Contact: Diane Relf, Extension Specialist, Environmental Horticulture

October 1996

February Tips
VEGETABLES

  • Even under ideal storage conditions, some vegetable seeds have a fairly short life and probably will not be good one or two years after purchase. These include sweet corn, onion, okra, bean, and parsnip.

  • Rather than measuring distances with tapes and markers, use "human measure" to determine plant and row spacing. Plant in hands and feet instead of feet and inches. Determine the spread of your hand, the length of your foot, and the distance in each of your paces. You'll never be without a measuring device.

  • A frequently overlooked factor in vegetable garden planning is the date of the family vacation. Choose planting dates and varieties carefully, so your garden won't be ready for a full harvest when you are out of town.

  • Consider ordering celtuce seed to grow as a substitute for celery. Celtuce is a versatile crop that needs less water than celery and can be direct seeded along with summer crops. Young leaves are good in salads. Later in the season, the stalks are cut to the ground, stripped of leaves, and peeled for use like fresh celery.

  • Early varieties of onions are most productive when grown from transplants (small plants) or from sets (small, onion bulbs grown from seed the previous season). Direct seeding is satisfactory for growing green onions or for late varieties.

  • Unusual greens abound in catalogs. Among the earliest, mild, salad greens is corn salad, also sold as mache. Small-seeded varieties may be planted in autumn for harvest in spring. Large-seeded (Italian) varieties are not hardy; plant them in early August for fall harvest.

  • Don't throw out leek roots -- replant them. In just 60 to 90 days, you'll harvest a second bunch of long, thick stalks just as tasty and tender as the first ones. You can even use roots of leeks bought at the grocery store, giving you, in effect, two leeks for the price of one.

  • An easy way to hold floating row covers in place is by stretching wire or string at ground level and using clothes pins to attach it. This makes for easy loosening for harvest or just to check the progress.

  • Chitting is the green-sprouting of seed potatoes for quicker rooting and up to three weeks earlier maturity. Chitting is achieved by placing seed potatoes either in full sunlight or under fluorescent lights three weeks prior to planting.

  • Before working an area in the garden for early spring planting, check the soil. It should be dry enough to crumble in your hand before you work it.

  • Check any vegetables you have in storage. Use or dispose of any that show signs of shriveling or rotting.

  • If you have a sandy soil that dries out extra fast in the summer, you may want to experiment with gardening in a depression. Prepare the soil in a hole or trough several inches below the surface of the paths to reduce evaporation and make watering easier.

  • Plan on hanging a few vegetable plants on your porch or deck for a convenient harvest. Bush cucumbers, small tomato varieties, and even lettuce and spinach can be grown in hanging baskets. Many herbs including chives, parsley, and thyme are also well-suited to baskets.

  • Gardening in a raised bed improves drainage and gives an earlier start in areas with cold, wet soil.

  • Work the area for early-spring, garden crops as soon as possible. Apply lime if your soil tests indicate a need. Peas, onions, and Irish potatoes can be planted before March 1 in eastern Virginia.

  • Onion seeds for transplants can be sown indoors early this month.

  • This year plan to grow at least one new vegetable that you've never grown before; it may be better than what you are already growing. The new dwarf varieties on the market use less space while producing more food per square foot.

  • Send off seed orders early this month to take advantage of seasonal discounts. Some companies offer bonus seeds of new varieties to early buyers.

  • Planning pays off in the intensively cultivated vegetable garden. If you are a novice vegetable gardener, request information from your local Extension agent.

  • In most of Virginia, it's too early to start all but your slowest-growing vegetables (such as onions), but it's not too early to start getting ready. Gather and wash seeding flats. Soak them in a 1 to 10 bleach solution to kill microorganisms. Collect pots for transplanting seedlings such as styrofoam cups, 3-inch-deep bands cut from quart milk jugs, etc.

  • If the pH in your asparagus bed is too low, you can apply lime or wood ashes. To find out how much, the Extension service can test your soil for a minimal fee. The ideal pH for asparagus is 6.0 to 6.8.

  • For an early crop, sow spinach seed in well-drained soil that was turned over in autumn. Cover lightly with straw.

  • Don't start your vegetable plants indoors too early. Six weeks ahead of the expected planting date is early enough for the fast-growth species such as cabbage. Eight weeks allows enough time for the slower-growing types such as peppers.

    Monthly Tips have been prepared since 1986 by various staff of the Office of Consumer Horticulture including Ellen Bennett, Michelle Buckstrup, Susan Day, Susan DeBolt, Sharon Dendy, Kate Dobbs, Sheri Dorn, David Gravell, Virginia Nathan, Jenny Shuster, Ellen Silva, and Ruth Sorenson. Resource material for the development of this information includes the Virginia Master Gardener Handbook; Extension Publications and newsletters from VCE, numerous other states, and the USDA; and an extensive library of over 900 books, magazines, and journals. Project funded by The Virginia Gardener Newsletter subscription fees. Diane Relf, Project Director and Content Specialist.

    Visit Virginia Cooperative Extension