The Secrets of Growing Great Tasting Vegetables

Growing vegetables is one of the most pleasurable and satisfying activities you can do in your garden. The excitement of planting them, watching them grow and picking the produce is the main reason people keep trying, even though the pests and diseases are competing with you. Preparing the soil properly is the secret of success to growing vegetables. Every time you plant a new crop, you must incorporate compost,animal manure, blood and bone and potash. If you don't your vegetables will be weak and prone to disease.

Unfortunately, a lot of our knowledge of what works and what doesn't has been lost as it hasn't been pasted down the generations. Well don't despair, you can create your own bank of knowledge and the way to do this is through trial and error. I too am one of those people who didn't take any notice of what my dad did, so I have had to work it out myself through just giving it ago.

Catnip Plants

The reward of growing vegetables is huge but they demand a lot of attention to get the best results. The idea with vegetables is to grow them very quickly and harvest them, unlike other plants that take years to grow. Even though some of them are perennials it is best to treat them as annuals.

Soil pH for Growing Vegetables

The pH of your soil is very important. Some vegetables like an alkaline pH like yams and other like acidic pH such as spinach. But many plants will grow within the range of a pH between 6-7. I have included a chart, so you can see the range that each vegetables can tolerate. If the plant is growing healthy, then there is nothing wrong with your soils pH and you don't need to change it.

Vegetable Optimal pH Vegetable Optimal pH
Artichoke(globe) 5.6-6.6 Asparagus 6.0-7.0
Beans 6.0-7.0 Beet 5.6-6.6
Broccoli 6.0-7.0 Brussels sprouts 6.0-7.0
Cabbage 5.6-6.6 Cantaloupe 6.0-7.0
Carrot 5.0-6.0 Catnip 5.0-6.0
Cauliflower 6.0-7.0 Celery 6.0-7.0
Chard 6.0-7.0 Chili pepper 5.0-6.0
Chives 5.0-6.0 Cucumber 5.0-6.0
Dill 5.0-6.0 Eggplant 5.0-6.0
Garlic 5.0-6.0 Kiwi 5.0-7.0
Leek 5.0-6.0 Lettuce 6.0-7.0
Mint 6.0-7.0 Mushroom 7.0-8.0
Okra 6.0-8.0 Onions 5.0-7.0
Parsley 6.0-8.0 Parsnip 5.0-7.0
Peas 5.6-6.6 Peanuts 5.0-6.0
Peppers 6.0-8.0 Potatoes 5.8-6.5
Pumpkins 5.0-7.0 Radish 6.0-7.0
Raspberry 5.0-7.0 Rhubarb 5.0-7.0
Rutabaga 5.0-7.0 Shallots 5.0-7.0
Spinach 5.0-7.0 Squash 6.0-7.0
Sweet corn 6.0-7.0 Sweet potatoes 5.0-7.0
Swiss chard 6.0-7.0 Tobacco 5.0-7.0
Yam 6.0-8.0 Zucchini 6.0-7.0

Crop Rotation

The tricky part is applying the above knowledge and putting crop rotation into practice.

Crop rotation is moving each crop to the next bed and not planting the same crop year after year in the same bed. This helps minimises the build up of pests and diseases.

For example: If planting onions in a bed previously occupied by tomatoes, then you will need to add a dose of lime. After the onions you can plant peas and beans which also love an alkaline soil. Peas and beans are legumes and fix nitrogen from the atmosphere into the soil, which becomes available for leaf vegetable such as Silver beet, lettuce, broccoli or cauliflower which have a high nitrogen requirement. After that you can plant a root crop such as carrots,which doesn't need much manure or nitrogen.

To reinvigorate a garden bed, you can fallow it (rest it) and plant a green manure crop of clover, legumes (peas, beans) etc and when they are 50cm high, dig them back into the soil.

