Free Growing Your Own Vegetables: An Encyclopedia of Country Living Guide by Carla Emery, Lorene Edwards Forkner
Authors: Carla Emery, Lorene Edwards Forkner
pull to remove the offspring with the other. For extra growing time, transplant slips to individual little pots or 2 to 3 inches apart in a hotbed with the base 2 to 3 inches deep. Plants can be set into the garden 2 weeks after the last frost date.
Other starchy roots
Cassava, kudzu, malanga, taro, and yams are all starchy tropical root crops that require lots of heat and moisture and a long growing season.
NONSTARCHY ROOTS
Beets
Beets ( Beta vulgaris ) are completely edible (all parts), delicious, and rich in nutrients, making them a valuable and efficient crop for the home garden. Beets generally appreciate a cool climate and have little tolerance for hot weather. Available in ruby red, golden yellow, pink, and even striped varieties, beets are beautiful plants with dark green glossy foliage that contribute an ornamental quality to the garden.
PLANTING: Prepare a well-drained, loosened soil rich in organic material, working in compost or aged manure to increase the soil’s ability to retain moisture. In early spring, as soon as the ground is workable, plant seeds ½ inch deep and 1 inch apart in every direction. Each beet “seed” is actually a cluster of seeds; no matter how carefully you space the seed when planting, the young seedlings will need thinning as they emerge and begin to crowd each other. Harvest the thinnings, which are delicious fresh in salad or lightly steamed, gradually working toward an eventual spacing of at least 3 inches between mature beets. Beets may be successively sown every few weeks until a few months before the first expected killing frost. 50 to 65 days to maturity.
HARVESTING: For “baby” beets, carefully dig when the roots are just 1 to 1½ inches in diameter. Mature beets should not be allowed to get larger than 3 inches in diameter or they may begin to turn woody and lose their sweet flavor. Beets that ripen in cool weather may be left in the ground, where they will hold for a long time provided they do not freeze. After harvest, remove beet greens, which may be prepared as you would chard, a close relative.
Carrots
Carrots ( Daucus carota ) are easy, quick to grow and mature, productive in a limited space, cheerily colored, delicious, and nourishing. Carrot varieties range from short, round, and stubby to long, slender, and tapering roots and come in a rainbow of colors that include orange, yellow, purple, and even white. They prefer cool, wet weather and take about 2 months to mature—a bit longer for the larger varieties, which may grow up to a foot long.
Short-rooted carrots are the best choice if you have very rocky or shallowly cultivated soil, as long-rooted carrots that encounter obstacles will stunt, twist, and fork, making them difficult to harvest and to deal with in the kitchen. Do not plant in an area that has been recently manured or has high levels of nitrogen.
PLANTING: Sow carrots in a deeply dug, finely prepared seedbed, beginning 25 days before your first frost-free date. In the South, plant in spring and fall to avoid midsummer heat. Carrot seed is fine, making it difficult to handle, and it can be slow to germinate. Sowing a mix of carrot and quick-to-sprout radish seed not only helps to mark the planting area but serves to thin and loosen the soil of the remaining carrot bed when the radishes are harvested. Keep the planting area moist throughout the growing period, and water well before thinning to prevent breakage. In areas of the country persistently plagued by carrot rust flies, sow sparsely to minimize the need for thinning. The flies, whose larvae burrow into the developing root and spoil the crop, are attracted to the carrot smell released by thinning and lay their eggs in the adjacent soil. 60 to 70 days to maturity.
HARVESTING: Carrots may be harvested early for “baby” carrots. Carefully pull or fork to avoid breakage when harvesting the tender roots. In a well-drained soil they are not ruined by slight freezing and may be
Other starchy roots
Cassava, kudzu, malanga, taro, and yams are all starchy tropical root crops that require lots of heat and moisture and a long growing season.
NONSTARCHY ROOTS
Beets
Beets ( Beta vulgaris ) are completely edible (all parts), delicious, and rich in nutrients, making them a valuable and efficient crop for the home garden. Beets generally appreciate a cool climate and have little tolerance for hot weather. Available in ruby red, golden yellow, pink, and even striped varieties, beets are beautiful plants with dark green glossy foliage that contribute an ornamental quality to the garden.
PLANTING: Prepare a well-drained, loosened soil rich in organic material, working in compost or aged manure to increase the soil’s ability to retain moisture. In early spring, as soon as the ground is workable, plant seeds ½ inch deep and 1 inch apart in every direction. Each beet “seed” is actually a cluster of seeds; no matter how carefully you space the seed when planting, the young seedlings will need thinning as they emerge and begin to crowd each other. Harvest the thinnings, which are delicious fresh in salad or lightly steamed, gradually working toward an eventual spacing of at least 3 inches between mature beets. Beets may be successively sown every few weeks until a few months before the first expected killing frost. 50 to 65 days to maturity.
HARVESTING: For “baby” beets, carefully dig when the roots are just 1 to 1½ inches in diameter. Mature beets should not be allowed to get larger than 3 inches in diameter or they may begin to turn woody and lose their sweet flavor. Beets that ripen in cool weather may be left in the ground, where they will hold for a long time provided they do not freeze. After harvest, remove beet greens, which may be prepared as you would chard, a close relative.
Carrots
Carrots ( Daucus carota ) are easy, quick to grow and mature, productive in a limited space, cheerily colored, delicious, and nourishing. Carrot varieties range from short, round, and stubby to long, slender, and tapering roots and come in a rainbow of colors that include orange, yellow, purple, and even white. They prefer cool, wet weather and take about 2 months to mature—a bit longer for the larger varieties, which may grow up to a foot long.
Short-rooted carrots are the best choice if you have very rocky or shallowly cultivated soil, as long-rooted carrots that encounter obstacles will stunt, twist, and fork, making them difficult to harvest and to deal with in the kitchen. Do not plant in an area that has been recently manured or has high levels of nitrogen.
PLANTING: Sow carrots in a deeply dug, finely prepared seedbed, beginning 25 days before your first frost-free date. In the South, plant in spring and fall to avoid midsummer heat. Carrot seed is fine, making it difficult to handle, and it can be slow to germinate. Sowing a mix of carrot and quick-to-sprout radish seed not only helps to mark the planting area but serves to thin and loosen the soil of the remaining carrot bed when the radishes are harvested. Keep the planting area moist throughout the growing period, and water well before thinning to prevent breakage. In areas of the country persistently plagued by carrot rust flies, sow sparsely to minimize the need for thinning. The flies, whose larvae burrow into the developing root and spoil the crop, are attracted to the carrot smell released by thinning and lay their eggs in the adjacent soil. 60 to 70 days to maturity.
HARVESTING: Carrots may be harvested early for “baby” carrots. Carefully pull or fork to avoid breakage when harvesting the tender roots. In a well-drained soil they are not ruined by slight freezing and may be
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