Vegetable Gardening for Dummies

Description

We all love good food, and the fresher it is, the better! And what could be fresher than farm-to-table terms than vegetables you've grown at home? The new edition of Vegetable Gardening For Dummies puts you in touch with your roots in a thousands of years old farming tradition by demonstrating how easy it is to grow your own. And there's no need to buy a farm: all you need to become a successful cultivator of the land is this book and a small plot of soil in the yard, or a container set aside for some tasty natural edibles. Add water and some care, love, and attention—et voila! In a friendly, come-relax-in-my-garden style Charlie Nardozzi—leading horticultural writer and guest expert on shows such as Martha Stewart Living Radio—shares the nutritious results of a lifetime of vegetable-growing experience to delve into the nitty-gritty of micro-farming. It's not rocket science—quite the opposite—but you do need a bit of patience before you can reap your first glorious harvest. This book shows you how to master that, as you get down and dirty with the enjoyable work of building soil, starting seeds, controlling pests, and maintaining your garden. And as your early efforts turn to green shoots, you can dig deeper into information on special tips and tricks, as well as hundreds of vegetable varieties—many of which are beautiful to behold as well as tasty to eat! Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Introduction About This Book Foolish Assumptions Icons Used in This Book Where to Go from Here Part 1 Digging Into the Basics of Vegetable Gardening Chapter 1 Vegetable Gardening 101 Having a Garden: Yes or No Planning a Veggie Garden Growing a Cornucopia of Vegetables Tomatoes Peppers and eggplants Carrots, onions, and potatoes Peas and beans Cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, and squash Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower Lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, and specialty greens An array of other great veggies Non-vegetable edibles Getting Down to Growing Choosing between seeds and transplants Working the soil Keeping your garden growing and enjoying the rewards Trying for a bigger bounty Chapter 2 Eyeing the Popularity and Benefits of Vegetable Gardening Food Gardening: It’s Popping Up Everywhere Identifying a Few Good Reasons to Grow Your Own Food Better tasting and higher quality food Improve your health Save some cash Help the environment Increase your quality of life Self-reliance Chapter 3 Planning Your Veggie Garden Deciding Where to Put Your Vegetable Garden Considering different sites Letting the sun shine Checking your soil’s drainage Understanding Veggie Varieties Timing Your Planting Wisely Some like it cool, some like it hot Frost dates and the length of the growing season Your local forecast trumps frost dates Designing Your Garden Deciding on hills, rows, or raised beds Spacing your plantings properly Following the paths Sketching it out Part 2 Focusing on All Things Veggies Chapter 4 Tomatoes: The King of Veggies Checking Out Tomato Varieties Categorizing tomatoes Classifying tomatoes by their appearance Enjoying classic red, round tomatoes Surveying all the other colors of tomatoes Sweetening the pot with cherry, grape, and pear tomatoes Considering some saucy tomatoes Introducing the tomato’s relatives Growing Tomatoes with Ease Jump-starting tomatoes Planting, trellising, and pruning Fertilizing and maintaining your plants Eliminating pests and other problems Harvesting tomatoes Chapter 5 Meeting the Tomato’s Cousins: Peppers and Eggplants Producing Plenty of Peppers Those sweet bells Long and round sweet peppers Peppers that turn on the heat Pretty peppers: The ornamentals Distinguishing Eggplants by Shape Large and oval Cylindrical Small and round Growing Peppers and Eggplants Starting and planting Fertilizing and watering tips Patrolling and controlling pests Harvesting peppers and eggplants Chapter 6 Growing Underground Crops: Carrots, Onions, and Potatoes A Rabbit’s (and Gardener’s) Favorite Root: Carrots Classifying carrots by type Examining some varieties Onions: The Bulbs with Layers of Sweet and Pungent Goodness Choosing your onion varieties Looking at scallions and perennial onions Potatoes: No Longer a Boring Spud Potatoes classified Selecting a few potato varieties Growing and Gathering Root Crops General guidelines for all your root crops Cultivating carrots Growing onions Producing potatoes Keeping Your Root Crops Healthy and Pest Free Chapter 7 Sweet and Simple: Beans and Peas A Bevy of Beans: Filling Your Rows with Bean Family Plants Bushels of bush beans Pole beans: The long and tall crop The versatile shell and dried beans Miscellaneous beans not to be forgotten Growing Peas, Please! English peas: The reliable standby Sweet and tender snap peas An earlier harvest: Snow peas Get ’Em in the Ground: Growing Beans and Peas Planting legumes for an ample harvest Thwarting pests and diseases Keep on pickin’: Harvesting your crop Chapter 8 Vigorous Vines: Cucumbers, Melons, Pumpkins, and Squash Checking Out Cool Cukes Before you choose: Brushing up on some cucumber vocabulary Surveying common cucumber varieties Melons: The Sweet, Juicy Vining Plant Distinguishing different types of melons Perusing popular melon varieties Unearthing the Humble Squash Identifying different squash types Recognizing popular squash varieties Great Pumpkins: Counting the Uses for This Versatile Squash Growing Those Vines Planting and feeding Watering and watering some more Ensuring proper pollination Controlling pests and diseases Harvesting