The Editors of Country Gardens Magazine - The Edible Garden: Grow Your Own Vegetables, Fruits & Herbs No Matter Where You Live

COUNTRY

GARDENS

GROW YOUR OWN VEGETABLES, FRUITS & HERBS NO MATTER WHERE YOU LIVE

Raising food has never been easieror more fun. And growing food right outside your back door means harvesting is more convenient than ever.

You can grow food from seeds or plant seedlings in your garden, and once you raise a few of your own crops (and see how easy and tasty they are), youll want to expand your garden year after year. With the diverse selection of fruit and vegetable varieties available today, you can delve into a wide, flavorful world of heirloom and specialty produce. With hundreds of tomatoes to choose from, dont settle for tasteless, juiceless, nondescript ones. New, improved, and disease-resistant varieties make growing fruits and vegetables easier than ever before. And you dont need a lot of space to raise them. Container gardening means that anyonewith or without a yardcan grow strawberries, lettuces, herbs, and even small fruit trees in containers. Plus, you can place containers conveniently near the kitchen. What can taste more vibrant than fresh basil or rosemary added to hot pasta with good olive oil? Gardeners who grow organic food know what type of soil and amendments the food has been growing in. If you choose to raise food without pesticides or herbicides, you can be confident in the quality of your food. The delicious results are healthful and safe food ... and the fresh goodness will shine through.

James A. Baggett

Editor, The Edible Garden

CHAPTER 1

Planning, Planting & Cultivating

Take cues from climate and seasons when choosing which fruits, vegetables, and herbs to plant and when to plant them.

Cool-season vegetables grow best when temperatures range between 40F and 75F (424C). In most areas, these can be planted two to four weeks before the last spring frost because the seeds germinate best in cool soil. These crops often develop edible roots, stems, leaves, or buds. Cool-season crops stop producing in early summer when temperatures range above 80F (27C); however, in regions where nights remain cool, seeds can be sown every two weeks. This method, called succession planting, ensures a bountiful harvest from spring to fall.

These vegetables love cool soil and cool temperatures. Plant them in early spring.

Asparagus

Beet

Broccoli

Brussels sprouts

Cabbage

Carrot

Cauliflower

Celery

Chard

Collards

Garlic

Kale

Kohlrabi

Leek

Lettuce

Onion

Parsnip

Pea

Potato

Radish

Rhubarb

Rutabaga

Spinach

Warm-season vegetables originated in tropical climates. These crops develop edible fruits, are killed by frost, and wont perform well when temperatures fall below 50F (10C). Wait until about two weeks after the average last frost date in your area to plant warm-season crops.

Heat makes these vegetables produce fruit. Plant them in the garden after the last chance of frost passes.

Artichoke

Bean

Corn

Cucumber

Eggplant

Melon

Okra

Peanut

Pepper

Squash

Sweet Potato

Tomatillo

Tomato

Relative to climate, vegetables are divided into two different groups: cool season and warm season. Gardeners in most regions can successfully grow both types of crops.

Planting trees and shrubs in a microclimate can protect tender fruit crops. A microclimate is the climate in a small area that is warmer or colder than the climate around it. Your house and other buildings create microclimates by absorbing heat during the day and radiating it into the landscape at night. The south side of a building is the warmest microclimate. Others include balconies and rooftops, fences, walls, large rocks, patios, driveways, and sidewalks. Keep in mind that cold, dry winds may mitigate any heat gain.

With a few exceptionssuch as the tundra and the most severely dry desert conditionsits possible to do some kind of gardening nearly anywhere in the world. The most important first step in planting a garden is to thoroughly understand the environmental factors that will come to bear on plants in your part of the world. Climate consists of three elements. The main climatewhether it is arid, warm, or equatorial or snowy, for instance. The second is the amount of precipitation during any given season. And the third is the range of temperatures during any given season. You will obviously have the most success as a gardener by choosing plants that are right for your particular climate and for their resistance to disease and pests in your region.

Fruit trees and shrubs are grown as perennial plants and are particular when it comes to climate. Cold temperatures thwart the growth of plants roots, stems, and leaves and bring about a late spring frost that will nip tender buds. Frost might not damage the plant, but it will kill buds, preventing fruit from forming. However, most fruit trees need a specific amount of heat to produce fruit while having a low tolerance of high temperatures. Most fruiting plants have a wide adaptation to temperature and produce fruit in all but extremely hot- or cold-summer areas. For reliable crops, rely on plants that are hardy in your particular climate.