Backyard Garden: Vegetable Garden I
This garden grows healthy vegetables targeted for local food pantries and maximize harvests. Our garden maintains a no-till and organic approach for planting, weeding, and pest/disease control.
Points of Interest:
Succession planting of a specific crop in “waves”:
- We are planting radishes at regular intervals (approximately two weeks) throughout the spring, so that we will have radishes available over a longer period. We will continue to plant/harvest until the harvest becomes bitter due to the heat.
- We are growing Celebrity tomatoes, a highly-productive determinate variety that tends to produce a majority of its crop at one time. However, by planting our first group of tomato plants as soon as weather permits and following that with another group of plants approximately four weeks later, we are extending the harvest.
Succession planting of successive crops in the same area, after the initial crop is harvested.
- Most of our beds are used for both a spring crop and a summer or fall crop. For example, we have lettuce, spinach, and mustard greens as our spring crop in the bed where tomatoes and peppers will grow in the summer.
Intercropping: the simultaneous culture of two or more vegetables in the same garden space within the same growing season.
- We started our collards in the spring and will harvest the lower leaves. When summer arrives, we will plant sweet potato slips between the collard plants. We will also put stepping boards between the plants so for ease of harvest of the collards as the sweet potato vines grow around the bare lower stems of the collards. The sweet potato vines will also serve as a “living mulch,” which will help to shade the soil, retain water, and suppress weed growth.
Vertical gardening:
- We are growing cucumbers and melons on a trellis in the edge of a bed that also contains spring and summer crops. We are growing cucumbers on a salvaged dead Christmas tree that will be underplanted with radishes in the spring and a different crop in the fall.
Nematode remediation:
- Two years ago, we discovered the presence of root-knot nematodes, microscopic roundworms that live in the soil and on plant roots, in one of our beds. They injure plants by feeding on root cells which results in the plant being unable to properly absorb water and nutrients.
- One method to deal with the problem is to grow resistant plants which usually takes 3 years to reduce nematode populations.
- K State Olathe Horticulture Research Extension Center(OHREC) Director Dr. Cary Rivard suggested growing monocots. We have planted a cover crop of wheat (fall 2021), grew corn in 2022, are growing onions in spring 2023. We will plant another cover crop in the fall of 2023.
Tips:
We don’t till. By not tilling, we don’t bring dormant seeds up to the soil’s surface allowing them to germinate. Additionally, tilling destroys soil structure and disrupts the beneficial soil biology such as microorganisms, fungi, nematodes, earthworms, protozoa and others that break down organic matter. These microorganisms also provide nutrients and aeration to the soil, assisting in soil drainage and moisture retention.
Mulching is important to conserve moisture, regulate soil temperature, reduce weed pressure and add organic matter.
- We cover our beds with 2 layers of newspaper covered with straw. We find 2 layers of newspaper is effective and begins decomposing by the end of the season.
- Chopped tree leaves, collected each fall, can be applied a few inches deep to allow soil oxygen exchange for roots, and makes a great environment for sweet potato vine nodes to self-root and grow more.
Fertilize at appropriate times as needed by the plant growth:
- Tomatoes at first flower
- Onions/allium family three weeks after planting
Consider Pest Exclusion. We use the following methods:
- Electric fence for raccoons
- Row cover for early insect pests and rabbits
- Tulle fabric for insect pests and rabbits (allows better airflow during summer heat)
Try Resistant varieties to further maximize your harvest.
- Celebrity appears to have resistance to stink bugs, a problem in the Backyard Garden.
Garden Address
35230 W 135th St
Olathe, KS 66061
Master Gardeners are available to answer questions and provide tours while they work the gardens Wednesday mornings, March to October. To schedule a visit on another day (M-F), please contact us at bygjocoemg@gmail.comHave questions? The Garden Hotline is staffed by trained EMG volunteers and Extension staff who will assist you with questions.
Phone: (913) 715-7050
Email: garden.help@jocogov.org
