Vegetable gardening- Basic cultural practices

By Linda Langelo

Extension Horticulturist

Vegetable gardening gives us our food abundance. The worst enemy for gardening in Colorado is hail. The best friend to a vegetable gardener is soil. Nurturing the soil will help create part of the ideal growing conditions for your vegetables.

Each year add 11/2 inches of a plant based compost or another compost low in salts to the soil at a depth of 3 to 4 inches. After 4 years only add an inch. Be sure to have the soil tested before you start, and after 4 years, and periodically after that.

Whether your soil is sand or clay, the organic matter will reduce soil compaction and increase the beneficial activity of the soil organisms. In addition, organic matter holds 10 times more water and nutrients than would be found in any soil without amendments.

All crops like a soil amended with organic matter, but the key for most is having the soil well drained.

Warm and cool season crops need varying amounts of water to produce a better yield. Beans need a quarter to a half inch of water per day during flowering. If they receive less, they drop their blossoms and produce pinched and "pollywog" produce. Tomatoes need an even amount of water and to reduce disease problems should be watered by a soaker hose. All the Cole crops like broccoli do not tolerate dry soils. Leafy vegetables like lettuce need 1 inch to 11/2 inches of water per week. Onions like very moist soils high in organic matter while peas can not tolerate wet soils. Potatoes must have a well-drained soil, but with too much water, the tubers rot. Other root crops like beets and carrots must have a consistent soil moisture.

Every crop benefits from mulch. The root crops benefit because their roots stay cooler through the summer. Tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, squash and melons benefit from a black plastic for earlier production and higher yields. With the black plastic covering the ground, it cuts down on the disease spores splashing from the soil surface.

As with all types of mulches, they help to conserve water, control weeds and can be worked into the soil when finished as a mulch to help improve the soil. Grass clippings are fine as a mulch if you don't have your lawn sprayed with herbicides and other chemicals. If you choose hay make sure you buy from a third cutting, there tends to be less weed seeds. Some plants like asparagus benefit from an organic mulch as protection for the roots during winter's cold temperatures. As with Cole crops a black plastic mulch which helps tomatoes increase their yields will be of benefit early on in the season. After the weather warms, Cole crops prefer a growing temperature of 65 to 80 degrees F. Higher temperatures reduce the sweetness of the vegetable.

All crops need to be placed appropriately to avoid overcrowding which creates reduced yields and poor air circulation increasing disease problems.

Pay attention to fertilization applications. With some plants like tomatoes, high nitrogen fertilization will cause plant growth and less yield. Tomatoes need some initial fertilizer like Peters or Miracle Gro and then again as the first fruits color. Other vine crops like cucumbers, melons and squash do well with just yearly applications of organic matter. Leafy vegetables, onions, peas and beans also benefit from a yearly application of organic matter. For leafy vegetables, it is essential for raising the best crop. The Cole crops as well as potatoes are heavy feeders of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Potatoes tend to run out of nitrogen by August leaving the crop predisposed to early blight. Asparagus will benefit from a spring fertilization and after the harvest period is over.

Above all else, follow the rules for crop rotation. Plants in the same family should not be placed in the same space year after year. Tomatoes and potatoes are in the same family, so tomatoes should not be planted where potatoes were last year. They can acquire the same types of insect and disease problems.

Knowing the different botanical families helps with crop rotation. Make sure that plants in any one family return to their original space by the third or fourth year. In other words, plants in the Nightshade Family, (Solanaceae family: Tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggplant) are rotated to where the Carrot Family, (Apiaceae: carrots, parsnip, parsley or celery) or Sunflower Family, (Astraceae: Lettuce, endive, salsify or Jerusalem artichoke) or Goosefoot Family, (Chenopodiaceae: Beet, Swiss chard or spinach) were all grouped together. In other words, tomatoes and potatoes can be planted where the grouped plants of carrots, beets, parsnips, spinach, chard or lettuce were. Every season these crops can be grouped together and have the Nightshade Family planted in their previous space until both groups come back to their original place.

Crop rotation can curb insect infestations and disease problems. It can also decrease the depletion of the same soil nutrients year to year. This can also be avoided by adding plant compost every year.

For additional information stop in the local Extension office for fact sheets on Vegetable Garden: Soil Management and Fertilization, Vegetable Garden Hints and more.

Date: 7/26/06

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