Vegetables/Herbs: Vermont Bean

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Planting Guidelines - Vegetables/Herbs

Asparagus

Asparagus crowns should be planted within days of receiving them, as soon as the soil can be worked or about 4-6 weeks before the last average frost date.
Do not wait until after your last frost date to plant.
Blend ample amounts of organic material blended with the natural soil. Remove competitive weeds, especially perennial rooted types.
A Phosphorus fertilizer like Hi-Yield® Triple Super Phosphate (0-45-0) is beneficially blended in before planting or used as a side dress after planting.
After digging the trench and amending the soil, backfill the trench about 1/3 full, mounding the soil higher in the middle.
Place crowns right side up, with roots spread out over mounded backfill, and cover with only 3-4 in. of soil, then water thoroughly.
As new shoots appear and grow, additional soil mix will be carefully added to fill the trench eventually.

NOTE: Do Not fill the entire trench to the top, as this will be too deep.

When the crowns sprout, grass-like thin spears will grow. When those reach 2-3 inches tall, you will then carefully cover them with more soil. As shoots continue to grow, keep adding soil until the trench is full.

NOTE: First-season spears must be left to mature into ferns.

Asparagus plants gain sustainable energy from growing into ferns. Once those ferns naturally brown out from frost in fall, they can be cut off down to the ground.
Planting two to three beds of asparagus will ensure harvestable crops each season from alternating beds. While you harvest from one bed, the other bed can grow and rest.

Garlic

Plant in any well-drained, slightly rich soil in a mostly sunny location.
Takes little space and can be grown amidst your flowers if short on space. Raised beds of deep loose soil high in organic matter about 8-12" deep works well. Garlic likes a pH of 6.0 to 7.0.
When planted in the fall (mid-Sept to mid-late Oct), you will be able to harvest in late spring. In areas of severe winters, straw or leaf mulch will be necessary to help fall-planted bulbs survive cold winters.
When planting, separate the cloves no more than a few days before planting. Cloves should be planted upright.
Plant 2-3 inches deep on a 2-4-inch spacing in rows a foot apart. Use cloves that are of medium size for the best production. Garlic "germinates" best in soils that are cool: 55°F, and the plants grow best in 55-75°F.
Weed regularly and water as needed when the ground is extremely dry. Over watering encourages rot & diseases.
Mulch helps keep the ground moist. It's a good idea to mulch the garlic after planting it. Leaves, compost, or broken-down manure make good mulch. In the south, light mulching will suffice, but in cold northern areas, up to 8" of mulch is required.
Water the garlic well, and only water again when the soil is dry. Garlic loves water and food, but it must have good drainage to avoid rotting.
Garlic must be kept evenly moist, as dry soil will cause irregular-shaped bulbs. It doesn't have a very extensive root system, so summer watering is essential.

Horseradish

Horseradish is one of the easiest vegetables to grow. Because it's so aggressive, it's best given its own corner of the garden. Try it where other vegetables have difficulty growing.
Horseradish does not set viable seed and must be grown from root sections. These are usually small, pencil-thick side shoots taken from established plants.
To plant, cover with 2 inches of soil in early spring. Place the small end of the root cutting facing down into the soil. Space plants 1 ½ to 2 feet apart.
For the largest, most flavorful roots, add plenty of organic matter to the soil. Supply with regular water.
The roots of horseradish make their greatest growth in late summer and early fall. To obtain the best crop, delay harvesting horseradish until October or November.

Leeks

Leeks should be spaced about 6" apart. Rows of leeks should be at least 2 ft apart.
Plant the plants in a trench 6" deep. Tuck the seedlings into the bottom, water well, and leave the trench open for the first few weeks until the plants get established.
A wide-bottomed trench, dug with a shovel about 6" wide is better than a V-shaped furrow; you don't want the soil to sift back into the hole while the plants are still small, and you will need the working space the trench bottom will give you to cover the plants gradually as they grow.
The object is to keep the soil level at, or just below, the point where the leek's green leaves diverge from the stem, to help the plant build a longer stretch of pale stem.
When the leaves are six to eight inches high, start to add fine soil into the trench--only about an inch at a time--every three weeks. Keep them well watered throughout this process. To beef up the soil's humus content, substitute one inch of fine compost for one inch of fine soil on one or two of the regular trench fillings. Can also use bi-monthly or monthly. If you don't want to use the trench method, you can also hill the soil up around the stalk above ground as it develops.

