grow your own, nevada! spring 2012: what to do with all those seed catalogs
TRANSCRIPT
Using garden catalogs to plan your best garden ever!
Heidi KratschUniversity of Nevada Cooperative Extension
"There are two seasonal diversions that can ease the bite of any winter. One is the January thaw. The other is the seed catalogues." - Hal Borland (wrote outdoor editorials for the New York Times from 1941-1978)
What we will cover…
Seed catalogs and terminology Selecting your varieties Starting seeds indoors Hardening off your seedlings
More than just pretty pictures!
Disease Tolerance vs. Resistance
Resistant varieties are not available for all crops.
Tolerant – may get a disease but survive
Resistant – usually will not get the disease
Typical key for disease-resistance:
V - Verticillium wiltF - Fusarium wilt N - NematodeT - Tobacco mosaic virusA - Alternaria alternata (crown wilt disease)L - Septoria leafspot
Mail order and NDOA quarantines
Potato (plants) Late blight
Tomatoes (plants) Colorado potato
beetle and Japanese beetle
Garlic, onion (commercial only) Stem /bulb
nematode, white rot fungus
http://agri.nv.gov/Nursery/NevadaQuarantineSummaryChart.pdf
Hybrid Seeds (F1)
F1 Hybrid (filial 1) – first generation
Cultivar = cultivated variety
Examples: ‘Early Girl’
tomatoes ‘Sugar Ann’ snap
peas ‘Buttercrunch’
lettuce ‘Royal burgundy’
bush beans
What is a “cultivar”?
Cultivars are varieties within a crop selected for a particular characteristic.
Open-p0llinated (OP)
Heirloom Varieties
Hybrid varieties created to meet the needs of most growing regions.
Heirloom varieties better at meeting the specific needs of a region (like Nevada!)
Treated and Pelleted Seed Pelleted – encased
in a clay-based pellet
Treated - controls diseases and insect pests
Days to Maturity
Frost-Free Map
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/img/climate/freezefrost/Freezefree28F_hires.jpg
Other Terms
Annuals – complete their lifecycle in one growing season
Biennials – require two growing seasons to flower (ex. beets, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, celery, chard, collard, endive, kale, kohlrabi, leek, onion, parsley, parsnip, rutabaga, salsify, and turnip)
Perennials – live for more than two growing seasons (asparagus, rhubarb)
www.planthardiness.ars.usda.gov
Tomatoes: Determinate vs. Indeterminate
Sweet Corn Hybrids
Su = high sugar: sugars 9-16% (low shelf-life < 1 week)
Se = sugary enhanced: sugars 14-35% (shelf-life > 1 week)
Sh2 = super sweet: sugars 28-44% (shelf-life > 1 week)
Other letters and icons…
Organic Seeds
Could be F1 hybrid. May not be able to save
seed If pelleted, must
not contain fungicide. Some contain beneficial
microorganisms Don’t assume OP
or heirloom are organic.
Biointensive/biodynamic/permaculture
Double-Dug, Raised BedsComposting Intensive PlantingCompanion Planting/Crop rotationCarbon FarmingCalorie FarmingThe Use of Open-Pollinated SeedsWhole-System Farming Methods
Double-Digging
Use your catalogs for planning
What vegetables will you plant? What varieties will you choose? How will you arrange your garden? When should you start? Spacing between plants? Seeds or transplants? Conventional garden or “deep”
organic?
Good seed catalogs tell you…
No. of seeds per packet
Spacing for seeds or transplants
Growing tips for each crop
Don’t forget to figure in enough for succession planting
Make use of vertical space
Seed Spacing Chart
Vegetable
Seeds per
packet SpacingArea
required
Corn 150 3 per foot(4 in.)
50 row feet
Pole beans 85 2 per foot(6 in.)
43 row feet
Looseleaf lettuce
300 2 per foot(8-12 in.)
150 row feet
Head lettuce 300 1 per foot(10-12
in.)
300 row feet
Tomatoes(indetermina
te)
30 1 per 2 feet
(24 in.)
60 row feet
Carrots 800 4 per foot(3 in.)
200 row feet
Map your garden space to scale
Early Spring (March 15): cool season veggies
Summer – late May / early June: warm season veggies
Fall – August: cool season veggies (again)
Three seasons for crop growth
Vegetable
Ideal soil temp
Min soil temp
March
April
May
June
July
Aug
Sept
Oct Nov
Beans 65-85 60
Beets 55-75 40
Brassicas
55-65 40
Carrots 55-65 40
Corn 70-85 60
Cucumber
65-85 65
Lettuce 55-65 40
Melon 70-85 65
Peas 55-65 40
Peppers 65-80 60
Radishes
55-75 40
Spinach 55-65 40
Tomatoes
65-70 60
Indoors
Plant
Harvest
Starting your plants indoors
Germination test older seed
Germination
Seed must be viable
Internal conditions of the seed must be favorable
Environmental conditions must be favorable
Moisture Temperature Light
Lettuce and grains
Air Medium must be
well-drained Disease-free
Damping-off disease
Optimal Germination Conditions
Damping off
Misting bench
What’s the best seed starting mix?
Fine-textured Uniform
consistency Loose, well-
aerated Holds moisture but
drains well Low fertility Sterile Do not use 100%
garden soil
Containers
Seed flats or plastic cell packs
Must have drainage holes
Sterilize if recycled: 1 part household bleach to 9 parts water for 5 minutes
Sowing seeds
A more cost-effective way…
Providing bottom heat
Providing moisture
Providing light
How much light?
Low light intensity produces pale, spindly seedlings
Two 40-watt fluorescent tubes
Position seedlings 6 inches below
Provide 16 hours light daily
Light For photosynthesis
Fertilizing Provide low level of fertilizer no more
than weekly Hardening off
Seedlings prepared for transplanting outdoors
Prevents transplant shock Seedlings gradually exposed to cooler
temperatures and reduced moisture/humidity
After-Germination Care
Hardening off- what is it?
Plants accumulate carbohydrates (food)
Cell walls thicken Temporarily slows plant growth Increase length of exposure
gradually (1 to 2 weeks) Acclimatize to cold, wind, sun
Hardening off seedlings
Minimum air temps by crop…
40°F – broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, cabbage, onion, leek, parsley
45°F – celery, Chinese cabbage, lettuce, endive
50°F – squash, pumpkin, sweet corn 55°F – cucumber, melon 60°F – basil, tomato, pepper
Planting your seedlings
Selecting a siteN
South, east, west exposure
Afternoon shade will protect sensitive fruits in a western exposure.
Eastern exposure – sunlight less intense (6 hours minimum)
Sunlight
Tomatoes, peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, eggplant
Critical for short growing seasons
Wait until soil temperature is right
Starting from transplants
Store at cool temperatures until ready
Not until the first true leaves have emerged
Handle with care!
Transplant early in the day or early evening
Transplanting
Avoid these common mistakes Buying too many
varieties Planting too many
seeds Starting seeds
indoors too soon Hardening off too
fast Putting plants in the
ground too soon Fertilizing close to
flower development
Phosphorus deficiency
Caused by planting when soils are too cold