LIFESTYLES |

13 - Friday, April 27, 1990 - North Shore News

ackyard harvest

SOME VEGETABLES DO BETTER THAN OTHERS IN NORTH SHORE SOIL

I HOPE you first-time vegetable gardeners found

last

week’s article on starting a vegetable bed useful.

If you did, you should now be
looking at an expanse of rich, fer-
tile topsoil crying out for a variety
of vegetable seeds and transplants.
Something like a canvas looking
for paint or a sesame seed bun
looking for special sauce.

Here is a quick A-to-Z rundown
on the best timing and planting
methods for most of the common
vegetables. In some cases, I have
included suggestions as to good
varieties for our area.

* Asparagus — Do it now. Aspar-

agus can and should be planted
around mid-March to the beginn-
ing of April. Rich soils, good
drainage and sufficient sunlight are
a must. Buy healthy, one-year-old
roots instead of trying to grow
them from seed.

Plant them 18 inches apart in a
five-foot by five-foot raised bed or
in rows spaced four feet apart.

Gently spread the roots out in
holes which are four inches deep
by 12 to 15 inches wide. Cover the
rcots with three inches of fine soil.

Do not harvest in the first year
and take only half of the stalks
from each plant in the subsequent
years.

Beans — Beans are planted from
seed after all danger of frost has
passed, say early to mid-May. Broad
beans are the exception and should
be planted around the same time as
peas (see below).

You will have fewer insect prob-
lems if you pick a sunny site with

good air circulation.
Rows of snap beans are spaced
two feet apart and the seed is

These plants are available as
bedding plants in the garden cen-
tres. The long growing season re-
quired may make this a better op-
tion.

AU of the cole crops (broccali,

over the

garden gate

spaced four inches apart and two
inches deep in the row.

Planting over an extended
period at two-week intervals will
result in a prolonged harvest.

Pole beans can be grown on ei-
ther single rows of netting spaced
five feet apart or in a double row
on an A-frame support, three-feet
wide at the base. :

Beets — Can be sown as seed
from mid-April on at two-week in-
tervals to extend the harvest. Rows
should be i5 inches apart; thin
seedlings out to three-inch spacing
after initial heavy sowing. Try Ear-
ly Egyptian or Ruby Queen.

Broccoli — Sow in groups of
two or three seeds at 24-inch spac-
ing, in rows 30 inches apart, no
earlier than mid-April. Thin seed-
lings to one in group after the se-
cond set of leaves.

Geoff Tobiasson

sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower
and kale) are susceptible’ to
bolting. This occurs when the plant
rushes into flower as a result of
stress.

Avoid root-bound, tired-out
bedding plants, and keep well-
watered in the early stages.

It is especially important to lime
the areas where cole crops are to
be planted. This will decrease the
risk of problems with club root, a
particularly nasty disease. Chang-
ing the location or rotating your
cole crops every year can also heip.

The broccoli head is actually a
cluster of immature flowers. Pick
well before the head shows signs of
ripening by turning light green or
yellow. Secondary sprouts will ap-
pear after the first harvest. Green
Comet is an old favorite.

Brussels sprouts — Follow the

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same planting procedures as broc-
coli. Whether seed or planted as
transplants, you should start pick-
ing off the lower leaves by the end
of May to encourage sprouts.

I like sprouts about as much as 1
like a poke in the eye with a sharp
stick, but if [I had to pick a
favorite, 1 would look to Jade
Cross.

Cabbage — Sow cabbage in
groups of two or three seeds at
18-inch spacing, in rows 24 inches
apart, no earlier than mid-April.

Thin groups to one strong plant
after the second set of leaves. Also
available as bedding plants.

Once the head is nearing harvest
size, use a trowel to sever some of
its fibrous roots. This will reduce
its water and nutrient intake and
lessen the risk of splitting.

In the green forms, look for
Golden Acre as an early and
Stonehead mid-season. For red, go
to Ruby Baill and savoy to Savoy
King.

Carrots — Sow carrots thickly in
rows which are [5 inches apart
beginning in late May. Start thinn-
ing to three inches apart three to
four weeks after planting.

If you have wondered why the
grocery store’s carrots always look
so perfect while yours look like

evacuces from a nuclear war, it’s
the dirt. If you take the time to
loosen the soil, remove the stones,
and avoid future compaction
(don’t walk on it), you, too, can
have the perfect carrot.

Cauliflower — Planting and
spacing is much the same as that
for broccoli and cabbage. You
must not let these plants slow
down during the growing process,
as to do so will promote a poor
harvest at best and bolting at
worst.

To get that nice white head on
your cauliflower, use a rubber
band to tie the leaves over the
head. This is called blanching and
is a result of not allowing sunlight
to ripen the flower cluster.

Celery —- This is very difficult to
grow in all areas of the Lower
Mainland except in the rich farm
lands of the Fraser delta. You need
deep, fine, organically-rich, well-
drained soils to be successful.

It is best started from bedding
plants unless you have your own
greenhouse to start seed in. Plant
in the latter half of the month of
April. Buy self-blanching varieties
and plant them six inches apart in
blocks of six-by-six plants.

Well, so much for A to Z, how
about A to C.

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