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Purdue University
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Yard and Garden News |
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Purdue University
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Yard and Garden News |
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Some like it hot, but many vegetable crops are best adapted to cool soil and air temperatures. Cool-season crops, such as lettuce, potatoes, peas, cauliflower and onions, actually prefer the cool, moist conditions of spring to hot, dry summer weather.
But don't get too anxious to plant. The soil should be allowed to dry somewhat before working, or the soil structure will be damaged. Wet soil tends to form hard clods that last all season as soil is worked. Test the soil for readiness by squeezing a handful. If the it crumbles easily between your fingers, it's dry enough to work. If the soil forms a muddy ball, it's best to wait until it dries a bit more.
Once you've determined that the soil is ready, work the ground to a depth of at least 6 inches, using either a shovel or a mechanical tiller. This is a good opportunity to work in a balanced fertilizer to maintain your garden's nutrient pool. It's best to have at least one soil test taken, especially for a new garden, so you'll know the basic needs of your particular soil. But in the absence of soil-test results on an existing garden, 6 pounds of a general, low-analysis fertilizer, such as 12-12-12, per 1,000 square feet should be adequate as a maintenance application. Sidedressing with nitrogen during the growing season will help keep plants thriving until harvest.
Many cool-season crops can be started by sowing seeds directly into garden soil. This group includes peas, carrots, beets, lettuce, spinach, radishes and turnips. Each crop has its own optimum planting instructions. Most gardeners make the mistake of planting the seed too deep. A general rule of thumb is that the depth of planting should be about one and a half times the size of the seed. When in doubt, most seed packets list the proper planting depth and spacing for that particular vegetable. If your soil tends to be heavy or form a hard crust, try placing a light mulch over the seeds as you plant them. Vermiculite, finished compost and chopped grass clippings all allow the young seedlings to come up easily after germination.
Other cool-season vegetables are best transplanted to the garden to give them a head start on the growing season. This group includes cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and Brussels sprouts. Most garden centers offer transplants for sale, but experienced gardeners may want to try to raise their own. Transplants should be set at the same depth at which they were grown. If planted too deep, their roots may be too cold and starved for oxygen. Don't forget to give the transplants a drink of water as soon as possible after planting. Young transplants can dry out very quickly, especially if weather is sunny, warm and windy.
Potatoes are an unusual crop in that they are started from buds of last year's crop. The tubers used to start a new crop are often called "seed potatoes," although they are not seeds at all. The tuber that grows underground is a modified stem. Each "eye" is actually a vegetative bud that will produce a new stem and leaves. In turn, the new stems will produce a root system. Cut the seed potatoes into pieces, making sure that each piece has at least one healthy bud. Plant the pieces about 4 inches deep and cover with soil.
These seedling and transplanting techniques will come in handy later in spring when it's time to plant the warm-season crops like tomatoes, peppers and melons.
The URL for this page is http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/coolseason.html
