Vegetable Gardening

Pat Patterson

OSU Extension Service in Lane County

996 Jefferson St. Eugene, OR

Growing Through Knowing

Keep an open mind and learn all you can.

What is the Right Way to Garden?

• Let me count the ways.• Gardening is a very personal choice and

the choices are many.• Permaculture, biodynamic, strict organic,

organic without the capital O, square foot gardening and so many more.

• Garden to suit your site and preferences, but please garden with your garden, respecting the ecosystem of the whole.

Gardening Should Be Enjoyable!

• Plan it for ease of maintenance• Plan it so you can continue to garden all

your life, regardless• It is your garden, your design is totally

your choice, but careful choice = Joy• Best use of space & resources• Make it as complete an ecosystem as

feasible.

Why Raised Beds?

• Grow more in less space• Maintain a more stable biosystem• Raised beds are easier on your body & on

your plants.• Raised beds put you in control• Garden year round

Concrete Block

Straw Bale• Use straw bales for walls

Later in the Year

Lasagna Garden• No till garden. Layers of "ingredients" are put

over the soil and allowed to decompose. All planting is done over the existing soil.

• Cover area with wet cardboard or newspapers, overlapping the edges. Add 1-2”of compost or other organic material. Add several inches of organic material. Alternate layers of compost and organic material up to 12”. Water until the garden is the consistency of a damp sponge.

• Add fertilizer at planting and mulch as necessary.

Lasagna Garden

Bean Structure

Straw Bale Gardening

Diagonal Trellis for Tomatoes

Winter Garden under Trellis

Commercial cloche, has cover

Happy Red Winter kale

Carport Kit Greenhouse

• Most will not stand up to a snow & ice load!

The Wild Food Garden

• Consider seriously learning which weeds are edible and including them in your meals. Humans ate 176 different plants at one time. And now? Edible weeds are frequently more nutritious than their tame cousins.

• Chickweed, bittercress, purslane, amaranth, lambsquarter, shepherds-purse and so many more! Be sure of your identification.

Garden Smarter

Not Harder!

Sustainable Gardening Isworking with nature rather than attempting to dominate. It means, first and foremost, building healthy soil, since healthy soil grows healthy plants that resist insects and disease. A holistic approach that concentrates on natural processes, based on the interrelatedness of living organisms.

Relies heavily on the natural breakdown of organic matter by soil life

It is not a “don’t do” list

Sustainable Gardening

Capable of being continued with minimal long-term effect on the environment: sustainable agriculture.Stewardship

Always assess the true costs

• Eco-cost of material– Transport cost– Where sourced– Packaging– Environmental

impact at the source– Impact on the garden

ecosystem

Sun, Water, Temperature

The Growth Factory

WaterThe transport system

for photosynthesis

Enzymes, fungi,bacteria, etc.

Facilitators.

NutrientsThe building blocks

for photosynthesizedsubstances

SunThe true source of all energy

for photosynthesis.The true plant food

The Growth Factory

And air!

Rule of nutrient availability

Water Movement

• How H2O moves in soil in contact with atmosphere– Like to like– Like to dissimilar– Rocks for drainage?

• Pore space (Macro & Micro)– Saturated, Gravitational water, cohesive &

adhesive water

Fine Soil over Coarse Soil

Later

Breakthrough

Ways to Water• Mother Nature’s rain• Rainbird sprinkler• Oscillating sprinkler• Hand watering• Furrow• Drip• Soaker hose

Drip IrrigationMany different systems!

It Is about SoilSoilless mixes & the myth of sterile medium

Compost

The Soil vs. dirt: live vs. tracked in

What is your soil like??

Porosity

Managing, esp. clay & sand

End goal: Tilth & life

The GardenerThe ultimate gardener is the natural processWhen another gardener steps in the process is always changed, be it ant or human.Our gardens are our created ecosystem.Can we modify & yet not disrupt excessively?

For the Successful Garden• Proper timing• Proper plant selection• Proper soil care• Proper siting• Proper observation-• Proper plant care: fertilizer, water,

prootection• Proper harvest and storage

Maintain Growth Momentum

Vibrant exuberant Growth-Our goal

Record KeepingThis distinguishes the real gardener

– 3x5 cards or garden journal or computer– Notebook & pencil in garden– Calendar– Mailbox in garden to store notes– Mini-max thermometer in garden– Soil thermometer– Camera

What to Grow• Family preference• Varies by Season• Varies by Location• Many other plants are

also desirable in a vegetable garden.

The Variety Is the Key

• A major benefit of starting your own seeds is the wealth of cultivars then available to you at just the right timing.

• For spring and winter gardening, choosing the correct variety is your key.

