Growing Your Own Vegetables: An Encyclopedia of Country Living Guide (3 page)

ROW PLANTING

Spacing between rows should be determined by how you plan to cultivate the soil and control weeds. Traditionally, rows were spaced 30 inches apart because a horse pulling the cultivator needed that much space. A smaller garden that is cultivated by hand will accommodate rows as little as 1 foot apart.

DRAFT HORSES AND POWER TOOLS

A horse can outpull a little tractor any day of the week. A single horse can pull 16-foot logs; a team of horses can pull a ton for a short distance, and they can easily pull 300 pounds all day long. Remember to stop and rest often. There is an old saying that if you want to have a good pulling horse, always leave one pull in him. In other words, quit working him while he is still pulling.

Practice is important for any draft animal. Hitching up the animals and using them every day helps them stay at their best and keeps you in practice too. When you are first training draft animals to pull, load them very lightly. Gradually, over time, increase the load. Pat the animal and let it know you appreciate it after a good hard pull. That moment of sincere thanks really makes a difference in the quality of future performance you’ll get. On a very hot day, remember both you and your horses require a break with water and shade.

If you plan to use power tools, the space between rows must be wide enough so a tiller can get between them without damaging the plants. One objection to the rototiller is that, like all machines, it’s not sufficiently discriminating and can’t go around a lovely volunteer that has planted itself right in the middle of the row nor can it easily navigate curves. However, long, straight rows that have been preplanned to be wide enough to accommodate the tiller do make cultivating this way a breeze.

RAISED BEDS AND WIDE ROWS

Evenly spaced but dense plantings in long narrow beds, raised or at grade, make the most of limited space for good growing efficiency. The whole garden or just a part of it may be put into raised beds or wide rows. Whether you are setting out transplants or planting from seed, raised beds or wide rows are spaced so that the plants’ outer leaves will touch as they mature to form a dense mass of plants. Thus the growing area is maximized and soil moisture is preserved in the resulting shaded soil.

HOW TO MAKE A RAISED BED

1. Lay out an area 3 to 4 feet wide and as long as you want. Your width is limited by your ability to reach the center of the bed from each side to weed, thin, or harvest as needed; when planning length, consider path placement for easy movement among the beds.

2. Cover the area with 6 inches of aged manure or compost and deeply dig in by hand or with a power tool. After digging, let the bed settle for a few days.

3. Scatter organic amendments over the now raised surface of the bed and rake to break up clods as you mix it into the top 3 to 6 inches. Soak with a gentle spray to prepare for planting.

“HILL” PLANTING

Position plants in clusters, at intervals along a row, with the soil between them kept as clear of weeds as possible. Sometimes the soil is hoed up from every side to make a literal hill about 6 inches higher than the surrounding grade. In very dry areas, hill planting can be modified to create a depression in the ground that will collect and hold water. Hill planting is especially valuable in desert areas and where hot, drying winds blow. In such a climate, the middle plants of the cluster—the most protected ones—may produce the best yield.

GARDENING UNDER COVER

W
hen a cat lies in a pool of sunlight that is streaming through a glass window on a cold but sunny day, it’s taking advantage of a natural phenomenon. The radiant energy of the visible sunlight becomes heat energy when it strikes the cat’s fur and other surfaces inside the room. Some of this heat is reflected and radiated into the air inside. This heat cannot easily pass back through the glass, so the air inside the window is warmed.

A covering over a garden bed acts in the same manner. When light strikes plants and the soil heat is trapped, the environment within the covered space is warmed. This warmth speeds up all life processes, including the growth and development of garden plants. A garden under cover is protected from rain, frost, wind, and cold. For fall and winter gardening in chilly or cold climates and for very early spring growing, cover is essential. Any structure or device that allows light to enter and protects from cold may be used for gardening under cover.

TYPES OF GARDEN COVERINGS

Cloche

A lightweight, completely transparent covering for a plant or plants that can easily be moved about the garden. A cloche is the simplest cover to build and use although they are vulnerable to heavy wind and do not provide as much protection from cold as cold frames or greenhouses.

The word
cloche
(“klosh”) is French for bell, and it well describes the glass jars French market gardeners used to protect their plants. Today, cloches for individual plants may be made of waxed paper, plastic, fiberglass, or glass. A plastic-covered tunnel or tent and floating row covers that protect an entire row of plants offer the protection of a cloche on a larger scale. Floating row covers are made from a very lightweight spun material and can be used to cover plants without any supporting structure; that is, they “float.” A wide variety of cloches are available commercially, with an equally wide range in prices.

Cold frame

Consisting of a glass or clear plastic window hinged to an opaque bottomless box, a cold frame is placed directly over a part of the garden, in effect creating an area of milder temperatures within. The hinged lid opens to provide ventilation and allow you to work with your plants; when closed, it protects the plants against cold.

Amend the soil within the cold frame with compost and plenty of organic material to boost fertility and provide drainage. A cold frame is primarily used during the fall, winter, and early spring when the sun is at a lower angle. To capture the available light and heat, site the frame where it will receive full sun between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., with the long axis of the structure oriented east-west.

The addition of a 6- to 8-inch layer of horse, chicken, or rabbit manure turns the cold frame into a
hotbed
, warming the soil considerably as the manure ages—a boon in cold climates. Carefully monitor conditions within the cold frame to regulate temperature and humidity, and water the plants as needed.

Greenhouse

A glass- or plastic-walled building large enough for people to stand and move around in. Greenhouses can extend the living space of a home while at the same time expanding the garden and provide winter shelter for tender plants. Solar greenhouses rely strictly on the power of the sun for heat.

ADVANTAGES TO GARDENING UNDER COVER

Flexibility in Planting and Harvest Dates
—It is discouraging to set out plants only to see them killed by a frost or watch them sit, not growing, until warm weather finally arrives. On the other hand, it is more than a little disappointing to nurse tomato plants through summer only to see the fruit destroyed by an early fall frost or rainstorm. Gardening under cover allows you to adapt seed packet planting and harvest dates to your particular garden conditions.

More Crop Variety
—Many less hardy vegetable and ornamental plant varieties can be successfully grown under cover that normally would not do well in your area.

Faster Plant Growth
—Robust, unhampered growth results in sturdier plants better able to resist disease and survive bad weather. You can grow more food in less time from the same bit of garden space, and there is even evidence that your crops will taste better.

Less Insect Damage
—Early-spring and late-fall plantings avoid garden pests that are not actively feeding in these “shoulder” seasons.

PLANTING DATES

W
hen to plant will vary drastically depending on which hemisphere you live in, altitude, climate, and finally the plant itself. Become an expert on your local climate. Check weather forecasts daily during the growing season to anticipate expected high and low temperatures.

CLIMATE ZONES

The United States Department of Agriculture has developed a map that divides the country into zones determined by a range of minimum temperatures for each specific geographic region. The USDA map has gained nearly universal acceptance; the zones are often referred to in garden books and on plant labels and seed packets to indicate a plant’s hardiness.

2006
arborday.org
Hardiness Zones Map