Growing Your Own Vegetables: An Encyclopedia of Country Living Guide (10 page)

PLANTING:
Like asparagus, globe artichokes are heavy feeders that require a well-drained, sandy soil rich in humus and thrive with annual applications of manure or compost. Purchase young plants at the nursery or remove a 12-inch side shoot or sucker from a mature plant, being sure to include some roots with your cutting. Place plants or suckers 24 inches apart, hilled like squash, in rows 3 feet apart.

HARVESTING:
Each plant will produce from 2 to 20 artichokes per season. A mature artichoke resembles a large scaly head, similar to a pine cone, growing at the top of a long stalk. Harvest the heads by cutting 1 to 2 inches below the bud before it has begun to open; if in doubt, cut too young, as once the buds begin to flower they will turn woody and inedible. When artichokes are very young and tender, the flower bulbs and even the peeled stems may be eaten fresh. Once matured and hardened, artichokes must be steamed or boiled to render the meaty base of each immature petal (bract) of the unopened flower bud and the inner heart tender and edible.

Continue to harvest faithfully throughout the season, although those buds that mature in the hottest part of the summer are tougher than those that come before or after the heat. One advantage to growing your own crop is the ability to harvest the chokes when only the size of an egg and before the flowers have developed their thistly centers. These young buds, not generally available in groceries, can be simply sliced and sautéed.

Broccoli

Broccoli (
Brassica oleracea
var.
botrytis
) has been grown in the Mediterranean and the Middle East for at least the last 2,000 years. The part we eat is the flower head, a mass of tiny unopened buds, and its stem. Broccoli varieties include green, purple (although it turns green when cooked), and white, as well as those that mature at different times of the year with large, small, or oddly shaped heads.

PLANTING:
Broccoli likes lots of sun and not much heat, growing best in areas that have cool summers, cultivated as a spring or fall crop in hotter regions. It requires a sweet, fertile soil and regular water during the growing season. Somewhat subject to pests and disease, broccoli should not be grown in the same place year after year.

Purchase young plants or set out home-grown transplants in midspring when daytime temperatures average around 50°F. Space plants 18 to 24 inches apart in every direction or in rows 2 to 3 feet apart. You’ll gain a few weeks of cool-season growing time with the use of a hot cap or cloche for weather protection.

For a fall crop, start seed directly in the garden 10 to 12 weeks before the first fall frost date. Sow seed ½ inch deep and 3 to 4 inches apart, allowing 7 to 10 days for germination. Thin to plant spacing as for spring. Weather permitting, hardy varieties may be sown in late summer to overwinter and produce shoots the following spring; these are often referred to as “sprouting” broccoli. 45 to 85 days to maturity depending on variety.

HARVESTING:
The first cluster or head the plant produces will be the biggest; harvest this and all subsequent smaller clusters with a portion of stem attached before the tightly closed buds begin to loosen and flower. A few days after the central sprout is cut, the plant begins to grow smaller side sprouts where leaves join the stem. Keep plants well watered and side-dress with fertilizer to maximize this second and all subsequent crops, continuing to harvest when clusters are in the tight-bud stage. The plants will continue to produce until first frost if you can prevent any flowers from blossoming.

Cauliflower

Cauliflower (
Brassica oleracea
var.
botrytis
) is best suited to a long, cool and moist growing season and can be difficult to cultivate in other conditions. Varieties are available with white, green, purple, or even orange heads that are rich in vitamins and nutrients.

PLANTING:
Prepare a rich, well-dug soil in partial shade, as too much heat causes the plant to head prematurely. Experimenters have grown cauliflower with as little as 2 hours of sunlight each day. Plant seed ¼ to ½ inch deep, 3 inches apart. Cauliflower seed requires heat for germination, around 80°F. Grow transplants for 5 to 7 weeks before setting into the garden as soon as the soil can be worked, setting plants 20 inches apart. Sow seed directly in the garden in summer to take advantage of heat for germination, with fall’s shorter days and cooling weather promoting good growth. Water regularly and mulch to maintain an even soil moisture and combat weeds. 60 to 100 days to maturity depending on variety.

HARVESTING:
Cauliflowers size up quickly once the heads begin to form. Harvest when they reach 6 inches in diameter or before the flower buds loosen and open. Each plant produces a single head. For particularly pure white curds, blanch when they are 3 to 5 inches in diameter by pulling up the large outer leaves over the head and securing with a rubber band or string. Wait for 4 to 12 days to harvest. Plants will hold well in the garden in cool weather and withstand light frosts.

ROOTS

W
hether they are a true root, a tuber, or a corm—a rounded, thickened underground stem base—root vegetables are typically biennial plants that form a food storage part the first year and draw on that reserve in the second year to produce flowers and seeds. They may be divided into starchy and nonstarchy categories. Starchy roots, which tend to be a dietary mainstay wherever they’re grown, include the potato and sweet potato as well as the lesser-known cassava, kudzu, malanga, taro, and yam. Nonstarchy roots, which are prepared fresh or cooked, include the beet, carrot, radish, turnip, and many more.

When planning to grow a root vegetable crop, prepare a well-tilled soil dug to the depth to which you expect that particular root to grow. A light, sandy loam, free of rocks and clods, with a steady supply of moisture will produce nice plump, straight roots that are easy to harvest and prepare.

