Farm Gardens & Vegetables

Mustard-Pumpkins Mustard Greens

If soil is quite rich, a crop of mustard greens can be grown in 25 to 40 days from the time seed is planted. Plant in rows or beds. The row method is usually better. Make spring plantings in February, March, and April; fall plantings in September and October.

Okra

Young okra pods 3 to 4 inches long are more tender and have more food value. Okra is no stranger to most Southern gardens. It also has been grown for fresh market in the South for many generations. In recent years it has become an important commercial crop in some areas for freezing and processing in soup mixtures.

Okra lovers can now have fresh okra the year-round. Okra is a warm-season crop. Do plant until after soil has warmed up in thespring. You can make one plan bear all summer by not allowing pods to mature on the stalks and keep plants well supplied with fertilizer and moisture.

Also, in many gardens necessary to fumigate for control of root knot and other nematodes since okra is very susceptible. To make sure you have okra until frost, many gardeners make a second planting about 45 to 60 days after the first.

Plant okra in well prepared rows 3 to 4 1/2 feet wide and in hills 12 to 18 inches apart. Thin to one or two plants per hill. Before planting, apply fertilizer liberally using 6 to 8 pounds of high grade fertilizer such as 8-8-8 per feet of row.

After okra starts bearing two or three side-dressings with nitrogen or complete fertilizer will help keep it bearing all summer.

Young pods 3 to 4 inches long are not only more tender but have more food value than those 5 or 6 inches long. Okra is a good source of vitamins A and C and calcium and fairly high in iron and vitamin B.

Onion

A rich and thoroughly fine soil is needed for the onion. It must be kept entirely free of weeds and grass. It does not need much space.Rows 18 inches wide will be ample if cultivation is done by hand.

For green onions during late fall winter, put out sets from early September to late October, depending on location.

Do not depend on these for mature onions the following summer. They do not keep as well as those grown from seed or plants. Even in the region just above the Cotton Belt they will probably be hurt little by cold before Christmas and sometimes they will be safe later than that.

In this territory put out sets in late August to early September. Put sets 2 to 3 inches apart, barely covering the bulb, with tip of the bulb just under surface of soil.

For the main crop of onions to mature in early summer and to carry through winter, plant seed in September or October, or in mid-winter in the Cotton Belt. Above this line, late-winter planting in February and March is the best time.

When planted in fall, pull soil to plants as they grow so that when freezing weather comes they will be somewhat protected. Even if hard freezes should kill the tops above ground, onions will come out again. If you buy plants, set them out in January in the Lower South, February in Mid-South, and March in Upper South. Sow seed thick, and thin to one plant to each 2 to 4 inches.

After pulling, let lie in the sun just long enough for moisture and any dirt to dry. Then cut off tops about an inch above the bulb and store, in thin layers in a cool, dry place. If you have only a few onions, leave tops on, tie in small bunches, and hang on nails under shelter.

Parsley

For flavoring soups and for garnishing, a short row of a dozen or so parsley plants supplies a family. It withstands much cold and will go through our Southern winters without protection. Root parsley is used for flavoring soups and to cook with meats.

Plant parsley seed either very early in spring or in September or October. Soak seed overnight before planting, as they germinate slowly. Thin plants 4 to 6 inches apart. In harvesting, pinch off outer leaves,allowing center leaves to continue to grow.

Parsnips

Parsnips make a fine addition to the winter table, freshly boiled or broiled, then sliced and fried. Being perfectly hardy, they can remain in rows where grown until wanted.

Parsnip seed are light and chaffy, and are sometimes hard to germinate,especially in soil that crusts. The best way to get a stand is to plant small pinches of seed about 4 inches apart in the row. Then the little bunches can thinned easily.

Peas (English or Garden

The English pea is a cool weather plant and should be planted early. The seed will germinate in quite cold soil. Make a second planting two to four weeks after the first.