• Allow 20-25% more time than on the packet• For summer crops follow the 20% rule because

of our cool nights.• Try saving seed to develop a plant best suited to

your microclimate.

Hybrid or Heirloom?

• How many of you use hybrids?• How many use heirlooms?• How many save own seeds?

Protected Transplants

Companion PlantingTrap croppingSymbiotic nitrogen fixationNurse croppingBeneficial habitatsPlanting for bio-supressionEnhancing biodiversityMuch unproven lore

Intensive PlantingSuccession & Interplanting

Keeping each space productive is the secret. It also will diversify your garden, make it healthier and reduce weed & pest invasion.

Succession

• What plants are suitable for this?• What is normal time between plantings?• How do you maintain a stockpile of

transplants to succession plant?• How about seasonal succession?• What about the soil in a succession

planting?

Interplanting

• Long season & short season – carrots & radishes

• Heavy & light feeders – lettuce & parsnips

• Tall & shade tolerant– Pole beans and lettuce

• N fixers & heavy feeders– Beans & eggplant

3 Sisters3 Sisters is most famous – Corn, Beans, Squash. Corn, the oldest sister stands tall in center for support for beans. Squash is next sister, grows over mound protecting other plants from weeds & some pests and keeping soil cool & moist. Prickly squash may discourage raccoons. Beans, third sister, keep soil fertile. Cautions?

Weed Control?• Prevent competition• Invasive plants• Learn to recognize

bad weeds and control while very small!

• Weeds as a crop– Edibles– Beneficial insects

Soil Life• Moles to microbes,

the soil is alive and teeming.

• If any part of the soil web is disturbed, all parts are disturbed. Till as little as possible

• Type of plant determines biolifepresent.

Building the Web of Life

Life builds on organic matterProper pH and water levels enhance lifeAvoid sudden shocks to the systemDiversity builds a healthy web of life below

and above the soil line.Diversity of nutrients and of plants

Plant Talk

• Plants may compete or cooperate.• Plant roots exude substances which may

turn away competing roots or enhance their growth.

• Plant roots attract other soil life forms such as fungi, bacteria, soil mites.

• Decaying plant roots also fuel the soil web

Plant Partnerships

• Up to 80% of the plant’s sugars go to the roots and up to 80% of that is put into the soil to attract and feed bacteria and fungi

•The drawing in of the micro-organisms then builds the soil structure, releases nutrients and minimizes diseases. Soil toxins are also broken down.

Create Your Own Organic Matter

• Use most garden leftovers in compost• Hauling in is feasible only if the energy

cost is less than the value of the OM.• True energy costs must be calculated

even for organics.• Mulches• Cover crops• Is the closed circle possible?

Mulching• Mulches can be organic or inorganic• Organic mulches add to the soil

system as they break down• Organic mulches may keep soil wetter

and colder at the beginning of the season

• Mulches prevent erosion and compaction

• Mulches prevent most weeds

Cover Crops• Cover crops :

– prevent erosion and compaction– provide for better air and water penetration– hold nutrients– produce organic matter for next year– provide habitat for beneficial insects– reduce weed invasion– may even be edible– Easy weeds make a great cover crop

Types of cover crops• Legume cover crops

add nitrogen• Grain cover crops add

large amounts of OM• Small-flowered nectar

crops enhance beneficials

• A mix is best

Winter Garden with Chickweed Cover Crop

Manure SafetyFresh manures should always be

thoroughly composted before use in the growing food garden.Manures may be contaminated with E. coli

or salmonella.Fresh manures may also carry weed

seeds, symphylans or parasites.Withdrawal to harvest for raw manure is

120 days if any edible parts may touch or get splashed.

The Eye of the Gardener

One of the best things you can do at allseasons for your plants is visit the gardenfrequently. Do some light weed control See if anything is broken Bait for slugs and snails or hunt them

down Make sure you are harvesting on time.

The Joy of Winter in the Greenhouse

Hands-on Seed Tapes

Crape paper, Elmer’s school glue, seeds and toilet paper

Transplants

• Why use?• Potting on• Purchasing• Hardening off• Cool vs. warm

season plants

Managing the Microclimate

•Heat enhancers•Cooling•Protecting from rain•Follow the sun or steal some sun

Cold Frames & Hot Beds

• A cold frame is a miniature greenhouse which can be vented. It is used for hardening off & early growing on.

• A Hot bed is the same structure but heated by manure, electrical cable or hot water pipes. It is especially good for promoting root growth and doing cuttings.

