ID-128 University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment Cooperative Extension Service Home Vegetable Gardening in Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service | Agriculture and Natural Resources | Family and Consumer Sciences | 4-H Youth Development | Community and Economic Development Acknowledgments Contributors to this publication: Richard Durham Department of Horticulture, Editor Rachel Rudolph Mark Williams Shawn Wright Department of Horticulture Ric Bessin Department of Entomology Brad Lee Department of Plant and Soil Sciences For further information on home vegetable gardening, contact Richard Durham, Department of Horticulture, University of Kentucky. Mention or display of a trademark, proprietary product or firm in text or figures does not constitute an endorsement and does not imply approval to the exclusion of other suitable products or firms. Contents Plans and Preparations .........................................................................3 Before You Begin ...........................................................................3 Choosing a Site ...............................................................................4 Organic Gardening ........................................................................4 Preparing the Soil ..........................................................................4 Preparing a New Garden Site ....................................................6 Crop Rotation ..................................................................................7 Pest Control .....................................................................................7 Planting ......................................................................................................9 General Considerations ...............................................................9 Transplants .......................................................................................9 Growing More with Less Space .......................................................13 Intensive Gardening ...................................................................13 Container Gardening ..................................................................14 Mini-Gardens .................................................................................16 One Garden Plot: Three Garden Seasons ....................................17 Front cover: Pepper Pot-a-peno F1 is a 2021 Edible-Vegetable The Spring Garden ......................................................................17 Award Winner from All-America Selections (AAS). Pot-a-peno is a The Summer Garden ..................................................................17 jalapeno-type pepper with a compact growth habit of less than 15 The Fall Garden .............................................................................18 inches making it well suited to culture in containers, hanging bas- kets, and small urban gardens. The plants are loaded with small, Extending the Growing Season..............................................18 3-4 inch peppers with traditional jalapeno spiciness that some in- Caring for Your Vegetables during the Growing Season .......21 dicate is a little milder than traditional jalapenos. Look for full sized fruit about 45 days after transplanting and red fruit after about 60 Irrigating .........................................................................................21 days. For more information about this and other AAS Winners visit Mulching ........................................................................................ 23 the AAS web site at: www.all-americaselections.org. Fertilizing ....................................................................................... 23 All photos courtesy of All-America Selections Compost ........................................................................................ 24 Cover Crops Protect Garden Plots ........................................ 25 Diseases, Insects and Weeds ........................................................... 27 Disease Control ........................................................................... 27 Insect Control ............................................................................... 29 Weed Control ............................................................................... 33 Storing Vegetables .............................................................................. 36 What You Should Know about Asparagus through Watermelons ..................................................37 Asparagus, Beans .........................................................................37 Beets, Broccoli .............................................................................. 38 Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage ...................................................... 39 Carrots, Cauliflower, Chinese Cabbage, Collards ............ 40 Cucumber, Eggplant ...................................................................41 Garlic, Kale, Leeks, Lettuce .......................................................42 Muskmelons, Mustard Greens ............................................... 43 Okra, Onions, Parsnips .............................................................. 44 Peas, Peppers, Potatoes ............................................................ 45 Pumpkins, Radishes, Rhubarb .................................................47 Southern Peas, Spinach, Squash, Sweet Corn .................. 48 Sweet Potatoes ............................................................................ 49 Swiss Chard, Tomatoes ............................................................. 50 Turnips .............................................................................................51 Watermelons ................................................................................ 52 Gardening Resources ......................................................................... 54 Tables and Figures Plans and Preparations .........................................................................3 Caring for Your Vegetables during the Growing Season ......21 Table 1. Average vegetable yields and amounts Table 16. Critical times to water vegetables. ......................21 to plant per person. .............................................................3 Figure 9. To encourage deep rooting, thoroughly Figure 1. Taking a soil sample. ...................................................5 water the upper 6 - 8 inches of soil (left). Shallow Table 2. Rate (lb/1000 sq ft)1 of agricultural watering (right) promotes shallow development limestone needed to raise soil pH to 6.4. .....................5 of roots, resulting in poor growth and increased Figure 2. Effect of change in pH on the availability risk of injury under severe weather conditions. ...... 22 of plant nutrients. .................................................................5 Figure 10. Trickle system for a garden that is too Table 3. Suggested application of ordinary far from a water supply. ................................................... 22 powdered sulfur to reduce the pH of an 8-inch Figure 11. Trickle system for favorite plants layer of soil, as indicated in pt/100 sq ft.1 .....................6 (i.e., giant pumpkin, early tomatoes, etc.). ................ 22 Table 4. Phosphate, potash, and nitrogen. ...........................6 Figure 12. One trickle line for every two rows. ................. 22 Figure 13. Trickle tubes. ............................................................ 23 Planting .....................................................................................................9 Figure 14. Installation of trickle irrigation under Figure 3. A large tray can be sectioned into rows using a black plastic mulch. ........................................................... 23 ruler or similar sharp-edged instrument. Once seeds are sown in the “furrows,” cover the seeds with a Figure 15. Layers for a compost pile. ................................... 24 growing medium using a blunt instrument or your Table 17. Recommended times for sidedressing hand. .........................................................................................9 vegetables. ........................................................................... 24 Figure 4. Compressed peat pellets make plant growing Figure 16. Vegetable crop timetable. .................................. 25 easy. ...........................................................................................9 Diseases, Insects and Weeds ........................................................... 27 Table 5. Use this vegetable planting guide to plant Table 18. Fungicides for use in the home vegetable vegetables the right way. .................................................10 garden. ................................................................................... 28 Table 6. Transplant production data. ....................................11 Table 19. Measuring abbreviations. ...................................... 28 Figure 5. Cold frame....................................................................11 Table 20. Measurement comparisons.................................. 28 Growing More with Less Space .......................................................13 Table 21. Powdered pesticide. ................................................ 28 Figure 6. Raised bed. ..................................................................13 Table 22. Liquid pesticide. ....................................................... 28 Table 7. Typical