Growing Vining Vegetables In Kentucky
Dennis Morgeson Agent for Horticulture Washington County
Basic Vegetable Culture • Light ≥6 hours
• • • •
Soil Access Air Drainage Proximity to Trees & Shrubs
Access • Near the house. – Easy to get to when harvesting. – Accessible for weeding, cultivating, & staking plants.
• Close to water. • May deter vermin.
Air Drainage • Low-lying areas are subject to unseasonable frosts & water-logged soils. • South-facing slopes warm more quickly. • Protected sites with reasonably good air flow is best • Shield from damaging thunderstorm winds • Air flow dries foliage to help control diseases
Proximity To Trees & Shrubs • Unwanted shade. • Competition for water and nutrients. • Juglone toxicity. • Site the garden at least 10 feet from any tree or shrub.
Weed Control • Compete with plants for sunlight, water, nutrients, & space. • Reduce perennial weeds before planting. – Solarization with black plastic – Herbicides (Roundup, Preen) – Tillage • Hoe regularly to keep annual weeds under control. • Once actively growing vining crops compete well against weeds
Soil • Well-drained. Solutions for clay soils: – Add organic matter – Raised beds?
• Work soils down to 6-7 inches. • Remove large stones, clods, or plant debris. Particularly important with root crops.
Soil • Soil test – Best done the fall before planting and every 3 years thereafter. – Sample 6-7 inches deep in 5 areas of the garden randomly. • • • • • •
pH – 6.0-6.8 Phosphorus Potassium Nitrogen Organic matter If you did not do a soil test apply 10-10-10 at 25lbs per 1000 square feet.
Add Compost! • Benefits:
Improves water retention Promotes soil structure Increases fertility Increases cation exchange (nutrient availability) – Reduces fertilizer requirements up to 50% – Enhanced microbial activity – – – –
• Suppresses pathogens • Accelerates the breakdown of pesticides & other synthetic compounds
Temperature • Cool season crops
– Develop best <50°F – Tolerate frost. – Quality deteriorates under warm conditions. – Peas
• Warm season crops
– Develop best at temps >50°F. – Killed by frost. – Cucurbits (cucumbers, muskmelon/cantaloupe, pumpkins, summer squash, winter squash, and gourds (cucurbit type gourds aren’t generally edible)
Water • For optimum growth vegetables need at least 1” of water per week….However?
Peas • Family Fabaceae (Leguminoseae) • Native to middle Asia. • Became popular as a vegetable in the 1700s. • Cool season, herbaceous annual. • Classified by growth habit, pod appearance, seed color, and starch/sugar content.
Cultivar Selection Snap or Edible Pod – eaten when immature – Sugar Snap – Super Sugar Snap
Garden Peas
Early Frosty Maestro Wando Garden Sweet Spring Snow Peas – eaten when half
mature Mammoth Melting Sugar Oregon Sugar Pod II Snowbird
Pea Culture • Plant as early as March 1st • Preparing the planting site the previous fall will prevent planting delays. • Sandy, well-drained soils are best. • Soak seeds for 1 hour prior to planting to speed germination. • Space 1-2 inches apart in the row. • Support with a trellis or twine. • Very few
Harvesting Peas • Harvest peas 3 weeks after full bloom. • Plump enough to shell garden peas easily. • Don’t allow to get over ripe. • Store at 35-40°F under high humidity.
Warm Season Vining Vegetables
Beans • Family Fabaceae (Leguminoseae) • Native to Central America. • Records of use as food date back to 5000 B.C. • Self-pollinated. • Warm season, herbaceous annual.
Beans • Pole Beans
– Twining type of bean, usually matures later but harvest time is longer – Kentucky Blue – Kentucky Wonder – Yard Long-Red Noodle, Orient Wonder – Romano Types-Hilda – Wax-Kentucky Wonder Wax – Scarlet Runner – The list goes on and on!