Cold Frame for Transplants

Mini-Greenhousesfor Hardening Off

Protected Transplants

Winter Protection

Modifying Our MicroclimateSeason Extenders

Cold frames– Hotcaps– Cloches– Greenhouses– Row coversGround Treatments– Ground cloth– Plastic– Mulches

Hotcap

Tomatoes Under Fiberglass

Long Cloche with Row Cover

Cooling Plants in Summer

• Use existing shade of plants or buildings• Evaporation• Use shade cloth

– Regular shade cloth on poles– Bridal netting or Reemay™– Very light sheet– Cheesecloth

Rain Protection

• Keep soil covered to reduce compaction• Keep plants covered by low cloches to

break the force of the rain, hail, snow etc. • Cover the soil with mulch, plants, or

landscape cloth.• Protecting plants and soil from rain

compaction is especially important for the fall/winter garden.

Trouble Shooting

• Don’t overdo N use as it disrupts calcium and other nutrient metabolism. Increases risk of disease and sucking pests and may degrade flavor and nutrition and retard maturation.

• Small or woody beets: crowded, drought• Cabbage split: alternating wet and dry, too

much Nitrogen, too mature

Trouble Shooting• Blossom drop on warm season crops:

nights below 60, stunted plants, very high day temps, lack of water, excess water

• Blossom end rot: alternating wet and dry. Calcium problem.

• Poor growth and/or small fruit in tomatoes & other transplanted crops. Transplants held in pots too long. Inadequate fertilizer. Too cold or too hot.

Trouble Shooting

• Poor or slow germination. Wrong soil temps, Soil dries out. Planted too deep. Too wet. Poor seed.

• Bolting: stressed, too hot, temperature swings, too long in pots, poor timing, variety

• Radishes/carrots with thin roots: not thinned, high temps and long days, too much N

• Onion bulbs small: timing, wrong variety, crowded, lack of moisture early on, not enough light, not enough fertilizer

Trouble Shooting

• Corn: Irregular kernels: poor pollination (wind), lack of potassium, crowding. Tassellate ears: freak, often related to weather

• Green beans with weird pods: temps in 90s, cuke beetle, drought, bad seed

• Odd shaped cukes: drought. Cool temps. Poor pollination.

Trouble Shooting• Misshapen tomatoes: variety, low

temperatures (catfacing), insect damage• Hairy root crops: manure in soil• Cucumbers bitter: variety, temp. fluctuations

over 20 deg.• Melons tasteless or nasty: cold & wet as

ripening, too much nitrogen, overwatering• Transplants turned whitish and died:

sunburn• White on tomatoes or peppers, sunscald

General Growing Tips

• Maintain Growth Momentum• Wet at night, fungus delight• Deep water for deep roots• Fertilize only where needed• If short of water, space plants out• Harvest at the proper maturity

General Growing Tips

• Never handle wet plants• Don’t spray or fertilize highly stressed

plants• Don’t overdo supplying nitrogen• Be very gentle with the roots• Get to know your plants and soil

Harvest & Storage Tips

• Cut, don’t break• Harvest when ready, don’t delay• Retarding harvest• Speeding up harvest readiness• Undamaged produce stores best• Learn the harvestable parts, i.e. pea

tendrils and pea pods, radish leaves etc.

Clean up, but not too Much• Leave the garden messy for winter• Remove any infested, infected plants• Pruning on roses, raspberries (before new

growth)• Leave lots of cover for beneficials to winter• Clean any trellises, supports etc• Remove bad weeds• Bait for slugs and snails• Patrol during winter to nip problems in the bud

Keynotes

• Holistic View• Avoid Sudden Shocks• Maintain Growth Momentum• Diversity• Think Below Ground, Not Just Above• Right Plant, Right Place, Right Time

Respect the Whole

The End

Selected Bibliography• Pacific Northwest Guide to Home Gardening, Ray McNeilan &

Michelle Ronnigen• Vegetable Gardening West of the Cascades, Steve Solomon• Book of Garden Secrets, Dorothy Patent & Diane Bilderback• Gardening for Maximum Nutrition, Jerry Minnich• High Yield Gardening, Marjorie Hunt & Barbara Bortz• Seed to Seed, Suzanne Ashcroft• Good Neighbors:Companion Planting for Gardeners, Anna Carr• The Seed Starter’s Handbook, Nancy Bubel• Weeds and What They Tell, Ehrenfried Pfeiffer• Heirloom Vegetables, William Woys• Container Gardening Rose Marie Nichols McGee

Bibliography Continued• The Beautiful Food Garden, Kate Gessert• The Secret Garden, David Bodanis• My Weeds • All the Elliott Coleman books• John Jeavons "How to Grow More Vegetables Than You Ever

Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine", and "Lazy-Bed Gardening: The Quick and Dirty Guide" (co-authored by Carol Cox).

• Uncommon Vegetables (also out as Gourmet Vegetables), Nancy Bubel

• Some of the great old books such as Vilmourin and Patrick MacMahon for the historical references