B.C. 4-H Gardening Project Members Manual - South Malahat 4-H

#625 - Gardening Big & Small-Member ManualB.C. 4-H Publication #625 Version December 2004
Acknowledgements:
This manual is produced for 4-H members and leaders enrolled in the 4-H programs administered by:
The British Columbia 4-H Provincial Council in partnership with the
B.C. Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Fisheries
Information for this manual has been drawn from several sources. Thank you to the Saskatchewan 4-H Council and Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, 4-H Branch for sharing their 4-H Gardening materials. Thank you to John Price, P. Ag. for answering horticulture questions and assistance with the vegetable judging criteria. Professor Tom Baumann of the Agriculture Department of the University College of the Fraser Valley for his expertise. BC Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Fisheries staff members who reviewed and offered very helpful suggestions for this finished product. A big thank you to a very special lady, Mary Appelhof for sharing her vast vermiculture knowledge. Finally, a special thanks to the BC 4-H Gardening Leaders and members for your input and patience during the development of the BC 4-H Exploring Gardening - Big and Small.
The B.C. 4-H Exploring Gardening - Big and Small project development has been made possible by the
generous financial support of the Imperial Oil Charitable Foundation.
This 4-H Manual belongs to of the (please print - member's name)
Club.
4-H Pledge I pledge
My Head to clearer thinking, My Heart to greater loyalty, My Hands to larger service, My Health to better living,
For my club, my community and my country.
4-H Grace (Tune of Auld Lang Syne)
We thank thee, Lord, for blessing great On this, our own fair land.
Teach us to serve thee joyfully, Wtih head, heart, health and hand.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Soil pH ............................................................. 3 Soil Improvement ............................................. 4
Exploring Composting .............................................. 7 How to Build a Compost Bin ............................ 7 Building the Compost Heap ............................. 8
Exploring Worm Composting ................................... 9 Worm Bins and Compost Tea ......................... 12
Exploring Garden Tools ............................................ 13 Exploring A Vegetable Garden ................................. 14
The Vegetable Plan ......................................... 14 The Family Groups of Vegetables .................... 16 Starting and Growing Transplants ................... 17 Cold Frames .................................................... 19 Planting Your Garden ....................................... 19 Caring For Your Garden .................................. 21
Watering .................................................. 21 Weeding .................................................. 22 Thinning .................................................. 22 Pests ....................................................... 23 Harvesting ............................................... 28
Exploring Showing Vegetables ................................. 32 Exploring A Community Garden ............................... 36 Exploring Container Gardening ................................ 37
Preparing Cut Flowers for Exhibit .................... 38 Crop Selection ................................................. 44 Types of Containers ......................................... 45 Potting Soil ....................................................... 46 Planting ............................................................ 46 Fertilizing ......................................................... 47 Watering .......................................................... 47 Light ................................................................ 47 Diseases and Insects ...................................... 48 Planting Flowers .............................................. 48
Page Exploring a Butterfly Garden .................................... 52
Planning Your Flower Garden .......................... 52 Preparing Your Plot ......................................... 55 Starting and Propagating Flowers ................... 55 Planting the Flower Garden ............................ 56 Gardens for Butterflies .................................... 57
Exploring Plants ....................................................... 59 Roots ............................................................... 59 Stems .............................................................. 62 Leaf ................................................................ 67 Flower ............................................................. 71 Fruit ................................................................ 77 Seed ................................................................ 81
Exploring a Larger Garden ...................................... 84 Exploring Gardening and the Environment .............. 84 Exploring the Gardening Record Book .................... 85 Sources of Information ............................................. 86
Introduction
The BC 4-H Exploring Gardening - Big and Small is a fun way to learn how to enjoy gardening. Different gardening units are in this project and include vegetable, flower, container garden. Gardening is for anyone, and it does not matter if you live in the city or the country, you can garden everywhere.
This manual looks at soil preparation, tools, selecting plants and how to plan your garden, whether it is big or small. Use this manual as a reference guide and also check other resources that are listed at the back of the manual.
BC 4-H Exploring Gardening 1
Gardening Basics
Gardening starts with planning, gathering tools and other materials, preparing the soil, selecting plants and finally the care and maintenance of your garden.
Different plants grow better in one location in British Columbia than in other locations. The place where you live in British Columbia has a Plant Hardiness Zone designated for your area. The Plant Hardiness Zone System for North America and Canada was developed by the US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. There are ten climatic zones, which represent the approximate range of average minimum temperatures. Knowing your climate zone assists the gardener to select plants that will thrive wherever you live in British Columbia. Check the website atlas.gc.ca/site/english/ maps/environment/land/planthardi to see British Columbia’s climatic zones.
Plan your garden site in the fall. It is important to make a plan of garden and to refer to your plan in subsequent years for the best health of your plants. Selecting a garden site in the fall allows you to dig the soil in preparation for spring planting. When choosing your garden location, you should consider the following points.
h A garden spot handy to the house and kitchen is best. h A good water supply should be nearby. h Choose a spot where the soil is as rich as possible. h The ground should be level as water will not wash away the soil during a heavy
rain. h Choose a site with good sunlight as most vegetables and flowers need eight or
more hours of direct sunlight. h If your garden must be on a slope, select a south slope as it will get warmer
faster in the spring. Run the rows across the slope, never up and down to stop erosion.
Exploring Soil Soil is very important to plant growth as it provides nutrients, water, air and anchorage for root systems.
A good garden will only grow in good soil so it is important to choose the best type of soil available. Deep black loam soils are the best. To identify your soil type you must feel the soil. Take a handful of moist topsoil and squeeze it gently to form a lump. Soil with a high clay
content will form a tight, sticky ball. Sandy soil is crumbly, will lose its shape and fall readily from the hand. Loam soil has big crumbs and clumps together holding its shape but will break apart easily when further squeezed.
The ideal garden soil is loam soil as moisture soaks in well and is retained so plant roots have a good supply of water. Loam soils warm up quickly in the spring and are easy to work. The second best soil is sandy loam as it is more desirable than sandy, gravelly or
Soil pH
The abbreviation pH stands for potential hydrogen and is used to indicate the level of acidity or alkalinity in soil, measured on a scale from 1 to 14. A reading of 7 indicates neutral soil; above 7, alkaline; below 7, acidic soil. Most plants prefer a slightly acidic soil with a pH reading 6 - 7.
The pH of the soil affects the level of nutrients available to plants. If you grow a plant native to alkaline soils in quite acid soil, it will have overdoses of some nutrients and shortages of others. The result will be poor growth, yellowing leaves and/or eventual death.
You can test the pH of your soil with an inexpensive kit available at garden shops. Collect a soil sample by digging a 15 cm hole and scrape out a 1.5 cm thick slice all the way down the side of the hole. Repeat in several different locations around your garden. Mix all the samples together. Take 250 ml of the mixture and spread it out on something to dry in the sun and then put it in a plastic bag.
Place a small amount of the soil sample in a clean test tube. Add water and shake well. As the soil settles, the water changes colour to reveal the level of acidity or alkalinity. Compare the colour with the pH indicator chart that will be supplied in the kit. A pH of 5.5 - 7 is ideal.
If your soil is acidic, dolomitic lime can raise the pH. Sandy Soil: 2.3 kilograms (5 pounds) of limestone per 9.3 square metres (100 square feet). Raise the pH by 1 point. Loamy Soil: 4.5 kilograms (10 pounds) of limestone per 9.3 square metres (100 square feet). Raise the pH by 1 point.
clay soils. Sandy and gravelly soils contain a limited amount of plant food and dry out too quickly. Clay soils are cold, warm up very slowly and are difficult to work.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Increasing Acidity
- Milk of Magnesia
Clay Soil: 5.4 - 6.8 kilograms (12 to 15 pounds) of limestone per 9.3 square metres (100 square feet). Raise the pH by 1 point. Spread the powder by hand, going over your garden once in one direction and then again at right angles. Work the powder into the soil either by hand or by machine.
If your soil is too alkaline, calcium sulfate or gypsum can lower the pH a point with 1.8 kilograms (2 pounds) per 9.3 square meters (100 square feet). Gypsum contains calcium which your soil might not need. A better way to drop the pH one point is to work in 2.5 cms of peat moss.
Soil Improvement
If you have sandy or clay soil, the soil quality can be improved by adding organic matter. The organic matter is broken down by bacteria, fungi and earthworms, creating humus, a nutritious, fibrous material. Humus promotes good air flow through the soil and improves soil texture. Humus makes sandy soils hold more moisture. Heavy clay soils are more workable with humus. When plants grow they use up humus, so it must be replenished.
Plants obtain foods necessary for their growth from the air and from the soil. The three things plants need most are carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Plants get these components from air and water. Three major mineral nutrients needed by plants which are not supplied by the air but by the soil are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). Nitrogen builds leaves, phosphorus builds fruits and potassium builds roots.
Plants need other mineral nutrients that are usually present in well-composted soil. These minor nutrients are calcium, sulphur, magnesium, boron, chlorine, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum and zinc.
