WHEN TO PLANT YOUR VEGETABLES IN SPRING

Very hardy vegetables: Hardy vegetables: Tender vegetables: Very tender vegetables:
Plant 4 to 6 weeks before the Plant2 to 3 weeks before the Plant on the average date of Plant 2 to 3 weeks after the average date of last frost. average date of last frost. last frost. average date of last frost.
Asparagus Beet Artichoke, globe Bean, lima
Broccoli Cardoon Bean, broad Chayote
Brussels sprouts Carrot Bean, dry Chick pea
Cabbage Celeriac Bean, mung Cucumber
Cauliflower Celery Bean, snap Eggplant
Chinese cabbage Chard Corn Muskmelon
Collards Chicory Cress Okra
Horseradish Dandelion Mustard Pea, black-eyed
Kale Endive Sorrel Peanut
Kohlrabi Jerusalem artichoke Soybean Pepper, hot
Leek Lentil Tomato Pepper, sweet
Lettuce Parsnip Herbs: Pumpkin
Onion Potato, Irish Basil Squash, summer
Pea Radish • Caraway Squash, winter
Rhubarb Salsify Chervil Sweet potato
Rhutabaga Spinach, New Zealand Coriander Watermelon
Shallot Turnip Dill
Sorrel Herbs: Sage
Spinach Anise Sesame
Herbs: Borage
Chives Fennel
Garlic Marjoram
Spearmint Oregano
Peppermint Parsley
Tarragon Rosemary
Thyme Savory
Planting your garden gives you a great sense of
achievement, but this feeling is a bit
deceptive—your labors are by no means over. In
fact, you're actually only just starting. When you
decide to grow a garden, you have to be willing to
take on the daily chores that go with caring for
it—watering, weeding, mulching, and protecting
your crop against pests and disease. You could just sit
back and let nature do the work. But if you don't do
your part, the result will be lower yields or lower-
quality produce.

WEEDING: KEEPING OUT INTRUDERS
Cultivating, or weeding, is probably going to be
your most demanding task as your garden's caretaker.
Weeds are pushy plants, and they're both resilient
and persistent. You'll probably feel at times that if your
vegetables grew as well and as fast as your weeds
do, gardening would be child's play. It's important to
keep down the weeds in your vegetable garden;
they steal light, water, and food from the vegetables,
and they shelter insects and diseases. The cabbage
aphid, for example, will make do with mustard weed
while it's waiting to feast on your cabbage or kale.
And a green lawn in its proper place soothes the soul
and feeds the vanity of the gardener; but in the
wrong place the grass roots can choke out young
vegetable plants.
Recognizing garden weeds
To control the weeds in your garden successfully,
you have to be able to recognize them when they are
young. When weeds are small, regular cultivation
will control them easily. If you let them become
established, you're going to have a hard time
getting rid of them. The next few pages will guide you
through the world of weeds and help you to tell, so
to speak, your wheat from your chaff. If the children
are going to be helping you in the garden, be sure
that they, too, know the difference between the
vegetables and the weeds. Children—especially
small ones—often have trouble figuring out why one
plant is desirable and another isn't (some weeds are
very attractive), and their well-intentioned help could
be destructive.
Here is a guide to help you recognize some of the
weeds you're most likely to find in your vegetable
garden:
Bindweed (Convolvulus species). The bindweed
is a climbing plant with small delicate morning-glorylike
flowers. Given its own way, the bindweed will
climb up plants and soon choke everything in reach,
and it's very difficult to get rid of because every
piece of broken root seems capable of propagating a
new plant.
Burdock (Arctium species). This plant looks like a
coarse rhubarb. Many people have given it garden
room only to find, late in the summer, that their
only harvest will be burrs.
Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense). This is a
perennial that spreads on horizontal roots. The leaves
are usually crinkled, edged v^ith spines or thorns.
The flowers are spiny balls topped with purple tufts.
Wear a good pair of gloves, and pull out the whole
plant; try to remove as much of the root as possible.
Chickweed (Stellaria media). The chickweed is a
lacy plant that spreads out over the ground like a doily.
It has tiny daisylike flowers, but despite its delicate
appearance it should be destroyed when quite
young, because it will spread all over the place if you
let it go to seed.
