FILEDUG

Name : Planting a Home Vegetable Garden.

Category : Home and Garden

Files Source: www.extension.iastate.edu

File Added : July 25, 2010

Size : 442,70 KB

Download : 735

This online pdf file contain Preparing the seedbed, selecting seeds, planting dates, using vertical space, sowing the seed, straight row furrows, thinning the seedlings, transplants,vegetable planting guide, and other.
Content Summary :
“Planting a garden involves more than putting seeds in the ground. Preparing the seedbed, selecting seeds, and deciding when to plant come first. Will you sow seeds—and then thin them—or will you try transplants? This decision, among others, is up to the individual gardener. Before planting any vegetables, prepare the soil. This includes cultivating properly, adding organic matter, and maintaining soil fertility. (See PM 820, Garden Soil Management, for more information.). Early fall is the best time to begin preparing the soil.
Remove sticks, stones, and other trash. Also remove plant debris that may harbor insects and diseases. Pest-free plant debris can be tilled into the soil. A level site can be tilled in the fall without danger
of soil erosion. The freezing and thawing action in winter and early spring will break up the clods. Fall- tilled soils need only be leveled before planting in the spring. To find out if the soil will need fertilizer
in the coming season, take a soil sample in the fall. (See ST 11, Soil Sample Information Sheet, for more information.) When breaking ground in the spring, do not spade or till when the soil is wet. If worked when too moist, heavy soils become hard, compacted, and will limit growth for the entire season. If a handful of the soil can be pressed into a ball, delay tilling or spading until it is drier. Buy seeds early in the year so you will be sure to find the varieties or cultivars you want. Select them based on intended use, time of maturity, and disease tolerance. For help in selecting the best cultivars, see PM 607, Suggested Vegetable Varieties for the Home Garden. Many seeds can be purchased from garden centers, mail order catalogs, or on the Internet. For best germination purchase new seed every year. Depending on the vegetable crop, leftover seed can be difficult to store and often germinates poorly. Saving seed from previous harvests can be risky, too. One problem with saving seed from last year’s crop is the possibility of getting plants that are not true to type. Off-type plants are produced because many vegetables are hybrids or easily cross-pollinate in the garden. While these off-type plants may be interesting, sometimes they produce poor quality crops. In addition, diseases can be transmitted through the seed. Seed companies harvest seeds from only healthy, disease-free plants. Many seed producers also treat their seeds before offering them for sale. This chemical treatment kills disease organisms in or on the seed. It also prevents seed rot and “damping off,” a disease that causes rotting in young seedlings. Seed that has been treated will be labeled as such and often is brilliantly colored. Be sure to wash your hands after handling treated seeds.”………Download for more information!!