What are some symptoms of minor nutrient deficiencies? Research in gardening books or on the internet.
The soil does not contain an endless supply of plant foods (nutrients). Each time a crop is harvested, part of the supply of these nutrients is removed from the soil. Commercial fertilizer and organic matter are used to return these nutrients to the soil. Soil test kits can be purchased to test major nutrients in your soil. More elaborate tests can be conducted by sending soil samples to a laboratory for testing for a fee. Most laboratory soil tests are used by commercial (large) gardeners.
Garden store fertilizer bags have three numbers on them to point out their Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium (N,P,K) percentage.
For instance, this fertilizer bag marked 6 - 12 - 12 has 6 percent nitrogen, 12 percent phosphorus and 12 percent potassium. If this is 100 kilograms of fertilizer, it contains 6 kilograms nitrogen, 12 kilograms of phosphoric acid and 12 kilograms of potash. These figures total only 30 kilograms of plant food. The other 70 kilograms is carrier material - materials required to carry the primary plant nutrients and other nutrients.
Apply chemical fertilizer with care not to have direct contact with roots or tops as the chemical fertilizer may cause burning of leaf tissue. Scatter the fertilizer over the soil surface after digging and work it well into the topsoil with a rake.
Another method of applying chemical fertilizer before or at the time of planting is to place it in one or two bands. Each band should be 5 - 7.5 cms to the side of and 2.5 - 5 cms below the level of the seeds or planting row.
The major nutrients can also be replenished by organic methods. Slow-release fertilizers are excellent alternatives to soluble fertilizers. Because nutrients are released at a slower rate throughout the season, plants are able to take up most of the nutrients without waste by leaching.
Nitrogen is responsible for the growth of healthy leaves and is present in chlorophyll and most of plant parts. A sign of nitrogen deficiency is a lot of yellow leaves and new growth is stunted. Nitrogen can be added organically for example by using any of these products.
Organic Material % Nitrogen Blood Meal 14% N Fish Meal 10% N Chicken Manure 4 - 6% N Animal Manure 2 - 4% N
Application Rate 0.5 kilogram ( 1 pound) of 10% N per 9.3 square meters (100 square feet) 0.9 kilogram ( 2 pounds) of 5% N per 9.3 square meters (100 square feet) 1.2 kilograms (2.5 pounds) of 4% N per 9.3 square meters (100 square feet)
CAUTION: Feeding too much nitrogen will cause plants to develop a lot of leaves but have trouble flowering and fruiting.
Phosphorus is very important in photosynthesis and if it were not present there would be no new roots, shoots and flowerbuds. A sign of phosphorus deficiency is stunted growth and blue-green or bronze tonings on older leaves. Some organic sources of phosphorus are:
Organic Material % Phosphorus Bone Meal 24 - 28% P Superphosphate 20% P
Potassium regulates and aids chemical reactions within plants, promotes stem growth and also promotes plant hardiness. Some symptoms of a potassium deficiency are lustreless gray-green leaves with yellow spots. The affected leaves may brown at the edges, die and fall. Some organic sources of potassium are:
Organic Material % Potassium Kelp meal 3% K Crushed granite 4% K Wood ashes 8% K
Before you plant seeds the seedbed must be well worked. Good soil, that is loose, free of debris will produce a good garden. The soil should be dug to a depth of 10 to 20 cm ( 4 to 8 inches) to loosen the soil, turn under manure, old crops or other materials and to let the air and moisture pass though the soil.
All gardens, if possible, should be worked in the fall. The frost then helps to break up the lumps and put the soil in good condition. In the spring never work the soil when it is too wet; this causes lumpy, hard, compact soil. Remember to squeeze a handful of soil and if the soil clump crumbles easily, it is dry enough but if it sticks in a lump your soil is too wet.
Exploring Composting
Composting organic material accelerates the rotting process to produce soil improving material to add to your garden. Compost causes soil particles to cling together in bigger crumbs to improve drainage and aeration. Compost feeds plants, earthworms, useful soil organisms, retains moisture, makes digging easier, stabilized the pH of the soil and helps to reduce harmful bacteria and fungi. A useful resources guide is the Composting Council of Canada www.composting.org/
You can have a cold compost which takes a long time to rot down the material. A hot compost will heat up to 60oC or 71oC and rots down faster and kills many weed seeds and disease that may have been in the original material. The third compost is a worm farm that uses less organic material to produce a nutritious plant food or potting compost.
A cold compost example is the slow rotting of leaves. Collect fallen leaves in the fall and store in a wire mesh bin or black plastic bags punctured with air holes. The leaf mold will be ready to use the following fall as a source of humus, improving soil texture and moisture retention.
A hot compost is layering carbon-rich and nitrogen-rich ingredients with more carbon- rich materials than nitrogen-rich materials in a ration of 25 to 1. Think of carbon-rich material as brown matter and nitrogen-rich material as green matter. The brown matter can be dried leaves, hay, straw, partly dried garden debris, shredded stalks as these are high carbon sources. The brown matter is bulky, thus the main part of your compost pile. The nitrogen-rich material is the green matter which can be fresh green plants, kitchen wastes and fresh animal manure. You also need soil as it has microorganisms that are responsible for composting the organic material.
How to Build a Compost Bin
The compost bin should have at least one side that is removable, plank by plank to give easy access to the front of the heap.
Materials you will need. 4 85 cm battens 10 60 x 16 cm planks 2 80 cm battens nails or screws 10 1 m x 16 cm planks Wood should be water resistant but not pressure treated.
Step 1: To make the two sides, place five of the 1 m x 16 cm plans across two of the 85 cm battens. Make sure the ends of the plans are flush with the outside edge of the battens. Leave a 5 cm gap between the bottom plank and end of each batten.
Using two nails or screws for each, attach the planks to the battens. Repeat to make the second side panel.
Step 2: To construct the back panel, hold the two side panels upright one metre apart, by nailing scrapwood to straddle their tops. Starting at the top, nail or screw five of the 60 x 16 cm planks onto the side panels. For the front panel, nail or screw the two 80 cm battens just inside each front upright to create a housing for three of the 60 x 16 cm sliding planks, ensuring the planks fit between the battens.
Step 3: Ensure the stability of the structure when the front planks are removed, nail the two remaining 60 x 16 cm planks to the top and bottom of the front panel. You may want to nail a small piece of wood into the bottom in the spaces between each of the front battens to hold the sliding planks securely in place.
The ideal bin has two compartments. The first compartment is used to build the compost pile, the second bin is used to turn the compost from bin one to add more air to the mixture, and allow you to start more compost.
Building the Compost Heap
A compost pile is thin layers of different ingredients. Aerate the bottom of the pile with the brown matter, for example straw or hay. Add a small layer of green matter and then a thinner layer of soil or manure. Repeat the layers until your pile is about one metre tall as this is enough mass to have the inside of the pile heat up. Keep the compost pile damp but not soggy. If you have heavy rainfall cover the bin to prevent the pile from becoming too wet.
In a few days the interior of the pile will begin to heat up. Gradually the interior will get very hot which is hot enough to destroy pests, diseases and weed seeds. After a couple of weeks the pile will begin to cool down. Turn the pile mixing the parts from the outside into the inside. The mixing of the material and adding more air to the mixture will start the heating cycle again. You might tun the pile one more time and then leave it. The composting is complete when you can not identify any of the original ingredients.
Exploring Worm Composting
Worm farming or vermiculture is composting with worms. Worms are an important contribution to soil and as such are part of gardening in garden soil or using vermicompost in flower pots or container gardens. Anyone can have a worm bin as you are recycling your kitchen garbage. Managing a worm bin and displaying plants grown in vermicompost is Unit 4 of Exploring
A worm bin should be 30 - 45 cm deep with holes on the side, bottom and top as air is very important to the worm bin environment. Pieces of screen should cover the holes to keep bedding in and flies out. The size of a bin for a 4 - 6 person family is 130 cm x 60 cm x 90 cm, made of exterior grade plywood.
Materials needed are 2 pieces 1.5 cm x 90 cm x 30 cm 2 pieces 1.5 cm x 58.5 cm x 30 cm 1 piece 1.5 cm x 60 cm x 90 cm 38 3.7 cm screws.
Interlock the corner of the sides with four screws securing each side. Use five to seven screws per side to fasten the bottom to the sides. To allow for aeration, drill six 2.5 cm holes on one side along the bottom and six 2.5 cm holes along the top of the other side. Staple screen to cover the holes on the inside of the bin. Have a piece of black plastic to cover the top to help retain moisture.
The major component of the worm bin is bedding which retains moisture, gives a working environment for the worms an also is a place to bury your kitchen wastes. Bedding materials can be shredded black ink newspaper that are hand ripped into strips 2.5 cm - 7.5 cm wide. Paper shredding machines are also a great source of worm bedding if you can find access to a supplier in your local community. Leaf mold, the partially decomposed leaves at the bottom of a leaf pile can be added to your bedding. Adding some farmyard manure to your bedding will give your worms some nutrients.