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale). The dandelion
is best known to nongardeners for its bright yellow
flowers and its seedhead of light, feathery seeds.
Gardeners know it for its long, persistent taproot.
Recognize the dandelion by its rosette of jagged
leaves, and remove it as soon as possible—preferably
when the soil is moist. If you try to pull out the root
when the soil is dry and hard you'll probably break it,
leaving part of the root in the ground to grow right
back into another healthy dandelion plant. The
dandelion can be grown as a legitimate vegetable,
but the weed in your garden won't double for its
cultivated cousin.
Ground ivy or creeping charlie (Colechoma
hederacea). This is a vining plant with small funnel-
shaped flowers that have a purplish color. It's very
adventurous and crawls along the ground on stems
that may extend to a length of five feet. The leaves
are almost round and grow in clumps at each node
along the square stem. Ground ivy may be one of
the most persistent weeds you'll have to deal with in
your garden, it will choose the shadiest side of your
garden first, but once it becomes established it will
spread anywhere. Pull up the entire plant; each
node can regenerate a whole new plant.
Lamb's-quarters or goosefoot (Chenopodium
album). You can recognize lamb's-quarters by its
color—greyish-green with occasional red speckles.
It's an upright plant that can grow four feet tall.
Mustard (Brassica nigra). The black mustard
grown for its seeds is a good example of a useful plant
that escaped from a proper garden and went wild.
In some parts of California mustard plants 12 feet tall
have taken over whole fields and become real
pests.
Pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus). Pigweed is
known as redroot, wild beet, or rough green
amaranth. It is a rough plant that can grow to more
than six feet in good soil.
Plantain (Plantago major and Plantago
lanceolata). There are two plantains, Ruggle's plantain
and buckhorn (also called English plantain or white
man's footsteps). Both plants grow in rosettes and are
rather similar to the plantain lily (Hosta). They have
thick clumps of roots that make them hard to pull out, anything that will support it. The large, shiny leaves
except when the soil is very moist and soft. (two to four inches long) are grouped in threes and
Poison ivy (Rhus radicans). The poison ivy plant pointed at the tip. Every part of this plant contains a
may be either a small shrub or a vine that can crawl up poisonous material that can cause blisters on your
skin. To avoid contact with the skin, control this
weed by using a herbicide.
Purslane (Portulaca oleracea). Purslane, which is
also called pusley or pigweed, grows flat on the
ground. It has thick leaves and thick juicy stems,
and it adores rich, freshly worked soil.
Ragweed. There are two types of ragweed:
common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) and giant*
ragweed (Ambrosia trifida). Common ragweed is an
annual that seeds itself and comes back every year.
The leaves are smooth and deeply lobed. It's a
much smaller plant than the giant ragweed and will
grow only one to four feet tall. Pull up the entire
plant before the seeds mature and assure you a return
visit next year. Giant ragweed is a perennial, and as
its name implies, it gets very large—it will tower to 12
to 18 feet in good soil. The leaves are large and
slightly hairy, with three or occasionally five lobes.
Male flowers are long spikes at the tips of the
branches. As with its smaller cousin, pull up the entire
plant when it is young before the seeds mature.
Smartweed (Polygonum species). Smartweed is a
tough-rooted plant, with smooth stems, swollen
joints, and long narrow leaves. Pull up the
smartweeds and toss them on the compost pile.
Sour grass (Oxalis stricta). Sour grass is yellow
wood sorrel, a delicate plant with shamrocklike three-
part leaves and delicate yellow flowers. Its seed
capsules are capable of shooting seeds yards away
when they ripen. It also has an underground root
system that can reproduce without any seeds at all.
Violet (Viola species). It's hard to look on the
innocent violet as a weed, but that's what it is. This
small flowering plant has deep green heart-shaped
leaves and a small, succulent root system that can be
easily removed.
Keeping the weeds out of your garden
Once you've identified the weeds in your vegetable
garden, the best way to control them is to chop them
off at soil level with a sharp hoe or knife. If a weed is
close to your vegetables, don't try to dig out the whole
root system of the weed; in the process you may
also damage the root systems of neighboring
vegetables. Persistent weeds like dandelions may
have to be cut down several times, but eventually the
weed will die.