Watering

Water frequently and deeply. There is no such thing as a drought tolerant vegetable garden. Drip or aqua pore irrigation is the best type of watering system as the water goes straight to the plants roots. Don't water from overhead, because it causes fungal diseases. Mulching with pea straw, lucerne or sugar cane is an excellent idea, as it controls weeds, cuts down evaporation and breaks down over time and improves the soil structure.

Aspect of the Vegie Patch

Consider the aspect - North, South, East, West Vegetable patches do best in a north or westerly aspect.

Consider the light - vegetables need full sun all day.

Remove all weeds, especially couch and kikuyu grass. If you raise the bed, the grass will grow up through the soil and take over.

Install edging

Dig over and add cow manure/compost/blood and bone/potash

Work out the place for each crop

Create furrows - with your spade, dig and place the soil on top of the soil. This create a mound, which is where you plant your seedlings.

Planting

Staking - Best to do it when you planting. Plants like tomatoes need a stake and beans and peas need trellis of some sort to climb on. So do pumpkins!

Water the vegetables, using a watering can with a liquid fertiliser such as Maxicrop or Seasol added (2 caps per 9 litres). This will help them get over their transplanting shock and help them to develop roots quickly.

Creating pathways helps to reduce compaction and allows you to pick your vegetables easily.

Starting Out

When you first start growing your own vegetables, purchase them as seedlings. Once you have the hang of growing them (and some successes) you can then start harvesting your own seed or buying seeds. Raising vegetable seeds requires a hot house/sterilised trays and seed raising mix, water, potting the seedlings up or planting them out into the garden. Many vegetables dislike being transplanted, so these types are planted directly into the garden bed. In cooler climates, tomatoes are best started off in a hot house.

Environment

When planning your vegetable patch you need to understand the requirements of the individual vegetables. For example in mild climates tomatoes are summer crops and broccoli and cauliflower are winter crops. Consult a vegetable growing charts for when you can plant your vegetables. Some plants are frost tender, so do not plant them until all the frosts are over. It is said Melbourne Cup day (First Tuesday in November, Australia) is a good day for planting frost tender vegetables. Some plants like tomatoes don't like summer temperatures over 32C and therefore don't fruit as well. You may need to put shade cloth over them during the hottest part of the day.

Wind can also be a big problem as it dries out the soil and can break your vegetables. Make sure you create the vegetable patch in a protected area away from wind and salt laden wind.

Planting Vegetable Seeds

How deep into the soil depends on how big the seed is. A large seed can go deeper into the soil where as a small seed is placed on top and soil sprinkled over it. For fine/small seed, the tilth (particles of the soil) needs to be very fine. Read the directions on the back of the seed packet, as it will tell you how deep to plant the seed. Some seeds such as carrots can be planted directly into the vegetable patch while others can be started in a seed-raising tray. Water seeds after planting, but be very gentle with small seeds, as heavy watering can wash them away.

Fertilising Vegetables

Vegetables need a lot of nutrients because they grow quickly. They need to be liquid fertilised every 2-3 weeks with products such as Maxicrop/Seasol or worm-casting liquid etc. Make sure the worm liquid is 1/3 worm liquid 2/3 water or it will kill the plants as it is very strong.

It is important to understand how nitrogen, phosphorus and potash encourages growth. Nitrogen is responsible for leaf growth, phosphorus encourages root growth and potash is responsible flowering and fruit. When preparing you soil, you need to think about what part of the vegetable you are eating and adjust how much and what nutrients you need to incorporate into the soil. For example if you are growing carrots, you will need to incorporate some nitrogen, but not too much or you will get too much leaf growth and the root will fork. As carrots are a root vegetable, adding super phosphate is a good idea. Potash is not required because you don't want the carrots to flower.

Growing vegetables can be very rewarding but they do need a lot of attention. There is nothing nicer than eating freshly grown produce that you have grown yourself. If you understand your soil and the pH requirements of each vegetable, you are more likely to have success. My next article is going to discuss the battle between pests and diseases. I urge you not to despair if the pests and diseases seem to be beating you. Every gardener has the same problem.

The Secrets of Growing Great Tasting Vegetables