vegetable gardening - oregon state university extension...
TRANSCRIPT
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
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.
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.
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!
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
Ways to Water• Mother Nature’s rain• Rainbird sprinkler• Oscillating sprinkler• Hand watering• Furrow• Drip• Soaker hose
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
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?
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
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.
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.
Modifying Our MicroclimateSeason Extenders
Cold frames– Hotcaps– Cloches– Greenhouses– Row coversGround Treatments– Ground cloth– Plastic– Mulches
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
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