Herbicides, or chemical weed-killers, can be
used in some instances. Mulches, which are organic
or inorganic materials laid over the soil around your
plants, can also control weeds to some extent. There
are advantages and disadvantages to both methods.
Herbicides need careful handling
Herbicides can be useful in helping to control
weeds under certain conditions, but these
conditions are not usually encountered in the
small home garden. And herbicides require such
careful handling that the home gardener may be
well advised not to use them more than absolutely
necessary.
Herbicides can be either nonselective or
selective. The nonselective types kill any plant with
which they come in contact. Selective herbicides
may kill only broad-leaved plants or only grass
plants. Both types come in forms to kill
preemergent germinating seeds without harming
plants that are already growing above the ground,
or vice versa. Those that act below the soil surface to
kill preemergent seeds usually come in granule
form. The granules are shaken on to the ground
from the container. Contact herbicides that kill
growing plants are usually bought in liquid form and
diluted for use in a hand-sprayer or a sprayer that
attaches to your hose. Whichever type you use, it's
important to follow the manufacturer's instructions
to the letter. It's also important to remember that
herbicides may have residual effects that vary from
product to product. The effect of some may last for
weeks; the effect of others may last for years."
You can, if you wish, use a nonselective
herbicide in the spring to clear an area for planting.
If you do, carefully check that the residual effects
will be gone well before your planting date—the
information on the label will tell you this. If you
misjudge the timing, and the effects of the herbicide
persist beyond your planting date, you'll lose your
whole crop for the season.
Here are some facts about herbicides you should
be aware of:
Herbicides do not kill all weeds.
Herbicides can kill vegetables.
Herbicides that are safe to use in a certain area
can drift quite a distance and damage sensitive
plants, such as tomatoes and peppers.
No plant is entirely resistant to herbicides, so if
you're using one it's important to follow the
instructions exactly as they appear on the label.
If you decide to use a herbicide in your garden,
follow these rules:
If you have a problem that cannot be solved by
cultivating and you want to use a herbicide,
contact your local Cooperative Extension Service
for a reliable recommendation.
Read all of the label, every bit of fine print, and
follow the instructions to the letter.
Do not use a herbicide unless it is labeled for a
specific crop (read the whole label).
Be sure that the herbicide will not leave a toxic
residue on the parts of the plant that you want to
eat.
Clean spray equipment carefully after each use.
Mark your herbicide equipment and keep it
separate from that used for fertilizers,
insecticides, or fungicides. Use herbicide
equipment only for herbicides.
MULCHES HAVE MANY USES IN YOUR GARDEN
Mulches are either organic or inorganic material
placed on the soil around the vegetable plants.
Mulches can perform a number of useful functions.
They protect against soil erosion by breaking the force
of heavy rains; they help prevent soil compaction;
they discourage the growth of weeds; they reduce
certain disease problems. Organic mulches
improve the soil texture. Mulches are also insulators,
making it possible to keep the soil warmer during
cool weather and cooler during warm weather.
Mulches do not eliminate weeds. They can,
however, help control them if the area has been
cleared of weeds to begin with. If the mulch is thick
enough, the weeds that are already growing won't be
able to push through, and the darkness will
frustrate the germination of others. Persistent weeds
can push their way through most mulch, but if
they're cut off at the soil level a few times they'll die.
Sometimes mulches can improve the appearance
of the vegetable garden by giving it a neater, more
finished look. Some mulches give the area a
professional look that only a true vegetable gardener
can appreciate.
Whether you use an organic or an inorganic
mulch, take care not to put it down before the soil has
warmed up in the spring—the mulch will prevent
the soil from warming and slow down root
development. In the average garden in a cool-
season climate mulch should be applied about five
weeks after the average date of last frost.
Organic mulches improve soil quality
Organic mulches are organic materials that, when
laid on the soil, decompose to feed the
microorganisms and improve the quality of the soil.
If you see that the mulch you've put down is
decomposing quickly, add nitrogen to make up for
nitrogen used by the bacteria. Some mulches can
carry weed seeds; others can harbor undesirable
organisms or pests, but both diseases and pests can
usually be controlled by keeping the mulch stirred
up. When you're cultivating, lift the mulch a little to
keep the air circulating.
