Growing Vegetables in Your Garden

Classes of Vegetables

• Root Crops: Cool-weather plants such as beets, carrots and parsnips can be sown early (even before light frosts end). The soil should be loose and deep with near-perfect drainage.
  
  
• Alliaceous Group: Onions, leeks and garlic are also hardy, cool-weather plants. They call for careful soil preparation for seeding. They also can be sown early because they can withstand frost and cool weather.
  
  
• Brassicaceous Group: This cool-weather group consists of plants such as cabbage, kale and cauliflower. In warmer climates, cabbages and kales can start in the fall and be harvested before the weather gets hot. In cooler climates, better results come from starting these plants in a hotbed or greenhouse starting in February. They can be transplanted in May or June.
  
  
• Solanaceous Group: This group includes the popular tomato, eggplant and red pepper. These vegetable plants do not tolerate frost and need longer seasons. These vegetables should be started early under glass and transplanted when the danger of frost is long past. The soil doesn't need to be as rich for these plants. If the soil is too rich, these vegetables might grow too late in northern seasons.
  
  
• Cucurbitaceous Group: Cucumber, melon, squash and pumpkin form this group. They, too, do not tolerate frost and should not be planted until the threat of frost is past. Seeds should be planted from early spring to midsummer in a somewhat shallow furrow.
  
  
• Leguminous Crops: Vegetable plants in this group include peas and beans. They differ from each other significantly, though. The beans are warm-weather vegetables. The peas are cool-weather vegetables and are among the earliest vegetables to be planted. These vegetable crops should not be transplanted.
  
  
• Salad Plants and Pot Herbs (or Greens): Leafy vegetables make up this group. Warm, mellow, cultivated ground will produce the best results for these vegetable plants. They should receive plenty of water. Small vegetables of this type such as cress and parsley can be grown in small beds or even pots. Almost all vegetables of this type will be sown in the spring. Most, but not all, are cool-weather plants.

• Bean: While relatively easy to grow, bean seeds will decay quickly. You must wait for the soil to become warm and dry before planting. They grow rapidly so you can afford to be patient. Beans will grow in almost any soil, but the ground should be enriched and in good condition for best results.
  
  
• Broccoli and Cauliflower: Both require deep, rich soil and cool weather. Broccoli requires a slightly longer season but can be adapted to a late-summer planting.
  
  Cauliflower should never go dry and the heads should be protected from hot suns. You can do this by tying the outside leaves together.
  
  
• Carrot: A popular garden vegetable, the carrot is hardy and can be grown easily. Seeds can be planted as soon as the ground can be worked. Enriched, mellow loam provides the best soil for these vegetables. They should be sown thickly. Rows should be 12 inches apart.
  
  
• Corn (sweet or sugar): Corn grows in a short season, so planting different varieties in succession yields crops throughout the season into October. The first planting of sweet corn should be May 1 to May 10. Later varieties can be planted until the middle of July. Soil should be fertile. You should drill holes in the ground for the seeds, which can be planted about a foot apart.
  
  
• Onion: This vegetable plant can be grown from seeds, sets (small onion plants), tops (bulbs produced in place of flowers) or from compound bulbs called multipliers. Early crops are grown from sets while fall crops are grown from seeds sown in April. Sets should be planted in rows 12 inches apart with two or three inches separating plants in the row. To grow from seed, you should plant very early so that the bulbs make their growth before hot weather hits.
  
  
• Peas: In general, the dwarf and half-dwarf varieties are the best. Taller kinds will need brush or wire to support them, which adds to the labor involved. Dwarf varieties should be planted four rows in a block, each row separated by roughly seven inches.
  
  
• Potato: Home gardens often feature potatoes even though it is more of a field crop. Soil should be loamy and have plenty of potash for good results. The ground should be deeply spaded so roots can grow more deeply. Potatoes should be planted three or four inches below the surface. Larger potatoes are better for planting. Smaller ones will produce so many sprouts that they will crowd each other out.
  
  
• Tomato: The tomato is a popular choice for growing a vegetable garden. Practically every home garden features these succulent fruits. They can be easily started in a greenhouse or window box with a pinch of seed sown in March. Once the plants have reached two or three inches, they can be transplanted to three-inch flowerpots. They can be transplanted in early May.
  
  Tomatoes do need support to keep the fruits off the ground and to promote growth. Light fencing or chicken wire will do the trick.