STARCHY ROOTS

Potatoes

Potatoes (
Solanum tuberosum
) are easily grown in the home garden. Technically the potato is a member of the Nightshade family, along with tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant, but it appears in this chapter because potatoes are grown for their edible tubers or “roots”; indeed, all other parts of a potato plant are toxic.

Potato varieties include yellow, rose, blue skin/white flesh, blue skin/blue flesh, white, russet, red, black, purple, red skin/red flesh, red skin/gold flesh, color-splashed (multicolored), scab-resistant, best keeper, heirloom, and more. You can also choose from varieties that mature in early, mid, and late season, and between quicker- and slower-maturing varieties. 75 to 130 days to maturity.

PLANTING:
Potatoes grow best in fairly cool weather with long days. They are impervious to light frosts and may be planted very early in the spring, 3 to 4 weeks before the expected last frost. Successive plantings may be made every few weeks until early summer for a continuous harvest. In warmth and humidity potatoes are subject to rot; southern gardeners should either choose a variety that is heat-resistant or plant in winter for a spring harvest before the hot days arrive.

Potatoes prefer an acid soil, so do not apply lime to the planting area. Prepare a well-dug soil with lots of organic matter and plant seed potatoes 3 to 6 inches deep every 6 to 8 inches in rows 2½ feet apart. Plant with the eye pointing up; sprouts will be up in 3 to 4 weeks. Keep beds well watered and free of weeds.

Straw bed planting
is a method that simplifies planting and harvest but somewhat reduces your yield. Place seed potatoes on top of the soil, top with a foot of straw mulch, and water well. Make sure the developing potatoes are kept well covered with straw throughout the growing season. At harvest time, rake back the straw and pick your crop.

HARVESTING:
You can harvest baby potatoes before the main crop by gently digging near the surface under the soil or straw mulch to unearth the small tubers. Resettle the soil around the plant to allow the remaining tubers to keep growing. About 3 months after planting the potato plants will begin to yellow and whither. At this point the potatoes have stopped growing and are ready to dig. In hot weather they keep better in the ground; just dig as needed. After the weather cools the entire crop can be dug up, plant by plant, carefully sifting the roots and soil to get all the tubers. Cure the potatoes for storage by spreading them out in a warm dry place out of the sun for a week or two to allow small surface cuts to heal and the skins to thicken.
Note: Don’t leave potatoes lying in the sunlight. They will develop a greenish tinge that not only tastes bad but is poisonous as well.

SEED POTATOES

Seed potatoes are full-sized potatoes that are cut into pieces, cured, and planted. Each piece must be big enough to supply nourishment to the new plant until it sprouts and is capable of producing its own energy, and it must include at least one “eye”—a small round depression on the potato surface. An average potato will yield 3 to 5 seed pieces. Cure the cut pieces by allowing them to dry in a warm dry room for a couple of days to form a protective callus, which will guard against rot until the plants sprout.
Sets
are tiny potatoes that are planted whole and thus avoid the vulnerability of cut surfaces.

Regular store potatoes don’t make the best seed potatoes; they are seldom labeled by variety, and they may have been sprayed with chemicals to inhibit sprouting. Purchasing your seed stock through a mail-order specialist or the local nursery in early spring not only assures you of accurate growing information but also offers you a broader choice of varieties to choose from.

Sweet potato

Sweet potato (
Ipomoea batatas
) is a tropical starchy root from the ancient Americas that although grown like a potato is not related. Sweet potatoes are one of the most nutritious foods from the garden, containing large amounts of vitamin A and beta carotene, but they need hot weather and a long growing season to produce. If your July through August mean temperature is more than 80°F, you’re in an ideal zone for sweet potatoes. Less-than-ideal conditions will result in a reduced yield, but sweet potatoes can be grown as far north as southern New York, Michigan, and the Midwest.

PLANTING:
Sweet potatoes require a long hot growing season and a well-cultivated soil that’s not too rich; excess nitrogen will send growth to the vine instead of the root. Purchase starts or grow your own slips (see sidebar) and set plants every 1 to 3 feet, depending on variety, in rows 2½ feet apart. If you’re short of garden space, run the 4- to 16-foot-long morning glory-type vines up a garden fence, or grow in a deep window box with the vines trailing down. Vines that spread out on the ground will root along their length; be careful to not damage these secondary roots, as that will decrease yield. Once established, plants can handle a dry spell without harm; they may even be stimulated to produce a better crop as a result.

HARVESTING:
For all their long growing season, sweet potato roots put on the most growth during the end of their season—September and October. Planting too late or harvesting too early will yield undersized, low-starch roots that will fail to cure properly for storage. Wait as long as your season will allow and harvest sweet potatoes on a sunny, dry day when the soil is not wet. Dig with a fork very carefully to avoid damaging the crop. Spread the roots out on the ground in the sun for 2 to 3 hours to thoroughly dry. In the South, where temperatures are 80 to 90°F, sweet potatoes can remain curing in the sun for another 10 to 14 days. In cooler climates they must be moved indoors to a very warm area for this curing period. Unlike most vegetables, sweet potatoes need damp conditions to cure; if the weather isn’t humid, cover them with a slightly damp towel.