To use an organic mulch, spread a layer of the
material you're using on the surface of the ground
around the plants after the soil has warmed up in
spring; the plants should be about four inches tall so
the mulch doesn't overwhelm them. If you're using
a fluffy material with large particles, like bark chips,
make the layer about four inches thick. If you're
using a denser material like straw or lawn clippings, a
two-inch layer will be enough. Be careful not to
suffocate the vegetables while you're trying to
frustrate the weeds.
The following are organic materials commonly
used as mulches:
Buckwheat hulls. These hulls last a long time and
have a neutral color, but they're lightweight and can
blow away; and sometimes they smell when the
weather is hot and wet.
Chunk bark. Redwood and fir barks are available
in several sizes. Bark makes good-looking paths and
gives the area a neat, finished appearance, but it's
too chunky to be the ideal mulch for vegetables. It also
tends to float away when watered or rained on.
Compost. Partly decomposed compost makes a
great mulch and soil conditioner. It looks a little
rough, but other gardeners will know you're giving
your garden the very best.
Crushed corncobs. Crushed cobs make an
excellent and usually inexpensive mulch. The cobs
need additional nitrogen, unless they are partially
decomposed. Sometimes corn kernels are mixed in
with the crushed corncobs; this will create extra
weeding later on.
Lawn clippings. Do not use clippings from a lawn
that has been treated with a herbicide or weed
killer—these substances can kill the vegetables
you're trying to grow. Let untreated clippings dry
before putting them around your garden; fresh
grass mats down and smells bad while it's
decomposing.
Leaves. Leaves are cheap and usually easy to find,
but they blow around and are hard to keep in place.
They will stay where you want them better if they're
ground up or partially decomposed. Nitrogen should
be added to a leaf mulch. Do not use walnut leaves;
they contain iodine, which is a growth retardant.
Manure. Vintage, partially decomposed manure
makes an excellent mulch. Manure has a strong
bouquet that you may not appreciate, but don't use
a manure that has been treated with odor-reducing
chemicals; treated manures contain substances,
such as boron, which are unhealthy for plants. Never
use fresh, unrotted manure, it can kill your plants.
Mushroom compost (leftover, used). Where it's
available, used mushroom compost is generally
inexpensive. Its rich color blends in well with the
colors of your garden.
Peat moss. Peat moss is expensive when large
areas have to be covered. It must be kept moist or it
will act like a blotter and pull moisture out of the soil
and away from the plants. Once it dries, peat tends to
shed water rather than letting it soak in, and the fine
grades of peat have a tendency to blow away.
Poultry manure. This is potent stuff—poultry
manure is about twice as strong as cow manure;
proceed with caution. A good, weathered, four-
year-old poultry litter can give you mulch, compost,
and high-nitrogen fertilizer, all at the same time.
Sawdust. Sawdust is often available for the asking.
but it needs added nitrogen to prevent
microorganisms from depleting the soil's nitrogen.
Straw. Straw is very messy and hard to apply in a
small area, and it's highly flammable—matches or
cigarettes can result in short-order cooking. It
does, however, look very professional.
Wood chips or shavings. More chips and shavings
are available now that they are no longer being burned
as a waste product. They decompose slowly and
add needed nitrogen. Beware of maple chips, which
may carry verticillium wilt into your garden.
Recycle rugs, papers as inorganic mulch
Unlikely though it may seem to the inexperienced
gardener, the following materials can be used
effectively as inorganic mulches.
Aluminum foil. Foil is expensive if you're dealing
with more than a small area, but it does make an
effective mulch. It reflects sunlight, keeps the
plants clean, and scares birds away from your garden.
Backless indoor-outdoor carpet. Indoor-outdoor
carpeting is ideal for the small garden and makes it
easy for the fastidious gardener to keep the place
neat. Water goes through it easily, and the weeds are
kept down.
Newspapers. Spread a thick layer of newspapers
around the plants. Keep them in place with rocks or
soil. They will decompose slowly and can be turned
under as a soil modifier.
Rag rugs. An old rag rug holds water and keeps the
soil moist. It won't look as neat as backless carpeting,
but it will be just as effective.
