Vegetable Garden: Basics and Plant Selections Site/Location Full Sun Equals 6 to 8 Hours of Sun Per Day
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Vegetable Garden: Basics and Plant Selections Site/Location Full sun equals 6 to 8 hours of sun per day. Close enough that you will want to go it. Water/hose will reach it. Start small, 10’ by 10’ will provide vegetables while still being manageable to weed, water, plant and harvest. What to grow Vegetables that you like and will eat and that are suited to the location. The recommended plants are suggestions only. Visit our fact sheet Seed Companies for more ideas. Soil www.soiltest.uconn.edu. Basic home grounds test, a Standard Morgan test. Add amendments as recommended. Compost or aged manure worked well into soil. Plotting area, single rows, wide rows or blocks. They all work. Tall crops on the north. Track shadows so all plants get sun. Timing Plants that reach harvest in under 120 days are considered short season crops and those that take longer are long season crops. Subtract the days to harvest (on seed packets) from the first fall frost date to find the last planting date. • Last spring frost date in CT is May 15th. • First fall frost date in CT is Sept. 15th. Cool Season Crops Seed packet will say “Plant as early as soil can be worked”. A good test to tell if the soil is workable is to make a ball of soil in your hand and poke it with a finger, if it falls apart like chocolate cake crumbles, it is ready. If the soil is too wet, the ball stays together leaving only an indent from finger. Working the soil when it is too wet will ruin the structure of the soil and cause compaction. Warm Season Crops Seed or transplant info will say “Plant after all danger of frost has past”. This varies from year to year. May 15th is only an average. Watch daily weather reports for frost warnings and dropping overnight temperatures. Warm season crops will be killed by freezing temperatures and frost. Planting warm season crop transplants in cold soil will stunt the roots. Warm season seeds placed in cold soil will not germinate until a higher soil temp is reached. Water Vegetables need one to two inches of water per week by rain or hose. Feel the soil down where the roots are located. If it is dry, water it. Soaker or trickle hoses are best. They provide a slow, deep watering. Shallow watering keeps the roots up near the surface where it is hotter and dries out quicker. Deep roots make better plants. Keep foliage dry; apply water in the morning, never in the evening. Wet foliage invites fungal disease. Feed Fertilize when transplanting or when seeds grow into plants with two sets of leaves. Use manure or packaged vegetable fertilizers with balance nutrients such as 10-10-10. Side dress when plants begin to flower and set fruit by again applying fertilizer lightly a few inches away from plants. Follow label directions. Do not over-fertilize as this can harm plants and add to polluted waterways. Weeds Get weeds out. They compete with and steal nutrients and water away from vegetable plants. Hand pull weeds while still small. Cultivate weekly or more often, by hoeing or scratching the surface to one inch deep of garden soil discouraging weed growth around vegetable plants. Apply mulch around plants, but not touching plants, to block light to weed seeds in soil. This stops their germination. Straw, grass clippings, chopped leaves and pine needles are all good mulches. Insects If you find an insect in the garden, identify it. It may be a good guy providing pollination or predation on the bad guys. Look it up in a book or contact the UConn Home and Garden Education Center for correct ID. You can call or email us [email protected]. Harvest Pick produce when ripe. Not picking tells the plant its job in life is done. It has produced a fruit containing a seed and then it will die. Leaf crops will send up a seed stalk. Continuing to remove fruits and leaves will keep the plant trying to make more seed, therefore providing more produce. Plant Selections Resistant varieties codes: AL-Alternaria DM-Downy Mildew F-Fusarium Wilt M-Mosaic Virus NNematodes PM-Powdery Mildew V-Verticillium Wilt Plant Variety Cool/Warm Short/Long Least/Most Light/Heavy Early Frost Weather Season Space Feeder Resistance (Days to Required Harvest) Artichoke Globe Warm Long Most Heavy (100-150) Artichoke Jerusalem Cool Long Most Heavy (130) Arugula Cool Short Least Light (40) Asparagus Jersey Giant (F), Cool Short Most Light Viking KB3 Beans Bush Warm Short (45- Moderate Light Green: Provider, 70) Grenoble, Derby (M,PM), Strike (M) Bush Yellow: Warm Short (45- Moderate Light Gold Mine, Indy 70) Gold, Sunburst Warm Short (50- Least Light Pole: 70) Fortex, Kentucky Blue, Scarlet Runner Lima: Warm Moderate Least Light Eastland (DM), (60-80) Fordhook 242 Broad or Fava: Cool Moderate Least