Limas- Speckled Pole/Christmas Bean, King of The Garden
Growing Beans In Kentucky • Plant as early as April 25, and as late as July 20 • You can expect 150lbs of snap beans from 100 feet or row and 50lbs per 100 feet of row of shelled beans • Beans should be sidedressed with 3 Tbs of urea/10 feet of row after heavy blossom and set of pods
Bean Problems 1. Malathion 2. Carbaryl 50% powder (Sevin) 3. Pyrethrone 4. Rotenone 5. Cyfluthrin 6. Esfenvalerate 7. Bacillus thuringiences var. kuraski 8. Bacillus thuringiences var. san diego 9. Carbaryl 5% (Sevin) 10. Insecticidal Soap 11. Neem
Bean Problems
Bean Problems Anthracnose (fungus)
Bacterial Blight
Rust
•Use disease free seed •Don’t save seed from diseased plants •Apply chlorothalonil at first sight of disease at 7-10 day intervals •Don’t work while plants are wet •Use disease free seed •Avoid saving seed from diseased plants •If severe use fixed copper sprays
•Use resistant varieties •Apply chlorothalonil at first sight every 7-10 days
Bean Problems Viruses •Use disease free seed and avoid saving seed from diseased plants •Avoid planting near other legumes such as alfalfa, clover etc. •Use resistant varieties
A Multitude of Variety
Sweet Potatoes • Full sun after soil warms in late May • Temperatures below 55 degrees can damage plants • Need 90 to 120 Frost Free Days • Prefers medium to light sandy soils that drain well • Clay loam is fine • Excess nitrogen and heavy manure applications cause spindly roots and heavy soils cause misshaped potatoes
Sweet Potato Culture • Apply and incorporate fertilizer based on soil test recommendations • Shape rows into ridges about 10 inches high and 3 feet apart • Plant slips 15 inches apart in rows • A starter solution in set water is recommended (any water soluble fert)
Culture • Plants require the average amount of water (1 inch per week) • Water is essential in mid to late summer as tubers are sizing up • Don’t allow them to dry for long in mid summer on! • Mulch, black plastic, etc to conserve water and reduce weed growth • Chemical?
Where To Get Plants (Slips) • Grow your own? • Purchase from stores or garden centers? • Mail order? • Wheelbarrow Class! • If you decide to grow your own give at least 6 weeks lead time!
Problems â&#x20AC;˘Scurf Irregular purple-brown discolored areas on roots, only skin deep but affects keeping quality Cut plants above soil line and plant disease free slips Bleach?
Problems
â&#x20AC;˘Insects No major pests but some flea beetle, grasshopper or slug damage may appear Treat with pyrethrins, insecticidal soap, neem, sevin, malathion
Harvesting • Anytime when they reach usable size • Harvest before frost when a great number of 6 to 8 ounce roots are found in the hills • Clip vines before frost occurs • Dig with a spade or fork making sure not to damage them
Curing Place potatoes in a well ventilated dry area away from the floor and walls for 7 to 10 days at 80 to 85 degrees with 70-90% humidity After curing store in a dry place at 55 degrees with 85% humidity (basement) Do Not Place Sweet Potatoes in the Refrigerator!!!!
Cultivars • • • • • • • • •
Beauregard Bunch Puerto Rico Centennials Covington Georgia Jets Muraski O’henry Vardaman Bonita
Cucurbits – Pumpkins and Squash • Pumpkins and vining squash should only be grown if adequate space is available (they will vine up to 20 feet) • Pumpkins can also be grown under corn as they are one of a few vegetables that will grow in partial shade (three sisters) • Use crop rotation!
Planting • Plant in mid June if you want pumpkins for Halloween, or count based on maturity days otherwise they could rot before being used for decoration • Pumpkins and squash do well in hills spaced 8-12 feet apart in all directions to allow for vining and air flow • You may also plant in rows 12 feet apart with 6-8 feet within rows
Care â&#x20AC;˘ Pumpkins and squash need a lot of water especially once they have set fruit, drought will reduce fruit size drastically, generally 1-2 inches per week is required â&#x20AC;˘ Side dress when plants begin to vine with 1 lb urea per 1000 square feet to help fruit size up well
Weed Control â&#x20AC;˘ Weeds can be an issue if not kept relatively under control â&#x20AC;˘ Herbicides such as preen can be used however mulch either organic or plastic is a much better option
Problems Squash vine borer
Vines wilt and entire plant dies, by the time it is noticed it is too late Sawdust like frass from the base of the plant Grub like borer eats interferer of the vine
Control • Monitor vines for symptoms from mid to late June through August • Complete spray coverage is a must • Insecticides? Sevin, Malathion etc.
Squash Bug • Show up about the time plants begin to run • Hard to control once populations are allowed to grow • Sucks sap from the plant causing leaves and plants to wilt and collapse
Control Crop Rotation Clean beds! Manually destroying egg masses early on Insecticides? Time them according to when you see nymphs, insecticides do not work well on adults • Target sprays at base of plant • Sevin, Malathion, Pyrethrins • • • •
Cucumber Beetles â&#x20AC;˘ Feed on pollen, flowers, and late season feeding damages fruit appearance and they vector bacterial wilt! â&#x20AC;˘ Monitor for beetles, they will have a large hatch for two to three weeks and then dwindle
Control â&#x20AC;˘ Treat with sevin, pyrethrins, malathion etc. â&#x20AC;˘ Generally early season is the time to control cucumber beetle but
Powdery Mildew • Leaves are covered with powdery looking mold on the leaf surface and will eventually kill the leaves and plant • Doesn’t have to have free moving water (rain) to develop • Likes humid conditions • Look for resistant varieties
Give plants adequate room to grow and plenty of air movement Once symptoms are first notice start a biweekly spray program of mancozeb or daconil etc.