Onions

Soil with high organic content, especially decomposed stable manure, produces the largest onions bulbs.
Raised beds at least four inches high and 20 inches wide are excellent for onions. They prefer a pH level between 6 and 7.
Incorporate a good fertilizer rich in Phosphorus (0-45-0) before planting and mix it into the soil.
If you like green onions, place the plants 3" apart & pull every other one for green onions, leaving the other 5-6" apart to grow into whole large onions.
Double or split onions are undesirable. This is influenced by variety and environment.
The Sweet Spanish variety will produce a higher percentage of splits and doubles if grown at wider spacing or in thin stands. Also, when plants are grown in uniform stands, fertilizing at a rate that produces large yields will result in more doubles than a lower rate.
Larger onion sets will also result in more doubles than smaller sets. Also, sets planted 3" deep versus 1.5" deep will produce more doubles and splits.
Onions are a biennial. If exposed to temperatures of 40°F or lower for long periods when the plants are pencil-sized in diameter, the plants act as if it's the second year and set seed. Cool temperatures and day length initiate flower stalk development.

Peppers

Transplant into the garden when danger of frost is past and soil is warm. Always water the plants after planting.
Set the plants at least 18" apart and protect them if there are late frosts predicted.
Soil fertility should be normal. Apply a mulch to preserve moisture and prevent weeds.

Potatoes

Potatoes do best in soil with a pH of 5.5 to 6.0. Add all necessary soil amendments prior to planting.
Dig a furrow 8-10" deep and place pieces cut side down, eyes up, every 12-15" with rows 3' apart. Initially, cover pieces with only 2-3" of soil, back-filling as potatoes start to grow, leaving the top 3" of the plant exposed.
Cutting Tips - cut pieces should be no smaller than 1" x 1" and have at least two or more eyes. After pieces are cut, allow them to callus over at room temperature with good air circulation for 5-10 days before planting.

Shallots

Divide heads into individual bulblets just after planting.
Push into the soil so ½ to 1 inch of soil covers the neck of the bulb. Plant about 4 inches apart in rows 1 foot apart. Each bulblet will multiply during the growing season to form a cluster of 6 or more new bulbs, depending on soil fertility.
Harvest when tops fall and begin to turn brown. Dry in a well-ventilated area.

Sweet Potatoes

Garden rows should be about 3 feet apart and the row itself about 8 to 12 inches high...the higher the row, the more space for the potato to develop.
Sweet potatoes prefer a pH of 6.5, which is slightly acidic. They can tolerate even higher acidity, up to 5.0, without adversely affecting yields. Don't add large quantities of rotted manure, compost, or other organic fertilizers.
High levels of nitrogen will cause tremendous vine growth, but the roots are likely to be cracked and distorted.
Place the roots well in the ground but don't cover the "bud". Pour a little water in the plant hole around the roots and firm up the soil.
In case of frost or unexpected cold, protect your plants with a light cover. Keep the soil worked to a fairly "loose" condition and "hoe" or pull out the undesired vegetation.
Once the plants get started, the plant growth will smother out most grass and weeds.

Tomatoes

Transplant in the garden when the danger of frost is past, and the soil is warm. Set the plants at least 24" apart and protect them if there are late frosts predicted
Soil fertility should be normal, and water them in if dry. Apply a mulch to preserve moisture and prevent weeds and cage or stake to prevent soil contact with fruit.
Water in the plants after planting, but do not water late in the day to prevent blights and other foliar diseases.

Herbs

Buffalo Ginger - Grow in pots outside in filtered sunlight in summer and bring inside for the winter. Begin to harvest roots in 2 years - just reach into the pot and break off what you need. Grows 3-4 feet tall.
Bay Laurel - Place in a bright, sunny window during the winter. Move outdoors in summer and bring indoors before the first frost. Keep soil on the dry side, with only a little moisture. Older leaves have the strongest flavor.
French Terragon - Plant in a warm, dry location with plenty of sunlight. Produces masses of long, narrow foliage used for flavoring vinegars and a wide range of other foods.
Rosemary - Prefers well-drained soil and full sun. Ideal for containers on a patio or on a bright windowsill. Forms a small shrub in zones 6-10.
Turmeric - Grow in 14" to 18" containers, outdoors in filtered sunlight, and move indoors before a hard frost. Harvest by reaching into the soil and breaking off just what you need, or store roots in a cool, dark place in airtight containers for up to 6 months.