Your bedding must have moisture and should feel damp but not soggy. The worm bin should have a 75% moisture level to allow the worms to breathe. Weigh the bedding and add water to 3 times its weight, for example, ad 6 kg water to 2 kg bedding. In a large container, divide half the bedding and half the water and mix. Then add one to two
Gardens, Big & Small. This chapter is before other unit work, as worm composting can be incorporated into any of the other units in this project.
A worm bin with holes to allow for air movement is filled with bedding and worms are added. Kitchen organic waste is dug into the bin and the worms turn the bedding and kitchen waste into worm castings. Worm bins can be bought at some garden centres or you can construct your own.
handfuls of soil and the remaining bedding and water. Mix again until the bedding is damp and the water is distributed throughout all the bedding. Dump the entire contents from the container into your worm bin and distribute the bedding evenly and you are ready to add worms.
NOTE: If your bedding is manure, you want the manure damp. Squeeze a handful and it should produce three to four drops of water. If it produces more water it is too wet. Water needs to be added to manure two days before you add your worms as the manure heats up and this could kill your worms.
In the worm bin 30 cm x 60 cm x 90 cm you should add 0.9 kg to 1.4 kgs (2 to 3 pounds) of worms. Worms are sold by the pound and for a list of worm farmers check the internet site http://www.cityfarmer.org/wormsupl79.html for a list of worm suppliers throughout British Columbia.
Depending on your weather and bin location, care should be taken when ordering worms. The hardiest redworms are Eisenia fetida and Eisenia andrei. Some worm suppliers have Eudrilus eugeniae, known as African Nightcrawlers. This species is from the tropics and need an optimum temperature of 15 - 25oC and if the temperature falls below 10oC, the African nightcrawler will die. Therefore only purchase African Nightcrawler if you live in warm climates or can put your worm bin in a heated building.
Your 0.9 kg to 1.4 kgs (2 to 3 pounds) of worms will need to be fed 0.5 kg organic matter per day. The organic matter you can feed is vegetable wastes, plate scrappings but no meat products. You can also feed tea bags, coffee grounds & filters, crushed egg shells. Use caution when feeding citrus rinds as too many may kill your worms. Garbage that can not be fed includes non-biodegradable items and pet feces.
Collect your kitchen garbage in a open container as air will reduce odours. Empty your garbage container in different locations in your worm bin. For example on day 1 bury the garbage in the top left hand corner (location 1) of your worm bin. Day 2 bury the garbage in a new location, directly below (location 2). Continue this rotation of locations in about nine different spots in your bin.
To bury your garbage, cover the waste with 2.5 - 5 cms of bedding. Covering the garbage
will protect it from flies and ensure the worms have an adequate source of carbon.
As you add your garbage, you are adding moisture to your bin. The excess water will collect at the bottom of the bin. Excess water is mainly in plastic bins and can be drained off as a “vermicompost tea”, that can be used to water plants.
After six weeks your bedding will get darker and the bedding volume will slowly decrease as the bedding and garbage has been eaten by the worms and become castings. (Castings: worm excretion, rich in organic matter and nutrients. Used as soil amendment or planting medium.) At about two or three months, you will need to harvest your bins. If is now time to separate the worms from the castings and give the worms fresh bedding. To do this you need the following:
h large white sheet of heavy plastic h lamp with 100-watt bulb if your are working inside h plastic dish pan or other container for worms h plastic or metal garbage can for vermicompost h fresh bedding
Spread the plastic sheet on the ground and dump the entire contents of the worm bin on the plastic. Make nine pyramid-shaped piles. If you are outside in bright light or using the 100-watt light in a building, the worms will quickly move into each vermicompost pile. Leave the piles for five to ten minutes and then gently remove the outer surface of each pile, the vermicompost into your garbage can. Eventually the worms will aggregate in a mass at the bottom of each pile. Collect the worms into the container and place the worms back in the worm bins. You may wish to weigh the worms as your worm population may increase so that you might need to expand your number of worm bins.
If you are interested in increasing the number of worms, let your vermicompost sit for about three weeks to allow the cocoons (worm egg sacks) to hatch and baby worms to mature. Attract the worm after three weeks with a long, narrow strip of food. Use a blender to make a slurry of some garbage with oatmeal or cornmeal in it. With your fingers or a trowel, make a groove down the center of the vermicompost and fill the groove with the slurry. In a couple of days, you will be able to remove batches of young worms from underneath this narrow strip. Repeat this two or three times to obtain new hatchlings.
Your worm bin can be active year round if you can place the bins in a heated location in the winter. Cold and heat can kill the worms. Worms work at their optimum at 20oC - 25oC and need at least 4oC for survival. When the temperature goes above 30oC the worm bin activity is reduced and temperatures at 35oC will overheat and kill the worms. In the summer place the bin in the shade or put wet burlap around the bin. For more worm and vermiculture information, check the resources listed at the back of the manual.
Worm Bins and Compost Teas Mary Appelhof (Permission granted to reprint)
Kalamazoo, MI. Compost teas are one of the hottest things going out on the west coast, ranging from California to Alaska. These brews are full of beneficial microbes that can put life back into soil that has had its life-giving qualities removed by excess applications of fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. Gardeners, organic growers, and large-scale farmers alike are finding that spraying compost tea as a foliar spray and as a soil drench improves crop yields at the same time it reduces or eliminates fertilizer and pesticide use.
A common belief in the twentieth century was that all bugs are bad. That’s not true. The majority of bacteria and protozoa, fungi and nematodes are beneficial. We want them in our soil. Compost teas are the best way to get these microorganisms back into the soil where they can make nitrogen available and release other nutrients plants require as they need them.
Compost tea is something you can brew yourself with a minimum of effort. We’re talking about aerated teas, those that have oxygen actively introduced into the brewing solution so that the only microorganisms that reproduce are the aerobic ones. This can be done with an aquarium aerator or more powerful pump. You place good compost, that is, compost known to have millions of bacteria, high biomass of fungi, thousands of protozoa, and a few beneficial nematodes into liquid in a container with various food sources to support their growth. Worm bins are a good source of these organisms that multiply thousands of times in this favorable environment. After 12-48 hours, depending on the brewer, you strain the liquid and spray the tea, coating leaves and soil with these beneficial organisms. Biological processes multiply their effects. Protozoa eat bacteria, releasing nitrogen that plants can use. Fungal hyphae (strands) grow out and bring in nutrients plants need. The beneficial organisms coat leaf surfaces so that pathogens can’t find a place to land and take hold.
When you use a worm bin to process your own food discards you can generate a diverse and local source of beneficial microorganisms to make a superb compost tea to restore and enhance fertility in your soil. What else can you ask for?
Mary Appelhof is author of Worms Eat My Garbage and has been working with worms for over 30 years. Visit her website at: http://www.wormwoman.com and subscribe to her free WormEzine.
©2003 by Mary Appelhof
Learn more about vermiculture with Mary Appelhof’s Wormania video. Your leader has a copy.
Exploring Garden Tools
Good quality garden tools are essential for whatever garden 4-H project you choose to do. A wide array of gardening tool are available, but by careful consideration of your project you should narrow your gardening toolkit to your needs. The essentials are: spade, garden fork, trowel, hoe, hose, gloves and a rake. Invest your money wisely on garden tools by buying good quality tools that will last you for many garden seasons.
Spade:
A spade has a flat blade with a flat edge and a D-shaped grip. It should have a sharp cutting edge to slice into the earth. Spades are used for lifting sod, digging over soil and making planting holes.
Garden Fork: A fork has four tines about 25 - 30 cms in length and are straight. Purchase a fork with thick, strong tines that will not soon become bent or broken. A garden fork is used for loosening soil, turning the compost, digging potatoes but remember it is not a crowbar and is not used for prying rocks or roots out of the soil.
Trowel:
A trowel is a miniature spade with a blade 15 - 25 cms long and almost straight. Trowels are used for planting out seedlings, light weeding, cultivating in rock gardens, raised bends and containers. Choose a thick, strong trowel, as a poor quality will soon bend and become a useless tool.
Hoe:
Hoes are used for weeding around plants and breaking the soil surface. You have a choice of a few varieties of hoes, a hoe shaped like a stirrup called a Dutch hoe or a swan-neck, broad-faced hoe. The Dutch hoe skims along the surface of the soil, loosening young weeds which may then be sliced through. The Dutch hoe if held so that the blade is at a right angle to the soil can be used to break-up and aerate the topsoil. A heavier broad-faced hoe is used for chopping motion on large weeds and is useful for making seed drills and marking out lines. A Dutch hoe should meet your gardening needs.
Hose: Hoses come in varying lengths and quality. Ideally you want a kink and split resistant hose and remember to drain it and store it inside in winter.
Rake:
A garden rake has short tines and should be a sturdy, steel rake. Rakes are used for cultivating the soil, collecting stones, leaves and other debris. Invert the rake, with the tines upward, to level the ground.
Many other tools are available and may be essential to particular gardening needs. Purchasing good quality tools is worth the investment . Tools require care, as well- cared-for tools last longer, are easier to use and do a better job.