Plastic mulches: pros and cons
Both clear and black polyethylene are used by
commercial growers as inorganic mulches. Clear
plastic is not recommended for small gardens
because it encourages weeds; weeds just love the
cozy greenhouse effect it creates. Black plastic is
sometimes used in small gardens for plants that are
grown in a group or hill, such as cucumbers,
squash,orpumpkins. Black plastic should not be used
for crops that need a cool growing season—
cabbage or cauliflower, for instance—unless it's
covered with a thick layer of light-reflecting material,
such as sawdust.
There are some advantages to growing with a
black plastic mulch. Black plastic reduces the loss of
soil moisture, raises the soil temperature, and
speeds up crop maturity. Weeds are discouraged,
because the black plastic cuts out their light supply,
so you won't have to cultivate as much; that means
less danger of root damage. The plastic also helps
keep plants cleaner. And when you're making a new
garden in an area where there was a lot of grass—if
you've dug up a lawn, for instance—black plastic can
keep the grass from coming back .
There are some disadvantages to keep in mind as
well, and one of them is that you may need to water
more frequently. Because of their greater growth
under plastic, the plants lose more water through
transpiration, especially in well-drained, sandy
soils. However, you will need to water less if you use
black plastic on soil that holds water or drains
poorly. If you're using a black plastic mulch, keep in
mind that plants can wilt and rot if the soil moisture
is kept at too high a level and there isn't enough air in
the soil.
You can buy black plastic from many garden
centers or order it by mail from seed and garden
equipment catalogs. It should be at least 11/2 mil
thick and about three to four feet wide. If you have a
piece of wider or thicker black plastic, use it. The
wider plastic is harder to handle, and the thicker type
is more expensive, but it works well.
Put down black plastic mulch before the plants
are set out. Try to pick a calm day; a strong wind will
whip the plastic about and make laying it down hard
work. Take a hoe and make a three-inch deep trench
the length of the row. Lay one edge of the plastic in
the trench and cover the edge with soil. Smooth the
plastic over the bed and repeat the process on the
other side. Be sure the plastic is anchored securely, or
the wind will get under it and pull it up.
When you're ready to plant, cut holes about
three inches across for the plants or seeds. After
planting, anchor the edges of the holes with stones
or soil. Water the plants through the holes in the
mulch. After a rain, check to see if there are any
spots where water is standing. If there are, punch
holes through the plastic so the water can run
through. After the plants are harvested, the plastic
can be swept off, rolled up, and stored for use the next
year.

WATER: YOUR GARDEN MUST GET ENOUGH
Some plants are composed of up to 95 percent
water. Water is vital for sprouting seeds; plants need
water for cell division, cell enlargement, and even
for holding themselves up. If the cells don't have
enough water in them, they collapse like a three-
day-old balloon, and the result is a wilted plant. Water
is essential, along with light and carbon dioxide, to
produce the sugars that provide the plant with energy
for growth. It also dissolves fertilizers and carries
nutrients to the different parts of the plant.
Where the water comes from
Ideally, water for plants comes from rain or other
precipitation and from underground sources. In
reality, you'll often have to do extra watering by
hand or through an irrigation system. (If you have too
much rain about all you can do is pray). How often
you should water depends on how often it rains, how
long your soil retains moisture, and how fast water
evaporates in your climate. Soil type is an important
factor. Clay soils hold water very well—sometimes
too well. Sandy soils are like a sieve, letting the water
run right through. Both kinds of soil can be
improved with the addition of organic matter. Organic
matter gives clay soils lightness and air and gives
sandy soils something to hold the water.
Other factors may also affect how often you need
to water your garden:
More water evaporates when the temperature is
high than when it's low. Plants can rot if they get
too much water in cool weather.
More water evaporates when the relative
humidity is low.
Plants need more water when the days are bright.
Wind and air movement will increase the loss of
water into the atmosphere.
A smooth unmulched surface will not retain
water as well as one that's well cultivated.
Water needs vary with the type and maturity of
the plant. Some vegetable seeds are tolerant of
low soil moisture and will sprout in relatively dry
soils. These include Brussels sprouts, cabbage,
cauliflower, collards, corn, kale, kohlrabi,
muskmelon, peppers, radishes, squash (winter
and summer), turnips, and watermelon. On the
other hand, beets, celery, and lettuce seeds need
very moist soil. Herbs generally do better with less
water. A large plant that has a lot of leaves and is
actively growing uses more water than a young
plant or one with small leaves.