Light Broad Improved, (75-85) Windsor Soybean: Warm Short (45- Light Beer Friend, 65) Envy Moderate Beets Red: Cool Short (50- Least Heavy X Bull's Blood, 60) Detroit Dark, Red Ace Golden: Cool Short (50- Least Heavy X Burpee's Golden, 60) Golden Beet Greens: Cool Short (40- Least Heavy X Lutz Green Leaf 50) Broccoli Arcadia (DM), Cool Moderate Moderate Heavy X Goliath, (65-70) Marathon (DM), Parkman Brussel's Jade Cross, Cool Long Heavy X Sprouts Oliver (90-180) Moderate Cabbage Early Season: Cool Moderate Heavy X Charmant (F), (50-70) Tendersweet (F), Most Winner Midseason: Cool Moderate Most Heavy X Blue Dynasty (F), (70-85) Blue Lagoon (F) Late Season: Cool Long Most Heavy X Blue Thunder (F), (100-110) Roulette, Danish Ballhead Red: Cool Moderate Most Heavy X Red Dynasty, (75-90) Red Express Savoy: Cool Moderate Most Heavy X Alcosa (F), (80-85) Savoy Blue Chinese: Cool Moderate Most Heavy X Blues, Jade (80) Pagoda, Minuet Bok Choy (Pak Cool Short (30- Least Heavy X Choi): 50) Joi Choi, Mei Qing Carrots Bolero (A,PM), Cool Short (50- Least Light X Nelson, 75) Sugarsnax 54 (AL) Cauliflower Freemont, Snow Cool Moderate Heavy X Crown, Graffiti (48-95) (purple) Most Celery Utah 52-70, Cool Long Least Heavy X Ventura (80-120) Corn, Argent, Warm Long Most Heavy Sweet Delectable, Fleet, (60-100) Lancelot, Precious Gem Collards Champion, Flash, Cool Moderate Moderate Heavy X Top Bunch (60-85) Cucumber Pickling: Warm Short (50- Moderate if Heavy Alibi, Calypso 70) trellised (PM), Cross Country, H-19 Little Leaf Slicing: Warm Short (50- Moderate if Heavy Dasher II (PM), 70) trellised Diva, General Lee, Marketmore 76 (PM) Dill Banquet, Warm Moderate Least Light Fernleaf Foliage (70) Seeds (90) Eggplant Black Bell, Fairy Warn Long (70- Moderate Heavy Tale, Orient 85 from Express, Vittoria transplant) Endive Bianca Riccia, Cool Long Least Light Lorca, Salad (85-100) King Escarole Full Heart, Nataly Cool Long Least Light (85-100) Garlic German Extra Cool Short Least Light X Hardy, Russian (40) Red Kale Blue Ridge, Red Cool Short (50- Moderate Light X Russian, 55) Toscano, Winterbor Kohlrabi Early White Cool Short (42- Moderate Light X Vienna, Gigante, 70) Winner Leek Lincoln, King Cool Long Least Light Richard (100-120) Lettuce Butterhead Cool Short (60- Least Light 70) Leaf Cool Short (50- Least Light 60) Romaine Cool Short (65- Least Light 70) Melon Canteloupe: Warm Moderate Most Heavy Burpee Hybrid, (85) (High N Harper Hybrid before (AL, F,M) flowering, lower after) Honeydew: Warm Moderate Heavy Jenny LInd, (75-80) (High N Morning Ice before (F,PM), Passport Most flowering, low after) Watermelon: Warm Long Most Heavy Sweet Favorite, (95) Moon & Stars Mustard Giant Red, Green Cool Short Least Light Wave, Osaka Greens Purple (30-40) Seeds (8095) Onions Yellow: Cool Long Least Light Candy, Copra, (100-175) Frontier Red: Cool Long Least Light Bennie's Red, (100-175) Mars Green: Scallion Cool Short (20- Least Light 30) Okra Cajun Delight, Warm Short (50- Moderate Heavy Clemson 60) Spineless Parsley Dark Green Warm Moderate Least Light Italian, Titan, (70-90) Forest Green Parsnip Andover, Lancer Cool Long Least Light X (100-120) Peas Early: Cool Short Least Light Coral, Dakota, (60) Spring Late:Lincoln, Mr. Cool Moderate Least Light BIg, Tall (65-75) Telephone Snap: Cool Moderate Least Light Cascadia, Sugar (60-75) Ann, Sugarsnap Snow Pea: Cool Moderate Least Light Little Sweetie, (60-80) Oregon Giant Peppers Sweet Bell: Warm Moderate Moderate Light, avoid New Ace, Red (60-95) high N Knight, King of the North Sweet Long: Warm Moderate Moderate Light, avoid Big Bertha, Giant (75-90) high N Marconi, Lipstick Hot Long: Warm Moderate Moderate Light, avoid Anaheim, Long (65-90) high N Red Slim, Super Chili, Thai Hot Hot Round Warm Moderate Moderate Light, avoid (65-90) high N Pumpkin Large: Warm Long Most Heavy Howden, (90-120) Connecticut Field Small: Warm Long Most Heavy Baby Bear, Wee- (95-100) Be-Little Novelty: Warm Long Most Heavy Prizewinner, (110) Atlantic Giant, Jarrahdale Radish Cherriette, Easter Cool Short (25- Least Light X Egg, Everest 70) Rutbaga Laurentian, Joan, Cool Long Light X Purple Top (90-110) Most Rhubarb McDonald Strain, Cool Moderate Moderate Light Victoria When stalks are 12-18" Spinach Spring: Cool Short (40- Least Light X Bloomsdale, 50) Longstanding, Tyee Fall: Cool Short (40- Least Light X Giant Winter, 50) Melody, Olympus Squash Summer, Yellow: Warm Moderate Most Moderate Early Profilic (60) Straightneck, Sunray (PM), Goldrush Summer, Green: Warm Moderate Most Moderate Ambassador (60) (PM), Cocozelle, Spineless Beauty, Eight Ball, Raven Bush, Scallop: Warm Moderate Most Moderate Peter Pan, (50-70) Sunburst, Sunny Delight Winter: Warm Long Most Heavy Betternut (PM), (60-100) Bon Bon, Waltham Butternut, Sunshine, Table Queen, Cream of the Crop, New England Blue Hubbard Swiss