Never leave tools lying around. If not in immediate use, tools such as spades and forks should be stood upright , stuck into the ground. Rakes and hoes should be propped against a tree or fence; never leave them lying flat with tines or blades upright.
Store your tools under cover when not in use. Keep your tools clean by hosing off dirt, drying and rubbing the metal surface with an oily rag to prevent rusting. Rub some linseed oil onto wood handles to help preserve the wood. If your tool has a cutting edge, sharpen the edge with a flat file, rubbing the file at an angle against the cutting edge (the side that isn’t flat). Hold the file at the same angle while sharpening until a thin band along the edge looks shiny and the tip feels sharp.
Exploring A Vegetable Garden
Many people tend to think of vegetables when gardening is mentioned, so let’s look at Unit 1of the Gardening Project. The previous chapters have prepared your garden soil and now you are ready to plan, plant and care for your own vegetables. A beginner gardener will be tending an area of at least 5 m x 5 m (16 x 16 feet).
The Vegetable Plan
It is important to make a plan of your garden and this plan should be completed well ahead of planting time. To plan your vegetable garden, ask yourself these questions.
h Which vegetable will I grow? h Which varieties are the best? h How many seeds or seedlings will I need? h How far apart should the rows and plants be spaced? h When is the best time to plant each crop?
Consider the following when planning your garden.
1. If the rows run east and west, the tall crops like corn and pole beans should be planted on the north side of the garden so they do not shade the shorter crops.
2. Run the rows across the slope if your garden location is not level. This prevents water run-off and soil erosion.
3. Perennial vegetables should be planted to one side of the garden so they will not interfere with cultivation of the rest of the garden.
4. Plant vine crops in the center of the garden with any early vegetable crops planted on either side; these will be harvested by the time the vine crops spread, or plant vine crops to one side where they will not climb over others.
5. Plant crops of similar maturity dates together.
6. For best pollination, plant corn in 2 - 3 short rows rather than one long row.
EXAMPLE OF A VEGETABLE GARDEN PLAN
V
P
A S P A R A G U S
CORN (tall plants)
A
SOUTH
Task: * With your leader’s help, plot your garden on scrap paper. * Include N-S-E-W directions, and vegetable names. * Sketch your finished garden plan and insert the plan in your record book.
If you are in your second year or more of gardening, crop rotation is a natural way to keep your garden soil and plants healthy. You can discourage pests and diseases by not planting the same family of crops in the same patch of soil two years in a row.
The Family Groups of Vegetables
Cucurbitaceae (cucumber): cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, squash
Cruciferae (mustard): broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale, kohlrabi, mustard, radishes, turnip
Solanaceae (tomato): eggplants, peppers, potatoes, tomatoes
Umbelliferae (carrot): carrots, dill, parsley, parsnips
Liliaceae (onion): garlic, leeks, onions, scallion, shallots
Chenopodiaceae (beet): beets, Swiss chard, spinach
By having a garden plan, you have created a record of what families you have planted. In subsequent years, you can rotate the planting areas of the vegetable families by following the guide illustrated below.
CUCUMBER FAMILY
MUSTARD FAMILY
TOMATO FAMILY
CARROT FAMILY
ONION FAMILY
Starting and Growing Transplants
Some of the vegetables in your garden plan may need to be started early. Some of these vegetables are cabbage, tomatoes, pepper, cauliflower, egg-plant, broccoli, celery and head lettuce.
Amount of Time Required to Grow Plants from Seed to Transplant Onions 10 to 12 weeks Cauliflower 6 to 8 weeks Peppers 8 to 10 weeks Cabbage 6 to 8 weeks Eggplant 8 to 10 weeks Lettuce 4 to 6 weeks Celery 8 to 10 weeks Kohlrabi 4 to 6 weeks Tomatoes 5 to 7 weeks Broccoli 4 to 6 weeks
You can start your seeds in a variety of containers from cut-off milk cartons, deep-side disposable aluminium pans or any container at least 7.5 cms deep with small holes for drainage. Many gardeners make wooden flats to start their plants, that are 30 x 37.5 cms and is 7.5 - 10 cms deep. Leave a narrow gap between the bottom boards to provide drainage and cover the base with newspapers or leaves to keep the soil from draining out.
A good soil for starting seeds may be made by mixing together one-fourth sand, one- fourth rotted manure and one-half good garden loam. If well rotted leaf mold or compost is on hand, this mixed with one-third sand is one of the best soils to use in flats. A soil too rich is undesirable. The soil must have organic matter to provide plant food and to hold moisture and it must be loose to allow the roots to penetrate.
Firm the soil by packing it lightly, then mark into rows using a straight edge. Make rows
BEET FAMILY
0.5 cm deep and 2.5 - 5 cms apart. Plant the seeds about 2.5 cms apart, barely cover and firm the soil lightly. Sprinkle the flat carefully with lukewarm water. Place your flat in a warm place, such as on top of your water heater, above a floor register, or use a heating mat/cable to have successful germination.
When the young plants show their first true leaves, they should be thinned carefully and those removed transplanted to another flat. Transplant the seedlings by pricking out plants. The soil should be moist, not soggy. Slice out a section of plants and place them on a damp cloth, keeping the roots as covered and moist as possible. With a butter knife or a fork, carefully work one plant free and pick it up by its seed leaves.
Set each plant in a small hole, as deep up the stem as before or a little deeper. Pack the soil around it gently and water well to assure good soil-to-root contact. Space these seedlings 5 - 7.5 cms apart. If they start to wilt right after transplanting, don’t add more water, but let them rest in a shady spot for a day and they should perk back up.
Seeds need to be kept constantly moist for germination. Never let the soil dry out but on the other hand, don’ flood your soil and drown your seeds. You want the soil mix moist but not soggy, like a wrung-out sponge.
After the seed has germinated, place the flat in a sunny location. Water and turn the box every other day so that all the plants will get an equal amount of sunshine. Do not water too heavily. It is a good idea to cover the flat with paper after seeding and keep it covered until the seedlings break through. When can we begin watering the seeds less often? After the plants are 5 cms tall, let the soil surface dry between waterings to help prevent root rot.
To help your seedlings prepare themselves for your garden you should set them outside for a few hours every day. Make the transition gradual by at first setting them out only on cloudy, calm day. If you place them out on a sunny day, place your seedlings a shady spot. Bit by bit, build up their hardiness by putting them outdoors for longer periods, during cooler days , and through warmer nights. After a week or two they should be able to be placed outdoors full time.
Cold Frames
Cold frames are very useful in protecting young plants in the early spring. You can plant seeds in a cold frame several weeks earlier than you can in the open garden.
Cold frames are made from 2.5 - 5 cm lumber and should be about 30 cms high on one side and 45 cms on the other. This gives the top a good slope so rain will run off. The tops are usually made of 1m x 2m sash or frames covered with glass or with a glass substitute. By raising and lowering the sash, the temperature can be controlled and fresh air admitted.
Plants started in your house, greenhouse or hotbed can be hardened off gradually in a cold frame and will be ready for planting when outside conditions are right.
Planting Your Garden
Depending on the weather in your part of British Columbia, planting generally starts in mid-May. You will need the following items to plant your garden; your plan, seeds or transplants, a hoe, rake, trowel, stakes, hammer, string, garden labels and a measuring stick.
Some kinds of hardy vegetables like early cabbage, cauliflower, radishes, carrots, and head lettuce can be set out as plants as early in the spring as the soil is worked. Seeds of spinach and peas can also be planted. The more tender vegetables like corn, beans, tomatoes, peppers and melons must wait for warm soil and until the danger from frosty nights is past.
Select a mild day for sowing the seed. Begin on one side of the garden plot and place the first row as suggested in your “garden plan”. Hammer a stake into the ground and place the string where the first row is to be, stretch it as tight as possible and with the corner of the hoe or other implement draw out a V-shaped furrow to the required depth. A general rule of depth is two times the width of the seed. Therefore small seeds like onions, radishes, turnips, lettuce and carrots have a very shallow V-shaped furrow.
For your 4-H record keeping you need to keep a written chart of the vegetables you plant, dates planted and harvested. This is especially important if you plan to make several plantings of a fast maturing vegetable during the growing season. Filling out a record, will provide a good reference for when you are planning your garden next year.
An example of the record sheet you need to develop for your record book is:
Vegetable Date of Planting Date First Seedling Date of 1st Appeared Harvest
My Garden Record
Caring For Your Garden
After planting, the real fun of helping your garden grow begins. Regular care will result in a good yield of healthy vegetables. Gardening care is watering, weeding, thinning and controlling pests.
Watering A freshly planted garden, new seeds or freshly sprouted seedlings, need the surface soil to be constantly moist. As your plants grow, their roots travel deeper in the soil, thus you will need more water to reach their roots.
Your plants will indicate when they need water. If the leaves look limp at the beginning or end of the day, a good watering is needed. A sprinkler or drip-irrigation will get water to your plants. A drip-irrigation is a hose with small valves or soaker hoses that are a porous material that allows moisture out of the length of the hose. These hoses are very efficient waterers as you water at the base of the plant, soaking in the soil and lose little moisture to air evaporation.