your vining crop Chapter 9 Cool Weather Staples: Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, and Cauliflower Paying Attention to the Often-Overlooked Cole Crops Easing into cole crops with broccoli Brussels sprouts: The little cabbages Choosing cabbage: The age-old and dependable cole crop Considering cauliflower in a rainbow of colors Growing Your Own Cole Crops Giving cole crops what they want Nurturing cole crops Putting a stop to pesky pest problems Harvesting cole crops Chapter 10 A Salad for All Seasons: Lettuce, Spinach, Swiss Chard, and Specialty Greens Lettuce Get Together Crisphead lettuce Romaine lettuce Loose-leaf lettuce Popeye’s Pal: Spinach Savoy spinach Smooth spinach and some spinach-like friends The Attractive and Hardy Swiss Chard Going Wild with Specialty Greens Growing Great Greens Timing is everything: Determining when to plant your greens Putting your greens to bed Adding nitrogen-rich fishy fertilizer Thin and bare it: Thinning your greens Watering to win the war against wilt Working out the bugs (and other common ailments) Your bowl runneth over: Harvesting greens Chapter 11 Sweet Corn and an A to T of Other Worthy Veggies Sweet Corn and Its Relatives Sweet corn Popcorn Considering Other Great Vegetables Arugula Asparagus Beets Bok choi Broccoli raab Celeriac Celery Chinese cabbage Collards Endive Escarole Florence fennel Garlic Globe artichokes Gourds Horseradish Kale Kohlrabi Leeks Mizuna Okra Parsnips Peanuts Radicchio Radishes Rhubarb Rutabagas Shallots Turnips Chapter 12 Edible Landscapes: Fruits, Herbs, and Pretty Things to Eat Sweetening Your Garden: Berries and Trees Strawberries Blueberries Blackberries and raspberries Unusual fruits Focusing on Herbs Basil Chives Cilantro Dill French tarragon Mint Oregano Parsley Rosemary Sage Thyme Blossoming Edible Flowers Part 3 Getting Down and Dirty in Your Vegetable Garden Chapter 13 On Your Mark, Get Set . . . Grow! Choosing Seeds or Transplants Deciding on Your Seeding Method and Decoding a Seed Packet Starting Seeds Indoors Picking a pot to plant in Using a mix that doesn’t include soil Sowing your seeds Providing the right amount of light and heat Watering your seedlings Thinning and transplanting indoors Feeding your seedlings Transplanting Indoor Seedlings and Starter Plants Buying starter plants Toughening up all types of transplants Making the big move to the ground Sowing Seeds Directly in Your Garden Deciding on a seed-planting method Thinning seedlings in your garden Chapter 14 Workin’ the Dirt Razing Your Garden Spot Killing weeds and aggressive grasses Stripping sod Analyzing and Improving Your Soil Distinguishing different types of soil Testing your soil Adjusting soil pH Adding organic matter (aka the dead stuff) Turning Your Soil Making Your Own Compost Building a compost pile Avoiding materials that don’t belong in a compost pile Moistening and turning your compost pile Chapter 15 Maintaining Your Vegetable Garden Addressing the Basics of Watering Knowing when your veggies need a drink Discovering ways to water your vegetable garden Conserving water with a few handy tips Keeping Your Plants Cozy and Weed Free with Mulch Spreading organic mulch Laying inorganic mulch Deciding which mulch to use Determining Important Nutrients Your Soil Needs Macronutrients Secondary nutrients and micronutrients Fertilizing Your Vegetable Garden Examining a fertilizer label Choosing a fertilizer Side-dressing Supporting Your Vegetables Beans and peas Melons and cucumbers Tomatoes Fighting Weed Wars Making a preemptive strike on weeds Battling weeds after planting Chapter 16 Surveying Some Cool Planting Techniques Adding Nutrients and Stability with Cover Crops and Green Manures Eyeing the advantages of cover crops Choosing cover crops Planting cover crops Giving Your Plants Some Friends: Companion Planting Making Your Garden Work Double Time with Intercropping Extending Your Harvest with Succession Planting Rotating Crops to Preserve Soil Nutrients and Maintain a Pest-Free Bed Planting by the Phases of the Moon Building a Hügelkultur-Raised Bed Growing Plants in Strawbales Adding an Herb Spiral to Your Yard Combining Fish with Plants: Aquaponics Chapter 17 Keeping Your Plants Healthy The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Controlling Pests Recognizing the good bugs Rounding up the bad bugs Considering the best form of attack Gardening to Eliminate Diseases Avoiding diseases with good habits Watching out for common diseases Keeping the Animal Kingdom at Bay Chapter 18 Containing Your Veggies Considering a Few Container Characteristics Filling Up Your Container: Potting Soil Made Simple Knowing Which Vegetables Grow Well in Pots Identifying some common container veggies Some bee-u-tee-ful vegetable combos Planting Your Veggies in Pots Caring for Container Veggies Chapter 19 Harvesting, Storing, and Preserving Vegetables Knowing When to Harvest Putting Away Your Vegetables Freezing, Drying, and Canning Veggies Saving Vegetable Seeds Part 4 The Part of Tens Chapter 20 Ten Tools of the Trade Watering Hoses and Cans Hand Trowels Hand Cultivators Garden Hoes Spades and Shovels Garden Forks Garden Rakes Buckets, Wagons, and Baskets Wheelbarrows and Garden Carts Power Tillers Chapter 21 Ten (or So) Ways to Extend Your Growing Season Plant in Clever Locations Time Your Planting Wisely Protect Plants with Hot Caps Add Elegance to Your Garden with Glass Cloches Buy or Build Cold Frames Drape Row Covers over Veggies Place Wall O’ Waters around Plants Try Portable Greenhouses and Hoop Houses Appendix Planning Guidelines and Other Resources Index Supplemental Images EULA