Transcript Vegetable Gardening for Master Gardeners

Vegetable Gardening
for Master Gardeners
Tom Tyler
Extension Agent
Virginia Cooperative Extension
Arlington County Office
3308 S. Stafford Street
Arlington, VA 22206
Garden Seasons:
Let’s Grow Year-round!
Spring (Cool Season)
Tolerate Light Frost/
Prefer Cool Temps
Frost Free Date: ???
What Crops??
Garden Seasons:
Extend the Season for Maximum
Production:
Cold Frame Designs
Garden Seasons
Summer (Warm Season)
No Frost Tolerance
Plant After Frost-Free Date
What Crops??
Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants,
melons and squash, cukes, beans
corn, sweet potatoes
Garden Seasons
Fall Season (Cool)
Plant Before First Frost/Date???
What Crops??
How Long Does it Last??
Garden Location
Sunlight:6 Hours Full Sun
What about less than that?
Soil and Drainage:
Soil Amendments
Raised Bed Gardens
Planning the Garden
How big is the family? Are you
feeding an army?
Likes and Dislikes??
(Does everyone LIKE lima beans??
Planning the Garden:
Fresh or “put up”??? (Y2K Factor)
Are they worth the trouble??
Planning the Garden
What is fun and beautiful to grow?
Is it hard to grow?
How much space do you have?
How will you plant it? What planting
techniques can you use to save time
and space?
Save space with INTERPLANTING
Wide Row or Band Planting
Planning the Garden
PUT IT ON PAPER!!
(Yeah, right!)
Soil Preparation: Ugh!
Tools
Pointed Shovel, Rake,
Hoe, Trowel
Rototiller??
When to Dig??
Spring?
Fall?
Soil Preparation
Soil pH
6.0-7.0
Fertilization
Soil Test
Organic?
Inorganic?
How deep to dig??
What else should I add??
Planting Techniques
Intensive Techniques Save Time and
Space
Single Rows
Wide Rows
Equal Spacing (Beds/Bands)
Relay Plantings
Use Your Space and the Weather
(plant for all seasons!)
Recycle materials to enclose raised beds
Planting Techniques
Intercropping: Mix it up!
Vertical Gardening (Plant in the Air!)
Watering the Garden
When??
Placement??
How much is enough?
How deep?
Weeds and Weeders
Hand or Power Cultivation??
MULCH! MULCH! MULCH!
Types??
Organic (depth?)
Plastic
Thin the seedlings!
NOW What’s Bugging You?
Veggie Garden “IPM”
Healthy Soil = Healthy Plants
Use Resistant Varieties
Rotate Crops
Fall Clean-up
What’s Bugging You?
Good gardening practices
Alternative/less toxic control ideas
What about using pesticides??
Control the varmints!!