A watering wand is also a great watering tool as it allows you to evenly water the ground around a plant. The closer you can water a plant at the base, the better as you can conserve water. A gentle spray of water should be used as you do not want to “beat” your soil and compact it, thus less water will enter the soil. Also using this watering method can prevent less disease on leaves.
When watering, you want to water to the depth of the feeder roots and beyond. Water deeply once every 7 to 10 days as this will promote deep rooting. Watering more often, and applying less water will promote shallow rooting which may cause the plant to be more susceptible to heat injury, drought, traffic stress and winter injury.
The actual length of time of watering will depend on: h The type of plant (moisture loving or drought resistant). h The depth of the feeder roots of a particular plant. h The soil type (a predominantly clay soil will absorb more water than a sandy
soil and therefore will need watering less often). h Weather conditions (hot, dry, and windy or cold and wet) h Competition with other roots.
Watering earlier in the day should result in the absence of “free water” by the early evening when cooler temperature (combined with water on plant surfaces) would encourage the growth of powdery mildew and other fungal problems.
For water - loving plants like tomatoes, recycle plastic two-litre milk jugs. Punch a few holes in the bottom. Dig a small hole beside the plant, 2.5 - 5 cms deep, and set the plastic milk jug in. Fill the jug with water and the water will slowly seep into the soil near the plant’s roots.
Weeding
As your vegetables grow, so do weeds. Weed seeds can lie dormant in the soil for years, waiting for the right condition to germinate; you working the soil in your garden preparation. Weeds will start appearing before some of your seeds geminate, and this is the time to remove weds. Weeding small weeds is much easier than weeding large ones. Weeds compete for water, light and multiply!
A few days after you plant your garden, use your Dutch hoe in between your labelled vegetable rows. The Dutch hoe cuts right under the soil and you will cut off weeds you do not already see. Hoe the area again in 10 days to stop the new batch of weeds. At this time, also use your rake to remove weeds. In another 10 to 14 days, hoe it again and keep hoeing on a 10 day rotation to control weeds. Experienced gardeners will tell you that young weeds are much easier to rid of then mature weeks, thus your dedication to weeding will make gardening more enjoyable.
Some weeds will sprout in your vegetable rows, and you will need to hand weed these. Make sure you can identify your vegetable plants before weeding.
Thinning Tiny vegetable seeds geminate into too many plants that crowd each other and do not grow well. Lettuce, spinach and carrots are all examples of the plants you must thin or their roots become twisted and deformed, or plants get too crowded.
Thinning should be done on a dull day or in the evening when the soil is moist. The best time to thin is when the seedlings have developed the first pair of true leaves. In thinning, remove the smaller seedlings and keep those which look to be strongest and healthiest.
With some vegetables, thinning is not necessary when the seedlings are very small. Lettuce, radish, beets and carrots can be thinned first when plants are large enough to be used on the table. For large straight carrots, they should be spaced 5 cm apart. Turnips and parsnips are not used before they are mature and so they should be given plenty of space. Check the seed catalogues or packages for spacing.
Other crops also need hilling, where you add soil around the stem to protect the crop from the sun. Potatoes are hilled, beets and turnips are hilled and carrots should be covered to the stem to prevent the tops from sunburn. Hill your plants as you cultivate with your hoe.
Pests
Garden pest are insects, disease and even some animals. Much trouble from both insects and diseases can be prevented by taking proper care of the garden plants. Healthy plants do not suffer as much from attacks of disease and insects as do weak ones.
Basic preventative measures can reduce your pest problems. Two excellent resources are available on-line from the BC Ministry of Agriculture Food & Fisheries. These are listed in the resources at the end of the manual.
Learn about insects in your area and potential biological controls to try to attract to your garden. These biological controls are such things as toads, birds, ladybugs & other beneficial insects. When researching the problem pests, learn when their peak population occur and try to plan your harvest before the peak occurs or planting after. For example, Cabbage Root Maggots hatch out around two weeks before the last frost date, therefore you would plant out your cabbage two weeks later.
When selecting plants, look for disease-resistant varieties. Research companion planting when planning your garden. Some mixing of plants can jumble the sight and scent signals making it harder for specific pests to locate their preferred foods.
Rotating crops in subsequent years will help reduce disease and insects. After your gardening season, clean up your garden and compost which will kill many insect eggs and larvae.
Prevention reduces pests but they still can invade your garden. Identify the pest and refer to your pre-planting pest research for ways to control and remove. Ideally you should look for non- chemical solutions as you want healthy vegetables. You can hand-pick bugs such as the Colorado Potato Beetle larva. Hand-picking works best early in the season before the insect can multiply into larger numbers and to pick early in the day when they tend to be lethargic. You can barricade such predators as cutworms with a cardboard circle around the base of young broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower plants. Use tar paper or a thick pile of ashes around the base of the same plants to prevent cabbage fly from laying eggs.
Your garden will also be a home to many beneficial insects. There are more than one million insects species in the world and only one-tenth of them are pests. To keep your beneficial insects follow these practices.
1) never spray a broad-spectrum pesticide 2) grow plants these insects like to feed on.
Other natural predators of insect pests are robins, finches, chickadees, starlings, wrens, sparrows, warblers, bats, toads and snakes. To attract these to your garden grow a variety of plants and provide them a water source in your garden.
If your insect problem is severe, you might need to resort to using sprays. Ask your club leader or parents to help you in choosing and applying.
Do Not Spray on a Windy Day!
When using pesticides, i is imparative that you read the label and follow the directions exactly - only using pesticides on the plants for which they are recommended. Only use domestic pesticides that have a PCP number - this means they are legal and safe if applied correctly. Ready-to use pesticides are easier to use as no mixing is required. There are many laws which govern pesticide use.
hHang bars of deodorant soap (especially Dial) to repel them. (Downfall, deodorant soap attracts groundhogs.)
hHave an alert dog that sleeps outside. hSpray a solution of one egg in 4 litres of water on vulnerable plants. hHang dog or human hair in small cheesecloth or nylon sacks. hAttach scented dryer sheets to branches and replace frequently h Plus there are many other suggestions in the Home & Garden
Pest Management Guide for British Columbia.
Start with the least toxic spray first such as: hWater from a good squirting hose will wash off aphids or other leaf-clinging
insects. hB.T. (Bacillus thuringiensis) is a stomach bacteria that kills caterpillars but will
not harm worms, honeybees, etc. hHorticultural oil can smother pests. Use them early or late in the day so that you
do not smother honeybees and try out on leaves first to see if it is toxic to your plants.
hSoaps such as Safers. Follow the manufacturers directions. h Insecticidal DE, Diatomaceous Earth, which is a fine dust that scratches the
insects body causing them to dry out. It works best on slugs and snails.
There are other pesticides that are toxic to insect pests as well as beneficial insects and others such as birds and toads. Use these as a last resort and have an adult help you. These organic pesticides are Sabadilla, Neem, Pyrethrum and Rotenone.
Many animals will also enjoy your gardening efforts. The costly way to keep them out is to fence or you can simply monitor which animals are visiting and see if there is another “control” method.
Deer are almost everywhere in B.C. and love to nibble on gardens. There are many way to deter deer with the expenses of a three metre deer fence. Try these tricks.
Dogs and cats will visit your garden and if they are a nuisance try these: hGrow catnip near the edge of your property to distract cats. h Don’t leave any garbage exposed in your compost pile. hHave an alert dog that like to protect its territory from other visitors.
Gophers and moles are another animal pest. Actually moles do good in your garden as they eat insects, but their tunnels may provide safe passage for plant-nibbling mice. Gophers, though, love to eat crops, have big appetites and are unwelcome in your garden. If you have these annoying creatures try:
hSpreading human hair, dog hair, ground red pepper, tobacco dust, chili powder or powdered garlic around the tunnels. Repeat weekly or as needed.
hStick blackberry or elderberry cuttings in the tunnel. hSpray a castor oil solution 15 ml ( 1 tablespoon) each of
castor oil and liquid dish detergent per 4 litres of water on your soil and vulnerable plants.
Groundhogs (a.k.a Woodchucks) are grazers and love corn, gras, peas, beans, broccoli, carrots and many of your other vegetables. If this larger animal is visiting your garden you should try:
hA live-animal Havahart trap baited with apples, carrots, ripe bananas or other goodies. Put the trap in a semi concealed location near their burrows or trails of matted grass. Release far away from gardens.
hA barking dog may scare it off, but avoid a confrontation between the dog and the animal as it could be harmful to your dog.
hSpread ground red pepper around your garden and its tunnel.
hRemove woodchuck shelter from near your garden.
Mice love your gardening efforts and some controls are: hA cat. hEncourage the presence of snake and owls by creating or leaving sheltering
ground-level and arboreal habitat. hScatter fresh or dried mint leaved as a repellent. hUse mouse traps.
