight, portable and reusable. It is preferable to have a design that can be completely closed at night to prevent frost dam­age and opened or removed during the day for air circulation. Cloches should either be anchored down or be heavy enough not to blow away.

Greenhouses

There is an abundant selection of greenhouses on the market, and building plans for even more types are available. If you intend to purchase or build a greenhouse, thoroughly investigate all the avail­able options, preferably visiting as many home greenhouses in operation as possible. List your needs and wants ahead of time and determine what uses you have in mind for your greenhouse. Compare the various alternatives on that basis. Many companies will send free specifications and descriptions of the greenhouses they offer; look in gardening magazines for advertisements.

The conservation-minded person may find an attached solar greenhouse desirable even though the initial cost is generally higher than that of a simple, freestanding, uninsulated greenhouse. For maximum effectiveness and lower heating costs, the north and side walls can be insulated, leaving liberal glass area for winter sunlight absorption on the southern side. Adding some type of solar radiation storage also increases the energy potential of solar greenhouses. When attached to a house, these green­houses can provide supplemental household heat, but there is a trade-off between heating the home and growing plants in the greenhouse (especially heat-loving plants). Some researchers have concluded that a good compromise is to grow cool-weather crops during the winter in an attached solar greenhouse instead of crops that have high heat requirements, such as winter tomatoes.

Shading

It is not always easy to start seeds or young plants for fall crops in the hot, dry conditions of July and August in New Mexico. One simple way to pro­vide shade in an otherwise exposed area is to build a portable shade frame for placing over rows after seeds are sown or transplants are set out. This can be the same type of frame used to start early seeds but with lath strips or an old bamboo shade instead of plastic.

Herbs

Growing Herbs in New Mexico

Herbs are plants that are used as flavoring agents. The common herbs used in cooking are referred to as culinary herbs. Mild or savory herbs impart a delicate flavor to foods while the stronger or pungent herbs add zest to foods. A number of additional herbs are used for medicinal or ornamental purposes. This section, however, deals mainly with culinary herbs used in cooking. These herbs are attractive and varied so their ornamental value is also important. The leaves of most herbs are the part of the plant that is used although the seeds or roots of some herbs can also be used. Herbs are used in small quantities, so usually only a few plants are necessary to provide sufficient fresh and dried herbs for the entire season. Herb gardening is becoming popular throughout New Mexico. New enthusiasm for “natural” foods has heightened this interest. In addition, herbs add flavor and zest to creative cookery. Most food recipes can be accentuated with proper use of culinary herbs. Table 6.12 lists common herb cultures and their uses.

Location

The ornamental value of herbs enables them to be grown in flower beds, in rock gardens as borders or as corner plantings. Some herbs are annuals while others are perennial or come up year after year. One can locate annual herbs in annual flower gardens or vegetable gardens. Locate perennial herbs at the side of the garden where they won’t interfere with next year’s soil preparation. Many gardeners establish a small herb garden near the home. Generally, a 6‑ to 10‑foot square or rectangular area is sufficient. Circular or free‑form designs can also be used. Use the information contained in this publication for proper spacing, and locate the tallest herbs to the back of the plot.

As the Garden Grows

Care for the herb garden is similar to a vegetable or flower garden. Select a sunny, well‑drained location. Apply a balanced fertilizer but avoid excessive use of nitrogen fertilizers. Consult the county Extension office for soil preparation, fertilization and other good garden cultural practices. Water as necessary during dry periods. Generally, about 1 inch of water is needed per week, if not supplied by natural rainfall. A mulch helps conserve soil moisture and reduces weed growth as well. Mints prefer moist soil so they require more frequent watering.

Establishing the

Herb Garden

Establish annual and biennial herbs by planting seeds directly in the garden or starting seeds indoors for later transplanting to the garden. Save seed produced by the herb plants for next year’s crop, or obtain seed from your local garden center or seed catalog. To save your own seed, harvest the entire seedhead after it has dried on the plant. Then allow seeds to dry in a protected location that is cool and dry. After the seeds are thoroughly dry, thresh the seed from the heads and discard the trash. Store in labeled jars in a dark, cool, dry location. Some herb seeds such as dill, anise, caraway or coriander can be used for flavorings. Perennial herbs can be propagated by cuttings or by division. Divide plants every 3 or 4 years in the early spring. Dig up the plants and cut into several sections. You can also cut 4‑ to 6‑inch sections of the stem, and root these by placing the cuttings in moist sand in a shady area. In 4 to 8 weeks roots should form on these cuttings. Herbs such as sage, winter savory and thyme can be propagated by cuttings. Chives, lovage and tarragon can be propagated by dividing the roots or crowns. Apple mint forms runners or stems that run along the ground so these can be easily propagated by covering a portion of the runner and allowing it to form roots.

Harvesting

Leaves of many herbs such as parsley and chives can be harvested for fresh seasonings. On these plants, gradually remove some of the leaves as needed, but don’t remove all the foliage at one time. These plants produce over a long period if they are well cared for. On rosemary and thyme, clip the tops when the plants are in full bloom. Usually, leaves and flowers are harvested together. Basil, fennel, mint, sage, summer savory, sweet marjoram, tarragon and winter savory are harvested just before the plants start to bloom. Chervil and parsley leaves can be cut and dried anytime. Harvest lovage leaves early during the first flush of growth.

Drying

After harvesting, hang herbs in loosely tied bundles in a well‑ventilated room. You can also spread the branches on a screen or cheesecloth, or spread herb leaves on flat trays when only the leaves are needed. To keep dust off the herbs, use a cloth or similar protective cover that allows moisture to pass through. It us generally best to dry naturally in a cool, dark room rather than use artificial heat. Experts can use artificial heat, but you may lose flavor and quality by attempting this drying method.

Storage 

When herbs are thoroughly dry, seal them in air‑tight containers such as fruit jars and store in a cool, dark location. Any sign of moisture accumulating in the jars indicates that the herbs are not thoroughly dry. Pulverize flower stalks before putting them in jars. Store foliage herbs either pulverized or as whole leaves, depending on their intended use.

 Potted herbs 

Some herbs can be placed in pots and grown indoors during the winter months. Place in a sunny south window, and use care similar to houseplants. Either dig up herbs toward the end of the growing season and place in pots, or start from seed indoors. Basil, chives, mint, parsley, sweet marjoram and rosemary are best adapted to pot culture.

Notes