Sometimes water is not what a wilting plant
needs. When plants are growing fast, the leaves
sometimes get ahead of the roots' ability to provide
them with water. If the day is hot and the plants
wilt in the afternoon, don't worry about them; the
plants will regain their balance overnight. But if
the plants are drooping early in the morning, water
them right away.
Mulches cool the roots and cut down on the
amount of water needed, increasing the time that
plants can go between watering. When the soil
dries out, plants slow their growth—or stop
growing altogether. Swift, steady growth is
important for the best-tasting fruits and
vegetables. Mulches keep the soil evenly moist.
There's a right and a wrong way to water
So much depends on climate and the ability of
different types of soil to hold moisture that it's difficult
to lay down specific directions for watering your
garden. Generally, however, vegetable plants need
about an inch of water a week. The best time to
water your garden is in the morning. If you water at
night when the day is cooling off, the water is likely
to stay on the foliage, increasing the danger of
disease. Some people believe that you can't water
in the morning because water spots on leaves will
cause leaf-burn when the sun gets hot; this isn't the
case.
However hard it is to judge your garden's exact
water needs, there are two hard-and-fast rules about
watering that you should follow. First, always soak
the soil thoroughly. A light sprinkling can often do
more harm than no water at all; it stimulates the
roots to come to the surface, and then they're killed by
exposure to the sun. Second, never water from
above. Overhead watering with a sprinkling can or a
hose is easy and seems to do a fine job. But in fact,
overhead watering wastes water, makes a mess, and
sometimes bounces the water away from the plant
so the roots do not get any at all. Furthermore, many
diseases are encouraged by wet leaves. So direct
water at the soil, but water gently so that the soil is not
washed away or the roots exposed.
Watering with a can. Carrying water in a can or a
bucket can be exhausting and extremely unsatisfying,
especially if the water slops over the top into your
shoes. Watering cans are easier to carry but harder to
fill than buckets. They are good to use for gently
moistening the soil after planting seeds and for
settling dust. If you unscrew the watering can's
sprinkler head and replace it with an old sock, it will be
easier to concentrate the water at the base of the
plant where it's needed. The sock will break the force
of the water so it won't disturb the soil around the
roots.
Watering with a hose. A well-placed faucet and
hose can save a lot of energy. If you have a large
garden, a Y-connector for the faucet makes it
possible to attach two hoses at one time. Hose strategy
includes having enough hose to reach all points in
the garden and arranging the hose in such a way that it
does not decapitate plants when you move it
around.
If you have a lot of watering to do, five-eighthsinch
hose will carry twice as much water as a half-inch
hose. Spreading the water about can be speeded up
by using basins to catch the water and by digging
furrows or trenches between the plants. A length of
gutter with capped ends, placed on the higher side of
the garden, can be punctured at intervals to
coincide with the trenches. Then when water is slowly
added to the gutter it flows down all the trenches at
the same time. If you want to change the placement of
the holes, the ones you don't need can either be
soldered up or filled with a metal screw.
Watering with a sprinkler. Lawn sprinklers are
gentle, but they waste water by covering the whole
area indiscriminately and spraying water into the air
where it evaporates and blows about. They also wet
the leaves, which can spread disease, and often
turn the whole area into a mudhole. Canvas soil-
soakers are preferable. They carry water gently to
the soil around the roots. A wand and water-breaker,
which is a length of rigid pipe that attaches to the
end of the hose, can make it much easier to put the
water where you want it. This is especially useful
when you're watering hanging baskets and patio
containers. A water timer that measures the flow of
water and shuts off automatically when the right
amount has been delivered is an expensive luxury.
But it's an excellent device for the forgetful and can
free you to do other things while the garden is being
watered.
Gardening is a most satisfying occupation,
because you are constantly rewarded for your efforts.
All the work you put into your vegetable garden—
cultivating, mulching, watering, watching, and
waiting—shows dividends in the shape of healthy
plants that flourish visibly under your care as the
season progresses. And all the labor pays off in
tangible form at harvest time.
But even when you've weathered the whole
gardening season and brought your harvest home,
you still have a few more tasks to complete in order
to put your garden to bed for the winter.