Rabbits that cause damage can be detoured by: hSprinkling black pepper, ground hot pepper, garlic powder, mint leaves around
the garden as rabbits always sniff before they eat. hTrap and release. h Grow onion, garlic, or aromatic marigolds as a deterrent.
Raccoons like melons and other fruits but especially enjoy your corn. Skunks also like corn but do eat insects. If you have these night invaders try:
hGrowing long-vined winter squash, pumpkins, or hairy-stemmed pole beans among your corn.
h Leave a radio tuned to an all-night TALK show in your corn patch.
hSet up a blinking or rotating light (remember your neighbours).
hCover corn ears with plastic mesh bags, pantihose or foil.
hTrap them before your corn gets ripe. They like peanut butter, sardines, honeyed bread and marshmallows.
Birds are good for your garden but sometimes the wrong type, crows, come to visit. Other birds will enjoy berries and other vine fruits. To discourage birds try:
hString fish line, black thread near vulnerable crop, as these will confuse and deter birds.
hCover individual bushes with bird netting. hStart your corn plants indoors and then transplant them in the garden. hSpread lime down corn rows. h Try inflatable snakes or owls. hPut red-painted nuts in your strawberry patch before your crop ripens. The
birds may get so discouraged pecking at these they may not come back when the strawberries are ripe.
hCover new corn rows with wire mesh tunnels until the sprouts are at least 5 cm high.
The last garden pest is plant diseases. By practising good preventative methods, your garden should remain disease free. If you do however find diseased plant leaves or vegetables, there are book resources and many of the garden shops will have experts who can assist you with your identification and treatment of the disease.
Practise the following preventative strategies.
1) Good sanitation in your garden can prevent disease; similar to washing your hands to prevent colds. Clean up dead plant debris as if left over winter diseases and insects stay in your garden for the next gardening season.
2) Remove diseased plants and burn them. A hot compost will also kill the disease but it needs to reach 550C.
3) If you are using transplants in your garden only transplant healthy plants. Look for disease signs like mottled leaves, knobby or weak roots, etc.
4) Clean your equipment by using a 99% rubbing alcohol, wash off and then oil immediately or your tools will rust when you put your tools away over winter.
5) Use compost as it has good bacteria and fungi that fight disease-causing organisms.
6) Dry foliage can prevent disease as diseases in the soil infect leaves by splashing water. Keeping foliage dry varies throughout the province and if you live in humid areas your chances of some diseases increase.
7) Practise watering early in the day so that your foliage has an opportunity to dry off. Drip irrigation is even better as the water does not even touch the leaves.
8) If your plants are wet, do not work with them as one plant could spread disease to another by the moisture you pick up from the plant.
9) Keep plants well-spaced. Crowded plants take longer for their leaves to dry after rain and can create miniature fog pockets, potential incubators for disease. Well-spaced prevents mildew.
10) Use mulch, a layer or organic matter, around your plants to keep plants from becoming water-stressed. The mulch is also a good splash-guard for your plants as it does not allow the soil to be splashed up on the leaves.
11) Make sure your garden has good drainage as wet soil leads to rot and other diseases.
12) If you live in a very wet area, you might consider making a cover for your susceptible plants, e.g. tomatoes. By keeping them out of the rain, you can reduce blight.
13) Rotating your crops in subsequent years helps to break the cycle of soil borne diseases.
14) Research resistant varieties of plants as plant breeders have used different varieties to produce cultivars. See packages and catalogues will use key works like “immune”, “resistant”, “tolerant” or “susceptible” to describe the descending order of disease resistance.
15) Time your plantings around specific diseases that hit your area. Some examples are : Nematodes (underground root ruiners) tend to build up toward the end of summer. Wet spring weather fosters diseases like bean rust.
If you get disease you can control its spread.
a. Clip off infected leaves and stems and remember to dip your cutting tool in a 99% rubbing alcohol. Burn or hot compost the diseased material.
b. Use a compost tea to spray on foliage as it is a natural fungicide. If you have livestock manure in your compost, you make a compost tea by mixing compost into water and set it in a shady spot to age for two weeks. Strain through cheesecloth, add some water if it seems too thick and put the solution in a sprayer or watering can. Thoroughly wet both the tops and bottoms of the leaves and repeat the treatment every 10 to 14 days.
c. Baking soda in a solution of 5 ml to 1 litre water with a few drops of dish washing liquid can control and prevent mildew and several other fungi and can even help with some blights. You need to spray this solution every 10 to 14 days.
d. Sterilization of the soil may be necessary if your seedlings tend to dampen off ( a mold topples new sprouts) as your plants frequently get diseased. Soil sterilization is before planting and it kills everything in the soil.
e) There are other organic fungicides that will kill beneficial insects and are also harmful to you. Consult an expert for their use and have adult assistance in application.
f) Consult the Home & Garden Pest Management Guide for British Columbia as a resource for pest and disease control.
Harvesting
Harvesting from your garden happens as each crop matures for eating. Most vegetables are best for eating if you pick them while they are young and tender. Keep a close watch when they are nearly ready so that you can pick them before they become over- ripe and tough. Vegetables taste best if picked just before cooking and eating. Vegetables to be stored during the winter must be mature so they will store well. The following outlines the harvesting methods for the common vegetable corps.
Beans
A 1.8 - 3.0 meters ( 6 - 10 feet) row of beans feeds four people. Pick beans when they are young and small. The more you pick, the more the plant will produce. Harvesting begins about 10 weeks after seedlings appear.
Beets
Beets can be harvested quite early for eating fresh or allowed to mature for pickling. If beets have been sown thickly, the first ones removed for thinning purposes can be used on the table. Both the roots and leaves can be used as beet greens are as good as spinach.
Beets for pickling are best picked when they are and about 2.5 - 5 cm in size. Beets for table use and for storage should not be larger than 7.5 cm in diameter. When beets are allowed to grow too large, they are coarse and tough. Solid, firm beets are best for storage. Any beets with cracks or other injury should not be stored and should be eaten as soon as possible after they are harvested. Beets should be dug carefully in early October. Side roots should never be removed from beets when they are being stored. The tops should be cut off, leaving about 1 cm at the crown. The roots should be stored in dry soil and dry sand in the cellar or root-house. Beets can also be buried in a pit but must be brought into the cellar before winter sets in.
Broccoli
Cut the central head with some stem attached when the buds are still tight. Side shoots will develop new heads that can be harvested.
Carrots Carrots can be used throughout the whole summer. Most gardeners seed carrots thickly as carrot seeds are so small. When thinning carrots you can use the ones pulled for the table. Several thinnings can be done over the summer but be careful not to allow too much space for carrots early in summer for they can become too large and coarse by fall. Young, tender carrots are more tasty.
Carrots should not be left in the ground too late in the fall. In early October they should be dug carefully and the tops cut off about 1 cm from the crown. Store carrots where there is no danger of frost in moist soil.
Corn
Harvest corn when cobs fill out and silk turns brown. The cobs will stand on the stalk at an angle. White, not clear sap will ooze from a pierced kernel when it is ripe. Flavour deteriorates quickly after harvest. Eat the same day as harvest if possible. Keep husks on until just before use.
Cucumbers
For pickling varieties, harvest when fruit is about 10 cm long. Slicing varieties are best when about 15 cm long and 5 cm in diameter. Harvest the crop weekly. Do not allow the cucumbers to grow too large as they are tough and bitter. If left too long, the vise will stop flowring and the old fruit should be discarded.
Lettuce
Lettuce is ready for use when any leaves are large enough. Lettuce will produce seed stalks in hot dry weather and will not be suitable for food. When planting in spring, sow seeds in a one metre row and then sow the next row when the previous has germinated. In hot areas, do not sow in summer.
Onions
Pull spring or non-keeping onions as needed. Long-keeping onions are matured in the ground until their tops die back. At maturity the bulbs should be large and firm. Onions should be pulled about the middle of September and left on top of the ground in the sun for 2 - 3 weeks. When they are dry, any soil should be wiped off being careful not to remove the outer skin. After the tops have been cut off, they should be placed in open-mesh sacks or in bins with slated openings.
Peas
Plant 3 metres of peas every three weeks for a continuous crop. Pick garden peas and whole pod (sugar snap) peas as soon as they are mature. Snow peas are picked when the pods are small and the peas just visible. Pick often as this will stimulate more flowers. When pulling peas, always use both hands so that no damage is done to the vine. As soon as peas have been pulled they should be shelled, cooked and served. They lose their flavour after being pulled.
Peppers
Peppers and chilies are harvested when they are green or when they are fully ripe and coloured. Ripe peppers are the sweetest and ripe chilies are the hottest. Leave some stem attached to the fruit when you pick it. Most peppers are green when immature and can be harvests as such. To get their final colours, leave on vine until they are red, yellow, orange or purple.
Potatoes
Plant only certified disease-free seed potatoes. Potatoes take 3 - 4 months to mature. Dig potatoes after the top growth has died or dig shortly after flowers fall for thin-skinned early potatoes.