Gummy Stem Blight • Stems develop a dry rot in moist or wet conditions • Disease overwinters on plant residue and saved seeds • Control by using a 3 to 4 year rotation • Spray with daconil, mancozeb etc on a 7 day rotation while conditions persist for development • Plant disease resistant varieties
Downy Mildew • Produces circular yellow spots on the surface of leaves with mold developing on the bottoms of leaves • Disease generally develops at the crown and works its way outward and is encouraged by wet humid weather • Can quickly kill entire plantings! • Control with targeted sprays of daconil, mancozeb, etc.
Harvesting • Harvest the first summer squash 7-8 weeks after seeding when fruit are 2-3 inches in diameter and 7 inches long. • Handle summer squash gently as it bruises easily. • Refrigerate for up to 1 week. • Winter squash and pumpkins are harvested 3-4 months after planting. • Harvest winter squash and pumpkins before a hard frost. • Outer skin of winter squash and pumpkins should resist fingernail pressure. • Cure winter squash and pumpkins by exposing them to 80°F temps for 7-10 days. • Store at 40-45°F for up to 2-3 months.
Varieties
Rouge Vif Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Etampes
Varieties Bennings Green Tint Scallop Squash Blue Hubbard Squash
Zucchino Rampicante Squash
Delicata Squash
Green Striped Cushaw Squash
Honey Boat Delicata Squash
Cucurbits-Cucumber, Watermelon, Cantaloupe • Family Cucurbitaceae • Watermelon is native to Africa, cucumber to India, and muskmelon to Persia • Introduced to America in 1400s. • Warm season, herbaceous annual. • May be determinate or indeterminate. • Melon leaves are oval to kidney-shaped with 5-7 lobes. • Melons can only cross-pollinate with members of the same species. • Plants are monoecious and can be self or cross pollinated
Cultivar Selection • Muskmelon and Cantaloup: Ambrosia, Minerva, Athena, Pixie, Aphrodite, etc • Watermelon: Charleston Grey, Moon and Stars, Crimson Sweet, Jubilee, Sugar Baby, etc. • Cucumber: Straight Eight, Marketmore, Chicago Pickling, Diva, Saladmore Hybrid Bush, Tasty Green, Burpless, Armenian, etc
Varietal Pictures Charleston Gray
Ambrosia
Crimson Sweet
Athena
Sugar Baby
Minerva
Melon Culture • Require 90-125 days to produce a crop. • Seed at ½ to 1 inch depth, 5 ft centers. • Don’t transplant well. • Chilling sensitive. • Require warm, sunny weather to produce sweet fruit. • Moist, well-drained soil. • Best grown on plastic mulch. • Bees essential for good fruit set. • Only allow 1-2 fruits to develop per plant.
Harvesting Melons • Harvest muskmelons at fullslip. 30-35 days after pollination. • Cool immediately to prevent deterioration. • Observe the “ground patch” on watermelon to determine when to harvest – it will become white to creamy yellow. • Wipe watermelon clean with a damp cloth and store in a cool location.
Cucumber Culture • Plant seeds 1-1½ inches deep and 8-12 inches apart. • Require soil temperatures of 60°F. • Don’t transplant well. • Trellis on strong wire mesh to save space.
Harvesting Cucumbers • Harvest slicing cucumbers when they are 6-8 inches long (typically 12 days after pollination). • Oversized (yellow) fruit left on the plant will prevent subsequent fruit from developing & will have large seeds. • Wipe clean with a damp cloth and store uncut in the refrigerator.
Cucumber Variety Pictures Straight Eight
Marketmore
Chicago Pickling
Burpless
Diva
Armenian
Problems • • • •
Aphids Cucumber Beetles Leafhoppers Spider Mite
Cucumber Beetle! • Vectors bacterial wilt, it’s a very bad disease on cucumber and muskmelon. • You must control the beetles to keep the disease from spreading.
Diseases • Powdery and Downy Mildew-follow the control practices as with squash and pumpkins • Blossom end rot, same as on tomato, keep even water and make sure soil test shows at least 2500 on calcium • Several other diseases that may pop up but unlikely to cause home owners with just a few plants any problems.
Vining Vegetables Support • Generally pumpkins, squash, watermelon, sweet potato, and muskmelon not suited for trellising • Vining beans and peas must be trellised • Cumbers can be trellised or allowed to vine on the ground
Trellising
Questions?