All English peas need to be staked. Sow seed thickly, 1 to 1 1/4 pound per 100 feet of row. Rows 3 feet Wide are usually sufficient, but for the taller growing, 4-foot rows are desirable. Use a liberal quantity of commercial fertilizer before planting. They do not, however, need a heavy quantity of nitrogen. A 6-12-6 or 5-10-10 is all right.

Peas (Southern Table Peas, Field Peas, or Cowpeas)

Little "pea pickers" learn to love peas at an early age. Because they are highly nutritious, tasty, and so easily grown, several plantings of table peas should be made each season. Do not plant until danger of frost has passed, as they are very susceptible to cold.

A planting each three weeks from this time until mid-July will give a continuous supply of green peas, and any surplus may be canned green, put in the freezer, or allowed to ripen and stored as dry peas.

Most people save their own pea seed once they get a start of a new variety. However, when two varieties are planted near each other they will mix quite badly if in bloom at the same time. In this case it is best not to save the seed for planting.

Plant in regular width garden rows, four to six seed to the hill in hills 12 inches apart, or one seed to each 2 to 4 inches. Cultivate as for other garden vegetables.

Heavy applications of nitrogen fertilizer should not be used for peas. Fertilize moderately with a low-nitrogen analysis such as 4-12-12. They will produce fairly well on poorly prepared ground; but for best results, pulverize the soil thoroughly and prepare as for other vegetables.

Even where the regular field varieties are available it is desirable to make a succession of plantings of table varieties in the garden. For the effort necessary to grow them, few if any other vegetables will pay bigger dividends than table peas.

Peppers

Both hot and sweet peppers demand a rich soil. They are quite sensitive to cold. Do not set plants earlier than a week to 10 days after last frost date.

Set in rows 3 to 3 1/2 feet wide and 18 to 24 inches apart in the row. Sow seed in boxes or hotbeds four to six weeks before time to set, transplanting once to obtain stocky plants, or buy plants from commercial growers or seed houses. Two dozen plants of the sweet and a half-dozen of the hot will produce all an average family will need.

Long Red Cayenne and Tabasco are varieties generally planted for hot pods. By not letting any pods ripen on plants, you will continue to get peppers until frost. Any pods that are two-thirds or more grown just before first frost comes should be picked and stored in a cool, dry place. This will give green peppers for several weeks.

Poke Greens (Poke Salad)

While generally considered a weed, poke or poke salad is an excellent spring green, or may be used as a dish cooked like asparagus. It usually grows in fence corners and other rich and moist places.

To grow poke, take a portion of the crown of an old, wild plant and set where wanted. Plant in rich soil. A good spot is the side of the garden where it can remain year after year. Set the pieces of crown in late fall or winter 2 to 3 feet apart and 2 to 4 inches deep. New plants will soon grow from them. Handle as you would asparagus. Use only young shoots that come up in spring while they are still white and tender.

Mulching with leaves or straw will keep the young shoots white and tender. Do not use any portion of the root for food, as it is poisonous.

Potatoes, Irish

One of our most important staple foods is the Irish potato. Enough of the early crop should be grown to last until frost; and in Upper South, enough of the summer-fall crop to last through winter. Fall crops in the Lower South are quite uncertain because of hot, dry weather.

A reasonably fertile soil not too rich in nitrogen is needed for Irish potatoes. Too much nitrogen usually causes too much top growth and not enough tubers. Six to 10 pounds of a 4-12-12 or 5-10-10 per 100 feet of row or 1,200 to 2,000 pounds per acre is about right.

As for most crops, best results are obtained from fertilizer applied in bands 2 to 3 inches on either side of seed pieces and a couple of inches deeper. If put in bottom of drill, mix fertilizer with the soil thoroughly or cover with a couple of inches of soil, planting seed pieces on top of it. If pieces come in direct contact with fertilizer, poor stands will result.