Pumpkin
Pick before frosts when the vine has died down. Leave a portion of the hard, dry stem attached to the pumpkin. The fruit is ripe when it sounds hollow.
Radish
Radishes are usually ready 4 - 6 weeks after germination. They are best when small and growing fast. Older radishes are tough, bitter and hot. They are best when about 1 - 2.5 cm in diameter in size. Seed continually.
Spinach
Sow a row 2 m long every three weeks for a constant supply of this vegetable. Pull whole plants or remove the outer leaves. The harvesting season for spinach is very short as it will quickly bolt out into seeds.
Tomatoes
Pick tomatoes when fully ripe for best flavour, colour and texture. Vine-ripened tomatoes store well for several weeks in the refrigerator. In the fall, pick all ripe and mature tomatoes before a heavy frost.
Fruit ripening and quality is strongly influenced by temperature. Mature green or turning tomatoes can be ripened indoors at temperatures between 15.5oC and 21oC. Slower ripening at the lower temperature range favours firmer, fresher fruit. Select only the best fruits for ripening and use the others in relishes or other mixtures.
Mature green tomatoes are more sensitive to chilling injury than partly ripened fruits. Do not story these in the refrigerator, since they tend to decay more rapidly than if allowed to ripen at room temperature first.
Zucchini
Pick fruit when small and tender, about 10 cm long. Growth is rapid and large zucchini are woody and bitter. Pick with two hands so as not to damage the vine as constant picking will promote further fruit produciton. Zucchini will keep 1 to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Sorting and removing spoiling vegetables during storage will preserve your supply. Good storage conditions vary for different vegetables as harvested vegetables are still living organisms and will continue to grow if the temperature and humidity are not controlled. It is important to keep the vegetable in proper storage conditions to prevent further growth to proceed to rotting.
Exploring Showing Vegetables
Achievement Day in Exploring a Vegetable Garden is showing a selected variety of vegetables. You are required to show at least five different varieties of vegetables. In preparing vegetables for exhibition, quality is the first consideration.
When selecting the very best, there are five general qualities you should look for.
1 Colour: The colour should be bright, clear and attractive. A dark, rich colour usually indicates the condition and care given to the vegetable.
2. Condition: Condition refers to freedom from blemishes caused by insects disease, dirt, sunburn or injury. For exhibit, vegetables should be properly trimmed. The only vegetables which should be washed are those shown as Bunch Vegetables, such as Carrots, Beets, Radish and Lettuce. Vegetables such as Beets and Carrots, that are shown as storage vegetables should not be washed. They should be dug carefully and any soil sticking to the roots should be wiped off with a cloth or very soft brush. The roots should be then rubbed gently with a soft cloth. If sufficient rubbing is done carefully, a natural shine or lustre can be brought up on the skin of the vegetable. Care should be taken however that the skin is not broken or damaged.
3. Size: The size should be moderate, but not too large. Oversized vegetables are usually tough and coarse in texture.
4. Trueness to Type: All specimens resemble the variety as closely as possible.
5. Uniformity: All the specimens in the group should be as uniform as possible in colour, maturity, shape and size. Harvest early in the morning for the most plump vegetable.
These are the five qualities the judges will be looking for when they judge your exhibit, so keep them in mind when selecting your vegetables.
In preparing anything for exhibition it must be remembered that entries of best quality always take the top prizes. However, if there are several entries of equally good quality, the judge awards the prizes to those which are most attractive and are prepared in the best possible way. Exhibition standards are set for fairs and exhibitions and the specifications set for each vegetable is how you should prepare your selected vegetables for achievement day.
General Exhibition Guidelines: Beans: * Exhibit plate of 12 pods. Pods should be straight, of good length, uniform, typical
colour for variety, clean and free from blemish. * Stems should be left intact. * Edibility is important, and pods should be crisp, fresh, and free from stringiness.
Longest beans are preferred. * Score: Quality - 25; Uniformity - 25; condition - 20; Colour - 15; Type - 15.
Beets: * Exhibit plate of 6 roots. Diameter at top should be 5 - 7.5 cm. * The Crown should be free from splits, scaling, scabs and sunburn. The insides
should be free from light colour. * Preparation - leave roots intact and remove tops 1.3 cm (1/2 inch) above crown. * Score: Colour (exterior - 10, interior - 15); Uniformity - 25; Condition - 20; Quality - 20;
Type - 10.
Broccoli (sprouting) * Exhibit plate of 2 bunches of lateral shoots, each approximately 0.67 kg (1 1/2 lb.) or
two centre heads. * Bunches or heads should be trimmed and approximately 17.5 cm ( 7 inches ) in
length. * Material should be uniformly dark bluish-green or typical for the variety, free from
open florets, disease, and insect-injury, fresh and crisp. Heads should be tight or compact and relatively free from leafiness and sunken centres. (Note - florets open readily at room temperature. Keep under refrigeration until exhibited.)
* Score: Quality - 35; Uniformity - 20; condition - 20; Colour - 15; Type - 10.
Carrots * Exhibit plate of 6 roots. Long types - length 20 cm and over. * Roots should be slender, dand free from side-roots. * Intermediate types - length not over 18 cm. Roots should be stub-rooted or pointed
accordingly to variety. * Preparation - roots intact and tops removed 1.3 cm (1/2 inch) from crown. * Score: Colour - 25; Uniformity - 25; Condition - 20; Quality - 20; Type - 10.
Corn * Exhibit plate of 5 ears. Ears should be evenly filled from tip to base, with rows of
kernels long and closely set. * Preparation - exhibit ears with 1/3 husk removed. Pull off a part of the husk as you
would peel as strip off a banana. * Score: Quality - 35; Uniformity - 25; Condition - 15; Colour - 15; Size - 10.
Cucumbers * Exhibit a plate of 2 fruits. * At least 15 cm long and of proper colour for type. Flesh should be deep and show a
minimum of seeds. * Preparation - remove any withered blossoms on end * Score: Quality - 25; Condition - 20; Uniformity - 20; Colour - 15; Type - 10; Size - 10.
Pickling Cucumbers * Exhibit plate of 12. * Pickling cucumbers should be uniform, good green colour, an average of 5 - 7.5 cm
long, and not too much tapered from stem to blossom end. They should be fresh and clean, with the withered blossom absent.
* Score: Quality - 25; Condition - 20; Uniformity - 20; Colour - 15; Type -10, Size - 10.
Cucumbers (Dills) * Exhibit plate of 12. * Length should approximately be 10 cm. * Same as Above.
Lettuce * Exhibit on a plate 2 heads. There are three general types of lettuce commonly
exhibited, namely - the leaf, head and Cos type. Each type should be shown in a separate class.
* In all cases the heads should be large, solid, uniform, tender, sweet, of proper colour, and free from pests, disease, and blemish. The roots and small or damaged outside leaves should be removed and the heads washed.
* In the heading varieties, entries should be firm and of good size. The inner leaves of the Cos varieties should form a good proportion of the weight and be well blanched.
* Lettuce comes in a wide variety of leaf shapes and colours.
Onions * Exhibit plate of 5 bulbs. * All bulbs should be hard and mature. Small or thick-necked specimens are allowed.
Small varieties should be 8 cm in diameter, large 12 cm. * Preparation - remove any roots. Remove tops 1.3 cm (1/2 inch) from bulb. Remove
only jagged and dirty outer scales. * Score: Quality - 30; Uniformity - 25; Condition - 20; Size - 15; Type - 10.
Peas * Exhibit a plate of 12 pods. * The pods should be larger, fresh, uniform, free from blemishes and disease, and
filled with large, clean, whole, uniform peas of a good green colour. * The quality of the peas is the most important factor, and they should be very sweet
and of high quality flavour with some stem attached.
Peppers * Exhibit a plate of 3. * Specimens should be uniform and free from blemish. Stems should be attached. * Green Bell, Red Sweet and Pimento peppers should be large, thick-fleshed, and of
good weight. * Red Hots are thin-fleshed, and pungency is important in this group.
Potatoes (Early or Late) * Exhibit a plate of 5 tubers. * Specimens should be uniform, medium-sized, fresh, bright, clean and attractive. * Tubers should be smooth, with eyes few and shallow, and with shape and colour
typical to variety. They should be free from insect damage, sunburn, disease, mechanical injury and other defects.
* Tubers may be brushed lightly, but should not be washed. * Score: Quality - 20; Uniformity - 20’ Condition - 25; Colour - 10; Type - 15; Size -10.
Pumpkins (Table, Ornamental) * Exhibit 2 Table or Ornamental. Giant Pumpkins exhibit 1 specimen. * They should be uniform, especially in size and shape and approximately 17.5 cm / 7
inches) in diameter. * They should be of a good colour, free from any flat side, with stems intact, free from
blemish and in good condition. Flesh should be thick and of uniform attractive colour. * Pumpkins have hard grooved stems which should be left intact. * Large pumpkins over 25 cm (10 inches) in diameter should be shown in the field class.
