   Your Summer Garden: Part II - April 11, 2001 Jeff Schalau, County Director, Agent, Agriculture & Natural Resources Arizona Cooperative Extension, Yavapai County Last week's column talked about preparing soil and planting a summer garden. We also covered a few pointers for growing beans, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, chard, carrots, leaf lettuce, and green onions. I know most of you don't plant your garden in alphabetical order, but lets pick it up where we left off last week anyway. Parsley is a biennial, so don't worry about it bolting into a flower the first year. Two types of parsley are commonly available: curled-leaf and flat-leaf (Italian). I prefer that flat-leaf type for flavor, but the curled-leaf type is more attractive as a garnish. Like carrots, the germination is slow, so if you only want small quantities, then buy a few small plants. Peppers require warm conditions to succeed. Peppers come in two types: sweet peppers and hot peppers (chiles). Within each of these categories, you will find many tasty and beautifully colored varieties. Do not put peppers out too early. If you do, they may be taken out by one of the root disease fungi (i.e. damping off). Transplants are almost always used. Plant them 18 to 24 inches apart in fertile, well-drained soil. They will benefit from a couple of small doses of nitrogen fertilizer during the growing season. Uniform moisture is important throughout the season. Radishes are a no-brainer. Kids love to watch radishes grow because they are so quick to ripen. You can often get kids to eat them if they grow them themselves. Many gardeners mix them in with carrots to provide a marker to see the planting location. By the time you have harvested the radishes, you will certainly see the carrot seedlings. Rhubarb is a perennial crop that is almost always planted as a root crown and can be divided to produce more plants as it matures. Give it lots of room. Plant crowns with buds two inches below ground and each plant 3 to 4 feet apart. Fertilize it at the beginning of the growing season and again in June. A thick mulch layer will help prevent weeds. Do not harvest during the first year. Let it grow to produce a vigorous root system. Never harvest more than 1/3 of the stalks and always discard the leaves. Rhubarb leaves contain high concentrations of oxalic acid. At our house, we grow rhubarb because my wife likes it. Spinach will not last for long in a summer garden, but can be grown if planted every two weeks or so. As one crop bolts, then the next crop will be coming along. A bit of shade will slow the bolting process. Otherwise, it is grown much like chard. Turnips germinate quickly and grow in less fertile soils. They will be more tender and flavorful in richer soils (if you can call a turnip flavorful). If you favor eating the greens, then fertilize with nitrogen. If you favor the root, band phosphorus under the row before planting and avoid nitrogen as this will inhibit root development. Actually, I have eaten mashed turnips (cooked like potatoes) and enjoyed them. As I mentioned last week, tomatoes, squash, melons, potatoes, corn, etc. should be planted next month. You should wait another month to plant cucumber, eggplant, and okra too. To summarize, your vegetable garden should be fun. Keep it small enough to care for easily. Concentrate on growing the crops that you really enjoy. Try to envision the size of the mature plant to ensure adequate growing space. Don't plant too much of a crop. Finally, if you can buy a certain crop for a decent price at the farmer's market or grocery store, then consider doing that rather than using your precious garden space to grow turnips. Enjoy! The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension has publications and information on vegetables and gardening. If you have other gardening questions, call the Master Gardener line in the Cottonwood office at 646-9113 or E-mail us at mgardener@kachina.net and be sure to include your address and phone number. Find past Backyard Gardener columns at the web site: http://ag.arizona.edu/yavapai/anr/hort/byg/. |