Vegetables

As this website develops there will be information here about growing vegetables. Some will be quite basic such as which vegetables are sown directly into the soil (by seed) and which should be started from seedlings. Some will be about different practices. For example, in this picture the tomatoes are planted close together, tied to stakes, and the suckers removed as the plant grows. Is that necessary? Are there other ways to grow tomatoes?

What Are the Easiest Vegetables to Grow?

If you are planning to join the ranks of gardeners, one way to get a positive start is to choose those items from this list that you like to eat and begin with them.

At the Edible Gardening November 2009 meeting we came up with this list of what we thought were the easiest vegetables (and one fruit) to grow:

  • Beans (both bush and pole)
  • Beets
  • Celeriac
  • Collards
  • Garlic
  • Herbs (particularly sage, thyme, oregano, chives and parsley)
  • Kale (Red Russian kale especially)
  • Leeks
  • Lettuce
  • Potatoes
  • Raspberries
  • Swiss chard
  • Tomatoes (although not this past year because of the late blight).

ORGANIC FERTILIZERS

At the March 27th meeting Les Ulm provided an excellent summary of organic fertilizers. Here are the suggestions:

  • Nitrogen (to green up plants):
    • Cottonseed meal
    • Dried blood (also referred to as blood meal)
    • Alfalfa meal
  • Phosphorus (to make plants stronger and hardier):
    • Bone meal
  • Potassium (for root growth):
    • Green sand
    • Wood ash (but not barbeque bricket ash)

Lee's Feeds was suggested as a source of these items and a visit there on March 29th confirmed that they have most all of these. [Lee's Feed Store is on Milburn Drive, just off Seneca Turnpike west of Onondaga Creek and east of Valley Drive.]

The person at Lee's Feeds also suggested sprinkling just a little dried blood on plants to deter deer, rabbits, and groundhogs. If you try it, let us know if you find it effective. Reapplication after a rainfall would be necessary.

Why you might want to grow your own vegetables and how to go about it are the subjects of our monthly meetings. The meetings are also a great place to get new ideas and ask questions.

tying tomatoes

John's Blog has information on when to plant different vegetables and also about cover crops and companion planting. There is now a whole season's worth of comments about various things that have happened in this suburban garden and new ideas he has come across during the year.

 

Last updated 06/22/2010