Radish * Exhibit 12 on a plate. * These should be bunched, with tops and roots left on. * There are two general types of radishes - turnip-rooted and long. In exhibiting, these
should not be mixed. * Specimens should be 2.5 cm in diameter. They should be crisp, smooth, uniform,
free from blemishes, and of a clear bright colour.
Spinach * Exhibit 2 specimens. * Specimens should be large with close, heavy foliage, free from discoloured and coarse
outer leaves. * The leaves should be broad, dark green, fresh, tender, typical of the variety and free
from disease and insect-injury.
Tomatoes (Red or Green) * Exhibit plate of 6fruits. * Size varies with variety but usually should be approximately 8 cm in diameter. The
more globular forms are preferred. They should be firm and in cross-section flesh should be thick both in the outer wall and in the sections.
* Preparation - stem left intact. * Score: Quality - 30; Uniformity - 25; Condition - 20’ Colour - 10’ Type - 5.
Zucchini * Exhibit plate of 2 fruits. * Preparation - show in pairs with stem left intact. * Score: Quality - 30; Uniformity - 20; Condition - 20; Colour - 15; Size - 15.
Exploring A Community Garden
In Unit 2, Exploring a Community Garden, at least four 4-H members will garden a plot which measures a minimum of 20 m x 20 m in size. Community gardens promote teamwork with the members working together on a larger vegetable garden.
Follow the material presented in Exploring a Vegetable Garden. Working together, draft a garden plan and each make a copy to put in your individual record books. Make a list of the vegetable your team will grow and sign each person for the specific planting and care of the vegetable. Your leader must sign your plan for approval. Your plan will also help you in subsequent years for crop rotation at the site.
Together your team will prepare the garden site. When it is planting time each person is responsible for their vegetable variety. As a team you need to make sure to have a watering schedule which shares the responsibility between your group. You might all work in the garden together, work in pairs or work individually at times. Make sure that everyone has a schedule and include the schedule in your record book.
Weeding is the biggest challenge for any gardener and as a team plan your weeding times. Everyone should share in this responsibility and four or more Dutch hoes working can easily keep the weeds down.
Neskonlith Community Garden
Each person is responsible for monitoring their plants for pests and diseases. If you have disease or pest problems, work as a team.
Harvesting times vary per crop and for quicker maturing crops, the 4-H member could be planting these crops more than once to have a continuous supply.
Your community garden can grow a vast array and quantity of food. Your gardening group has some options that you could investigate for the healthy vegetables you are growing. Is there a local farmer’s market? How could your group get involved? Is there a boxed vegetable program in your community? Could you donate some food to the local food bank? Maybe there are some senior citizens who would appreciate some of your produce. A community garden is a great opportunity to put the 4-H pledge in action.
On Achievement Day, each member of the team will select at least three vegetable varieties to show. Each member will prepare their selection.
At the end of your project year, the team will clean-up old debris, care for the tools and generally get the plot ready for the subsequent year.
Exploring Container Gardening
For this unit, you will develop a plan of what you would like to grow, including what containers you will use. You can choose vegetables or herbs or flowers. Your 4-H leader will visit your home to see your container garden and your project Achievement will be showing and explaining your container garden to your fellow 4-H members. This could be done by rotating meetings to different 4-H members homes or having a tour of container gardens on one day. Most containers are not that portable when the plant is in full production, either vegetable or flower, so bringing all containers to one location may not be an option. If you grow vegetables, you can take them for achievement by preparing them as already covered in the Exploring Vegetable Gardens. To prepare cut flowers and houseplants for exhibit the Iowa State University has an excellent 4-H publication prepared by Linda Naeve, extension horticulture specialist and Jim Midcap,
Container gardens are the small gardens of this 4-H project. In Unit 3, Exploring Container Gardening you can grow flowers, herbs and vegetables no matter where you live. Containers are small, compact and you can have them on your balcony or deck or in a sunny window. Containers can be on the ground or hung from the ceiling or against a wall for vertical gardening. Imagination is the key to container gardens. First imagine what kind of plants you want to grow. Second, imagine the type of containers. The container garden unit is flexible to allow anyone to garden, no matter what the space.
former extension horticulturist.
Preparing Cut Flowers and Houseplants for Exhibit Exhibiting flowers and houseplants in shows and fairs can be fun. You and other people will enjoy your flowers and houseplants when you display them at home or share them at community events.
You can learn by exhibiting. Others can learn from you as you share your cultural knowledge and exhibiting skills. Exhibits are judged against show standards. The judge’s evaluation helps you learn how to make next year’s efforts even better. You can use this information to extend the life of cut flowers in your home, too.
Selecting and Harvesting Flowers for Exhibit
The best stage of development for cutting flowers depends on the flower form. Spike-form flowers such as gladiolus, celosia, delphinium, salvia and snapdragons should be cut when the bottom florets are open and in perfect condition. A good proportion of open florets are two-thirds open to one--third developing buds. The lower portion of the spike should show no signs of over maturity. The lowest petal edges, be shrivelled, or show faded colour. The spike should be straight to the tip, and the stem should be sturdy.
Round-form flowers such as chrysanthemums, daisies, dahlias, zinnias, marigolds, and asters should be cut when fully developed. The outer petals fold out gracefully at this stage. The center petals are tighter than the outer petals but not immature as to be green. You’ll know the round-form flower is over mature when the outer petals begin to shrivel and fade. Round-form flower standards should be exhibited as single- stem disbuds. This means only one flower is left at the tip of the stem - all others are removed. This procedure, called
“disbudding,” should be done early in the stage of flower development. Young side shoots should be removed as soon as they can be seen. Disbudding produces a single, large bloom at the tip of the stem.
A fair book or flower show schedule may include classes for flower sprays. A spray is a single main stem with blooms on side branches. Pompon and decorative-type chrysanthemums, ageratum, and sweet peas are examples of flowers that can be exhibited as sprays. Judges look at the number of buds, the branching and vigour of the spray, as well as the quality of individual flowers. Daylilies and lilies should be exhibited with as many open flowers as possible. Each petal on every flower should be in good condition-not wilted, shrivelled, or bruised.
Flowers should be cut in the evening or early morning. Use a clean, sharp knife. Cutting with a sharp knife results in an even cut without obstructing any of the water-conducting tissue in the stem. Always cut the stem several inches longer than necessary because further trimming may be needed. Do not cut stems with scissors because they pinch the ends of the stems, closing off the water-conducting vessels.
Remove the leaves from the portion of the stem that will be in water. Foliage covered with water will rot and cause discoloured water and stem blockage. Blocked stems are unable to supply needed water to the living flower.
Conditioning Flowers In the garden, immediately after cutting, place the stems in lukewarm water (370 to 430C). Move the freshly cut flowers to a cool location to condition. “Conditioning” or “hardening” reduces the chances of stem blockage and promotes the quick water uptake necessary for long flower life. Most garden flowers should be placed in a refrigerator set at 20 to 40C for 3 to 12 hours. Cooling permits the plant to take up more water than it gives off and helps hold flower freshness. Never store flowers in a refrigerator with fruits or vegetables. Ethylene gas, released by fruits and vegetables, will reduce the vase life of the flowers.
Stems should be recut after conditioning, just prior to exhibiting. A clean cut opens up new vessels for water uptake. Fresh cuts on woody stems, such as roses, should be made under water so that air does not fill the exposed vessels, blocking water uptake.
Floral preservative can be added to the water to extend the vase life of cut flowers. Commercial preservative, such as Florever and Floralife, are available from florist shops, hobby stores, or garden centers. Placing aspirin or pennies in the water is not an effective floral preservative. Preservatives also can be made from common household products, but are not as effective as commercial preservatives. Below are recipes for two home-made floral preservatives.
473 ml lemon-lime soft drink, such as 7-Up or Sprite
2.4 ml chlorine bleach 473 ml water
or 29.5ml white vinegar 9.8 ml sugar 2.4 ml chlorine bleach 946 ml water
Containers The type of container for exhibiting flowers and plants is important. Containers should be simple so they don’t detract from the beauty of the flower or plant. Single stem cut flowers should be exhibited in a clear, narrow bottle or jar, such as a soft drink bottle. Many fairs and flower shows specify the type of exhibition container required.
Houseplant containers should be clean and in proportion to the plant size. The colour, texture, and style of the container should be complementary to the plant. The container should not draw attention away from the plant.
Grooming Grooming flower specimens for exhibit is the last preparation step. Remove all soil and spray residue from the foliage, stems, and flowers. Remove loose soil with a gentle spray of water from either a faucet or a syringe. Be careful not to damage the foliate or petals.
Grooming also involves smoothing the petals, and removing faded blooms, petals, and ragged leaves. Remember, grooming should not be evident. Lower ratings may result if signs of grooming are visible, such as removal of essential petals or leaves, stubs, or wounds from grooming.
Transporting Safe movement from your home to the fair or show is fundamental. Just one little slip in transporting your entries could ruin all of your

B.C. 4-H Gardening Project Members Manual - South Malahat 4-H

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Transcript of B.C. 4-H Gardening Project Members Manual - South Malahat 4-H