Plow soil to potatoes when cultivating so they are "laid-by" on a high bed. If planted in good soil and a good crop is produced, yield should be about 18 to 1 that is, 18 bushels or pecks for each bushel or peck of seed planted.

To get good yields, plant heavy, blocky seed pieces. Skimp on seed and the yield is sure to be comparatively skimpy. One eye is sufficient, but there is no objection to two or more. Each seed piece should weigh at least 2 to 3 ounces. This is about the size of a hen egg.

After ground is well prepared, lay off rows 3 to 3 1/2 feet wide, applying fertilizer a week or 10 days ahead of time. Plant one seed piece to each 10 to 15 inches. Cover 3 l/2 to 4 inches deeper on heavy clay soil and about an inch or two deeper on sandy soils.

After ground is thoroughly prepared, lay off rows 31/2 to 4 feet wide. Bed on the furrow and let settle a few days to a week or two. Just ahead of the setters, run over bed with harrow or other implement to knock down bed somewhat and kill any germinating weeds.

Set plants close, 10 to 12 inches apart. Such distance will give more potatoes of proper size than if more distance is given, where they are to be dug quite early, set 15 to 18 inches apart. Lay them by on a ridge about 10 inches high for higher yield and better shaped roots.

Only cultivation needed is just enough to kill weeds and grass as quickly as they come through the ground and to prevent a crust from forming.

Dig potatoes when vines turn yellow but before frost has killed the vines. If frost should kill vines before potatoes are dug, get them out immediately. Even slight frost will damage sweet potatoes, although it may not become evident until after several weeks of storage.

When digging, plow deep enough to prevent cutting any roots. Pick up and place directly in baskets or boxes in which they are to be moved from the field. It's also best to store in the same container. Less bruising and skinning of roots will result when they are handled in this manner. Handle so as not to bruise.

For storing, a small house, in which the temperature can be controlled with a thermostat, is much preferred. When stored in this manner, sweet potatoes should be cured for a week or so at 85 degrees F. and then temperature lowered to about 55 degrees F.Never expose sweet potatoes to temperatures lower than 50 degrees F. or cold injurywill develop. Better curing and less shrinkage will occur if the air moisture is kept fairly high, about 85 to 95% relative humidity. Therefore, ventilate only enough to prevent moisture from condensing on walls orceiling.

Potatoes (Sweet)

The high food and vitamin content of the sweet potato makes it more valuable as a food than the Irish potato. It requires considerable space. If the garden is small, it should be grown elsewhere as a field crop.

A fertile, loamy, well drained soil is needed, but not one that is too rich. A fertilizer of high nitrogen content should not be used; 3 to 5% is sufficient. Four or 5 pounds per 100 feet of row.

Use a fertilizer rather high in phosphate and quite high in potash. An analysis such as 5-10-10 or 4-12-12 is good on many soils; but on sandier soils, usually low in potash, an analysis such as 3-9-or 3-9-18 is needed.

Do not use stable manure for sweet potato soils or hotbeds because of the danger of spreading diseases. There is also the likelihood of getting too much nitrogen which will cause rank vine growth.

Apply commercial fertilizer 10 days or two weeks before plants are to be set, either under the row and mixed or on either side of the row, as outlined for Irish potatoes.

Roots must not come in direct contact with fertilizer. Plant on high beds. Set a portion of the crop quite early so as to get vine cuttings for late settings.

Pumpkin

Because of the space required, the pumpkin is not adapted to the small garden. If space is not limited, it can be planted in the garden. Plant about the time corn is planted, and when planted alone, space 8 to 10 feet apart each way.

Give pumpkins about the same fertilizer as squash. They are also subject to the same insects and diseases.

Pumpkins may be ideally planted with corn, and at the same time. Use five to six seed in hills 10 feet apart in every fourth row, and thin to one plant per hill when well established.

They may be canned or stored all winter in any dry, cool place where they will not freeze. A temperature of about 50 degrees is best.